Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/021,200

COMPOUND AND ORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING DEVICE INCLUDING SAME

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Feb 14, 2023
Examiner
BOHATY, ANDREW K
Art Unit
1759
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Lt Materials Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
65%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 7m
To Grant
89%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 65% — above average
65%
Career Allow Rate
592 granted / 908 resolved
At TC average
Strong +23% interview lift
Without
With
+23.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 7m
Avg Prosecution
34 currently pending
Career history
942
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§103
54.2%
+14.2% vs TC avg
§102
16.1%
-23.9% vs TC avg
§112
15.7%
-24.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 908 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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. 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. Claim(s) 1-6 and 8-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Park et al. (KR 2016-0139159) (hereafter “Park”), where a machine translation is used as the English equivalent . Regarding claims 1-6 and 8-11, Park teaches an electroluminescent device comprising an anode, a hole transporting layer, a light emitting layer, electron transporting layer, and a cathode , and further teaches that an additional layer (electron blocking layer/luminescent auxiliary layer) can be found between the hole transporting layer and the light emitting layer ( pages 51-65 of the machine translation). Park teaches that the hole transporting layer/ luminescent auxiliary layer (applicant’s electron blocking layer ) can be composed of a compound that meets the following formula, (page 11 of the machine translation). Park teaches the following compound , , that meets the applicant’s claimed formula (page 16 of the machine translation). This compound meets applicant’s formula 1, where L2 is a single bond, Ar is a substituted phenyl group, X is O, L1 is phenylene, L11 and L12 are direct bonds, R11 is a phenyl group, and R12 is a substituted biphenyl group. 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(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (KR 2016-0139159) (hereafter “Park”), where a machine translation is used as the English equivalent , as applied to claim s 1-6 and 8-11 above. Regarding claims 7, Park teaches that the hole transporting layer/luminescent auxiliary layer (applicant’s electron blocking layer) can be composed of a compound that meets the following formula, (page 11 of the machine translation). Park teaches the following compound s that meet the above formula, , , and (pages 15 and 16 of the machine translation). Park teahces that R 2 can be aromatic groups (page 8 of the machine translation). Park does not specifically teach one of the applicant’s claimed compound. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to try to make a compound according to the following formula of Park, , where m is 0, p is 1, R 2 is a phenyl group, L 1 is a phenylene group, L 2 and L 3 is a direct bond, and Ar 1 and Ar 2 are a phenyl group or biphenyl group. Given the specific teaching and general fomrula it would have been obvious to select these groups for the various substituent groups. One of ordinary skill in the art would expect the compound to act as a hole transporting material or luminescent auxiliary layer (applicant’s electron blocking layer) as taught by Park. This selection of variables would lead to compounds that are the same as applicant’s claimed compounds, 321, 322, 324, 353, 354, and 356. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT ANDREW K BOHATY whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-1148 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday-Friday 7am-4pm . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Curtis Mayes can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-1234 . 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. /ANDREW K BOHATY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1759
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 14, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 24, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12598911
ORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING ELEMENT AND COMPOSITION FOR ORGANIC MATERIAL LAYER THEREOF
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12593607
MATERIALS FOR ORGANIC ELECTROLUMINESCENT DEVICES
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12593606
ORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING DEVICE
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12588354
LIGHT-EMITTING DEVICE INCLUDING FUSED CYCLIC COMPOUND, ELECTRONIC APPARATUS INCLUDING THE LIGHT-EMITTING DEVICE, AND THE FUSED CYCLIC COMPOUND
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12581849
ORGANIC ELECTROLUMINESCENCE ELEMENT AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
65%
Grant Probability
89%
With Interview (+23.4%)
3y 7m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 908 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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