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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. KR10-2021-0158832, filed on 11/17/2021.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/16/2022 was filed after the mailing date of the instant application on 11/16/2022. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
In paragraphs [0010] and [0059], please add a space between “copper” and “(Cu)”.
The subscripts following the deuterium elemental symbols in the formulae on pages 75-78 are so small that they are illegible. This is also true of the subscript following the deuterium elemental symbol in PD35 on page 111. Please correct these structures so all letters, numbers, and/or bonds are clearly visible. See the example below.
PNG
media_image1.png
298
402
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Please note that this example is non-limiting and there may be other structures that require correction. Please check all formulae to make sure they are clear. Applicant may wish to make these structures clearer by increasing font size, making the font bold, and/or making the lines thicker.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 11 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In the definition of M1 and M2, please add a space between “copper” and “(Cu)”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Independent claims 1 and 11 contain the limitation that M1 and M2 may each independently be platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), copper (Cu), silver (Ag), gold (Au), rhodium (Rh), ruthenium (Ru), osmium (Os), titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), hafnium (Hf), europium (Eu), terbium (Tb), or thulium (Tm). The instant description provides examples wherein both of M1 and M2 are a platinum atom, but is devoid of examples using palladium (Pd), copper (Cu), silver (Ag), gold (Au), rhodium (Rh), ruthenium (Ru), osmium (Os), titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), hafnium (Hf), europium (Eu), terbium (Tb), or thulium (Tm).
Section MPEP 2163.03 (V) states that, “An original claim may lack written description support when… (2) a broad genus claim is presented but the disclosure only describes a narrow species with no evidence that the genus is contemplated. See Ariad Pharms., Inc v. Eli Lilly & Co., 598 F.3d 1336, 1349-50 (Fed. Cir. 2010)… The appearance of mere indistinct words in a specification or a claim, even an original claim, does not necessarily satisfy that requirement. "Enzo Biochem, Inc. v. Gen-Probe, Inc., 323 F.3d 956, 968, 63 USPQ2d 1609, 1616 (Fed. Cir. 2002).
Thus, the instant claims contain definitions for M1 and M2, such as palladium (Pd), copper (Cu), silver (Ag), gold (Au), rhodium (Rh), ruthenium (Ru), osmium (Os), titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), hafnium (Hf), europium (Eu), terbium (Tb), and thulium (Tm), which were not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor had possession of these compounds at the time the application was filed (see MPEP 2163-II-A-3-a-ii).
Claims 2-10 and 12-20 are rejected by virtue of dependency.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Che et al. (US 2002/0179885 A1):
[0051] Teaches that the ligation of an acetylide group to a platinum organometallic compound enhances stability of the compound and shifts the 3MLCT emission bathochromically.
Forrest et al. (US 2005/0260444 A1):
[0219] – Teaches metal complexes with multidentate ligands have improved chemical, thermochemical, electrochemical, and photochemical stability due to the chelate effect.
[0220] – Teaches tetradentate ligands are more rigid, imparting decreased vibrational and rotational freedom, which are pathways for radiative decay.
Kozhevnikov et al. (US 2015/0200369 A1):
[Abstract] – Teaches a cyclometallated organometallic light emitting complex having two tridentate ligand portions sharing a central heterocycle which serves as a binding site for each of the two metal centers, and [0126] one monodentate ligand coordinated to each metal center.
Li et al. (US 2019/0153007 A1):
[Abstract and Formula I] – Teaches a binuclear organometallic complex comprising two tetradentate ligands which share a common ring system. These complexes provide emission in most of the visible spectrum, while also having better stability and efficiency than traditional emission complexes.
Li et al. (US 2019/0153308 A1):
[Abstract] – Teaches a binuclear organometallic complex comprising two tetradentate ligands which share two common ring systems which have improved stability and efficiency.
Lee et al. (US 2023/0159577 A1):
[0092] – teaches a binuclear metal complex comprising at least one acetylide ligand which is bonded to a C1-C60 nitrogen containing heterocyclic wherein the nitrogen atom of the heterocycle increases the electron density of the compound.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RACHEL SIMBANA whose telephone number is (571)272-2657. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 A.M. - 4:30 P.M..
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 supervisor, Jennifer Boyd can be reached at 571-272-7783. 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.
/RACHEL SIMBANA/Examiner, Art Unit 1786