CTNF 18/528,187 CTNF 90277 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Election/Restrictions Applicant elected Species B, and thus claims 6-9 and 14 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 03 March 2026. Claims 1-5, 10-13, and 15-20 are original; and claims 6-9 and 14 are withdrawn. Priority 02-26 AIA Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Information Disclosure Statement The IDS dated 02 February 2026 has been reviewed by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15-aia AIA Claim(s) 1-5, 10, 12-13, 15, and 17-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Robinson (US20210149233) . Re: claim 1, Robinson discloses a light absorption anisotropic film 330, 301, 318 (Fig. 1A) comprising: a dichroic substance (para. 153 discloses “polarisers 210, 218, 318 may be polarisers such as dichroic polarisers”); and a liquid crystal compound 314 (Fig. 1A; para. 162 “switchable liquid crystal retarder…301 compris[es] a layer 314 of liquid crystal material”), wherein the light absorption anisotropic film has a plurality of regions (Figs. 1A, 3A, 3B disclose left, center, and right regions) having different directions of transmittance central axes 417ALU, 417ACU, 417ARU, 417ALD, 417ACD, 417ARD (Figs. 3A, 3B) in an in-plane direction of the light absorption anisotropic film (in-plane disclosed in Figs. 1A, 3A, 3B), in the plurality of regions (in left, center & right regions disclosed in Figs. 1A, 3A, 3B), all angles θ 617AL, 617AC, 617AR between the transmittance central axes and a normal direction of a surface of the light absorption anisotropic film are in a range of 0° to 70° (Fig.4 and para. 170 disclose a range of 70-110 degrees, which overlaps the claimed range), and in at least two regions among the plurality of regions, directions of orthographic projection of the transmittance central axes onto the surface of the light absorption anisotropic film are the same (Fig. 3B discloses that in the left region the angle of each instance of 617ALU is the same, that in the center region the angle of 617ACU and 617ACD is the same, and that in the right region the angles 617ARU are the same), and in the at least two regions, the angles θ are different from each other (Fig. 3B discloses that the angles 617ALU, 617ACU & 617ACD, and 617ARU differ from each other). Re: claim 2, Robinson discloses the limitations of claim 1 and Robinson further discloses that the requirement 1 is satisfied (see claim 1 above). Re: claim 3, Robinson discloses the limitations of claim 2, and Robinson further discloses that angles θ increase in a stepwise manner (Fig. 4, angle profile 508 increases from left to right in an approximately stepwise manner) or a continuous manner (Fig. 4, angle profiles 504 & 506 increase from left to right in an approximately continuous manner) or decrease in a stepwise manner or a continuous manner as proceeding in the in-plane direction in which the plurality of regions are arranged. Re: claim 4, Robinson discloses the limitations of claim 2, and Robinson further discloses that the angles θ in the light absorption anisotropic film increase in a continuous manner or decrease in a continuous manner (Fig. 4, angle profiles 504 & 506 increase from left to right in an approximately continuous manner) as proceeding in the in-plane direction in which the plurality of regions are arranged. Re: claim 5, Robinson discloses the limitations of claim 3, and Robinson further discloses that the angles θ in the light absorption anisotropic film increase in a continuous manner or decrease in a continuous manner (Fig. 4, angle profiles 504 & 506 increase from left to right in an approximately continuous manner) as proceeding in the in-plane direction in which the plurality of regions are arranged. Re: claim 10, Robinson discloses the limitations of claim 1, and Robinson further discloses an alignment film 419A, 419B (Fig. 1A). Re: claim 12, Robinson discloses the limitations of claim 10, and Robinson further discloses a display panel 48 (Fig. 1A); and the optical film according to claim 10, which is disposed on one main surface of the display panel (disposition disclosed in Fig. 1A). Re: claim 13, Robinson discloses the limitations of claim 3, and Robinson further discloses that the angles θ in the light absorption anisotropic film increase in a continuous manner or decrease in a continuous manner (Fig. 4, angle profiles 504 & 506 increase from left to right in an approximately continuous manner) as proceeding in the in-plane direction in which the plurality of regions are arranged. Re: claims 15 and 19, Robinson discloses the limitations of claims 2 and 3 respectively, and Robinson further discloses an alignment film 419A, 419B (Fig. 1A). Re: claims 17 and 18, Robinson discloses the limitations of claims 11 and 15 respectively, and Robinson further discloses a display panel; and the optical film which is disposed on one main surface of the display panel (disposition disclosed in Fig. 1A) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-20-02-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 11, 16, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Robinson in view of Yuan (US20210048702) . Re: claims 11, 16, and 20, Robinson discloses the limitations of claims 10, 15, and 19 respectively; however, Robinson does not explicitly disclose a resin film containing polyvinyl alcohol or polyimide. Yuan discloses a resin film 206, 207 (Fig. 2) containing polyvinyl alcohol or polyimide (para. 39 discloses polyimide). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at a time before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a resin film containing polyvinyl alcohol or polyimide, as disclosed by Yuan, applied to the device disclosed by Robinson for the purpose of fabricating the alignment film from a material that withstands heat without warping and resists tearing. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANGELA MEDICH whose telephone number is (313)446-4819. The examiner can normally be reached M-T & Th-F 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM ET . 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, Jennifer Carruth can be reached at 571-272-9791. 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. /ANGELA M. MEDICH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871 Application/Control Number: 18/528,187 Page 2 Art Unit: 2871 Application/Control Number: 18/528,187 Page 3 Art Unit: 2871 Application/Control Number: 18/528,187 Page 4 Art Unit: 2871 Application/Control Number: 18/528,187 Page 5 Art Unit: 2871 Application/Control Number: 18/528,187 Page 6 Art Unit: 2871
Prosecution Insights