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 .
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 16-35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Claims 16, 23 and 29 recites a method / a computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions therein for generating a metrology sampling scheme for a patterning process comprising the steps of obtaining a parameter map, decomposing, by a hardware computer system, the parameter map to generate a fingerprint specific to an apparatus of the patterning process and generating, a metrology sampling scheme for a subsequent substrate at the apparatus of the patterning process so as to improve a metrology sampling density. These steps are a mental process of gathering and analyzing information so as to characterize a process and therefore recite the judicial exception of an abstract idea.
Claims 16, 23 and 29 recites a hardware computer system to perform the steps. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the generically recited computer element do not add a meaningful limitation to the abstract idea because they amount to simply implementing the abstract idea on a computer.
Claims 16, 23 and 29 does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the generic computer elements only provide for the implementing of mental process on a computer.
Dependent claims 17-22, 24-28 and 30-35 fail to cure this deficiency of independent claims 1 and 16 (set forth above) and are rejected accordingly. Claims 17-22, 24-28 and 30-35 recite limitations that represent (in addition to the limitations already noted above) either the abstract idea or an additional element that is merely extra-solution activity, mere use of instructions and/or generic computer component(s) as a tool to implement the abstract idea, and/or merely limits the abstract idea to a particular measurement feature.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DEORAM PERSAUD whose telephone number is (571)270-5476. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8AM-5PM.
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/DEORAM PERSAUD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2882
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