DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the Applicant’s Amendment filed 02/24/26.
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 rejection of Claims 1-3, 9, 12-14, and 16-18 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Parton et al. (US 2003/0129449 A1) in view of Kang et al. (WO 2020/096167 A1) as set forth in the Non-Final Rejection filed 12/30/25 is overcome by the Applicant’s amendments.
The rejection of Claim 5 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Parton et al. (US 2003/0129449 A1) in view of Kang et al. (WO 2020/096167 A1) and Lyu et al. (US 2005/0142381 A1) as set forth in the Non-Final Rejection filed 12/30/25 is overcome by the Applicant’s amendments.
The rejection of Claims 10, 11, and 15 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Parton et al. (US 2003/0129449 A1) in view of Kang et al. (WO 2020/096167 A1) and Wee et al. (J. Org. Chem. 2009, 74, 8472-8475) as set forth in the Non-Final Rejection filed 12/30/25 is overcome by the Applicant’s amendments.
The rejection of Claims 19 and 20 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Parton et al. (US 2003/0129449 A1) in view of Kang et al. (WO 2020/096167 A1) and Nakamura (US 2006/0113905 A1) as set forth in the Non-Final Rejection filed 12/30/25 is overcome by the Applicant’s amendments.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-5 and 7-20 are rejected 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.
A broad range or limitation together with a narrow range or limitation that falls within the broad range or limitation (in the same claim) may be considered indefinite if the resulting claim does not clearly set forth the metes and bounds of the patent protection desired. See MPEP § 2173.05(c).
In the present instance, Claim 1 recites the broad recitation “the fourth compound is an iridium (Ir) complex including a halogen group,” and the claim subsequently also recites “wherein the fourth compound is represented by Formula 4 . . . X is F, Cl, or I” which is the narrower statement of the range/limitation. The claim(s) are considered indefinite because there is a question or doubt as to whether the feature introduced by such narrower language is (a) merely exemplary of the remainder of the claim, and therefore not required, or (b) a required feature of the claims.
Claim 7 is rejected 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.
The claim recites dependence on Claim 6, which has now been cancelled. The Office has interpreted the claim to instead depend on Claim 1 for the purpose of this Examination.
Correction is required.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments on pages 23-26 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
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 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
Prosecution Insights