Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/038,602

HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUND, ORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING DEVICE COMPRISING THE SAME, MANUFACTURING METHOD OF THE SAME AND COMPOSITION FOR ORGANIC LAYER OF ORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING DEVICE

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
May 24, 2023
Priority
Dec 16, 2020 — RE 10-2020-0176741 +1 more
Examiner
LOEWE, ROBERT S
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
LT Materials Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
84%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
88%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 84% — above average
84%
Career Allowance Rate
1449 granted / 1728 resolved
+23.9% vs TC avg
Minimal +4% lift
Without
With
+3.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
52 currently pending
Career history
1757
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.8%
-39.2% vs TC avg
§103
63.8%
+23.8% vs TC avg
§102
18.1%
-21.9% vs TC avg
§112
4.3%
-35.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1728 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . DETAILED ACTION Specification The specification is objected to for lack of clarity. Specifically, both structures for (piq)2(Ir)(acac) as provided in Applicants originally filed disclosure is not sufficiently clear as can be seen in Applicants pre-grant publication US 2024/0023433. The same can be said for the label for the compound 2-TNATA in Applicants originally filed disclosure. Claim Objections Claims 1 and 2 are objected to. Formulae 1, 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3 in claims 1 and 2 include the group PNG media_image1.png 42 65 media_image1.png Greyscale which should be amended to -N-Het. 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 1-4 and 7-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen et al. (CN-111704605, cited on Applicants information disclosure statement, filed on 5/24/23). Claim 1: Compound 3 of Chen et al., which has the structure PNG media_image2.png 202 142 media_image2.png Greyscale (page 5), anticipates Formula 1 of claim 1. As applied to Formula 1, variable L is a single bond (so n is equal to zero), N-Het is equal to a 3,5-diphenyltriazinyl group, X1-X10 is equal to CH, and R1 through R6 are equal to hydrogen atoms. Claims 2 and 4: Compound 3 of Chen et al. also anticipates Formula 1-1 of claim 2 (as well as claim 4) with R1-R20 equal to hydrogen atoms. Claims 3 and 7: In compound 3 of Chen et al., N-Het anticipates Formula 1-4 of claim 3 (as well as claim 7) with X11-X13 equal to N and R21 and R22 equal to unsubstituted phenyl groups. Claim 8: For claim 8, compound 7 is relied upon. Compound 7 has the structure PNG media_image3.png 134 84 media_image3.png Greyscale . Compound 7 anticipates Formula 1 of claim 1 and Formula 1-5 of claim 3 with X14 and X15 equal to N, X16 equal to CRc with Rc equal to an unsubstituted phenyl group, and R23-R36 equal to hydrogen atoms. Because claim 8 serves to further limit only one embodiment of claim 3 (namely when the N-Het group satisfies formula 4-1), claim 8 may be properly rejected which is directed to another embodiment where the N-Het group satisfies formula 4-2). Claim 9: Compound 3 of Chen et al. is identical to compound F1 of claim 9, thereby anticipating claim 9. Claims 10-12: Chen et al. employs the compounds, which include those described above, as host materials in organic electroluminescent devices. Included is embodiment 2 which employs compound 7 as a host material. More specifically, embodiment 2 is drawn to an organic electroluminescent device comprising an anode, a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a light-emitting layer comprising compound 7 as a host and a dopant, an electron transport layer, an electron injection layer, and a cathode. Embodiment 2 anticipates all of the device limitations of claims 10-12. Claim 13: Chen et al. teaches co-evaporation of compound 7 and a guest material to form an emission layer. Prior to deposition, the mixture of compound 7 and the guest material is a composition which anticipates claim 13. Claims 1, 2, 5, and 10-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Han (CN-113429374). Copies of the original and a machine translation are included with this Office action. Claim 1: Compound (141) of Han, which has the structure, PNG media_image4.png 146 156 media_image4.png Greyscale (page 23) anticipates Formula 1 of claim 1. As applied to Formula 1, n is equal to zero, L is a single bond, N-Het is a pyridinyl group, all R1-R6 are equal to hydrogen atoms, all X1, X2, and X4-X10 are equal to CH, and X3 is equal to a substituted naphthyl group. Claims 2 and 5: Compound (141) also anticipates Formula 1-1 of claim 2 with R1-R6, R11, R12, R14-R20 equal to hydrogen atoms and R13 equal to a substituted naphthyl group, which also anticipates claim 5. Claims 10-12: Compound (141) is taught as being employed in an organic electroluminescent device. The exemplified devices include an anode, a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, an electron blocking layer, an emission layer, a hole blocking layer, an electron transport layer, an electron injection layer, and a cathode (page 30). Employing any one of the compounds taught by Han, including compound (141) in the manner described in the device examples is at once envisaged, thereby anticipating claims 10-12. Claim 13: During the preparation and characterization of compound (141) there would inherently be at least one other ingredient present, which qualifies the crude reaction mixture or a solution of compound (141) as a composition which anticipates claim 13. Allowable Subject Matter Claim 6 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The prior art of record does not teach or fairly suggest compounds of formulae 1-1 through 1-3 which have two of R11 to R20 equal to an (un)substituted C6-C60 aryl group or an (un)substituted C2-C60 heteroaryl group, with the rest of R11 to R20 equal to hydrogen or deuterium as required by claim 6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT S LOEWE whose telephone number is (571)270-3298. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Randy Gulakowski, can be reached at telephone number 571-272-1302. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for published applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Patent Center for authorized users only. Should you have questions about access to Patent Center, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). 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) Form at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/uspto-automated- interview-request-air-form. /Robert S Loewe/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1766
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 24, 2023
Application Filed
Jun 03, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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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
84%
Grant Probability
88%
With Interview (+3.7%)
2y 4m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1728 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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