CTNF 18/026,331 CTNF 93490 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Priority 02-26 AIA Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03/14/2023, 08/10/2023, 05/15/2024, 09/13/2024, 11/14/2024, 03/20/2025, 03/25/2025, 04/04/2025, 07/09/2025, 08/21/2025, 09/30/2025, 11/07/2025, 01/08/2026, 02/27/2026, 04/08/2026, and 05/26/206 considered by the examiner. Drawings The drawing filed 03/14/2023 is objected to because the single drawing is currently labeled as “FIG. 1”. According to 37 CFR 1.84 (u): "Where only a single view (single drawing) is used in an application to illustrate the claimed invention, it must not be numbered and the abbreviation "FIG." must not appear." 06-22 Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance. Specification 07-29 AIA The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: per 37 CFR 1.84(u)(1), the specification should be amended throughout to refer to “the FIGURE” rather than to “FIG. 1” or “Figure 1”. See the original specification at least paragraphs [001925] and [002041] for correction and at any other occurrences of a reference to “FIG. 1” or "Figure 1" that may be present . Appropriate correction is required. Claim Objections 07-29-01 AIA Claim s 27, 30, 32, and 36 are objected to because of the following informalities: in claims 27 and 36 , it is suggested that "wherein the device is to emit light…" be changed to "wherein the device emits light…" for ease of reading; and in claim 30 , it is suggested that that extra space between "component" and "comprises" in line 3 be deleted for ease of reading; in claim 32 , it is suggested that that extra space between "independently" and "represent" in line 8 be deleted for ease of reading; and in claim 32 on page 15, there is an extra space between two lines . Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-01 AIA 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. 07-31-01 Claims 21-40 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. Regarding claims 21-40 , the claims recite an organic electroluminescent device comprising: one or more light-emitting layers, each of the one or more light-emitting layers comprising one or more sublayers, wherein the one or more sublayers are adjacent to each other and as a whole comprise: (i) one or more first excitation energy transfer components, each having a highest occupied molecular orbital HOMO(EET-1) with an energy E HOMO (EET-1) and a lowest unoccupied molecular orbital LUMO(EET-1) with an energy E LUMO (EET-1); and (ii) one or more second excitation energy transfer components, each having a highest occupied molecular orbital HOMO(EET-2) with an energy E HOMO (EET-2) and a lowest unoccupied molecular orbital LUMO(EET-2) with an energy E LUMO (EET-2); and (iii) one or more emitters to emit light with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of less than or equal to 0.25 eV, each having a highest occupied molecular orbital HOMO(SB) with an energy E HOMO (SB), and a lowest unoccupied molecular orbital LUMO(SB) with an energy E LUMO (SB); and optionally (iv) one or more host materials, each having a highest occupied molecular orbital HOMO(HB) with an energy E HOMO (HB), and a lowest unoccupied molecular orbital LUMO(HB) with an energy E LUMO (HB) wherein the first excitation energy transfer component and the second excitation energy transfer component are structurally not identical, wherein an outermost sublayer from the one or more sublayers of each of the one or more light-emitting layers comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of the first excitation energy transfer component, the second excitation energy transfer component, and the emitter, and wherein relations expressed by Formulas (2) (3), (5) and (6) apply to materials comprised in a same light-emitting layer of the one or more light-emitting layers, and when the same light-emitting layer comprises the one or more host materials, relations expressed by Formulas (1) and (4) further apply: PNG media_image1.png 208 344 media_image1.png Greyscale Per MPEP 2163(II)(A)(3)(a)(ii), the written description requirement for a claimed genus may be satisfied through sufficient description of a representative number of species by (A) actual reduction to practice, (B) reduction to drawings, or (C) by disclosure of relevant, identifying characteristics, i.e., structure or other physical and/or chemical properties, by functional characteristics coupled with a known or disclosed correlation between function and structure, or by a combination of such identifying characteristics, sufficient to show the applicant was in possession of the claimed genus. A "representative number of species" means that the species which are adequately described are representative of the entire genus. Thus, when there is substantial variation within the genus, one must describe a sufficient variety of species to reflect the variation within the genus. The claims require the limitations described above. While the description provides numerous examples of a combinations of one or more first excitation energy transfer components, one or more second excitation energy transfer components, one or more emitters to emit light with a FWHM of less than or equal to 0.25 eV (, one or more host materials) that meets this requirement, the compounds used for each of the components are structurally very similar. For example, the host materials shown in paragraph [002093], the TADF materials selected as the one or more first excitation energy transfer components or the one or more second excitation energy transfer components shown in paragraph [002094], the phosphorescence materials selected as the one or more first excitation energy transfer components or the one or more second excitation energy transfer components shown in paragraph [002095], and the one or more emitters to emit light with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of less than or equal to 0.25 eV shown in paragraph [002097] each support a same or substantially similar core with variations in substituents. No further description of other means of identifying which species would possess the claimed common structural characteristics or shared trait which would result in the claimed relationship. For example, one or more first excitation energy transfer components, one or more second excitation energy transfer components, one or more emitters to emit light with a FWHM of less than or equal to 0.25 eV (, one or more host materials) could be any one of a small molecule, an organometallic compound, or a polymer, which encompasses a vast number of potential compounds and even greater number of combinations. In the case of claims 32 and 37-39 , the structure of the at least one emitter of the one or more emitters is provided; however, the structure of the remaining of the one or more first excitation energy transfer components, one or more second excitation energy transfer components (, and one or more host materials) is still not limited in any way other than its relationship to the one whose structure is specified. Disclosure of any one of the one or more first excitation energy transfer components, one or more second excitation energy transfer components, one or more emitters to emit light with a FWHM of less than or equal to 0.25 eV (, one or more host materials) characterized by its structural formula, without more, does not provide an adequate written description of the remaining of the one or more first excitation energy transfer components, one or more second excitation energy transfer components, one or more emitters to emit light with a FWHM of less than or equal to 0.25 eV (, one or more host materials) claimed only by its relationship to the one whose structure is specified especially when the properties claimed are based inherently on the chemical structure of these compounds. The limited number of examples described in the written description do not provide a representative number of species sufficient to show that applicant was in possession of the entire claimed genus. Therefore, the claims are rejected as lacking adequate written description. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA 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. 07-20-02-aia AIA This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 21-30 and 33-36 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hong et al. US-20200136059-A1 (hereinafter "Hong") . Regarding claims 21-30 and 33-36 , Hong discloses an organic light emitting device as described in paragraphs [0106], [0138],-[0139], [0165]-[0176], [0183]-[0190], Table 1, and shown in Figs 6-8. Hong discloses the device comprising a first EML (EML1) , a second EML (EML2) and a third EML (EML3), wherein the EML1 is disposed between the first and second electrodes and includes a first compound and a second compound, the EML2 is disposed on the EML1 and includes a third compound and a fourth compound, and the EML3 is disposed on the EML2 and includes a fifth compound and a sixth compound (¶ [0165]). Hong discloses wherein the first compound is a first host and the second compound is a fluorescent or phosphorescent material in the EML1, the third compound is a second host and the fourth compound is a delayed fluorescent material in the EML2, the fifth compound is a third host and the sixth compound is a fluorescent or phosphorescent material in the EML3 (¶ [0166]). Hong discloses materials for the components (see ¶ [0110], [0127], [0139], [0141], and [0143], and Table 1) including FD-1 to FD-5 (¶ [0139]). Hong discloses examples of the device including Examples 1-9 (¶ [0216]-[0227]). Hong discloses wherein was the device is connected to an external power source (¶ [0231]), that is, electrical current is applied to generate light. Hong teaches wherein each of the EML1 and the EML3 may include each of the second and sixth compounds by about 1 to about 30 wt %, preferably about 1 to about 10 wt %, respectively (¶ [0187]) and the EML2 may include the fourth compound by about 5 to about 50 wt % (¶ [0188]), which overlaps with the ranges of claims 23-25 . A prima facie case of obviousness exists where the claimed ranges overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art. See MPEP § 2144.05. Hong does not specifically disclose a device meeting each of relations expressed by Formulas (1) to (6). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to select the fluorescent or phosphorescent material in two of the emission layers as PD-1 and PD-5, and the third fluorescent or phosphorescent material as one of FD-1 to FD-5, because it would have been choosing from the list of specifically exemplified compounds, which would have been a choice from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions of a compound useful in the emission layers of the device of Hong and possessing the beneficial properties taught by Hong. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to produce additional devices comprising the specific compounds having the benefits taught by Hong in order to pursue the known options within their technical grasp with a reasonable expectation of success. See MPEP § 2143.I.(E). Hong appears silent with respect to the property of wherein the second compound, which is one of FD-1 to FD-5, has the property of a FWHM of less than or equal to 0.25 eV. The instant specification recites that the compound S B -8 (page 422) has a FWHM of 0.10 eV. Since Hong teaches compound FD-1 to FD-5, substantially the same structure as disclosed by the applicant, the property of a FWHM of less than or equal to 0.25 eV is considered to be inherent and would be expected to fall within the range in the claim, absent evidence otherwise. Recitation of a newly disclosed property does not distinguish over a reference disclosure of the article or composition claims. When the structure recited in the prior art reference is substantially identical to that of the claims, claimed properties or functions are presumed to be inherent. Applicant bears responsibility for proving that the reference composition does not possess the characteristics recited in the claims. See MPEP § 2112 . 07-22-aia AIA Claim s 31-32 and 37-40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hong et al. US-20200136059-A1 (hereinafter "Hong") as applied to claim 21 above and further in view of Zhang et al. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2019, 58, 16912–16917 . Regarding claim 31-32 and 37-40 , Hong discloses the device as described above with respect to claim 21 . Hong does not specifically teach a device wherein at least one or more emitters is a boron-containing emitter, wherein the emitter has a structure of Formula DABNA-1 or Formula BNE-1. However, Hong teaches that the fourth compound may be a delayed fluorescent material (¶ [0060]). Zhang et al. teaches TADF compounds with a DABNA core (page 16912, col. 2) and extremely small FWHMs (page 16913, col. 1) in Figure 1 including 3F-BN (see Figure 1 and Table 2), which has a FWHM of 0.19 eV, and meets the claimed formula DABNA-I. Zhang teaches that luminescent materials with narrowband emission are vital for high-resolution displays (page 16912, Col. 1) and that for application in displays, the emission band broadening in full-color TADF emitters must be suppressed (page 16912, bridging Col. 1-Col. 2). 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 have modified the device of Hong by forming the fourth compound out of the TADF compound with a DABNA core, as taught by Zhang. One would have been motivated to do so because Hong teaches that the fourth compound may be a delayed fluorescent material and Zhang teaches TADF compounds with a DABNA core and extremely small FWHMs. The selection of a known material, which is based upon its suitability for the intended use, is within the ambit of one of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. See MPEP § 2144.07. Additionally, Zhang teaches that luminescent materials with narrowband emission are vital for high-resolution displays and therefore forming the fourth compound in the device of Hong out of the compound of Zhang would yield the benefit of increased applicability for full color high resolution display, as described above. Contact Information Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Elizabeth M. Dahlburg whose telephone number is 571-272-6424. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET, and alternate Fridays. 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. /ELIZABETH M. DAHLBURG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1786 Application/Control Number: 18/026,331 Page 2 Art Unit: 1786 Application/Control Number: 18/026,331 Page 3 Art Unit: 1786 Application/Control Number: 18/026,331 Page 4 Art Unit: 1786 Application/Control Number: 18/026,331 Page 5 Art Unit: 1786 Application/Control Number: 18/026,331 Page 6 Art Unit: 1786 Application/Control Number: 18/026,331 Page 7 Art Unit: 1786 Application/Control Number: 18/026,331 Page 8 Art Unit: 1786 Application/Control Number: 18/026,331 Page 9 Art Unit: 1786
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