DETAILED ACTION
Priority
Acknowledgment is made that Applicant has perfected the right of foreign priority such that a foreign priority date, which is 03/24/2023, is the effective filing date of a claimed invention.
Exceptions - 35 USC § 102(b)(2)(C)
Applicant has provided evidence in this file showing that the claimed invention and the subject matter disclosed in the prior art reference were owned by, or subject to an obligation of assignment to, the same entity as Samsung Display Co., Ltd. not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, or the subject matter disclosed in the prior art reference was developed and the claimed invention was made by, or on behalf of one or more parties to a joint research agreement in effect not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention. As such, Kim et al. (US 2024/0032393 A1) and Park et al. (US 2023/0292583 A1) have been excepted as prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2).
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.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim et al. (US 2022/0085342 A1; hereinafter “Kim”).
Regarding claim 9, Kim teaches a display apparatus comprising: a display panel (a display panel 10) including: a substrate (a substrate 100) including a center area (a front display area FDA); and a corner area (a corner display area CDA) arranged at a corner of the center area (Figs. 1-2 and paragraphs 67-77), the corner area including: a plurality of extension areas (a plurality of strip portions STP) extending in a direction away from the center area (STP extending in a direction away from FDA); and a separation area (a through-portion PN) between the plurality of extension areas (Figs. 1 and 4-5A and paragraphs 68-69 and 120-122); and a resin layer (an optical functional layer OFL formed of a stretchable synthetic resin film) arranged on the display panel, the resin layer including: a plurality of resin layer extension areas (portions of OFL, which is formed over TFE, extending over the plurality of strip portions STP as TFE is extending) overlapping the plurality of extension areas (Figs. 2, 5A, and 6 and paragraphs 76 and 98-101), wherein the display panel further includes: a display element (an organic light-emitting diode OLED) (Fig. 2 and paragraphs 91-97); and an encapsulation layer (a thin-film encapsulation layer TFE) which covers the display element and including at least one inorganic encapsulation layer (a first inorganic encapsulation layer 310 and/or a second inorganic encapsulation layer 330) and at least one organic encapsulation layer (an organic encapsulation layer 320) (Fig. 2 and paragraphs 98-99), wherein the resin layer is arranged on the encapsulation layer (Fig. 2).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-2, 4-8, and 10 are allowable over cited prior arts.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art of record, alone or in combination, and to the examiner’s knowledge does not teach, disclose, suggest, or render obvious, at least to the skilled artisan, the instant invention regarding a display apparatus in claim 1, particularly in combination with the limitation regarding a resin layer arranged on the display panel, the resin layer including: a plurality of resin layer extension areas overlapping the plurality of extension areas, wherein the resin layer is a cured product of a resin composition including a urethane acrylate oligomer, an epoxy acrylate oligomer, a polyfunctional acrylate monomer, a bisphenol monomer, a low molecular weight ethylene glycol monomer, and a photoinitiator. Claims 2, 4-8, and 10, which depend from claim 1, are also allowable by virtue of their dependencies.
Response to Amendment
Amended claim 9 has been considered but is moot in view of new/different ground of rejection by Kim et al. (US 2022/0085342 A1) regarding the claimed terms “a resin layer” and “an encapsulation layer” as set forth above in this Office Action.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 DANIEL B WHALEN whose telephone number is (571)270-3418. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 8AM-5PM.
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, Sue Purvis can be reached on (571)272-1236. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DANIEL WHALEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893
