CTFR 18/054,659 CTFR 86704 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. This Office action is in response to the amendment filed April 15, 2026, which amends claims 1, 2, 14, and 16. Claims 1-19 are pending. The Office points out that the claimed filed April 15, 2026 do not have a claim 20. It appears that claim 15 from the claims filed November 11, 2022 no longer present in the claims filed April 15, 2026; therefore, only claims 1-19 are pending. Response to Arguments 07-37 AIA Applicant's arguments filed April 15, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Regarding the applicant’s argument that Yamamoto does not teach or make the applicant’s amended claims obvious because Yamamoto does not teach attaching a heteroaryl group directly applicant’s formula II, the Office points out that Yamamoto does still make the applicant’s claimed invention obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art. The Office points out that in the general formulae of Yamamoto, PNG media_image1.png 165 134 media_image1.png Greyscale , PNG media_image2.png 142 133 media_image2.png Greyscale , PNG media_image3.png 156 128 media_image3.png Greyscale , and PNG media_image4.png 127 191 media_image4.png Greyscale , the X groups can be C-R groups and the R groups are preferably either hydrogen, aryl, or heteroaryl groups (paragraph [0133]). Yamamoto teaches that the preferable heteroaryl groups are pyridine, pyrimidine, triazine, and pyrazine (paragraph [0135]). These teachings by Yamamoto show that Yamamoto does teach and make obvious having heteroaryl groups directly attached to the group the corresponds to applicant’s formula II and applicant’s arguments are not persuasive . 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 1, 3-11, 13, 14, and 17-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamamoto et al. (US 2014/0319507) (hereafter “Yamamoto”) . Regarding claims 1, 3-11, 13, 14, and 17-19, Yamamoto teaches an electroluminescent device comprising an anode, a hole transporting layer, a light emitting layer, an electron transporting layer, and a cathode (paragraphs [0495]-[0518]). Yamamoto teaches electroluminescent can comprise a host material and a dopant (paragraph [0501]). Yamamoto teaches that the dopant can have the following structure, PNG media_image5.png 138 130 media_image5.png Greyscale (paragraph [0501]). Yamamoto teaches that the host material is derived from one of the following formula, PNG media_image1.png 165 134 media_image1.png Greyscale , PNG media_image2.png 142 133 media_image2.png Greyscale , PNG media_image3.png 156 128 media_image3.png Greyscale , and PNG media_image4.png 127 191 media_image4.png Greyscale are few examples (paragraph [0019]). Yamamoto teaches the X groups can be C-R groups and the R groups are preferably either hydrogen, aryl, or heteroaryl groups (paragraph [0133]). Yamamoto teaches that the preferable heteroaryl groups are pyridine, pyrimidine, triazine, and pyrazine (paragraph [0135]). Yamamoto teaches several compounds that are positional isomers with respect to the placement of applicant’s formula III group (see compounds in tables paragraph [0220]). These compounds show that Y can be O or S and L in formula III can be a single bond or phenyl group. Yamamoto teaches that the electroluminescent device can be used in a consumer product (paragraph [0039] and [0040]). Yamamoto does not specifically teach a compound that meets applicant’s claimed formula. It would have been a prima facie case of obviousness to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to try to make a compound according the general formulae of Yamamoto where the X groups in PNG media_image1.png 165 134 media_image1.png Greyscale , PNG media_image2.png 142 133 media_image2.png Greyscale , PNG media_image3.png 156 128 media_image3.png Greyscale , and PNG media_image4.png 127 191 media_image4.png Greyscale are C-R and the R groups are either hydrogen atoms or substituted heteroaryl groups, where the heteroaryl group is a triazine, pyridine, or pyrimidine group and these groups can be substituted with phenyl groups. The general formulae of Yamamoto teaches that hydrogen atoms and heteroaryl groups are preferred groups and Yamamoto further teaches that the heteroaryl groups, such as triazine, pyridine, or pyrimidine, can be substituted with phenyl groups. Given the formulae and compounds taught by Yamamoto, it would have been obvious to try to make compounds according to the general formulae of Yamamoto to arrive at the following claimed compounds PNG media_image6.png 161 194 media_image6.png Greyscale , PNG media_image7.png 146 248 media_image7.png Greyscale , PNG media_image8.png 155 231 media_image8.png Greyscale , and PNG media_image9.png 188 248 media_image9.png Greyscale are a few examples. One of ordinary skill in the art would expect the taught compounds of Yamamoto to act in a similar manner as the compounds of the instant application . 07-22-aia AIA Claim (s) 2, 12, 15, and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamamoto et al. (US 2014/0319507) (hereafter “Yamamoto”) as applied to claim s 1, 3-11, 13, 14, and 17-19 above, and further in view of Tada et al. (US 2018/0138420) (hereafter “Tada”) . Regarding claims 2, 12, 15, and 16, Yamamoto does not teach where the light emitting layer comprises a second host material. Tada teaches an electroluminescent device comprising a light emitting layer comprising two host materials and a phosphorescent dopant (paragraph [0099]). Tada teaches that when PNG media_image10.png 260 197 media_image10.png Greyscale is used as the second host material with indolocarbazole compounds as the other host material, the device has improved lifetime (paragraphs [0099]-[0119]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add PNG media_image10.png 260 197 media_image10.png Greyscale as a second host material in the device of Yamamoto. The motivation would have been to improve the lifetime of the device. Conclusion 07-40 AIA 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. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW K BOHATY whose telephone number is (571)270-1148. The examiner can normally be reached 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, Curtis Mayes can be reached at (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 Application/Control Number: 18/054,659 Page 2 Art Unit: 1759 Application/Control Number: 18/054,659 Page 3 Art Unit: 1759 Application/Control Number: 18/054,659 Page 4 Art Unit: 1759 Application/Control Number: 18/054,659 Page 5 Art Unit: 1759 Application/Control Number: 18/054,659 Page 6 Art Unit: 1759 Application/Control Number: 18/054,659 Page 7 Art Unit: 1759
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