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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority based on applications KR10-2020-0034422 filed on 03/20/2020, KR10-2020-0147603 filed on 11/06/2020, and KR10-2021-0022715 filed on 02/19/2021. However, none of the certified copies of the priority documents have been received.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on March 10th, 2026 has been entered.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) filed March 17th, 2026 was considered by the Examiner.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-22 are pending in the instant application. Claim 1 is amended via the amendment filed March 10th, 2026 and claims 4 and 10-22 are withdrawn.
Withdrawn Rejections
Applicant’s arguments, filed March 17th, 2025, with respect to 102 rejection have been fully considered and are persuasive. The 102 rejection of claims 1-3 and 5-8 has been withdrawn.
Applicant has overcome this rejection by amending claim 1 to remove the option for R1-R4 to be hydrogen.
Applicant’s arguments, filed March 17th, 2025, with respect to the double patenting rejection have been fully considered and are persuasive. The double patenting rejection of claims 1-9 has been withdrawn.
Applicant has overcome this rejection by successfully filing a terminal disclaimer over U.S. Application No. 17/883, 537.
Response to Remarks
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the 102 rejection of claims 1-3 and 5-8 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Restriction/Election
Applicant’s election without traverse of compound C-14 in the reply filed on November 20th, 2024 is acknowledged.
Applicant’s elected species appears free of the prior art. Therefore, the search and examination has been extended according to MPEP 803.02 to include the structural species:
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Since a non-elected species has been found not allowable over the prior art, examination has been limited to claims directed to the elected species, which are presently claims 1-3 and 5-9. Claims 1-3 and 5-9 have been examined to the extent that they are readable on the elected embodiment and the above identified nonelected species. Since the nonelected species has been found not allowable, subject matter not embraced by the elected embodiment or the above identified nonelected species is therefore withdrawn from further consideration.
Claims 4 and 10-22 are withdrawn from further consideration by the examiner, 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a non-elected invention or species. Election was made without traverse in reply filed November 20th, 2024.
New Claim Objections
Claim 9 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims
New Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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) 1-3 and 5-8 is/are newly rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Usui et al (WO 2014/157016, published October 2nd, 2014).
Usui teaches the following compound (example 15):
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Regarding claim 1, this compound is embraced by instant formula 1, wherein R1-R4 are (C1-C30)alkyl, R5, R12 and R7-R10 are hydrogen, R6 and R11 are –(L1)a-(Ar1)b, wherein L1 is a single bond, a is 1, b is 1, and Ar1 is -N-(Ar2)(Ar3), wherein Ar2 and Ar3 are substituted or unsubstituted C6 aryl.
Regarding claim 2, Ar1 is -N-(Ar2)(Ar3) and L1 is a single bond.
Regarding claim 3, the compound above is of formula (1-2).
Regarding claim 5, L1 is a single bond.
Regarding claim 6, Ar1 is -N-(Ar2)(Ar3) and not a (3- to 30-memebered)heteroaryl, as such the limitations of the claims regarding the (3- to 30-memebered)heteroaryl of Ar1 do not apply to the above compound and as such, the compound reads on the claim.
Regarding claim 7, Ar1 in the compound above is -N-(Ar2)(Ar3), and as such, the limitations of the claim regarding the (C6-C30) aryl do not apply to the compound, thus the compound reads on the claim.
Regarding claim 8, Ar2 and Ar3 are substituted and substituted phenyl.
Conclusion
No claim is allowed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Anna Grace Kuckla whose telephone number is (703)756-5610. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Clinton A Brooks can be reached at (571)270-7682. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/A.G.K./Examiner, Art Unit 1626
/FEREYDOUN G SAJJADI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1699