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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 3/10/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding the applicant’s arguments, the applicant states that Park fails to disclose a weight ratio comparison between the ultraviolet absorber and the pigment. While this is true, Park does discloses a weight ratio comparison between each element and the resin. Paragraph 0036 of Park discloses a range of the weight ratio of the ultraviolet absorber and the pigment as compared to the resin; if the ultraviolet absorber is present at 5 parts by weight and the pigment is present at .1 parts by weight, the ultraviolet absorber:pigment weight ratio would be 5:.1, which is a 50:1 ratio.
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, 5, 7, 9-10, 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al (US Publication No.: US 2017/0349787 A1 of record, “Park”).
Regarding Claim 1, Park discloses an optical film (Figure 1, optical film 100), comprising
A light-transmitting substrate and a primer layer (Figure 1, light-transmitting substrate 110, primer layer 120; Paragraph 0058 discloses transparency of the substrate), wherein
The primer layer comprises:
A curable resin (Paragraphs 0073-0074 discloses a curable resin; Paragraph 0036);
An ultraviolet absorber (Paragraph 0036 discloses an ultraviolet absorber); and \
A pigment (Paragraph 0036 discloses a pigment), wherein the curable resin comprises
At least one selected from an acryl-based resin, a urethane-based resin, and a siloxane based resin (Paragraph 0074 discloses an acryl-based resin; Paragraph 0036 discloses a siloxane based resin), wherein
The ultraviolet absorber and the pigment are present at a weight ratio of 50:1 to 100:1 (ultraviolet absorber:pigment) (Paragraph 0036 discloses a range of the weight ratio of the ultraviolet absorber and the pigment as compared to the resin; if the ultraviolet absorber is present at 5 parts by weight and the pigment is present at .1 parts by weight, the ultraviolet absorber:pigment weight ratio would be 5:.1, which is a 50:1 ratio).
The optical film having a yellowness index before a light resistance test (Y0) of 5.0 or less and a yellowness index difference (ΔY.I) of 5.5 or less (Table 1 discloses an initial yellow index of .8 which is less than 5.0 and a yellowness index difference of .9 which is less than 5.5), wherein
The yellowness index different (ΔY.I) is difference (Y1-Y0) between a yellowness index after the light resistance test (Y1) and the yellowness index before the light resistance test (Y0) (Paragraph 0113 discloses this relationship as (Y2-Y1)), and
The light resistance test is performed under UV conditions (Paragraph 0113).
Park fails to explicitly disclose the particular UV conditions [0.8 W/m2, at 420nm, 863.4 kJ/m2, 30°C/30RH% chamber, 55°C black panel x 300hr]. However, Park discloses a general environment of performing the light resistance test under UV conditions with similar parameters (Park, Paragraph 0021; Paragraph 0113). When a limitation of a claim is a result-effective variable, i.e., a variable which when modified achieves a recognized result, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges for the variable by routine experimentation (MPEP 2144.05). In the instant claim recitation, the limitation regarding the particular UV conditions is the result-effective variable, and when these conditions are optimized to the appropriate values within the specified parameters of a given optical film, the recognized results of achieving light resistance measures are realized. While Park does not directly disclose the exact conditions, Park does disclose the general conditions recited in the instant claim, as noted above. In light of the disclosure of Park, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to discover the limitation by routine experimentation the particular UV conditions [0.8 W/m2, at 420nm, 863.4 kJ/m2, 30°C/30RH% chamber, 55°C black panel x 300hr] for the purpose of attaining light resistant reliability results.
Regarding Claim 5, Park discloses the optical film according to claim 3, wherein the primary layer comprises: 0.01 to 5.00 parts by weight of the ultraviolet absorber based on 100 parts by weight of the curable resin; and 0,01 to 5.00 parts by weight of the pigment based on 100 parts by weight of the curable resin (Paragraph 0036).
Regarding Claim 7, Park discloses the optical film according to claim 3, wherein the ultraviolet absorber comprises a hydroxyphenyl triazine-based compound (Paragraph 0036).
Regarding Claim 9, Park discloses the optical film according to claim 3, wherein the primer layer further comprises an additive (Paragraph0036; Paragraphs 0048-0049).
Regarding Claim 10, Park discloses the optical film according to claim 9, wherein the additive comprises a polyether siloxane copolymer (Paragraph 0049).
Regarding Claim 12, Park discloses the optical film according to claim 1, wherein the primer layer has a thickness of 0.1 to 10 um (Paragraph 0061 discloses a thickness of 5um which falls within the claimed range).
Regarding Claim 13, Park discloses the optical film according to claim 1, further comprising a hard coating layer on the primer layer, wherein the light-transmitting substrate, the primer layer, and the hard coating layer are stacked in this order (Paragraph 0062 discloses a hard coating layer stacked on top of the primary layer and the light-transmitting substrate).
Regarding Claim 14, Park discloses the optical film according to claim 13, wherein the hard coating layer comprises at least one of a siloxane-based resin, an acryl-based resin, a urethan-based resin, and an epoxy-based resin (Paragraphs 0073-0074).
Regarding Claim 15, Park discloses a display device (Paragraph 0056; Figure 5) comprising:
A display panel (Figure 5, display panel 350a); and the optical film according to claim 1 disposed on the display panel (Figure 5, optical film 390).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park in view of Ishimaru et al (US Publication No.: US 2023/0358932 A1 of record, “Ishimaru”).
Regarding Claim 8, Park discloses the optical film according to claim 3.
Park fails to disclose that the pigment comprises a copper-phthalocyanine-based compound.
However, Ishimaru discloses a similar film where the pigment comprises a copper-phthalocyanine-based compound (Ishimaru, Paragraph 0124).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the pigment as disclosed by Park to include a certain material as disclosed by Ishimaru. One would have been motivated to do so for the purpose of achieving an optimized light transmission of the optical film (Ishimaru, Paragraph 0124).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 4, 11 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.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARIAM QURESHI whose telephone number is (571)272-4434. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM EST M-F.
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, Michael Caley can be reached at 571-272-2286. 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.
/MARIAM QURESHI/Examiner, Art Unit 2871
Prosecution Insights