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.
Restriction/Election Requirement
The Office acknowledges the Applicant’s election of Group 1 (directed to Formulae 2 and 5) in the Response filed 01/06/26.
The election reads on Claims 1-6 and 8-20.
Claims 1-20 are pending. Claim 7 has been withdrawn from consideration.
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 1-6 and 8-20 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 1 and 11, which the other claims are dependent upon, recites “*” in Formulae 2-5 which renders the exact scope of the claims indefinite as “*” has not been defined. The Office has interpreted “*” to represent the connection point on L2 of Formula 1 for the purpose of this Examination.
Correction is required.
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 1-6, 9, and 11-17, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Takahashi et al. (WO 2020/111253 A1).
Examiner’s Note: The Office has relied on the Machine English translation of WIPO publication WO 2020/111253 A1 (herein referred to as “Takahashi et al.”) as the English equivalent. Unless otherwise noted, all figure, page, and paragraph numbers refer to numbers found in the Machine English translation.
Takahashi et al. discloses an organic electroluminescent (EL) device (light emitting element) comprising the following layers: substrate (2), anode (3), first hole-transporting layer (6a), second hole-transporting layer (6b), light-emitting layer (5), first electron-transporting layer (7a), second electron-transporting layer (7b), and cathode (4) (Fig. 2 of Takahashi et al.; [0249]). Takahashi et al. discloses the following compound:
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168
186
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(page 161 of Takahashi et al.) such that o = p = 0, n = 1, Ra = unsubstituted aryl group of 6 ring-forming carbon atoms (phenyl), L1-2 = unsubstituted arylene group of 6 ring-forming carbon atoms (phenylene), X = O, Ar1 = unsubstituted aryl group of 6 ring-forming carbon atoms (phenyl), and FG = Applicant’s Formula 5 (with m5 = 0) of Applicant’s Formulae 1 and 1-4 as comprising (any one of) the hole-transporting layer(s) ([0243]). Takahashi et al. discloses compounds such as the following as host material comprising the light-emitting layer:
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70
160
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(page 209 of Takahashi et al.) such that c = d = 1, R39-40 = unsubstituted aryl group of 6 ring-forming carbon atoms (phenyl), and R31-38 = hydrogen of Applicant’s Formula E-1.
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.
Claims 8 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takahashi et al. (WO 2020/111253 A1)
Examiner’s Note: The Office has relied on the Machine English translation of WIPO publication WO 2020/111253 A1 (herein referred to as “Takahashi et al.”) as the English equivalent. Unless otherwise noted, all figure, page, and paragraph numbers refer to numbers found in the Machine English translation.
Takahashi et al. discloses the organic electroluminescent (EL) device (light emitting element) of Claim 1 and the amine compound of Claim 11 as shown above in the 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) rejection. Takahashi et al. discloses the inventive compound to be encompassed by the following formula:
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436
464
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(page 14 of Takahashi et al.) where R1-20 = hydrogen (including deuterium) or substituent group ([0017], [0026]). Takahashi et al. discloses that its inventive compounds may contain deuterium atoms; i.e., deuterium(s) is (are) introduced into the compound such as “at least one of the hydrogen atoms contained in the compound is a deuterium atom” ([0053]). However, Takahashi et al. does not explicitly disclose an embodiment as recited in the claim. Nevertheless, it would have been obvious to modify the compound as disclosed by Takahashi et al. (on page 161) such that at least one hydrogen atom is substituted with a deuterium atom. The motivation is provided by the fact that the modification merely involves the exchange of one group (hydrogen) for a functional equivalent (another viable substituent; i.e., deuterium) specifically taught by Takahashi et al. and easily envisioned from the scope of its general formula; additional motivation exists, as the modification merely involves the exchange of one group for its isotope (differing by one neutron atom) which can be expected to have highly similar chemical and physical properties, thus rendering the production predictable with a reasonable expectation of success.
Conclusion
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/JAY YANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1786