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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Group I, claims 1-5, in the reply filed on 12/10/2025 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Claims 6-17 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12/10/2025.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
With regard to claims 1-5, the functional limitations that the “first transfer layer after transfer under the following condition (A) has an arithmetic mean height Sa of more than 0.1 µm and less than 0.6 µm” or “more than 0.1 µm and less than 0.5 µm” render the claims indefinite because: the limitations define the claims by the desired result to obtain after performing a transfer to an intermediate receiving layer, there is no clear cut indication as to how one would know what transfer layers would satisfy these functional limitations as the properties would also depend on all the materials and structure of the transfer sheet and the intermediate transfer medium, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not know from the claim terms what structures are encompassed by the claim. This rejection can be overcome by setting forth the structure and materials that lead to the desired functional limitations.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hayashi et al. (US 2018/0319191) as evidenced by “Dianal resins”.
With regard to claims 1-5, Hayashi et al. teach the thermal transfer sheet 100 of Figure 4 [0034].
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The thermal transfer sheet includes a substrate 50, which reads on applicants’ first substrate, a fusible layer 52, which reads on applicants’ first transfer layer, and a peel-off layer 51, which reads on applicants’ peel-off layer [0034]. The peel-off layer can contain inorganic or organic filler, which reads on the particles of claim 2 [0075]. The thicknesses of the peel-off layer and the fusible layer can be 1 micron thick, which are the same as preferentially disclosed in applicants’ specification [0076], [0082], [0131] and [0133].
In the Examples, the peel-off layer can comprise vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate, which is the same preferential binder resin used in applicants’ examples, and Dianal BR-83 acryl resin, which reads on the particle of claim 2 [0131]. As evidenced by “Dianal resins”, these BR Dianal resins are beads of acrylic resin, and would be the same as one of the preferential materials of the particles in applicants’ specification. The fusible layer can comprise vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate, which reads on applicants’ binder of claim 4, with either acryl Dianal BR-87 resin beads or a titanium dioxide dispersion, which reads on applicants’ metal-based pigment and metal oxide pigment of claims 4 and 5 [0137] and [0143]. The particles are the same as the preferential materials set forth in applicants’ specification.
Given the fact that the thicknesses of the layers, the materials of the layers and that the thermal transfer sheet operates by the same printing/transferring/peeling principles as the current application, the peel-off layer and the fusible layer of Hayashi et al. will inherently have the arithmetic mean heights claimed, including the arithmetic mean height after transferring to an intermediate transfer medium using the conditions claimed, absent objective evidence to the contrary.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (2) as being anticipated by Daike (WO 2021/066016) of which US 2022/0332136 is the US national stage application and will be used as a translation.
With regard to claims 1-5, Daike discloses the thermal transfer sheet 10 of Figure 1a, which reads on applicants’ thermal transfer sheet [0036].
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The thermal transfer sheet includes a first substrate 11, which reads on applicants’ first substrate, a heat seal layer 14, which reads on applicants’ first transfer layer and a peel-off layer 13, which reads on the peel-off layer and the frame sequential manner of the layers claimed [0036]. The heat seal layer can comprise a resin, which reads on applicants’ binder, and pearl pigments such as metal oxides, which reads on the metal-based pigment claimed, and the surface roughness of the heat seal layer (RaHS) can be 0.5 to 10 microns [0077], [0110] and [0123]-[0125]. The thickness of the heat seal layer can be 0.3 to 20 microns [0139]. The peel-off layer can have a thickness of 0.3 to 10 microns and can contain additives, such as inorganic or organic particles [0100] and [0107].
Given the fact that the thicknesses of the layers, the materials of the layers and that the thermal transfer sheet operates by the same printing/transferring/peeling principles as the current application, the peel-off layer and the heat seal layer Daike will inherently have the arithmetic mean heights claimed, including the arithmetic mean height after transferring to an intermediate transfer medium using the conditions claimed, absent objective evidence to the contrary.
The applied reference has a common assignee with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2). This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B) if the same invention is not being claimed; or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed in the reference and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GERARD T HIGGINS whose telephone number is (571)270-3467. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark Ruthkosky can be reached at (571) 272-1291. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Gerard Higgins/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1785