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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 23-39 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on January 6, 2026. Applicant argues that all of the claims depend, either directly or indirectly, on claim 1 and, therefore, should not be restricted. This application is not a 371 PCT application and, therefore, that is not the standard to meet for restriction. The criteria for restriction was laid out in the require for restriction/election issued December 4, 2025. However, when the elected claims are determined to be in condition for allowance, rejoinder will be considered where possible.
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 1-3, 5-13, and 15-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gaudiana et al (US 2011/0284080).
With regards to claims 1-3 and 5-10, Gaudiana teaches a photovoltaic cell (abstract) that includes a polymer (0007) that has the following repeating units:
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81
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(0009) wherein
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67
265
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(0009) (reading on formula 2) and
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141
212
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(0015) (reading on claimed formula 1).
With regards to claims 11-12 and 15-20, Gaudiana teaches the polymer that has the following repeating units:
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81
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(0009) wherein
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67
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(0009) (reading on formula 2)
With regards to claim 13, Gaudiana teaches the amount of the electron acceptor (reading on claimed formula 2) to be 50 to 90 molar % (0043)
With regards to claim 21, Gaudiana teaches the monomer ratio to be 1.025 (0065).
Claims 1-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Lee et al (US 11,820,859).
The applied reference has a common assignee with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2). This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B) if the same invention is not being claimed; or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed in the reference and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement.
With regards to claim 1, Lee teaches an infrared absorbing polymer that includes a first structural unit (abstract) having the following structure:
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(column 1 lines 55-67) wherein
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787
286
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524
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(column 2 line 1 to column 3 line 45) and a structural unit of formula 2 (abstract) which has the following structure:
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69
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(column 2 lines 35-41).
With regards to claims 2 and 3, Lee teaches the Ar1 in formula 1 to be one of the following:
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114
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(column 3 line 55 to column 4 line 25).
With regards to claim 4, Lee teaches the Ar1 in formula 1 above to be one of the following:
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314
261
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230
212
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(column 4 line 40 to column 5 line 20).
With regards to claim 5, Lee teaches the arene group or heteroarene group to have one of the following structures:
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209
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(column 17 lines 27-47).
With regards to claim 6, Lee teaches the structure of formula 1 to include the following structure:
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120
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232
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(column 17 line 60 to column 18 line 20).
With regards to claim 7, Lee teaches R1 and R2 to be linked together and the arene or heteroarene group to be one of the following:
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(column 18 lines 37-50).
With regards to claim 8, Lee teaches the moiety represented by B-3-1 to be one of the following:
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357
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(column 18 line 66 to column 19 line 32).
With regards to claim 9, Lee teaches the Chemical Formula B-3-2 to have the following structure:
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245
156
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(column 19 line 45 to column 20 line 7).
With regards to claim 10, Lee teaches formula 1 to have the following structure:
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(column 22 lines 28-67).
With regards to claims 11-12 and 15-20, Lee teaches the infrared absorbing polymer to include the following:
a structural unit of formula 2 (abstract) which has the following structure:
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69
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(column 2 lines 35-41).
With regards to claim 13, Lee teaches the infrared absorbing polymer to include about 20 to about 50 mol% of the first structural unit and about 50 to about 80 mol% of the second structural unit (column 8, lines 64-67).
With regards to claims 14 and 22, Lee teaches the infrared absorbing polymer to have a peak absorption in the wavelength from 750 to about 3000 nm (column 9, lines 22-25).
With regards to claim 21, Lee teaches the ratio of p-type semiconductor to n-type semiconductor to be 1:9 to about 9:1 (column 27 lines 36-31).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JESSICA WHITELEY whose telephone number is (571)272-5203. The examiner can normally be reached 8 - 5:00.
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/JESSICA WHITELEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1763