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 .
Status of Claims
This office action is in response to the amendment received on 15 July 2026. Claims 16 and 17 are amended. Claims 16-33 are pending.
Response to Amendment
The objection to the specification as set forth in the previous Office Action is overcome due to the Applicant’s amendment dated 22 February 2023. The objection is withdrawn.
The objection to claim 17 as set forth in the previous Office Action is overcome due to the Applicant’s amendment dated 15 July 2026. The objection is withdrawn.
The rejection of claims 16 and 19-25 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hayano et al. (US2021/0143332A1 hereinafter "Hayano") is overcome due to the Applicant’s amendment dated 15 July 2026. The rejection is withdrawn.
The rejection of claims 16-32 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Duck (WO2020/135953A1, hereinafter "Duck") in view of Clark et al. (WO2016178827, hereinafter "Clark") is overcome due to the Applicant’s Statement of Common Ownership and Prior Art Exception dated 15 July 2026. The rejection is withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s argument filed 15 July 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. With respect to the Hayano reference, applicant points out that a prima facie case of obviousness under 35 USC 103 must provide a clear articulated reasoning to support the legal conclusion of obviousness, and there should be explanation why differences between the prior art and the claimed inventions would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art. New rejections based on Hayano rely on a different embodiment or a reinterpretation of the reference. As shown in the rejection below, Hayano still renders obvious the claimed invention because the compound of Formula 1 of Hayano does not preclude other bonding patterns, arrangements, and substitutions.
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 16-33 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 16 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.
Claim 16 recite the newly added amendment which requires when adjacent groups Ra optionally bonded to each other to form a heteroaryl ring, the heteroaryl ring formed from adjacent groups Ra bonded to each other consists of carbon and one or more heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of N, O, and S as ring forming atoms. The examiner notes that the support for the proposed amendment was not provided, thus, the closest support for the identity of Ra found in the specification is provided below. The instant specification recites that adjacent groups Ra optionally are bonded to each other and form an aryl or heteroaryl ring, but does not particularly limit the identity of the atoms selected in the hetero aryl ring (see instant ¶ [00122], [00135], [00174], [00581], [00779], [001088]). Additionally, the instant specification recites compound pg 137 col IV row V which includes a very specific example of wherein Ra comprises at least C and N to form a heterocycle “indole”.
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Additionally, the instant specification recites examples of general formulas wherein adjacent Ra are bonded together to form a heteroaryl ring wherein one is selected from C and the other is selected from N such as the general formulas shown below to form the fused heterocycles “pyridine” and “pyrimidine” (pg 3-4).
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702
624
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Therefore, the instant specification provides support for formulas and structures provided above. However, outside of the above, the instant specification does not provide support for the full scope of wherein Ra consists of carbon and one or more heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of N, O, and S as ring forming atoms. For this reason, claim 16 is considered to have new matter.
Claims 17-33 are further rejected for being dependent upon claim 16.
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.
Claims 16-33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hayano et al. (US2021/0143332A1 hereinafter "Hayano"). The Handbook of Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) Processing Chapter 6 2010 ISBN: 9780815520375 is provided as an evidentiary reference for claim 31.
In the pertinent art of organic light-emitting devices, Hayano teaches an organic electroluminescence device of an embodiment includes a first electrode, a second electrode, and an emission layer disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode and including a polycyclic compound, wherein the polycyclic compound includes a boron atom, a first aromatic ring and a second aromatic ring, thereby showing long-life characteristics and excellent color reproducibility (abstract). Hayano teaches the polycyclic compound may follow Chemical Formula 1-1 (¶ [0016]) such as the specific compound A-15 (pg 5) wherein X is N-phenyl, Y is O, Z is a direct bond, R2 is methyl, and R1 is a condensed ring system.
Chemical Formula 1-1
A-15
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Hayano does not necessarily limit R1 to being a condensed ring system as seen in compound A-15: Hayano teaches that R1 may be a hydrogen atom (¶ [0017]). Hayano teaches the above Chemical Formula 1-1 and the specific compound A-15; however, Hayano does not teach a specific compound of Chemical Formula 1-1 wherein R1 is H.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the compound A-15 of Hayano to include the R1 as H based on the teachings of Hayano. The motivation for doing so would have been to obtain a device with long-life characteristics and excellent color reproducibility, as taught by Hayano (abstract).
The resulting Modified Compound A-15 of Hayano is shown below.
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The Modified Compound A-15 of Hayano is a compound of instant Formula 1 in instant claim 16 wherein:
N and m is 0;
Z is a direct bond and o is 1;
R1 is H;
Ra is hydrogen;
R2 is C1 alkyl or “methyl”;
1 is represented by Formula I-VII in claim 19.
Therefore, the Modified Compound A-15 of Hayano reads on instant claims 16 and 19-22 and 24-25.
Regarding claim 23, the claim 23 requires Y as a direct bond, but does not require n to be 1. Therefore, the Modified Compound A-15 of Hayano reads on claim 23 wherein Y is a direct bond and n is 0.
Regarding claims 26-30, Hayano teaches an organic light-emitting device with the following structure: ITO; hole transport region including layer of HAT-CN, layer of a-NPD, and layer of mCP; an emission layer including a layer of the polycyclic compound of Formula 1-1 such as B-1, D-1, or E-16 and a host material; an electron transport region including a layer of DPEPO, a layer of TPBi, and a layer of LiF; and a layer of Al (¶ [0159] – [0161]). Hayano teaches the organic light-emitting device above; however, Hayano fails to teach an organic light-emitting device containing the Modified Compound A-15 of Hayano. Hayano teaches an anode, a cathode, and an organic layer and the compound of Formula 1-1 is in the organic layer as discussed above. It would have been obvious to use the Modified Compound A-15 of Hayano in the emitting layer with the device structure of anode, emitting layer, and cathode as Hayano demonstrates this device structure was known prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
The resulting Modified OLED Device of Hayano reads on instant claims 26-30. The Modified OLED Device containing the Modified Compound A-15 of Hayano reads on the optoelectronic device comprising a luminescent emitter comprising the organic molecule according to claim 16 of instant claim 26. The Modified OLED Device reads on the optoelectronic device selected from at least one of the group consisting of OLEDs in instant claim 27. The Modified OLED Device reads on the composition of claim 28 wherein (a) the Modified Compound A reads on the organic molecule of claim 16 as an emitter; and (b) the host material of Example 1 to 3 reads on the host material which differs from the organic molecule.
Regarding claim 31, Hayano teaches that the organic light-emitting device were formed using a vacuum deposition apparatus (¶ [0161]). Vacuum deposition is also known as vacuum evaporation by a person of ordinary skill in the art as evidenced by the Handbook of Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) Processing 2010 Chapter 6 (pg 195).
Regarding claim 32, the Modified OLED Device containing the Modified Compound A-15 wherein the device is selected from an OLED reads on the optoelectronic device in claim 32 comprising a substrate, an anode, a cathode, and a light-emitting layer between the anode and the cathode and comprises the composition of claim 29.
Regarding claim 33, Hayano teaches the composition of the hole transport region, the emission layer, and the electron transport layer were formed using a vacuum deposition apparatus as described above that reads on the vacuum evaporation method of instant claim 33.
Regarding claims 17-18, Hayano teaches the Modified Compound A-15 of Hayano as described above; however, Hayano does not teach a specific compound of Formula 1-0 wherein only one of the two ring members J is C and together with ring member G forms bonding sites with the additional phenyl ring.
Hayano teaches Chemical Formula 1-1 and specific compounds such as A-15 wherein Ar1 and Ar2 are phenyl; however, Hayano does not particularly limit Ar1 and Ar2 to phenyl. Hayano defines Ar1 and Ar2 as each independently be a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic hydrocarbon ring of 6 to 30 carbon atoms for forming a ring (¶ [0084]). Hayano defines “aryl group” as monocyclic aryl group or a polycyclic aryl group with non-limiting examples of the aryl group including phenyl, naphthyl, fluorenyl, anthracenyl, etc. (¶ [0067]). Hayano teaches specific compounds such as C-5 wherein Ar1 is phenyl that is substituted with a fused polycyclic aromatic ring structure (pg 9).
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Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further include a C8 polycyclic aromatic group “naphthyl group” as Ar2 of the Chemical Formula 1-1 in the light-emitting device of Hayano, based on the teachings of Hayano. The motivation for doing so would have been to obtain a device with long-life characteristics and excellent color reproducibility, as taught by Hayano (abstract).
The resulting Modified Compound II A-15 of Hayano is shown below.
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The Modified Compound II A-15 of Hayano reads on instant claims 17 and 18 wherein:
Ring member G is C;
One of J is C and the other J is CRa;
Wherein Ra is H;
R2 is C1 alkyl or “methyl”;
R3 is H;
Represented by Formula 1-0-1 of claim 18.
Therefore, the Modified Compound II A-15 of Hayano reads on claims 17-18.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LUCAS Q NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-1199. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 7:30 am - 5:00 pm Fridays 7:45 am to 12:00 pm.
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/L.Q.N./Examiner, Art Unit 1786
/JENNIFER A BOYD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1786
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