Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 05, 2026
Application No. 18/676,821

METHODS OF PRODUCING MULTILAYER WIRING BOARDS, AND MULTILAYER WIRING BOARDS

Non-Final OA §102§103§112
Filed
May 29, 2024
Priority
Nov 30, 2021 — JP 2021-194330 +1 more
Examiner
NGUYEN, DONGHAI D
Art Unit
3729
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Toppan Holdings Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
75%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
11m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 75% — above average
75%
Career Allowance Rate
669 granted / 888 resolved
+5.3% vs TC avg
Strong +29% interview lift
Without
With
+29.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 0m
Avg Prosecution
18 currently pending
Career history
907
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
75.5%
+35.5% vs TC avg
§102
15.7%
-24.3% vs TC avg
§112
6.6%
-33.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 888 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103 §112
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 without traverse of Group I (claims 1-6) in the reply filed on February 02, 2026 is acknowledged. Thus, Claims 7-9 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Specification A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the ELECTED invention to which the claims are directed. The following title is suggested: --METHOD OF PRODUCING MULTILAYER WIRING BOARD HAVING A GLASS SUBSTRATE--. 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. Claims 4-5 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. “the second support” (claim 4 last line) lacks antecedent basis and “releasing and removing the second support” (claim 4, last line) is vague and indefinite because it is unclear how to releasing and removing the second support when there is no second support apply to the glass substrate. Note that if claim 4 is depended on claim 3 the rejection above is not applied. 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)(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 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent 11,478,874 to Kamijina. Kamijima disclose a multilayer wiring board having a glass substrate (20/30) including through holes (31) therein (see Figs. 6-7). 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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kamijima. Kamijima disclose a method of producing a multilayer wiring board including a glass substrate (20) having through holes (31), the glass substrate having a first surface (2a) and a second surface (20b, see Figs. 6-7), the method comprising the steps of: a first step of adhering a first support (10) to the second surface (2b) of the glass substrate (20, see Figs. 2); a second step of forming modified portions (P) in the glass substrate by laser irradiation (see Figs. 3A, 4, and 5A); a third step of releasing and removing the first support (10, see Col. 5, lines 26-28); and a fourth step of forming through holes (31) in the glass substrate by etching (see Col. 5, lines 9-12) except for the first support is made of glass and laser modifying a portion of the first support. It would have been an obvious matter of designed choice to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention choosing any desired material for the first support such as glass and choose to laser irradiating a portion of the first support or not, since Applicant has not disclosed the specific material, glass for the first support and irradiating the first support, solves any stated problem or is for any particular purposes and it appears the invention would perform equally well with the first support and level laser irradiation as disclosed by Kamijima. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-5 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 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DONGHAI D NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-4566. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-5:30. 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, Thomas J. Hong can be reached at 571-272-0993. 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. /DN/ /DONGHAI D NGUYEN/March 21, 2026 Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 29, 2024
Application Filed
Apr 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103, §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR STACKING PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD ASSEMBLIES WITH SINGLE REFLOW
3y 3m to grant Granted Jun 16, 2026
Patent 12651763
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR STACKING ELECTRODES
3y 9m to grant Granted Jun 09, 2026
Patent 12646738
MEANDERING CORRECTION DEVICE FOR ELECTRODE AND MEANDERING CORRECTION METHOD FOR ELECTRODE
3y 5m to grant Granted Jun 02, 2026
Patent 12647004
METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A STATOR OF AN AXIAL FLOW ELECTRIC MACHINE
3y 1m to grant Granted Jun 02, 2026
Patent 12648086
METHOD OF MANUFACTURING PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD
1y 9m to grant Granted Jun 02, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
75%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+29.2%)
3y 0m (~11m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 888 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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