DETAILED ACTION The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis ( i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. Acknowledgement of preliminary amendment dated 02/12/2025 changing the claims. Domestic Benefit Present application 18 / 515 , 813 filed 11/21/2023 is a c ontinuation of PCT/JP2022/015362 filed 03/29/2022 . Foreign Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers (i.e., application numbers 2021-091159 and 2022-015103 both filed in Japan respectively on 05/31/2021 and 02/02/2022) required by 37 CFR 1.55 , both electronically retrieved on 01/11/2024 . Information Disclosure Statement The five information disclosure statements respectively submitted on 2 x 11/27/2023, 02/01/2024, 01/08/2026 and 01/14/2026 were filed before first Office action. The submissions are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the five information disclosure statements have been considered. Specification The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. The following title or similar is suggested: -- VAPOR DEPOSITION MASK WITH TAPERED INNER WALLS AND PROTRUDING PORTION AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING ORGANIC ELECTRONIC DEVICE --. 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. Claim s 1 , 2, 4-5, 11, 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2006/0160026 A1 to Yotsuya et al. (“Yotsuya”) . Regarding independent claim 1 , Yotsuya teaches of a vapor deposition mask (see paragraph 0028 and Figure 1: there is a mask for vapor deposition) made of a semiconductor substrate 3 (“silicon mask”; Figure 3) having a first surface (i.e., side away from deposition substrate 2) and a second surface (i.e., side closest to deposition substrate 2) and comprising an opening (i.e., start from top of 3 close to 4; and bottom of 3 close to 2) , which penetrates the semiconductor substrate 3 between the first surface (i.e., side away from deposition substrate 1/2) and the second surface (i.e., side closest to deposition substrate 1/2) , wherein an inner wall facing the opening includes a protruding portion (see Figure 1: tip of where the reference line for 31 is pointing/touching in Figure 1) between an edge of the opening (i.e., top of 3 close to 4) on a first surface side (i.e., 3 close to 4) and an edge of the opening (i.e., bottom of 3 close to 2) on a second surface substrate side (i.e., 3 close to 2) , and wherein the inner wall is tapered (all the walls from the protruding portion toward 3 close to 4 are tapered) such that an opening width of the inner wall increases (see Figure 1) towards the edge on the first surface side (i.e., 3 close to 4) between the edge on the first surface side (i.e., 3 close to 4) and the protruding portion (see Figure 1: tip of where the reference line for 31 is pointing/touching in Figure 1) . Regarding claim 2 , Yotsuya teaches that the protruding portion (see Figure 1: tip of where the reference line for 31 is pointing/touching in Figure 1) has a width (see Figure 1) that is smallest in the depth direction of the opening. Regarding claim 4 , Yotsuya teaches that there are multiple protruding portions (see Figure 1: tip of where the reference line for 31 is pointing/touching in Figure 1) and their heights all appear to be the same. Regarding claim 5 , Yotsuya teaches in Figure 5 that the thickness of the protruding portion (see Figure 1: tip of where the reference line for 31 is pointing/touching in Figure 1) is thicker than 21. Regarding claim 1 1 , Yotsuya teaches the claimed first surface faces a vapor deposition source (refer to claim 1 rejection explanation supra ). Regarding claim 1 6 , Yotsuya teaches in paragraph 0052 of forming organic EL devices, also refer to Figure 5. Regarding claim 1 7 , Yotsuya teaches that the inner walls have many protruding portions between ends (refer to Figure 1). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2006/0160026 A1 to Yotsuya et al. (“Yotsuya”) . Regarding claim 15 , Yotsuya teaches of a silicon mask but does not expressly teach of a single crystal silicon. However, when Yotsuya is viewed as a whole given the preponderance of evidence it is more likely than not that this claim is unpatentable because it is conventional in the art to have single crystal silicon for superior electrical and optical properties that may be valuable in masks. Further, etching single crystal silicon has many optimum properties. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to recognize that the mask may be made of single crystal silicon --- when Yotsuya is viewed as a whole given the preponderance of evidence it is more likely than not that this claim is unpatentable because it is conventional in the art to have single crystal silicon for superior electrical and optical properties that may be valuable in masks. Further, etching single crystal silicon has many optimum properties. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 3, 6- 10, 12-14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Claim 3 contains allowable subject matter , because the closest art of record, singularly or in combination, fails to disclose or suggest, in combination with the other elements of claim 3, wherein the protruding portion is a portion of the inner wall where a distance from a center of the opening to the inner wall varies, depending on a portion in a circumferential direction of the opening. Claim 6 contains allowable subject matter , because the closest art of record, singularly or in combination, fails to disclose or suggest, in combination with the other elements of claim 6, wherein the inner wall comprises protruding portions which include the protruding portion and of which heights cyclically change for a plurality of cycles. Dependent claims 8-9 contain allowable subject matter , because they depend on the allowable subject matter of claim 6. Claim 7 contains allowable subject matter , because the closest art of record, singularly or in combination, fails to disclose or suggest, in combination with the other elements of claim 7, wherein the inner wall comprises protruding portions, a difference between a length of a first protruding portion of the protruding portions from bottom to top of the protruding portion and a length of a second protruding portion of the protruding portions is equal to or greater than a thickness of a vapor deposition film to be deposited, and the difference is smallest among differences between two of the protruding portions. Claim 10 contains allowable subject matter , because the closest art of record, singularly or in combination, fails to disclose or suggest, in combination with the other elements of claim 10, wherein the protruding portion is included in a portion of the inner wall, and surface roughness Ra of the portion of the inner wall is at least 10nm. Claim 12 contains allowable subject matter , because the closest art of record, singularly or in combination, fails to disclose or suggest, in combination with the other elements of claim 12, wherein an opening width is smallest on an edge of the opening on the second surface side in the opening, and the second surface faces a substrate which vapor deposition particles from a vapor deposition source reach. Claim 13 contains allowable subject matter , because the closest art of record, singularly or in combination, fails to disclose or suggest, in combination with the other elements of claim 13, wherein the opening has an aperture portion at which an opening width is smallest in the openings between the edge of the first surface side and the edge of the second surface side, the second surface faces a substrate which vapor deposition particles from a vapor deposition source reach, and the opening width increases as the distance from the aperture portion increases between the aperture portion and the edge of the second surface. Claim 14 contains allowable subject matter , because the closest art of record, singularly or in combination, fails to disclose or suggest, in combination with the other elements of claim 14, wherein the opening has an aperture portion at which an opening width is smallest in the openings between the edge of the first surface side and the edge of the second surface side, the first surface faces a vapor deposition source and the second surface faces a substrate which vapor deposition particles from the vapor deposition source reach, and a second aperture portion, which has an approximately same opening width as the aperture portion, is disposed on an edge of the opening on the first surface side. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT JOHN P DULKA whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-7398 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm, EST . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT ELISEO RAMOS-FELICIANO can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-7925 . 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. 28 March 2026 /John P. Dulka/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817