DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
Claim(s) 1-19 is/are pending.
Claim(s) 1-7, 11-16 is/are rejected.
Claim(s) 8-10, 17-19 is/are cancelled by Applicant.
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 .
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.
Response to Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Group I (claims 1-7, 11-16) in the reply filed on 03/26/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claim(s) 8-10, 17-19 is/are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 03/26/2026.
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.
Claim(s) 1-7, 11-16 is/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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 1 is vague and indefinite because it is unclear whether: (i) the adhesive layer and the tie layer can individually be water-based or UV-curable; or (ii) the adhesive layer and the tie layer are both required to be the same type (i.e., water-based or UV-curable).
Claims 2-7, 11-16 are dependent on one or more of the above claims and therefore incorporate the above-described indefinite subject matter.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 (AIA )
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-7, 11-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over:
• HOFFMANN ET AL (US 2021/0197612),
in view of MCDONNELL ET AL (US 4,741,859);
and in view of JARRET ET AL (US 2021/0095135).
HOFFMANN ET AL ‘612 discloses security laminates comprising:
• a carrier film (41) (corresponding to the recited “protective plastic layer”);
• one or more decorative layer(s) (42) which is formed from a varnish layer containing dyes and/or pigments (e.g., liquid crystal pigments and/or thermochromic pigments, etc.) which can be printed and patterned (corresponding to the recited “thermochromic pattern printed” and the recited “thermochromic ink including a liquid crystal compound”);
• an adhesion-promoting layer (46) (e.g., a printable primer layer, etc.) (corresponding to the recited “tie layer”);
• an UV-curable adhesive layer (5);
• a laminate film (21) (corresponding to the recited “thermoplastic support layer”);
wherein the security laminates are suitable for use as security documents (e.g., bank card, identity card, credit card, etc.). (entire document, e.g., Figure 2-3, 9, etc.; paragraph 0001-0002, 0052, 0169, 0173-0174, 0209, 0219-0223, 0229, 0241-0242, 0262-0268, 0276-0281, 0285, 0287-0290, 0297-0298, 0308-0310, 0314, etc.) However, the reference does not specifically discuss the type of tie layer.
MCDONNELL ET AL ‘859 discloses that it is well known in the art to produce inks containing micro-encapsulated thermochromic liquid crystal materials, wherein the liquid crystal materials comprise nematic chiral liquid crystals. (line 5-27, col. 1; line 15-35, col. 3; line 43, col. 3 to line 14, col. 4; line 63, col. 10 to line 8, col. 11; line 15-33, col. 14; etc.)
JARRETT ET AL ‘135 discloses that it is well known in the art to utilize radiation-curable, water-based coating compositions capable of functioning as primers, inks, and/or varnishes, wherein the binder system of the coating composition comprises one or more monomers with a at least one polymerizable unsaturated group (e.g., (meth)acrylic compounds, (meth)acrylate compounds, etc.), wherein the coating composition can comprise additives such as colorants, dyes, and/or pigments (e.g., in typical amounts of 0.01-60 wt%, for producing ink compositions, etc.). The coating compositions are suitable for producing a primed, printed substrate comprising:
• a substrate (e.g., polymer film, etc.);
• a primer layer according to the disclosed coating compositions;
• a printing ink layer according to the disclosed coating compositions;
in order to flexibly produce inks and printed articles. (paragraph 0020-0027, 0057, 0069, 0106-0108, 0125-0138, 0140, 0157, 0160-0166, 0183-0194, 0223-0228, etc.)
Regarding claim 1, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize known thermochromic liquid crystal compounds (as disclosed in MCDONNELL ET AL ‘859) and known ink binders (as disclosed in JARRETT ET AL ‘135) to form a thermochromic ink used to form at least one of the decorative layer(s) (42) in the security laminates of HOFFMANN ET AL ‘612 in order to produce security documents with temperature-dependent informational and/or security and/or decorative color-change features.
Regarding claim 2, one of ordinary skill in the art would have utilized known thermochromic liquid crystal materials (e.g., containing nematic chiral liquid crystals, as suggested in MCDONNELL ET AL ‘859) as the pigment agent in thermochromic inks used to form at least one printed decorative layer (42) in HOFFMANN ET AL ‘612.
Regarding claims 3, 11, one of ordinary skill in the art would have selected the size of the micro-encapsulated liquid crystal compounds in thermochromic inks used to form one or more printed decorative layer(s) (42) in HOFFMANN ET AL ‘612 based on the specific optical and/or decorative and/or security features required for specific applications.
Regarding claims 4, 6, 12-13, 15, one of ordinary skill in the art would utilize the same UV-curable binder system (e.g., acrylic-based, as suggested in JARRETT ET AL ‘135) in both: (i) the adhesion-promoting layer (46) (corresponding to the recited “tie layer”); and (ii) the one or more decorative layer(s) (42) formed from a thermochromic varnish or ink (corresponding to the recited “thermochromic pattern printed” and the recited “thermochromic ink including a liquid crystal compound”); (corresponding to the recited “identical compound” in claims 4, 12-13) in HOFFMANN ET AL ‘612 in order to enhance adhesion and compatibility between the adhesion-promoting layer (46) (corresponding to the recited “tie layer”); and decorative layer (42) formed from a thermochromic varnish or ink (corresponding to the recited “thermochromic pattern printed” and the recited “thermochromic ink including a liquid crystal compound”).
Regarding claim 5, 14, one of ordinary skill in the art would have selected the amount of thermochromic liquid crystal compound in the thermochromic inks of MCDONNELL ET AL ‘859 used to form the decorative layer(s) (42) in HOFFMANN ET AL ‘612 in order to the desired temperature-dependent informational and/or security and/or decorative color-change features for specific applications.
Regarding claim 7, 16, one of ordinary skill in the art would have utilized the laminates of HOFFMANN ET AL ‘612 to form conventional types of credit or identity or bank cards (e.g., smart cards, etc.).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
COATES ET AL (US 2003/0052305) and CA 2788413 C and MENGEL ET AL (US 2006/0023132) disclose laminates containing a thermochromic liquid crystalline element.
JACOT ET AL (US 2022/0213342) and JACOT ET AL (US 2024/0174878) and LERNER (US 2004/0004069) and LERNER (US 2004/0149720) disclose thermochromic liquid crystal inks.
KUNZ ET AL (US 2005/0147919) disclose radiation-curable, water-based primers and inks.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Vivian Chen (Vivian.chen@uspto.gov) whose telephone number is (571) 272-1506. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Thursday from 8:30 AM to 6 PM. The examiner can also be reached on alternate Fridays.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Callie Shosho, can be reached on (571) 272-1123. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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August 22, 2026
/Vivian Chen/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1787
Prosecution Insights