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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1-4 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 5/13/2026.
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II, claims 5-10 in the reply filed on 5/13/2026 is acknowledged.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Padovani [US2005/0227497].
Padovani discloses a method of forming a pattern structure, comprising the steps of: supplying an insulating resist (102) onto a transfer base material (120) (paragraphs 0021); preparing a mold (100) which has a mold base material (104) and a projected portion (110) located at a main surface of the mold base material, and bringing the mold (100) and the transfer base material (120) close to each other to spread the insulating resist between the mold and the transfer base material, thereby forming an insulating resist layer (paragraphs 0017-21); curing the insulating resist layer to form an insulating material layer (paragraph 0022); separating the mold from the insulating material layer (0022-23); and developing the insulating material layer to obtain a state in which an insulating pattern structure having a recess for forming a pad portion and a through-hole for forming an interlayer connection via, the through-hole located in the recess, is located on the transfer base material, wherein the through-hole has a stepped shape including at least two steps (paragraph 0023; 0020; Figure 1A-D; Figure 2).
With respect to claim 6, Padovani discloses in a sectional view, an inside surface of that one of the at least two steps which is on the transfer base material side is perpendicular to a surface of the transfer base material (Figure 1C).
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.
Claims 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Padovani in view of Pan [TW201018576, machine translation].
Padovani discloses a method of forming a pattern structure. Applicant is referred to paragraph 5 for a detailed discussion of Padovani. Padovani discloses forming a stepped surface, but fails to disclose the inside surface of the steps having an incline, curve toward the inside, or curve toward the outside. Choosing or changing the shape of a feature is within the ability of one of ordinary skill, in any event Pan discloses known mold shapes and resulting molded surfaces. Pan discloses a method of molding. Pan discloses the molded surface can be molded to have an incline (Figure 3), a curve toward the inside (Figure 9) or a curve toward the outside (Figures 4-6). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the method of Padovani by molding with any of the known surface shapes including inclined, curved toward an inside, or curved toward an outside as taught by Pan in order to improve the durability or other characteristics of the shaped surface.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Padovani in view of Suzuki [JP2014-170976, machine translation provided].
Padovani discloses a method of forming a pattern structure. Applicant is referred to paragraph 5 for a detailed discussion of Padovani. Padovani discloses a method of manufacturing a wiring structure, comprising the steps of: forming an insulating pattern structure having a recess for forming a pad portion and a through-hole for forming an interlayer connection via, the through-hole being located in the recess, by the method of forming the pattern structure according to claim 5 (see discussion of claim 5 above); forming a seed electrode layer (paragraph 0029); depositing a conductor on the seed electrode layer by electroplating to form a conductor layer in such a manner as to fill the recess for forming the pad portion and the through-hole for forming the interlayer connection via of the pattern structure (paragraph 0029-30); and polishing the conductor layer to leave the conductor layer in the recess for forming the pad portion and the through-hole for forming the interlayer connection via of the pattern structure (planarization; paragraph 0031). Padovani does not disclose forming a conductor barrier layer.
Suzuki discloses a method of forming a pattern structure. Suzuki discloses forming barrier metal layer in a trench surface before applying a seed layer. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the method of Padovani by applying a barrier layer before the seed layer as taught by Suzuki in order to improve the quality of the final product by preventing diffusion of the plated copper into the substrate.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL MCNALLY whose telephone number is (571)272-2685. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Orlando can be reached at 571-270-5038. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DANIEL MCNALLY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1746
DPM
June 26, 2026
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