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 without traverse of Group I, claims 1-10, in the reply filed on April 30, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 11-15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 April 30, 2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claims 1-6 and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ko (US 2014/0264151).
Regarding claims 1-6 and 8-10, Ko teaches an aqueous cleaning composition for post copper chemical mechanical planarization, wherein the composition comprises an organic base, a copper etchant, an organic ligand like glycolic acid, a corrosion inhibitor like carbohydrazide, and water (see abstract, [0019] and [0021]). In Example 35, Ko teaches a cleaning composition comprising 500 ppm (0.05 wt%) glycolic acid and 100 ppm (0.01 wt%) carbohydrazide (see Table 2 on page 5), wherein the glycolic acid and carbohydrazide read on the General Formula (a1) and General Formula (b1), respectively, as recited in claims 1-5, wherein the amount of the glycolic acid meets claim 6, and wherein the ratio of the glycolic acid to carbohydrazide is 500:100 or 5:1 or simply 5, which meets claim 8. Even though Ko does not explicitly disclose a cleaning liquid for removing an etching residue containing a titanium component as recited in claim 1, or wherein the cleaning liquid is used for cleaning a substrate that includes a titanium component-containing layer and has been subjected to dry etching as recited in claim 9, or wherein the cleaning liquid is used for cleaning a substrate that has been subjected to dry etching using a titanium component-containing hard mask by a wiring process as recited in claim 10, the two different intended uses are not distinguishable in terms of the composition, see In re Thuau, 57 USPQ 324; Ex parte Douros, 163 USPQ 667; and In re Craige, 89 USPQ 393. Hence, Ko anticipates the claims.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ko as applied to claims 1-6 and 8-10 above.
Regarding claim 7, Ko teaches the features as discussed above. In addition, Ko teaches that the corrosion inhibitor like carbohydrazide contained in the aqueous cleaning composition is generally in a concentration of about 10 ppm to about 5,000 ppm (or about 0.001 to about 0.5 wt%) (see [0021]-[0023]). Ko, however, fails to specifically disclose, say 500 ppm carbohydrazide in Example 35.
Considering that Ko teaches corrosion inhibitor like carbohydrazide which is contained in the aqueous cleaning composition in a concentration of about 0.001 to about 0.5 wt%, the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have selected the overlapping portion of the range disclosed by the reference (i.e., 0.05-0.5 wt%) because overlapping ranges have been held to be a prima facie case of obviousness, see In re Malagari, 182 U.S.P.Q 549; In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 1578, 16 USPQ2d 1934, 1936-37 (Fed. Cir. 1990); In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976). In addition, a prima facie case of obviousness exists because the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art", see In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257,191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976; In re Woodruff; 919 F.2d 1575,16USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990). See MPEP 2144.05(I).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The references are considered cumulative to or less material than those discussed above.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LORNA M DOUYON whose telephone number is (571)272-1313. The examiner can normally be reached Mondays-Fridays; 8:00 AM-4:30 PM.
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/LORNA M DOUYON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1761
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