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 claims 1-11 in the reply filed on 06/23/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 12-18 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 06/23/2026.
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 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 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Akutsu (US PG Pub 2015/0271918).
Regarding claim 1, Akutsu teaches a film-shaped adhesive for semiconductors (abstract, claims 1-14, Table 1, especially example 5, Figs. 1-8, and other citations below), comprising:
a first adhesive region and a second adhesive region along a thickness direction (regions 2 and 3 in Fig. 1),
wherein the first adhesive region has photocurability and thermosetting properties (para. 0050, claims 1-14, example 5), and the second adhesive region has thermosetting properties but does not have photocurability (para. 0050, claims 1-14, example 5).
Regarding claim 2, see Akutsu para. 0050.
Regarding claim 3, see Akutsu para. 0050.
Regarding claim 4, see Akutsu para. 0052.
Regarding claim 5, see Akutsu para. 0060.
Regarding claim 6, see Akutsu para. 0074.
Regarding claim 7, see Akutsu para. 0074.
Regarding claim 8, see Akutsu example 5.
Regarding claim 9, see Akutsu paras. 0050, 0071, example 5.
Regarding claim 10, see Akutsu para. 0071.
Regarding claim 11, see Akutsu para. 0061, example 5.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JIM R SMITH whose telephone number is (303)297-4318. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri. 9-6 MST.
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, Phillip Tucker can be reached on 571-272-1095. 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.
/JIMMY R SMITH JR./Examiner, Art Unit 1745