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 .
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.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 01/20/2026 has been entered.
Election/Restrictions
After reconsideration of the requirement of election of species set forth in the Office Action dated 09/06/2024 and in an effort to further prosecution, the requirement of election of species was previously withdrawn.
Response to Amendment
The applicant's amendments of 01/20/2026 have been entered.
Claims 1-6 are amended due to the applicant's amendment of 01/20/2026.
Claims 1-11, 15, 19-20, and 26-28 are pending.
The rejection of claims 1-10, 15, 19-20, and 26-28 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kim et al. WO-2020017931-A1 as set forth in the previous Office action is withdrawn.
The rejection of claims 1-6, 9-10, 15, 19-20, and 26-28 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hatakeyama et al. WO-2020054676-A1, as set forth in the previous Office action is overcome due to an exception under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C).
However, as outlined below, new grounds of rejection have been made over newly cited Han et al. US-20220017545-A1.
Response to Arguments
The applicant's arguments on pages 12-13 of the reply dated 01/20/2026 with respect to the rejection of claims 1-10, 15, 19-20, and 26-28 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kim et al. WO-2020017931-A1 as set forth in the previous Office Action have been fully considered and are persuasive with respect to the priority date of the cited compounds. The rejection has been withdrawn.
However, as outlined below, new grounds of rejection have been made over newly cited Han et al. US-20220017545-A1.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-6 are objected to because of the following informalities: in claims 1-6 it is suggested that "at least one of the ring A, ring B, ring C, aryl and heteroaryl in the compound or structure represented by the formula (1)" be changed to "at least one of the ring A, ring B, ring C.
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 3-4 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.
Regarding claims 3-4, the claims recite text in parentheticals. It is unclear if the limitations recited between the parenthesis are required or if they are optional. Further, if the text inside the parenthesis is not applied, it is unclear what the R group is referring to. Therefore, the claims scope is indefinite.
For purposes of examination, the claims will be interpreted such that the limitations recited between the parenthesis are required.
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 1-4, 9-10, 15, 19-20, and 26-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Han et al. US-20220017545-A1 (hereinafter "Han").
Regarding claims 1-4, 9-10, 15, 19-20, and 26-28, Han recites an organic light emitting device including a first electrode, a second electrode provided to face the first electrode, and an organic material layer having one or more layers provided between the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein one or more layers of the organic material layer include the compound of Formula 1 (¶ [0020]-[0021]) in the light-emitting layer, as a dopant, with a host (¶ [0125]-[0127]). Han discloses specific examples of the compound of Formula 1 including
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,
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, and
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(¶ [0117]).
The compounds of Han are each a compound of the claimed general formula (1) and general formula (2) wherein:
ring A, ring B, and ring C are each an aryl ring (a benzene);
Y1 is B;
X1 and X2 are each independently N-R;
R is a substitute aryl (a substituted phenyl group); and
ring B is fused with a cycloalkane and four hydrogen atoms in the cycloalkane are substituted at two α-position atoms.
The device comprising the compounds of Han meets claims 1-4, 9-10, 15, 19-20, and 26-28.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-8 and 11 are 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The closest prior art, exemplified by Hatakeyama et al. WO-2017138526-A1 discloses an organic EL device comprising light emitting layer disposed between a pair of electrodes, wherein the light emitting layer comprises a polycyclic aromatic compound dopant material and as a host material (Hatakeyama ¶ [0017]-[0019]). Hatakeyama discloses specific examples of the polycyclic aromatic compound in paragraph [0096] including compound 1-571
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(¶ [0096], page 26). However, Hatakeyama does not teach a compound of the formula (2) wherein R1 to R11 are required to meet the narrower definition of claims 5-8, a compound of the formula (2) wherein the compound is substituted by a diarylamino group fused with one or more cycloalkanes, a carbazolyl group fused with one or more cycloalkanes, or a benzocarbazolyl group fused with one or more cycloalkanes, or a compound with the structure of compounds (1-411) or (1-590) as claimed in claim 11. Further, the prior art does not provide a reason to modify the compound of Kim to arrive at the claimed compounds with a reasonable expectation of success.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Elizabeth M. Dahlburg whose telephone number is 571-272-6424. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET, and alternate Fridays.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jennifer Boyd can be reached on 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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/ELIZABETH M. DAHLBURG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1786