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 § 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.
Claims 1-3, 5-6, 11, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP-56104935 to Ueno et al. in view of JP-2002/030145 to Higashimura et al. (references cited on IDS).
As to claims 1-3, 11, Ueno discloses a polyphenylene ether copolymer comprising the polycondensation of 2,6-dimethyl phenol with 3-methyl-6-tert-butyl phenol (Abstract), which correspond to formula (1) and formula (2), respectively.
Ueno does not expressly disclose copolymerization with a different type of phenol that meets formula (3).
However, within the same field of endeavor, Higashimura discloses polyphenylene ether copolymers including monomeric units derived from 2,5-disubstituted phenolic compounds and compounds of the following formulas (0016-0019):
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Wherein R3 is preferably an alkyl group having 1 to 9 carbon atoms or an alkoxy group having 1 to 9 carbon atoms, including t-butyl groups or t-butoxy groups (0018-0019). Higashimura discloses amounts of at least 30 mol% of the 2,5-disubstitute phenol compound (0026).
At the time of filing it would have been obvious to include additional phenolic monomers as taught in Higashimura to the copolymer of Ueno with the expectation that the additional monomer including those within the claimed scope would not impair the physical properties of the target polymer as taught in Higashimura (0026). Further, the additional sidechains improve certain optical properties and crystallinity of the polymer (0040).
As to claim 5, Ueno in view of Higashimura teach molecular weights that fall within the claimed ranges based on degree of polymerization (0028).
As to claims 6 and 14, Ueno discloses a method of preparing the polymer comprising the step of performing oxidative polymerization of the phenolic monomers (See Examples).
Claims 4, 7-10, 12-13, and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP-56104935 to Ueno et al. in view of JP-2002/030145 to Higashimura et al. (references cited on IDS) that has been explained above and is applied here as such in view of U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2018/0312683 to Umehara et al.
As to claims 4 and 12, Ueno discloses a polyphenylene ether copolymer comprising the polycondensation of 2,6-dimethyl phenol with 3-methyl-6-tert-butyl phenol (Abstract), which correspond to formula (1) and formula (2), respectively.
Ueno does not expressly disclose the modified units of formula 4.
However, within the same field of endeavor Umehara discloses polyphenylene ether resin compositions that have been modified with substituents represented by the following:
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At the time of filing it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the copolymer composition of Ueno as taught in Umehara to give a cured product having excellent dielectric characteristics and a laminate that generates less warepage (0030).
As to claims 7-10, 13, and 15-20, Ueno in view of Umehara teach various purposes of thermosetting polyphenylene ether copolymers including prepregs and laminated produced therein. Accordingly, the skilled artisan because of knowledge in the art would prepare pregregs and laminates of metal foils and the thermosetting composition of Ueno as taught in Umehara, including those with improved dielectric properties (0020).
Conclusion
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/MICHAEL L LEONARD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1763