Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/479,966

DEPOSITION MASK, AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING ORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING ELEMENT

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Oct 03, 2023
Examiner
ABDELAZIEZ, YASSER A
Art Unit
2898
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 3m
To Grant
89%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allow Rate
687 granted / 798 resolved
+18.1% vs TC avg
Minimal +3% lift
Without
With
+3.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
34 currently pending
Career history
832
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.6%
-38.4% vs TC avg
§103
46.5%
+6.5% vs TC avg
§102
30.4%
-9.6% vs TC avg
§112
18.5%
-21.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 798 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1-4 and 8-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yotsuya (US 2006/0191864), (hereinafter, Yotsuya). PNG media_image1.png 348 529 media_image1.png Greyscale RE Claims 1, 8 and 9, Yotsuya discloses in FIGS. 1-7 a thin film deposition mask and a method of making the same and a method of using the mask to make a pattern for an electroluminescent device. Yotsuya discloses a deposition mask “M”, wherein a plurality of pixel openings 24 are disposed in a surface, of a deposition mask “M”, which is to face a substrate “Si” on which a deposition pattern 20 is deposited, hence meeting the claimed limitation of Claim 9, wherein protrusions 28 including a material “magnetic material”, hence meeting the claimed limitation of Claim 8 [0078-0080] different from a material included in the deposition mask “silicon” are formed in a region which is located from a pixel opening 24 that is disposed at an outermost peripheral portion in the surface, from among the plurality of pixel openings 24 “pattern portion”, up to an edge of the deposition mask “M”, and wherein in the deposition mask “M”, a crosspiece Si “silicon pattern” which is located between two-pixel openings 24 adjacent to each other, from among the plurality of pixel openings include the material “silicon”. RE Claim 2, Yotsuya discloses a deposition mask, wherein with W as a width of the region from the pixel opening 24 disposed in the outermost peripheral portion, referring to FIG. 5C, the protrusions 28 are formed within a range of W/2 from the pixel opening 24 disposed in the outermost peripheral portion. It is clear that the protruisions 28 is disposed within a range of W/2 from the pixel opening, since its edge is disposed “aligned” with the edge of the openings 24, referring to FIG. 5C, hence meeting the claimed limitation. RE Claim 3, Yotsuya discloses a deposition mask, wherein the protrusion 28 is formed on the crosspiece S “silicon pattern”. RE Claim 4, Yotsuya discloses a deposition mask, wherein the deposition mask “M” has a frame in contact with a support member “MA” of the deposition mask “M”, and wherein a thickness of the frame is greater than a thickness of a first crosspiece S “silicon pattern”, in a thickness direction of the deposition mask, referring to FIG. 5C. RE Claim 10, Yotsuya discloses a method for producing an organic light-emitting element, comprising: forming an organic compound layer using the deposition mask according to Claim 1 referring to FIG.8 [0098-0101]. RE Claim 11, Yotsuya discloses a display device, comprising: an organic light-emitting element having an organic compound layer formed using the deposition mask according to Claim 1 referring to FIG.8 [0098-0101]. RE Claim 12, Yotsuya discloses an imaging device “by bi=virtue of forming an image in a display” [0107, 0115], comprising: an organic light-emitting element having an organic compound layer formed using the deposition mask according to Claim 1 [0098-0101, 0107, 0108, 0115 and 0116]. RE Claim 13, Yotsuya discloses an electronic device “POS terminal”, comprising: an organic light-emitting element having an organic compound layer formed using the deposition mask according to Claim 1 [0098-0101, 0107, 0108, 0115 and 0116]. RE Claim 14, Yotsuya discloses lighting device, comprising: an organic light-emitting element having an organic compound layer formed using the deposition mask according to Claim 1 [0098-0101, 0107, 0108, 0115 and 0116]. Examiner notes that the recitation of “organic light-emitting element” of the claimed invention is an intended use language does not result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art, thus claimed invention is only an art recognized suitability for an intended purpose, See In re Casey, 152 USPQ 235 (CCPA 1967) and In re Otto, 136 USPQ 458, 459 (CCPA 1963). RE Claim 15, Yotsuya discloses a moving body “CAR” with car navigation device, comprising: an organic light-emitting element having an organic compound layer formed using the deposition mask according to Claim 1 [0098-0101, 0107, 0108, 0115 and 0116]. Claim(s) 1 and 5-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yotsuya et al. (US 2006/0160026), (hereinafter, Yotsuya). PNG media_image2.png 401 754 media_image2.png Greyscale RE Claim 1, Yotsuya discloses in FIGS. 1-6 a thin film deposition mask and a method of using the mask to make a pattern for an electroluminescent device [0052]. Yotsuya discloses a deposition mask 10, wherein a plurality of pixel openings 31/51 are disposed in a surface, referring to FIG. 1, of a deposition mask 10, which is to face a substrate [0034] on which a deposition pattern is deposited, wherein protrusions 4 including a material “magnetic” different from a material included in the deposition mask 3 “silicon” are formed in a region which is located from a pixel opening 31/51 that is disposed at an outermost peripheral portion in the surface, from among the plurality of pixel openings 31/51, up to an edge of the deposition mask 10, and wherein in the deposition mask 10, a crosspiece 32 which is located between two pixel openings 31/51 adjacent to each other, from among the plurality of pixel openings include the material “silicon”. RE Claim 5, Yotsuya discloses a deposition mask, wherein the deposition mask 10 has a frame 3 in contact with a support member 3/32 of the deposition mask 10, and a second crosspiece 32 located between two-pixel openings 31 adjacent to each other, from among the plurality of pixel openings 24, and dl, d2 and d3, as values of thickness of the frame 3, the first crosspieces and the second crosspieces, in a thickness direction of the deposition mask, satisfy expression (1); d1≥d2≥d3 (1), referring to FIGS. 1 and 6, as annotated above. RE Claim 6, Yotsuya discloses a deposition mask, wherein the protrusions 4 provided on the second crosspiece 3/32, referring to FIG. 6, in the surface. RE Claim 7, Yotsuya discloses a deposition mask, wherein the protrusion 4 is formed of a magnetic material [abstract, 0029]. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YASSER ABDELAZIEZ whose telephone number is (571)270-5783. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9 am - 6 pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Leonard Chang can be reached at (571)270-3691. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /YASSER A ABDELAZIEZ, PhD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2898
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 03, 2023
Application Filed
Apr 10, 2024
Response after Non-Final Action
Jan 27, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
89%
With Interview (+3.3%)
2y 3m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 798 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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