DETAILED ACTION
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/03/25 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The rejection of Claim 3 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nishimae et al. (WO 2017/221999 A1) as set forth in the Final Rejection filed 09/04/25 is overcome by the cancellation of the claim.
The rejection of Claims 1 and 4-13 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nishimae et al. (WO 2017/221999 A1) as set forth in the Final Rejection filed 09/04/25 is NOT withdrawn in view of the Applicant’s arguments.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
8. Claims 1 and 4-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nishimae et al. (WO 2017/221999 A1).
Examiner’s Note: The Office has relied on national phase publication US 2019/0161497 A1 as the English equivalent of WIPO publication WO 2017/221999 A1 (herein referred to as “Nishimae et al.”). Unless otherwise indicated, all figure, page, and paragraph numbers refer to numbers found in the national phase publication.
Nishimae et al. discloses compounds of the following form:
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([0025]) where A1 = N or CRA1, A2 = N or CRA2 (at least one of A1-2 being N), B2 = CH or N, and B1 = B3-8 = CR3-8 or N; RA1 = RA2 = R1 = R3-8 = H or substituent, with at least one being -(A1)o-(A2)p-(A3)q-(A4)r-R20 (where o, p, q, r = 0-1 and R20 = H or C1-60 heteroaryl group which can be further substituted, among others) ([0026]-[0027]). Embodiments are disclosed:
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(page 68)
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(page 123). However, Nishimae et al. does not explicitly disclose an embodiment that fully reads on the Applicant’s Chemical Formula 1, particularly in regards to the connection point of the L group. Nevertheless, it would have been obvious to modify compound on page 123 as disclosed by Nishimae et al. (above) such that Y1-5 = Y7-9 = CH, Y6 = N, L = unsubstituted C6 arylene (phenylene), L1-2 = single bond, and Ar1-2 = unsubstituted C6 or C12 aryl (phenyl or biphenyl) of Applicant’s Chemical Formula 1; f = 0; Q6 = N and Q1-5 = Q7-9 = CH of Applicant’s Chemical Formula 1-1; corresponds to the following compound:
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. The motivation is provided by the fact that modification merely involves change in the position of the substituted phenylene group on the core condensed heterocyclic ring, producing a positional isomer that can be expected to have highly similar chemical and physical properties; further motivation is provided by the fact that the modification merely involves the selection of one possible isomer selected from a highly finite list as envisioned from the scope of Nishimae et al.’s general formula (in regards possible connection point of the non-hydrogen substituent group -(A1)o-(A2)p-(A3)q-(A4)r-R20), thus rendering the production predictable with a reasonable expectation of success.
Nishimae et al. further discloses an organic electroluminescent (EL) device (light-emitting device) comprising the following layers: substrate, anode, hole-injecting/transporting layer, light-emitting layer, electron-transporting layer, electron-injecting layer, and cathode (Fig. 1); its inventive compounds can serve as host materials in the light-emitting layer ([0023]).
Response to Arguments
9. The Office has reviewed the 37 C.F.R. §1.132 Declaration filed 12/03/25.
10. The Applicant has argued on pages 100-102 for unexpected results in order to overcome the 35 U.S.C. 103 rejection as set forth above based on Nishimae et al. Applicant's arguments have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. After careful review of the Applicant’s data presented on Table 1 of the present Specification and the Declaration, the Office finds the still data unpersuasive as it is not commensurate with the scope of the claims. Notice the rather broad scope of Applicant’s Chemical Formula 1, wherein one of Y1-9 = N, one of Y1-9 can be C-L’-R, with the rest being C-H or C-D; L’ = single bond or C6-20 arylene (in contrast to the Applicant’s tested compounds which only have L’ = single bond), while R includes a large variety of chemically distinct aryl and heteroaryl groups (the narrowest of which includes those found in Claim 5 comprising Z substituent group(s)), only a subset of which is present in the tested compounds (i.e., with R = phenyl, naphthyl, phenanthryl, dibenzofuranyl, and dibenzothiophenyl only). Similar deficiencies in regards to the scope of the other variable groups L, L1-2, and Ar1-2 exist (each of which independently includes, for example, high order (hetero)aryl(ene) groups comprising up to 20 or 60 carbon atoms). It is thus the position of the Office that the full scope of the Applicant’s invention recites compounds (including Claim 11 which recites compounds such as the following:
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comprising a specific combination of L, L1-2, and Ar1-2 with nitrogen at the distinct location corresponding to Y6) with properties which cannot be reasonably extrapolated from the Applicant’s data.
Conclusion
11. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAY L YANG whose telephone number is (571)270-1137. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, 6am-3pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jennifer A 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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/JAY YANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1786