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 .
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 1 – 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Ho et al. (USPGPub 2021/0114361 A1), as evidenced by Kang et al. (USPGPub 2016/0032137 A1).
Ho et al. disclose a self-healing paint protection film (Figures; Abstract) comprising; a substrate layer including thermosetting polyurethane resin and curing agent (Figure 1, #14; Paragraphs 0032 – 0044, 0055 0056, wherein Kang et al. teach a thermosetting polyurethane formed from the same materials in Paragraphs 0056 – 0062); a top coating layer formed on one side of the substrate layer (Figure 1, #12); and an adhesive layer formed on other side of the substrate layer (Figure 1, #16), wherein the thermosetting polyurethane resin is polyester-based resin (Paragraphs 0032 – 0044, 0055 0056, wherein Kang et al. teach a thermosetting polyurethane form from the same materials in Paragraphs 0056 – 0062) as in claim 1. With respect to claim 2, the polyester-based resin has a weight average molecular weight of 40,000 to 60,000 and a glass transition temperature of 20°C to 60°C (Figure 1, #14; Paragraphs 0032 – 0044, 0055 0056, wherein Kang et al. teach a thermosetting polyurethane formed from the same materials in Paragraphs 0056 – 0062). Regarding claim 3, the curing agent is an isocyanate-based curing agent or an isocyanate-based adduct, and the substrate layer includes 2 to 5 parts by weight of the curing agent based on weight of thermosetting polyurethane layer solution (Paragraphs 0041 – 0044).
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 4 – 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ho et al. (USPGPub 2021/0114361 A1), as evidenced by Kang et al. (USPGPub 2016/0032137 A1), and in view of KR 101173918 B1.
A machine-generated translation of KR 101173918 B1 accompanies this action. In reciting this rejection, the examiner will cite this translation.
Ho et al. disclose a self-healing paint protection film (Figures; Abstract) comprising; a substrate layer including thermosetting polyurethane resin and curing agent (Figure 1, #14; Paragraphs 0032 – 0044, 0055 0056, wherein Kang et al. teach a thermosetting polyurethane formed from the same materials in Paragraphs 0056 – 0062); a top coating layer formed on one side of the substrate layer (Figure 1, #12); and an adhesive layer formed on other side of the substrate layer (Figure 1, #16), wherein the thermosetting polyurethane resin is polyester-based resin (Paragraphs 0032 – 0044, 0055 0056, wherein Kang et al. teach a thermosetting polyurethane form from the same materials in Paragraphs 0056 – 0062). The polyester-based resin has a weight average molecular weight of 40,000 to 60,000 and a glass transition temperature of 20°C to 60°C (Figure 1, #14; Paragraphs 0032 – 0044, 0055 0056, wherein Kang et al. teach a thermosetting polyurethane formed from the same materials in Paragraphs 0056 – 0062). The curing agent is an isocyanate-based curing agent or an isocyanate-based adduct, and the substrate layer includes 2 to 5 parts by weight of the curing agent based on weight of thermosetting polyurethane layer solution (Paragraphs 0041 – 0044). However, Ho et al. fail to disclose a pattern layer formed between the substrate layer and the top coating layer, the pattern layer has protrusions and depressions, and is formed by applying protrusions and depressions to a part of the substrate layer, the pattern layer is formed by laminating a film with protrusions and depressions on the substrate layer, curing the film, and then removing the film with protrusions and depressions, the substrate layer and the pattern layer have pigments mixed therein, and a colored pattern is formed on the pattern layer by the pigments.
KR 101173918 B1 teach a protection film (Abstract) having a pattern layer formed between the substrate layer and the top coating layer (Figure 2, #20), the pattern layer has protrusions and depressions (Figure 2, #20), and is formed by applying protrusions and depressions to a part of the substrate layer (Page 5, lines 4 – 17), the substrate layer and the pattern layer have pigments mixed therein, and a colored pattern is formed on the pattern layer by the pigments (Page 3, lines 29 – 34) for the purpose of a protection film with a pattern (Abstract).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a pattern of colored protrusions and depressions in Ho et al. in order to have a protection film with a pattern as taught by KR 101173918 B1.
With regard to the limitation of “the pattern layer is formed by laminating a film with protrusions and depressions on the substrate layer, curing the film, and then removing the film with protrusions and depressions”, product claims including process recitations are not limited by the manipulation of the recited steps, only the structure implied by the steps. See MPEP 2113. In the present instance, the process steps imply a film containing protrusions and depressions. KR 101173918 B1 discloses such a product. See Figure 1.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record on the PTO-892 and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The prior art is cited show that protection films made of thermosetting polyurethane with self-healing properties is known in the art.
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/Patricia L. Nordmeyer/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1788
/pln/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1788 July 31, 2026
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