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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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 § 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.
Claims 1-7 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the etching mask" in line 13 of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Due to their dependency, claims 2-7 are necessarily included in this rejection.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-7 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding independent claim 1, the prior art of record neither shows nor suggest a method of fabricating a display device, comprising: preparing a substrate including an emission area and a subarea; forming a first alignment line and a second alignment line which are disposed in the emission area and the subarea and are spaced apart from each other; arranging light-emitting elements between the first alignment line and the second alignment line in the emission area; forming a first insulating layer on the light-emitting elements to expose end portions of each of the light-emitting elements; forming a contact electrode material layer on the first insulating layer; using chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) to expose part of the contact electrode material layer; and forming a first contact electrode and a second contact electrode by removing the part of the contact electrode material layer using the etching mask, wherein the part of the contact electrode material layer exposed by the etching mask is disposed on a top surface of the first insulating layer, the first contact electrode and the second contact electrode are spaced apart from each other, and the first insulating layer is disposed between the first contact electrode and the second contact electrode.
Due to their dependency, claims 2-7 would also be allowable.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 12,477,882 teaches the state of the art of a method of manufacturing a display device.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH L WILLIAMS whose telephone number is (571)272-2465. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 6:30 AM- 5:00 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, JAMES R. GREECE can be reached at (571) 272-3711. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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JOSEPH L. WILLIAMS
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2875
/JOSEPH L WILLIAMS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875
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