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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 6-13 and 21-32 are pending in the instant application.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I,
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,
and the species of Compound A1, found on page 9 of the instant specification and claimed in instant claim 8 (reproduced below),
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in the reply filed on December 2, 2025 is acknowledged. The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 9, 10, and 21-32 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on
December 2, 2025.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Examiner has considered the Information Disclosure Statement filed on November 21, 2022.
The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 8 and 11 are objected to because of the following informalities:
in claim 8, an “or” should be added before Compound A 189 for proper Markush language format (see the last line of the claim);
in claim 8, the period after Compound “A 189” should be moved outside of the table to the very end of the claim; and
in claim 11, an “or” should be added before Formula (1-5d) for proper Markush language format (the last line of the claim).
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 12 and 13 are rejected under
35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 12 and 13 each lack antecedent basis from claim 6 because there is no earlier recitation in claim 6 that each of R1-R20 can represent a substituent as found in each of claims 12 and 13. Claim 6 stipulates that one of R1-R10 is a single bond for being bonded to L1 and that one of R11-R20 is a single bond for being bonded to L2. No such stipulation is found in either claim 12 or claim 13 since each of R1-R20 are defined as representing hydrogen, etc. in claims 12 and 13. Therefore, claims 12 and 13 are indefinite.
Claims 12 and 13 are unclear because these claims do not state which R1-R20 variable substituent is attached to L1 and L2 in these claims. Therefore, claims 12 and 13 are indefinite. Correction is required.
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.
Claims 12 and 13 are 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.
Claims 12 and 13 do not further limit independent claim 6 because claims 12 and 13 are broader in scope than claim 6. Claim 6 stipulates that one of R1-R10 is a single bond for being bonded to L1 and that one of R11-R20 is a single bond for being bonded to L2. However, claim 12 and claim 13 each fail to state these stipulations. Correction is required.
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
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 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.
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 6, 7, and 11-13 are rejected under
35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by:
Kato et al. {US 2018/0222844} – who disclose, for instance, the compound on page 12, column 1, row 2,
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{a compound of instant Formula (1) or instant Formula (1-1c) as found in
dependent claim 11,
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when
R1 represents hydrogen;
R2 is a single bond for being bonded to L1;
R3 represents hydrogen;
R4 represents hydrogen;
R5 represents hydrogen;
R6 represents hydrogen;
R7 represents hydrogen;
R8 represents hydrogen;
R9 represents hydrogen;
R10 represents hydrogen;
R11 represents hydrogen;
R12 represents hydrogen;
R13 is a single bond for being bonded to L2;
R14 represents hydrogen;
R15 represents hydrogen;
R16 represents hydrogen;
R17 represents hydrogen;
R18 represents hydrogen;
R19 represents hydrogen;
R20 represents hydrogen;
L1 is a single bond;
L2 is a single bond;
L3 is a single bond;
Ar represents definition (j),
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;
R222 and R223 are adjacent groups which are connected into a ring
(i.e.,
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)};
Cho et al. {KR 2011076271 A} – who disclose, for instance, Compound 25 on page 5,
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{a compound of instant Formula (1) or instant Formula (1-4d) as found in
dependent claim 11,
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when
R1 represents hydrogen;
R2 represents hydrogen;
R3 represents hydrogen;
R4 represents hydrogen;
R5 represents hydrogen;
R6 represents hydrogen;
R7 represents hydrogen;
R8 represents hydrogen;
R9 represents hydrogen;
R10 is a single bond for being bonded to L1;
R11 represents hydrogen;
R12 represents hydrogen;
R13 represents hydrogen;
R14 represents hydrogen;
R15 represents hydrogen;
R16 represents hydrogen;
R17 represents unsubstituted C6 aryl;
R18 is a single bond for being bonded to L2;
R19 represents unsubstituted C6 aryl;
R20 represents unsubstituted C6 aryl;
L1 is a single bond;
L2 is a arylene;
L3 is a single bond;
Ar represents definition (i),
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; and
R221 is hydrogen}; and
Parham et al. {US 2019/0288206} – who disclose, for instance, Compound 155 on page 54,
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{a compound of instant Formula (1),
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when
R1 represents hydrogen;
R2 is a single bond for being bonded to L1;
R3 represents hydrogen;
R4 represents hydrogen;
R5 represents hydrogen;
R6 represents hydrogen;
R7 represents hydrogen;
R8 represents hydrogen;
R9 represents hydrogen;
R10 represents hydrogen;
R11 is a single bond for being bonded to L2;
R12 represents hydrogen;
R13 represents hydrogen;
R14 represents hydrogen;
R15 represents hydrogen;
R16 represents hydrogen;
R17 represents hydrogen;
R18 represents hydrogen;
R19 represents hydrogen;
R20 represents hydrogen;
L1 is a single bond;
L2 is an arylene;
L3 is a single bond;
Ar represents definition (h),
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;
R218 represents hydrogen;
R219 represents C1 alkyl; and
R220 represents C1 alkyl}.
Each of the above cited prior art disclose at least one compound that is embraced by the instant currently amended claimed invention. Therefore, each of the above cited prior art anticipates the instant claimed invention.
Note to Applicant: Not every piece of prior art found in the database search or class/subclass search which would anticipate and/or render obvious the instant claimed invention under examination has been applied against the instant currently pending claims under examination. See MPEP 904.03.
Allowable Subject Matter
The elected species of Compound A1, found on page 9 of the instant specification and claimed in instant claim 8, is free of the prior art of record.
Claim 8 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Reminder to Applicant
As a reminder, Applicant should specifically point out the support in the original disclosure {i.e., page number(s) and line number(s)} for any new claims or amended claims and for any amendments made to the disclosure. Making generic statements such as “all amendments are fully supported in the originally filed disclosure or the originally filed claims” without specifying page numbers and originally filed claim numbers are insufficient. See MPEP §714.02 and MPEP §2163.06(I).
Telephone Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to:
Laura L. Stockton
(571) 272-0710.
The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:30 am to 6 pm, Eastern Standard Time.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s acting supervisor,
James Alstrum-Acevedo can be reached on 571/272-5548. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/LAURA L STOCKTON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1626 Work Group 1620
Technology Center 1600
February 4, 2026
Book XXVIII, page 281