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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claim 1-2, 4-5, 9-12 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1-3, and 5-8, of copending Application No. 18/805,543 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they the scope of the claims are either identical or the scope of the reference claim would read on the claims of the instant application:
Instant Application Claims
Application 18/805,543 Claims
1. A base material for a metamaterial, comprising: a bondable compound with at least one of a conductive material or a material which transits from an insulator to a conductor.
5. A metamaterial comprising: a base material for a metamaterial; and a pattern composed of at least one of a conductive material or a material which transits from an insulator to a conductor, wherein the base material for a metamaterial contains at least one compound selected from the group consisting of a bondable compound with at least one of the conductive material or the material which transits from an insulator to a conductor and a compound bonded to at least one of the conductive material or the material which transits from an insulator to a conductor.
1. A metamaterial comprising: a base material; and a pattern provided on a surface of the base material, wherein the pattern is composed of at least one of a conductive material or a material which transits from an insulator to a conductor, and a thermal expansion coefficient of the base material is 80 ppm/K or less.2.
2. The base material for a metamaterial according to claim 1, wherein a dielectric loss tangent is 0.01 or less.
2. The metamaterial according to claim 1, wherein a dielectric loss tangent of the base material is 0.01 or less.
9. The metamaterial according to claim 5, wherein a thickness of the pattern is less than 5 μm.
3. The metamaterial according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of the pattern is less than 5 km.
10. The metamaterial according to claim 5, wherein the pattern includes a plurality of structural bodies, and the structural bodies are a split-ring resonator.
5. The metamaterial according to claim 1, wherein the pattern includes a plurality of structural bodies, and the structural bodies are a split-ring resonator.
11. The metamaterial according to claim 5, wherein the pattern is composed of the conductive material, and the conductive material is a metal.
6. The metamaterial according to claim 1, wherein the pattern is composed of the conductive material, and the conductive material includes a metal.
4.The base material for a metamaterial according to claim 1, wherein the base material contains at least one of a fluorine-based polymer or a liquid crystal polymer
7. The metamaterial according to claim 1, wherein the base material contains at least one selected from the group consisting of a fluorine-based polymer and a liquid crystal polymer
12. A laminate comprising: the metamaterial according to claim 5; and an organic film provided on a surface of the metamaterial, on which the pattern has been formed.
8. A laminate comprising: the metamaterial according to claim 1; and an organic film provided on a surface of the metamaterial on a pattern side.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 4-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ukami (JP 6719237 B2, See Attached Espacenet Machine Translation).
Re Claim 1, Ukami discloses, on Fig. 1-5 (as well as Fig. 7 for a variation embodiment) a base material (metamaterial film 10 and resin 20) [Par 23] for a metamaterial, comprising: a bondable compound with at least one of a conductive material (metal compound) [Par 29] or a material which transits from an insulator to a conductor (metal oxides transit from insulator to conductor according to Par of 87 of the Specification of the Instant Application) [Par 29].
Re Claim 4, Ukami, discloses, the base material for a metamaterial according to claim 1, and further discloses on Fig. 1-5, and 7, wherein the base material contains at least one of a fluorine-based polymer (fluoro resin or trifluoromethyl) [Par 34 or Par 50] or a liquid crystal polymer (Fig. 7: liquid crystal in metamaterial) [Par 133].
Re Claim 5, Ukami discloses, on Fig. 1-5, a metamaterial comprising (Fig. 1-2): a base material (metamaterial film 10 and resin 20) [Par 23] for a metamaterial; and a pattern (Fig. 1 and 3: metamaterial 12 creates a pattern) composed of at least one of a conductive material (metal compound) [Par 29] or a material which transits from an insulator to a conductor (metal oxides transit from insulator to conductor according to Par of 87 of the Specification of the Instant Application) [Par 29], wherein the base material for a metamaterial contains at least one compound selected from the group consisting of a bondable compound with at least one of the conductive material (metal compound) [Par 29] or the material which transits from an insulator to a conductor and a compound bonded to at least one of the conductive material (metal oxides transit from insulator to conductor according to Par of 87 of the Specification of the Instant Application) [Par 29] or the material which transits from an insulator to a conductor (metal oxides transit from insulator to conductor according to Par of 87 of the Specification of the Instant Application) [Par 29].
Re Claim 6, Ukami discloses, the metamaterial according to claim 5, and further discloses on Fig. 1-5, wherein the bondable compound has at least one functional group selected from the group consisting of a covalent-bondable group with at least one of the conductive material or the material which transits from an insulator to a conductor (resin 20 bonded to metamaterial 12 can be tetracarboxylic dianhydride, which is covalent) [Par 45-47], an ion-bondable group with at least one of the conductive material or the material which transits from an insulator to a conductor (metal oxides are ionic bonds) [Par 29], a hydrogen-bondable group with at least one of the conductive material or the material which transits from an insulator to a conductor (resin 20 can be a hydrogen bondable group and is bonded to the metal oxides or metal compound of metamaterial 12) [Par 29], a dipole-interactable group with at least one of the conductive material or the material which transits from an insulator to a conductor, and a curing reactive group with at least one of the conductive material or the material which transits from an insulator to a conductor (resin 20 can be epoxy which is curable) [Par 34].
Re Claim 7, Ukami, discloses, the metamaterial according to claim 5, and further discloses on Fig. 1-5, wherein the bonded compound is at least one compound selected from the group consisting of a covalently-bonded compound with at least one of the conductive material or the material which transits from an insulator to a conductor (resin 20 bonded to metamaterial 12 can be tetracarboxylic dianhydride, which is covalent) [Par 45-47], an ionically bonded compound to at least one of the conductive material or the material which transits from an insulator to a conductor (metal oxides are ionic bonds) [Par 29], a hydrogen-bonded compound to at least one of the conductive material or the material which transits from an insulator to a conductor (resin 20 can be a hydrogen bondable group and is bonded to the metal oxides or metal compound of metamaterial 12) [Par 29], a dipole-interacted compound with at least one of the conductive material or the material which transits from an insulator to a conductor, and a curing reacted compound with at least one of the conductive material or the material which transits from an insulator to a conductor (resin 20 can be epoxy which is curable) [Par 34].
Re Claim 8, Ukami discloses, the metamaterial according to claim 5, and Ukami further discloses on Fig. 1-5, wherein at least one of the bondable compound or the bonded compound has at least one functional group selected from the group consisting of an epoxy group (resin 20 is a alicyclic epoxy) [Par 34].
Re Claim 9, Ukami discloses, the metamaterial according to claim 5, and Ukami further discloses on Fig. 3, wherein a thickness of the pattern is less than 5 μm (thickness d of pattern 12 is less than 50 nm, and preferably several tens of nm, which is < 0.05 μm) [Par 9 and 25].
Re Claim 10, Ukami disclose, the metamaterial according to claim 5, and Ukami further discloses on Fig. 1 and 3, wherein the pattern includes a plurality of structural bodies (Fig. 1, pattern of metamaterial 12), and the structural bodies are a split-ring resonator (Fig. 3: material 12 is a split ring resonator) [Par 24].
Re Claim 11, Ukami discloses, the metamaterial according to claim 5, and Ukami further discloses Fig.1, wherein the pattern is composed of the conductive material (metamaterial 12 is a metal oxide), and the conductive material is a metal (metal oxide) [Par 29].
Re Claim 12, Ukami discloses, a laminate comprising (see Fig. 2): the metamaterial according to claim 5; and an organic film provided on a surface of the metamaterial (Resin film 20 on metamaterial film 10) [Par 34], on which the pattern has been formed (pattern of metamaterial 12 is on film 10).
Re Claim 13, Ukami discloses, the laminate according to claim 12, and Ukami further teaches on Fig. 2, wherein a moisture permeability of the organic film in an environment of a temperature of 40° C. and a relative humidity of 90% is 3,000 or less (resin 20 is a polyimide fluororesin, similar to the organic film provided on Par 52 of the Instant Application) [Par 34]
Re Claim 14, Ukami discloses, the laminate according to claim 12, and Ukami further discloses, wherein the organic film contains an ultraviolet absorber (Resin 20 contains a benzophenone compound, benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride, which the instant application cites as a UV absorber on Par 100) [Par 48].
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(s) 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ukami in view of Shenzen (CN-104448820-A, Unannounced Inventor-Referred to as Applicant Shenzen for Clarity, See Attached Espacenet Machine Translation).
Re Claim 2, Ukami discloses, the base material for a metamaterial according to claim 1.
But Ukami does not explicitly disclose, wherein a dielectric loss tangent is 0.01 or less.
However, within the same field of endeavor, Shenzen teaches, that it is desirable in metamaterials to include, wherein a dielectric loss tangent is 0.01 or less (material made of modified cyanate has the same dielectric loss tangent of 0.002, as the cyanate itself) [Par 34 and 38].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to modify the system of Ukami with Shenzen in order to provide, high strength, as taught by Shenzen [Par 34].
Claim(s) 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ukami.
Re Claim 3, Ukami discloses, the base material for a metamaterial according to claim 1.
But Ukami does not explicitly disclose, wherein a mass-based content X of the bondable compound inside the base material for a metamaterial and a mass-based content Y of the bondable compound in at least one surface of the base material for a metamaterial satisfy the following expression (1),Y-X>0% by mass.
However, Ukami does teach, on Fig. 2 and 5, explicitly controlling the mass-based content X of the bondable compound inside the base material for a metamaterial (sum of the mass of metamaterial 12Y and 12Z, of which would be based on d2 and d1) and a mass-based content Y of the bondable compound in at least one surface of the base material (sum of metamaterial 12Z, which is dependent on d3) [Par 115-118]. Thus that it was known in the art at the time of the invention to optimize, a mass-based content X of the bondable compound inside the base material for a metamaterial and a mass-based content Y of the bondable compound in at least one surface of the base material for a metamaterial. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been capable of simply optimizing, the widths d3, d2, and d1, such that the total mass is: 12Z > 12Y+12X. Further one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so in order to provide improved flexibility [Par 118]. Note that the Court has held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation; see In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to modify the system of Ukami, such that Y-X>0%, in order to provide improved flexibility, as taught by Ukami [Par 118].
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Savage (US 20170093045 A1) also teaches a metamaterial.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAY ALEXANDER DEAN whose telephone number is (571)272-4027. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30-5:00.
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/RAY ALEXANDER DEAN/ Examiner, Art Unit 2872
/BUMSUK WON/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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