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.
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 1-11 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.
Claim 1, which the other claims are dependent upon, recites that “A’ is a naphthalene ring fused with an adjacent ring” which renders the exact scope of Chemical Formula 2 indefinite as it is not clear if the “adjacent ring” is referring to the indole ring (that is bonded to (-L’3)N(L’1-Ar’1)(L’2-Ar’2)) or some other ring that is further contained in A’. The Office has interpreted the “adjacent ring” to refer to the indole ring for the purpose of this Examination.
Clarification 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.
(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 1-4 and 6-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Lee et al. (WO 2020/080693 A1).
Examiner’s Note: The Office has relied on national phase publication US 2022/0123233 A1 as the English equivalent of WIPO publication WO 2020/080693 A1 (herein referred to as “Lee et al.”). Unless otherwise noted, all figure, page, and paragraph numbers referenced herein refer to numbers found in the national phase publication.
Lee et al. discloses a host material composition comprising the light-emitting layer of an organic electroluminescent (EL) device (light emitting device) comprising a plurality of host materials comprising at least two compounds, including a first host material of formula 1 and second host material of formula 2 (Abstract; [0006], [0069]); the composition may further comprise additional materials ([0028]). Embodiments for the first and second host materials are disclosed:
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(page 12) such that A’ = unsubstituted naphthalene ring, L’1-2 = single bond, L’3 = unsubstituted C6 arylene (phenylene), and Ar’1-2 = substituted or unsubstituted C6 aryl (substituted or unsubstituted phenyl) of Applicant’s Chemical Formulae 2 and 2-2; alternatively, L’1 = unsubstituted C6 arylene (phenylene) and Ar’1 = unsubstituted C10 aryl (naphthyl) of Applicant’s Chemical Formulae 2 and 2-2 and
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(page 33) such that Ar1-2 = unsubstituted C6 or C12 aryl (phenyl or biphenyl), L = unsubstituted C10 arylene (naphthylene), and Ar3 = hydrogen of Applicant’s Chemical Formulae 1 and 1-1; equivalent to compound as recited on page 122 of Claim 6 by the Applicant. Lee et al. discloses that the organic EL device comprises the following layers: anode, hole-injecting layer, hole-transporting layer, light-emitting layer, electron-transporting layer, electron-injecting layer, and cathode; its inventive composition comprises the light-emitting layer ([0074]-[0075]).
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 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (WO 2020/080693 A1).
Examiner’s Note: The Office has relied on national phase publication US 2022/0123233 A1 as the English equivalent of WIPO publication WO 2020/080693 A1 (herein referred to as “Lee et al.”). Unless otherwise noted, all figure, page, and paragraph numbers referenced herein refer to numbers found in the national phase publication.
Lee et al. discloses the organic electroluminescent (EL) device (light emitting device) of Claim 1 as shown above in the 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) rejection. Lee et al. discloses the following embodiment for the first host material:
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(page 12); other embodiments are disclosed, including:
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(page 12). Lee et al. discloses that its inventive compounds are encompassed by formula 1, wherein X1 = NR3 with R3 =
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([0010]) where Ar1-2 = independently substituted or unsubstituted C6-30 arylene such as phenyl and biphenyl ([0040]). However, Lee et al. does not explicitly disclose a compound of Applicant’s Chemical Formula 2 as recited in the claim. Nevertheless, it would have been obvious to modify the first host material as disclosed by Lee et al. (above) to produce the following:
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(equivalent to compound as recited on page 144 in Claim 11 by the Applicant). The motivation is provided by the fact that the modification merely involves the exchange of one group (phenyl) for a functional equivalent (biphenyl) selected from a highly finite list as disclosed by Lee et al; additional motivation exists, including the fact that the modification merely involves the homologous extension of the phenyl group (to biphenyl), producing a compound that can be expected to have highly similar chemical and physical properties, thus rendering the modification predictable with a reasonable expectation of success.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (WO 2020/080693 A1) as applied above and in further view of Jun et al. (WO 2018/016742 A1).
Examiner’s Note: The Office has relied on national phase publication US 2022/0123233 A1 as the English equivalent of WIPO publication WO 2020/080693 A1 (herein referred to as “Lee et al.”). Unless otherwise noted, all figure, page, and paragraph numbers referenced herein refer to numbers found in the national phase publication.
The Office has further relied on national phase publication US 2018/0337348 A1 as the English equivalent of WIPO publication WO 2018/016742 A1 (herein referred to as “Jung et al.”). Unless otherwise noted, all figure, page, and paragraph numbers referenced herein refer to numbers found in the national phase publication.
Lee et al. discloses the organic electroluminescent (EL) device (light emitting device) of Claim 1 as shown above in the 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) rejection. Lee et al. discloses a host material composition comprising the light-emitting layer of an organic electroluminescent (EL) device (light emitting device) comprising a plurality of host materials comprising at least two compounds, including a first host material of formula 1 and second host material of formula 2 (Abstract; [0006], [0069]); the composition may further comprise additional materials ([0028]). However, Lee et al. does not explicitly disclose a compound of Applicant Chemical Formula 1 as recited in the claim.
Jung et al. discloses the following compound:
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(page 15) such that Ar1-2 = unsubstituted C6 aryl (phenyl), L = single bond, and Ar3 = unsubstituted C6 aryl (phenyl) of Applicant’s Chemical Formula 1. Jung et al. discloses its inventive compounds as host material in the light-emitting layer, the use of which results in a device with improved efficiency and low driving voltage ([0018]). It would have been obvious to incorporate the compound as disclosed by Jung et al. (above) into the host material composition as disclosed by Lee et al. (as additional host material). The motivation is provided by the disclosure of Jung et al., which discloses a viable host material in an identical field of invention, the use of which results in a device with improved efficiency and low driving voltage.
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