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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-10 are pending and are currently under examination.
Examiner Interpretation
The Examiner has considered the phrase “high-purity” to not be indefinite since the claims define the purity as being 6N or 99.9999% pure or more.
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 6-10 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 term “highly” in the phrase “highly crushable in claims 6-10 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “highly” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-5 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
In regard to claim 1, the closest prior art to Tarutani et al. (‘048) discloses high purity electrolytic copper having a purity of 99.99999 mass percent or more (N7 or more) [0023] wherein the average grain size would be in the range of 15 to 35 micrometers [0035]. However, Tarutani et al. (‘018) fails to specify wherein the average grain size of the electrodeposition cross section is in a range of 40 to 400 micrometers.
Claims 6-10 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Yamaguchi, Gota, and Hidekazu Mimura. "Effect of electrodeposition conditions on surface roughness of copper electroformed replicas." International Journal of Electrical Machining 25 (2020): 33.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jessee Roe whose telephone number is (571)272-5938. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday 7:30 am to 4 pm.
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/JESSEE R ROE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1759
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