DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 November 26, 2025 has been entered.
The claim amendment dated October 28, 2025 has now been entered. Claims 1, 8, 12, and 19 were amended. Claims 7, 18, and 20 are canceled claims. Claims 1-6, 8-17, 19, 21, and 22 are pending.
Previous rejections over now canceled claims are withdrawn.
The declaration under 37 CFR 1.132 filed October 28, 2025 is insufficient to overcome the rejection of the claims because the Table 2A “inventive” compounds are not commensurate in scope with the breadth of claimed compounds. The “inventive” compounds of the Table are the following:
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756
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178
838
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176
848
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342
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The additionally provided comparative compounds differ from the “inventive” compounds in multiple features. Further, Parham is not limited to teaching only structures 25, 27, and 42. While specific “inventive” compound 27 may be improved over X-7 and they are directly comparable to one another, the comparison is not commensurate in scope with the claimed subject matter as no claims are limited solely to instant compound 27.
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 1-6, 9-17, 21, and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Parham et al. (US 2009/0295275 A1).
Regarding compounds of instant Formula 1 and devices comprising instant Formula 1, Parham et al. teaches compounds of formula (1) for organic electronic devices (see par. 16):
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218
320
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X may be selected as N and each Y is selected identically or differently as C(R1)2, BR1, NR1, Si(R1)2, PR1, O, S, SO, SO2, or C=O (see par. 18). Integer “n” is selected as 0, 1, or 2 (see par. 24). Accordingly, at least one Y may be selected as a BR1 group corresponding to the instant “at least one A1 and A2 is >B-X1-Y1”. R1 meanings include at least F, CN, alkoxy, thioalkoxy, S(=O)Ar2, S(=O)Ar, and OSO2R2 (see par. 19) where Ar is defined in par. 22 and R2 is defined in par. 21. R and R1 substituent groups are taught in paragraphs 19 and 20. The compound may be in an emitting layer between an anode and a cathode (see claim 25 on page 23).
Regarding claims 2 and 13, a Y may be selected as BR1 (see par. 18) with R1 as at least alkoxy (see par. 19).
Further regarding claims 3, 4, 14, and 15, R1 groups may bond to form further rings (see par. 19).
Further regarding claims 5 and 16, as noted above, the Y variables may be selected differently from one another (see par. 18).
Further regarding claims 6 and 17, both of two Ys present may be selected as BR1 (see par. 18) where a R1 group may include at least alkoxy (see par. 19).
Further regarding claims 9 and 21, two Y may be selected the same (see par. 18).
Further regarding claim 10, the compounds of formula (1) are fluorescent (see par. 58) and are used in combination with host material (see par. 56-57).
Regarding claims 11 and 22 and at least compound #27, Parham et al. one Y may be selected as C(R1)2 with R1s as alkyl with corresponding “n” as 1, one Y may be selected as BR1 with R1 as alkoxy (methoxy) with corresponding “n” as 1, the other Y is not present with a corresponding “n” as zero, two Rs are branched alkyl (tert-butyl), and X is N (see par. 16-20 and 29).
Instant #27:
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While Parham et al. does not appear to exemplify a formula (1) compound with groups and variables selected the same as the instant compounds, give the teachings of the reference it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to form compounds of the reference as described above, wherein the resultant compounds would also meet the limitations of the instant claims. One would expect to achieve a functional device using compounds within the disclosure of Parham et al. with a predictable result and a reasonable expectation of success.
Claims 8 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Parham et al. (US 2009/0295275 A1) in view of Hatakeyama et al. (US 2019/0256538 A1).
Parham et al. is relied upon as set forth above.
Parham et al. teaches compounds meeting the requirements of instant Formula 1 compounds as discussed above, but does not appear to teach specifically including deuterium atoms in place of hydrogen atoms. In analogous art, Hatakeyama et al. teaches polycyclic boron and nitrogen containing derivatives where “at least one hydrogen in the polycyclic aromatic compound…may be substituted by…deuterium atom” (see Hatakeyama et al. par. 31). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have included deuterium atoms in place of hydrogen atoms as taught by Hatakeyama et al. in compounds according to Parham et al. One would expect including one or more deuterium atoms in place of hydrogen atom(s) in compounds of Parham et al. to provide polycyclic compounds useful as a dopant material in a light emitting layer of a light emitting device with a predictable result and a reasonable expectation of success.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed October 28, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
As noted above, the declaration signed October 28, 2025 is not considered effective to overcome the obviousness rejection. Further, while the claims have been amended to a narrower scope they remain broader in scope than the group of tested compounds. Additionally, some of the tested “inventive” compounds do not correspond to a comparison compound that can be directly compared as many features of the compounds differ. The experimental evidence does not clearly demonstrate unexpected results for the specific features of including a bridging boron atom bonded to an O or S in polycyclic structures as claimed that is commensurate in scope with the claims.
Applicant argues Parham shows no specific compounds with a boron as a ring forming atom. In response, the office maintains a Parham structure is defined to include a boron. The office notes that a reference is relevant for all it teaches and is not limited to only preferred example embodiments. Applicant argues comparative example X-3 is inferior, but Parham is not limited to only a compound with a X-3 structure.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Dawn Garrett whose telephone number is (571)272-1523. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Thursday (Eastern Time).
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/DAWN L GARRETT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1786