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.
Examiner’s Note
The Office has relied on national phase publication US 2022/0017544 A1 as the English equivalent of WIPO publication WO 2020/045924 A1 (herein referred to as “Yoon et al.”).
Claim Objections
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities:
The claim fails to conclude with a period. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
The claim, which is dependent on Claim 1, recites numerous compounds which are not encompassed by the scope of any one of Formulae A and B. Examples include the following (among others):
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. Notice that R1 and R2 must be “bonded to each other to form an alicyclic or aromatic monocyclic or polycyclic ring” as required in Claim 1.
Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
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, 2, and 4-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yoon et al. (WO 2020/045924 A1).
Yoon et al. discloses the following compound:
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(page 29) Q1 = substituted C12 heteroaryl group (substituted dibenzofuran), R1-2 = (hydrogen or) unsubstituted C1-30 alkyl group which are bonded to each other to form an alicyclic polycyclic ring, X = O, and Ar1-2 = substituted C6 aryl group (substituted phenyl) or Applicant’s Structural Formula 1 (with l = 0 and R3 = unsubstituted C6 aryl group (phenyl)) of Applicant’s Formula B. Yoon et al. further discloses an organic electroluminescent (EL) device for the construction of displays (with “a wide viewing angle”) comprising the following layers ([0003], [0007], [0098]): substrate (1), anode (2), hole-injecting layer (5), hole-transporting layer (6) (inherently electron-blocking), light-emitting layer (7), electron-transporting layer (8), and cathode (4) (Fig. 2; [0023]). Its inventive compounds serve as material comprising the hole-injecting, hole-transporting, and/or light-emitting layer ([0021], [0143]). Yoon et al. discloses that the organic layers are formed via methods such as solution coating including spin coating ([0084]).
Conclusion
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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/JAY YANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1786