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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 03/05/2026 has been entered.
This office action is in response to the amendment filed 03/05/2026, which amends claims 1, 4, 12, and 14-16. Claims 2-3, 7-9, 13, 17-18, and 20-21 are canceled. Claims 1, 4-6, 10-12, 14-16, and 19 are pending in the application.
Election/Restrictions
In a requirement for unity of invention dated 05/22/2024, Applicant was required to choose from
Group I, claims 1-10, and 17-19, drawn to an organic light-emitting device, and
Group II, claims 11-16 and 20, drawn to a display device.
Applicant’s election with traverse of invention I in the reply filed on 06/11/2024 is acknowledged. The requirement was deemed proper and made final in the response dated 08/08/2024.
The requirement for unity of invention, as set forth in the Office action mailed on 05/22/2024, has been reconsidered pursuant to MPEP § 821.04(a). The restriction requirement is hereby withdrawn. Specifically, claims 11-16 and 20, directed to a display device are no longer withdrawn from consideration.
In view of the above noted withdrawal of the restriction requirement, applicant is advised that if any claim presented in a divisional application is anticipated by, or includes all the limitations of, a claim that is allowable in the present application, such claim may be subject to provisional statutory and/or nonstatutory double patenting rejections over the claims of the instant application.
Once a restriction requirement is withdrawn, the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 121 are no longer applicable. See In re Ziegler, 443 F.2d 1211, 1215, 170 USPQ 129, 131-32 (CCPA 1971). See also MPEP § 804.01.
Claims 1, 4-6, 10-12, 14-16, and 19 are examined herein.
Response to Amendment
In the response filed 03/05/2026, the claims were amended.
These amendments are hereby entered.
In light of Applicant’s amendments to the claims, the objection to claim 1 is withdrawn by the Office.
In light of Applicant’s amendments to the claims, the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) of claims 1-6, 10, 17-19, and 21 as failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention, and the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 103 of claims 1-6, 17-19, and 21 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (KR 2019/0113589 A), Ryu et al. (KR 2011/0118542 A), and Yabunouchi et al. (US 2007/0145888 A1) and further in view of Wang et al. (US 2018/0337222 A1), and of claim 10 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (KR 2019/0113589 A), Ryu et al. (KR 2011/0118542 A), and Yabunouchi et al. (US 2007/0145888 A1) and Wang et al. (US 2018/0337222 A1) as applied above, and further in view of Kim et al (US 2019/0288220 A1) are withdrawn by the Office.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments 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.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
The letters, numbers, and/or bonds in the chemical structure given in the compounds of claim 1 are illegible due to poor resolution. Please correct these structures so all letters, numbers, and/or bonds are clearly visible. See the example below.
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456
544
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Please note that this example is non-limiting and that all of the compounds of the electron blocking layer and the hole transport layer depicted in independent claim 1 should be resubmitted in higher resolution.
Appropriate correction is required.
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, 4-6, 10-12, 14-16, and 19 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.
With respect to independent claim 1, the claim contains the following compounds without any context:
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508
478
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480
472
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652
640
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The text before and after these compounds has been deleted from the claim, but because the compounds do not have a line through them, it is unclear whether the compounds are being claimed or were meant to be eliminated from the claim (See 37 CFR 1.121).
In continuing examination, the compounds are being interpreted as eliminated from the claims.
Claims 4-6, 10-12, 14-16, and 19 are rejected by virtue of dependency.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RACHEL SIMBANA whose telephone number is (571)272-2657. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 A.M. - 4:30 P.M..
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jennifer Boyd can be reached at 571-272-7783. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RACHEL SIMBANA/Examiner, Art Unit 1786
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