DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the Applicant Amendment filed 12/22/25.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Amendment
The objection to Claim 3 as set forth in the Non-Final Rejection filed 10/03/25 is withdrawn in view of the Applicant’s arguments.
The rejection of Claims 6-8 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ebisawa et al. (JP 2014-096572 A) as set forth in the Non-Final Rejection filed 10/03/25 is overcome by the cancellation of the claims.
The rejection of Claims 1-4 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ebisawa et al. (JP 2014-096572 A) as set forth in the Non-Final Rejection filed 10/03/25 is NOT withdrawn in view of the Applicant’s arguments.
The rejection of Claim 9 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ebisawa et al. (JP 2014-096572 A) as set forth in the Non-Final Rejection filed 10/03/25 is overcome by the cancellation of the claim.
The rejection of Claim 5 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ebisawa et al. (JP 2014-096572 A) as set forth in the Non-Final Rejection filed 10/03/25 is NOT withdrawn in view of the Applicant’s arguments.
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.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ebisawa et al. (JP 2014-096572 A).
Ebisawa et al. discloses the following compound for use as light-emitting dopant (in the light-emitting layer) of an organic electroluminescent (EL) device (Abstract):
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(page 21) such that n = 0, R3-4 = unsubstituted aryl group (phenyl), R5-10 = hydrogen, R1 = hydrogen, and R2 = Applicant’s Chemical Formula A (with l1 = 1, L1 = unsubstituted heteroarylene group (pyridinylene), and m = 1) of Applicant’s Chemical Formulae 1 and 1-1; x = 0 of Applicant’s Chemical Formula A-3. Ebisawa et al. disclose an organic electroluminescent (EL) device comprising the following layers: substrate (2), anode (3), hole-injecting layer (4), hole-transporting layer (5), light-emitting layer (6), electron-transporting layer (7), electron-injecting layer (8), and cathode (9) (Fig. 1); its inventive compounds comprise the light-emitting layer (notice that the upper portion of the light-emitting layer closer to the cathode is inherently electron-injecting/transporting to the portion of the light-emitting layer beneath it (as light is emitted via electron-hole recombination throughout the light-emitting layer (6)), and hence that upper portion can be defined as an “electron injection and transfer layer”) (Abstract; [0066]).
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.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ebisawa et al. (JP 2014-096572 A).
Ebisawa et al. discloses the compound of Claim 1 as shown above in the 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) rejection. Ebisawa et al. discloses that its inventive compounds are encompassed by the following formula:
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(page 12) where A = any one of the following (among others) ([0012]):
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(page 13) and Xn = any one of X1-18 which is linked to L. Other embodiments are disclosed, including:
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(page 21). However, Ebisawa et al. does not explicitly disclose any of the compounds as recited in the claim. Nevertheless, it would have been obvious to modify compound A-11-1 as disclosed by Ebisawa et al. (above) to produce the following compound:
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. The motivation is provided by the fact that the modification merely involves change in the bonding position of the CN-substituted phenylene on the core condensed polycyclic group, producing a positional isomer that can be expected to have highly similar chemical and physical properties; further motivation exists, including the fact that the production merely involves selection from a highly finite list of possibilities (in regards to the bonding position of the CN-substituted phenylene) as envisioned from the scope of Ebisawa et al.’s general formula, thus rendering the production predictable with a reasonable expectation of success.
Ebisawa et al. further discloses an organic electroluminescent (EL) device comprising the following layers: substrate (2), anode (3), hole-injecting layer (4), hole-transporting layer (5), light-emitting layer (6), electron-transporting layer (7), electron-injecting layer (8), and cathode (9) (Fig. 1); its inventive compounds comprise the light-emitting layer (Abstract; [0066]).
Response to Arguments
13. The Applicant argues on page 21 that Ebisawa et al. fails to disclose a compound of Chemical Formula 1 “in an electron injection and transfer layer”; the Applicant further argues on page 23 that the compounds of Ebisawa et al. “have a strong electron trapping property and are used as a light emitting dopant in a light emitting layer,” thus rendering the Applicant’s claimed invention novel over the cited prior art. Applicant's arguments have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The Office has maintained the rejections over Ebisawa et al. due to the overly broad scope of the “electron injection and transfer layer” as recited in Claim 1. Notice that electron-hole recombination for light emission occurs through the light-emitting layer (6) in the organic electroluminescent (EL) device as disclosed by Ebisawa et al. (Abstract; [0066]); hence, any portion (or “layer”) of the light-emitting layer (6) (comprising the inventive compounds of Ebisawa et al.) is a source of electrons to portions of the light-emitting layer beneath it (i.e., layers closer to the anode) and thus can be defined as an “electron injection and transfer layer.” It should be further noted that even if the compounds of Ebisawa et al. have electron-trapping ability, its compounds are nevertheless still present in a layer where electron transport and injection still takes place (to portions of the light-emitting layer closer to the anode), such that the disclosure of Ebisawa et al. would still read on the limitations as recited in the claims.
Conclusion
14. THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
15. 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