Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/779,116

MANUFACTURING METHOD OF ELECTRONIC DEVICE

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Jul 22, 2024
Priority
Jun 01, 2021 — provisional 63/195,183 +2 more
Examiner
KIM, PAUL D
Art Unit
3729
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Innolux Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
88%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
10m
Est. Remaining
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 88% — above average
88%
Career Allowance Rate
1362 granted / 1553 resolved
+17.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+6.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
53 currently pending
Career history
1611
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
53.0%
+13.0% vs TC avg
§102
17.7%
-22.3% vs TC avg
§112
26.4%
-13.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1553 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Th is office action is a response to the election of species filed on 3/17/2026. Election/Restrictions Applicant's election with traverse of Species C, claim 5, in the reply filed on 3/17/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that claim 5 is a generic claim. This is not found persuasive because these species are not obvious variants of each other based on the current record and would require a separate search each, and some of the disclosed limitations are incompatible with each other. Therefore, claim 5 is not a generic, but a single independent invention of the claimed invention. The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL. Claims 1-4 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. 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 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (PGPub 2017/0278760 A1) in view of Nakamura (PGPub 2008/0012651 A1) and further in view of Pope et al. (PGPub 2022/0382360 A1). Chen et al. teach a process of making an electronic device, comprising steps of: providing a substrate (102 in Fig. 1 and 310 in Fig. 2A, paragraph [0017]); bonding at least one electronic component (200, Fig. 2A) to the substrate, wherein the at least one electronic component is mainly driven by a reverse bias in an operating mode (It is noted that this is treated as an intended use since the scope of the claimed invention is to produce the electronic device, not how to use the electronic component); determining whether the at least one electronic component is normal or failed (104 in Fig. 1, paragraph [0020]); and transporting the substrate configured with the at least one electronic component determined to be normal to a next production site (108 in Fig. 1, paragraph [0040]). However, Chen et al. silent how the at least one electronic component can be tested and defined to be failed. Nakamura teaches a process of testing an electronic device by applying a forward bias to the electronic component (paragraphs [0028] – [0031]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify a process of fabricating at least one electronic component of Chen et al. by applying a forward bias to an electronic component as taught by Nakamura in order to define whether the component is normal or failed. Also, Chen et al., modified by Nakamura, silent to test a thermal characteristics of the at least one electronic component. Pope et al. teach a process of testing an electrical component (a chip) by testing thermal characteristics of the component to improve a chip fabrication. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify a process of fabricating at least one electronic component of Chen et al., modified by Nakamura, by determining thermal characteristics of an electronic component as taught by Pope et al. in order to of the component to improve a chip fabrication. The Prior Art The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Ball (PGPub 2007/0108991 A1), Takai et al. (US PAT. 5,818,151), and Becker (US PAT. 4,933,812) are cited to further show the state of the art with respect to a process of making an electronic component including testing the component. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL D KIM whose telephone number is (571)272-4565. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 6:00 AM-2:00 PM. 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 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. /PAUL D KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 22, 2024
Application Filed
May 27, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

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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
88%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+6.7%)
2y 9m (~10m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1553 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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