Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 27, 2026
Application No. 18/031,951

MATERIAL OF PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION ELEMENT FOR IMAGING, AND PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION ELEMENT

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Apr 14, 2023
Priority
Nov 27, 2020 — JP 2020-196805 +1 more
Examiner
YANG, JAY LEE
Art Unit
1786
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Nippon Steel Chemical & Material Co., Ltd.
OA Round
2 (Final)
74%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2m
Est. Remaining
76%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 74% — above average
74%
Career Allowance Rate
683 granted / 926 resolved
+8.8% vs TC avg
Minimal +2% lift
Without
With
+2.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 9m
Avg Prosecution
50 currently pending
Career history
1007
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
53.6%
+13.6% vs TC avg
§102
18.6%
-21.4% vs TC avg
§112
23.3%
-16.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 926 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION This Office Action is in response to the Applicant’s Amendment filed 07/31/26. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Response to Amendment The objection to the drawings and the disclosure as set forth in the Non-Final Rejection filed 05/01/26 is overcome by the Applicant’s amendments. The rejection of Claims 1-12 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 as set forth in the Non-Final Rejection filed 05/01/26 is overcome by the Applicant’s amendments. The rejection of Claims 1-12 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kato et al. (US 2011/0253995 A1) as set forth in the Non-Final Rejection filed 05/01/26 is overcome by the Applicant’s amendments. 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. Claims 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Park et al. (WO 2010/131855 A2). Examiner’s Note: The Office has relied on national phase publication US 2012/0080670 A1 as the English equivalent of WIPO publication WO 2010/131855 A2 (herein referred to as “Park et al.”). Park et al. discloses the following compound: PNG media_image1.png 252 338 media_image1.png Greyscale (page 12) such that Ar1 = non-substituted aromatic hydrocarbon group having 10 carbon atoms (naphthyl) and ring A = Applicant’s formula (1a) (with X = S) of Applicant’s formula (1). Park et al. discloses an organic electroluminescent (EL) device for the construction of displays and the like comprising the following layers: substrate, anode, hole-injecting layer, hole-transporting layer, light-emitting layer, electron-transporting layer, electron-injecting layer, and cathode (Fig. 1); there further exists other layers, including an electron-blocking layer ([0038]). Its inventive compounds comprise any one of the hole-injecting, hole-transporting, light-emitting (photoelectric conversion layer) (as dopant or host material), electron-transporting, and electron-blocking layers ([0010], [0012], [0038]). The layers are formed via solvent methods such as spin coating ([0041]). It is also the position of the Office that compound 4-2 as disclosed by Park et al. would inherently possess the properties as recited in the claims (in regards to charge and energy) as the compound is nearly identical to the Applicant’s preferred inventive embodiment (U106) (i.e., as it is identical electronic valency and thus can be expected to have highly similar chemical and physical properties) (and also fully encompassed by the Applicant’s general formula (1) with X = S). Response to Arguments 8. Applicant’s arguments on pages 9-11 with respect to the deficiencies of the previously cited prior art have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection as set forth above. Conclusion 9. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. 10. 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. 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 A 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. /JAY YANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1786
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 14, 2023
Application Filed
May 01, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Jul 31, 2026
Response Filed
Sep 29, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12767663
BENZIMIDAZOLE DERIVATIVES
4y 2m to grant Granted Oct 20, 2026
Patent 12747210
ORGANIC MOLECULES FOR USE IN LIGHT-EMITTING DEVICES
4y 2m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12735630
Radiation-Emitting Organic-Electronic Device and Method for Producing a Radiation-Emitting Organic-Electronic Device
6y 6m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12735439
ORGANIC OPTOELECTRONIC ELEMENT COMPOUND, ORGANIC OPTOELECTRONIC ELEMENT COMPOSITION, ORGANIC OPTOELECTRONIC ELEMENT, AND DISPLAY DEVICE
3y 11m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12733395
ORGANIC ELECTRIC ELEMENT, DISPLAY PANEL COMPRISING THE SAME AND DISPLAY DEVICE COMPRISING THE SAME
5y 8m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
74%
Grant Probability
76%
With Interview (+2.2%)
3y 9m (~2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 926 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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