CTNF 18/537,128 CTNF 91724 DETAILED ACTION 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’s election of claims 1-12 in the reply filed on 4/30/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)). Claims 13-14 are therefore withdrawn from consideration. Information Disclosure Statement 06-52 The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 12/12/2023, 11/5/2025 and 12/16/2025 were filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner. Specification The abstract and title are consistent with the requirements set forth in the MPEP 608.01(b) and 606, respectively. 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. 07-12-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Yamazaki US PGPub. 2009/0085952. Regarding claim 1, Yamazaki teaches an acquisition method (fig. 14) of acquiring identification information of a substrate [0031] from measurement results of a plurality of patterns (line patterns, fig. 13-14) formed on the substrate, comprising: specifying the identification information based on first information (positions of line patterns, fig. 14) extracted, in accordance with a first rule, from respective positions of regions where the plurality of patterns respectively exist (fig. 13) and second information (line widths of line patterns, fig. 14) extracted from respective states of the plurality of patterns in accordance with a second rule (Yamazaki, fig. 13-14) . Regarding claim 2, Yamazaki teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the respective states of the plurality of patterns are respective positions (positions of line patterns, fig. 14) of the plurality of patterns (Yamazaki, fig. 13-14). Regarding claim 3, Yamazaki teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the respective states of the plurality of patterns are respective line widths (line widths of line patterns, fig. 14) of the plurality of patterns (Yamazaki, fig. 13-14). Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yoshitake et al. US PGPub. 2018/0293720. Regarding claim 11, Yoshitake teaches a pattern forming method (fig. 6A-6C) of forming a plurality of patterns (fig. 6C) on a substrate [0212], comprising: determining, in accordance with a first rule, a position (fig. 6B; position deviation inspection) [0213] to form each of the plurality of patterns on the substrate; determining, in accordance with a second rule, a state (size error, fig. 6B) [0213] to form each of the plurality of patterns on the substrate; and forming the plurality of patterns (fig. 6C; exposed and processed pattern) on the substrate in accordance with results determined in the determining the position and the determining the state [0213] (Yoshitake et al., fig., 6A-6C). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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. 07-22-aia AIA Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshitake et al. US PGPub. 2018/0293720 as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Yamazaki US PGPub. 2009/0085952 . Regarding claim 12, Yoshitake teaches a semiconductor manufacturing facility operation method comprising forming a plurality of patterns on a substrate in accordance with a pattern forming method defined in claim 11 (Yoshitake et al., fig., 6A- 6C, [0213]) but fails to teach acquiring, in accordance with an acquisition method of acquiring identification information of a substrate from measurement results of a plurality of patterns formed on the substrate, comprising specifying the identification information based on first information extracted, in accordance with a first rule, from respective positions of regions where the plurality of patterns respectively exist and second information extracted from respective states of the plurality of patterns in accordance with a second rule, an identification number from the substrate with the plurality of patterns formed thereon. However, Yamazaki teaches acquiring, in accordance with an acquisition method (fig. 14) of acquiring identification information of a substrate [0031] from measurement results of a plurality of patterns (line patterns, fig. 13-14) formed on the substrate, comprising specifying the identification information based on first information (positions of line patterns, fig. 14) extracted, in accordance with a first rule, from respective positions of regions where the plurality of patterns respectively exist (fig. 13) and second information (line widths of line patterns, fig. 14) extracted from respective states of the plurality of patterns in accordance with a second rule, an identification number (determined relative position and line width of the line patterns, fig. 14) from the substrate with the plurality of patterns formed thereon (Yamazaki, fig. 13-14). At the time before the effective filing of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combinate the forming of the plurality of patterns as taught by Yoshitake with the acquiring measurements of the plurality of patterns as taught by Yamazaki because such measurements/determination of pattern position and widths are well known in the art and such process is art recognized and suitable for the intended purpose of improving the image quality/line quality of the pattern (Yamazaki, [0005]) (see MPEP 2144.07) . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 4-10 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. 13-03-01 AIA The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior arts of record taken alone or in combination neither anticipates nor renders obvious a method wherein “the respective position of the regions where the plurality of patterns respectively exist are respective positions of shot regions where the plurality of patterns respectively exist” as recited in claim 4 in combination with the rest of the limitations of claim 1; a method wherein “the plurality of patterns exist in one shot region, and the respective positions of the regions where the plurality of patterns respectively exist are positions in the one shot region” as recited in claim 5 in combination with the rest of the limitations of claim 1; a method wherein “the second information includes a plurality of indices converted from the respective states of the plurality of patterns, and the first information includes information used to determine an order to arrange the plurality of indices to obtain the identification information using the plurality of indices” as recited in claim 6 in combination with the rest of the limitations of claim 1; and a method wherein “the second information includes a plurality of indices converted from the respective states of the plurality of patterns, and each of the plurality of indices is a value obtained by evaluating a position deviation of each of the plurality of patterns with respect to corresponding one of a plurality of reference positions corresponding to the plurality of patterns” as recited in claim 10 in combination with the rest of the limitations of claim 1. Claims 7-9 are also objected to as allowable for further limiting and depending upon allowable claim 6. Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Kamba et al. US PGPub. 2014/0292653 teaches a method of acquiring object identification information. Ishii et al. US PGPub. 2008/0013089 teaches a method of acquiring wafer and alignment mark identification information Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NDUKA E OJEH whose telephone number is (571)270-0291. The examiner can normally be reached M-F; 9am - 5pm.. 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, DREW N RICHARDS can be reached at (571) 272-1736. 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. /NDUKA E OJEH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2892 Application/Control Number: 18/537,128 Page 2 Art Unit: 2892 Application/Control Number: 18/537,128 Page 3 Art Unit: 2892 Application/Control Number: 18/537,128 Page 4 Art Unit: 2892 Application/Control Number: 18/537,128 Page 6 Art Unit: 2892 Application/Control Number: 18/537,128 Page 7 Art Unit: 2892 Application/Control Number: 18/537,128 Page 8 Art Unit: 2892 Application/Control Number: 18/537,128 Page 9 Art Unit: 2892
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