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 .
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 – 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Akiyama et al. (JP 2017-47594 A).
A machine-generated translation of JP 2017-47594 A accompanies this action. In reciting this rejection, the examiner will cite this translation.
Akiyama et al. disclose a transfer film comprising a base film and a transfer layer (Figures 1 and 6; Page 1, Abstract), wherein the transfer layer includes a surface protection layer (Figures 1 and 6, #13) and an adhesive layer (Figure 1 and 6, #15) , the surface protection layer forms a surface layer of the transfer layer facing the base film (Figure 6, #13) as in claim 1. With respect to claim 2, the base film is in contact with the surface protection layer of the transfer layer (Figure 1, #11, 12 and 13). Regarding claim 3, a surface of the surface protection layer facing the base film has a maximum height Rz of 0.5 µm or more and 3 µm or less (Page 3, lines 7 – 28). For claim 4, the surface protection layer contains a particle having an average particle size of 1 µm or more and 10 µm or less (Page 5, lines 33 – 40; Page 12, lines 6 – 8, wherein the particles of the uneven layer may be used in the protective layer). In claim 5, a primer layer between the surface protection layer and the adhesive layer (Figure 1 and 6, #14, wherein the anchor layer functions as a primer). With regard to claim 6, either one or both of the surface protection layer and the adhesive layer contain a weather resistance improving agent (Page 13, lines 6 – 9). As in claim 7, the primer layer contains a weather resistance improving agent (Page 13, lines 28 – 31, wherein the material resists high heat). With respect to claim 8, the transfer film is for transferring the transfer layer onto at least a portion of a surface of a molded body for outdoor use (Abstract, A recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim. Akiyama et al. discloses a molded article made of the same materials and therefore is capable of being used outdoors.). Akiyama et al. further disclose anti-glare molded body comprising a molded body and a surface protection film disposed on at least a portion of a surface of the molded body, wherein the surface protection film is the transfer layer of the transfer film according to claim 1, and the surface protection layer of the transfer layer forms at least a portion of a surface layer of the anti-glare molded body (Abstract; Page 3, lines 24 – 29). However, Akiyama et al. fail to disclose a test piece obtained by transferring the transfer layer to a 2-mm thickness polycarbonate board has a haze of 5% or more and 30% or less, and a 60-degree specular glossiness measured for a surface of the surface protection layer of the test piece is 60% or more and 120% or less.
With regard to the limitation of “a test piece obtained by transferring the transfer layer to a 2-mm thickness polycarbonate board has a haze of 5% or more and 30% or less, and a 60-degree specular glossiness measured for a surface of the surface protection layer of the test piece is 60% or more and 120% or less”, Akiyama et al. clearly discloses the claimed transfer film made from the same materials (Figures 1 and 6; Page 1, Abstract) including haze characteristics (Page 8, lines 1 – 35). Although Akiyama et al. do not explicitly teach the limitations, it is reasonable to presume that said limitations are inherent to the invention. Support for said presumption is found in the use of similar materials and in the similar production steps used to produce the transfer film. The burden is upon the Applicant to prove otherwise. MPEP 2112.
Conclusion
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/Patricia L. Nordmeyer/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1788
/pln/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1788 September 9, 2025