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 .
Withdrawn Rejections
The 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection of claims 1-20 is withdrawn due to Applicant’s amendment filed on September 12, 2025.
New Rejections
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
It is unclear in independent claims 1, 14 and 19, what is meant by the term “directionally arranged”. Does it mean that the whiskers are arranged in a single direction, or a plurality of directions?
Furthermore, it is unclear in independent claims 1, 14 and 19, whether the claimed absorption axis of the polarizing functional layer is a single absorption axis, or a member of a plurality of absorption axes where the whiskers that are arranged in a plurality of directions are directionally arranged according to the plurality of absorption axes.
Claims 2-13 depend on and include all the subject matter of claim 1, claims 15-18 depend on and include all the subject matter of claim 14, and claim 20 depends on and includes all the subject matter of claim 19, but all fail to provide any clear solutions to the indefinite issue described above.
Clarification and/or amendment accompanied by relevant citation(s) from the specification or teaching references are required.
Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to Sow-Fun Hon whose telephone number is (571)272-1492. The examiner is on a flexible schedule but can usually be reached during a regular workweek between the hours of 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Aaron Austin, can be reached at (571)272-8935. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571)273-8300.
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/Sophie Hon/
Sow-Fun Hon
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1782
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