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Withdrawn Rejections
Any rejections and or objections, made in the previous Office Action, and not repeated below, are hereby withdrawn due to Applicant’s amendments and/or arguments in the response dated December 18, 2025. However, new rejections may have been made using the same prior art if still applicable to the newly presented amendments and/or arguments.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 5 is 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.
Claim 5 recites the limitation "pressure sensitive adhesive" in 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. There is no mention of pressure sensitive adhesive in claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 –
(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.
(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.
Claims 1 – 4, 6, 14 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Walter (USPN 11,386,812).
Walter discloses a film laminate designed and equipped to be separated after long-term adhesive bonding (Figure 1; Abstract), comprising the following layers: a) a first layer of adhesive (Figure 1, #30), b) a first carrier material (Figure 1, #10), c) a separation layer (Figure 1, #20), d) optionally a second carrier material (Figure 1, #40), e) a second layer of adhesive (Figure 1, #50), wherein the separation layer has a thickness of 40 nm to 500 nm (Column 3, lines 16 – 26, wherein the thickness is less than 3µm), is black (Column 1, lines 55 – 63), has a transmission of not more than 30% (Column 3, lines 38 – 49, wherein the transmission is dependent on the thickness), consists of a metal which is at least partly removable by laser irradiation (Column 2, lunes 7 – 10), where the second layer of adhesive is laser beam-translucent and/or the first layer of adhesive (Figure 2) and the first carrier material are laser beam-translucent (Column 3, lines 50 – 51) as in claim 1. With respect to claim 2, the second layer of adhesive and the separation layer, the film laminate has a second carrier material which is likewise optionally laser beam-translucent (Figure 2)). Regarding claim 3, the first carrier material and/or the second carrier material are joined to the separation layer by way of a laminating adhesive (Figure 1, #30). For claim 4, the carrier layer or the carrier layers consist of a film of polyethylene terephthalate or polyethylene (Column 2, lines 64 – 67). With regard to claim 6, the metal comprises a metal, an alloy, or a metal oxide (Column 3, lines 48 – 49). With respect to claim 14, the carrier layer or the carrier layers consist of a film of polyethylene terephthalate (Column 2, lunes 64 – 67). Regarding claim 15, the metal comprises aluminum oxide (Column 3, lines 48 – 49).
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.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Walter (USPN 11,386,812) in view of Dietze et al. (USPN 10,907,076).
Walter discloses a film laminate designed and equipped to be separated after long-term adhesive bonding (Figure 1; Abstract), comprising the following layers: a) a first layer of adhesive (Figure 1, #30), b) a first carrier material (Figure 1, #10), c) a separation layer (Figure 1, #20), d) optionally a second carrier material (Figure 1, #40), e) a second layer of adhesive (Figure 1, #50), wherein the separation layer has a thickness of 40 nm to 500 nm (Column 3, lines 16 – 26, wherein the thickness is less than 3µm), is black (Column 1, lines 55 – 63), has a transmission of not more than 30% (Column 3, lines 38 – 49, wherein the transmission is dependent on the thickness), consists of a metal which is at least partly removable by laser irradiation (Column 2, lunes 7 – 10), where the second layer of adhesive is laser beam-translucent and/or the first layer of adhesive (Figure 2) and the first carrier material are laser beam-translucent (Column 3, lines 50 – 51). However, Walter fails to disclose a pressure sensitive adhesive layer.
Dietze et al. teaches a pressure sensitive adhesive layer with acrylate that may be separated with a laser (Column 6, lines 33 – 41).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have acrylate pressure sensitive adhesive in Walters in order to separate layers with a laser as taught by Dietze et al.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the rejection of claims 1 – 5 and 13 – 15 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Walter (USPN 11,386,812) in view of Dietze et al. (USPN 10,907,076).
Conclusion
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/Patricia L. Nordmeyer/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1788
/pln/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1788 January 13, 2026