DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
2. Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an
application filed in Korea on December 16, 2020.
3. Should applicant desire to obtain the benefit of foreign priority under 35 U.S.C.
119(a)-(d) prior to declaration of an interference, a certified English translation of the
foreign application must be submitted in reply to this action. 37 CFR 41.154(b) and
41.202(e).
4. Failure to provide a certified translation may result in no benefit being accorded
for the non-English application.
Information Disclosure Statement
5. The references provided in the Information Disclosure Statement filed on June
15, 2023 have been considered. A signed copy of the corresponding 1449 form has
been included with this office action.
Claim Objections
6. Claims 6 and 9 are objected to because of the following informalities:
claim 6 has poor resolution on some of the chemical structures provided, see
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; and
claim 9 should be revised to replace “the organic material layer” with “the one or more organic material layers”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
7. 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.
8. Claims 1-9 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.
9. Regarding claim 1, the recitation of “…L1 to L5…” and “…p, q, s, and t are each independently…” render the claim as indefinite as it is unclear where L5 and t are in the chemical structure provided for Chemical Formula 1 (see below).
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10. For the purposes of examination, Chemical Formula 1, L5, and t will be interpreted in accordance with the description provided in the instant specification (¶ [0012]-[0023]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
11. In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
12. 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
13. Claims 1-6 and 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Jung et al. (US 2015/0263291 A1, hereinafter “Jung”).
14. Regarding claim 1, Jung discloses the following heterocyclic compound (A-3, see structure below, ¶ [0035]).
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15. Compound A-3 of Jung reads on all of the limitations of claim 1 wherein:
p, q, r, and t are integers equal to zero and s is an integer equal to one; and
L1, L2, L3, and L5 are not required to be present and L4 is a single bond; and
R1-R6 and R9-R10 are not required to be present; and
R7 is a C6 aryl group and R8 is a C6 aryl group substituted with a C6 aryl group.
16. Regarding claim 2, Compound A-3 of Jung reads on all of the limitations of claim 2 wherein:
1 ≤ p + q + r + s + t ≤ 10 since s is an integer equal to one; and
L1-L5 are the same as previously defined; and
R1-R10 are the same as previously defined.
17. Regarding claim 3, Compound A-3 of Jung reads on all of the limitations of claim 3 wherein:
The requirements of Chemical Formula 5 are satisfied; and
L1-L4 are the same as previously defined; and
R1-R8 are the same as previously defined; and
p, q, r, s, and t are the same as previously defined
18. Regarding claim 4, Compound A-3 of Jung reads on all of the limitations of claim 4 wherein:
The requirements of Chemical Formula 10 are satisfied; and
L1-L4 are the same as previously defined; and
R1-R8 are the same as previously defined; and
p, q, r, s, and t are the same as previously defined
19. Regarding claim 5, Compound A-3 of Jung reads on all of the limitations of claim 5 wherein: L4 is a single bond and L1, L2, L3, and L5 are not required to be present.
20. Regarding claim 6, Compound A-3 of Jung reads on all of the limitations of claim 6 wherein:
R1-R6 and R9-R10 are not required to be present; and
R7 and R8 are groups represented by
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R21 and R22 of R7 are each hydrogen; and
R21 is a C6 aryl group, substituted with a C6 aryl group, and R22 is hydrogen of R8.
21. Regarding claims 8 and 9, Jung teaches an organic light-emitting device comprising:
an anode (ITO, ¶ [0169]); and
a cathode (Al, ¶ [0170]); and
one or more organic material layers provided between the anode and the cathode (¶ [0169]); and
wherein one or more layers of the organic material layers include the heterocyclic compound A-3 (the hole transport layer HTL; see Table 1 Example 15, and ¶ [0169]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
22. In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
23. 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.
24. 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.
25. 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.
26. Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jung et al. (US 2015/0263291 A1, hereinafter “Jung”) as described in the preceding 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) rejection of claims 1-6 and 8-9.
27. Regarding claim 7, Jung fails to teach a compound that is identical to one of the heterocyclic compounds enumerated.
28. Jung does teach, however, that compounds for an organic light-emitting device
represented by the following Chemical Formula 1 (see below) provide an organic light-emitting device having improved life-span characteristics due to excellent electrochemical and thermal stability, and high luminous efficiency at a low driving voltage ([Abstract], see also ¶ [0025]-[0026] for Chemical Formula 1).
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29. Jung teaches that in Chemical Formula 1:
X1 can be oxygen and X2 can be carbon; and
m1 and m2 are independently integers of zero or one, one of m1 and m2 is one, n1 and n2 are independently integers ranging from zero to three; and
the bonding position of the -N(Ar1)(Ar2) and -N(Ar3)(Ar4) groups are variable across the open valencies of the spiro-fluroenyl group.
30. Given the general formula and teachings of Jung, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the positional isomer of compound A-3 wherein the diaryl amino moiety is transposed to the highlighted position shown below.
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31. A person having ordinary skill in the pertinent art would have been motivated to produce additional compounds represented by the positional isomers of the compound represented by Compound A-3 in order to pursue the known options within his or her technical grasp and would expect the isomeric compounds to be useful as hole transporting material in the hole transport layer of the organic light-emitting device of Jung and possess the properties taught by Jung (excellent electrochemical and thermal stability, and high luminous efficiency at a low driving voltage [Abstract]). A prima facie case of obviousness exists when chemical compounds have very close structural similarity and similar utilities. See MPEP 2144.09 I. When compounds which are position isomers or homologs are of sufficiently close structural similarity, there is an expectation that such compounds possess similar properties. See MPEP 2144.09 II.
32. The modified positional isomer of Compound A-3 is shown below:
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33. Per claim 7, the modified Compound A-3 reads on the limitations of claim 7
wherein it is identical to Com. 3-1.
Conclusion
34. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Brandon J. Cooper whose telephone number is (571)272-0005. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM.
35. 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.
36. 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.
37. 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.
/B.J.C./Examiner, Art Unit 1786
/MARLA D MCCONNELL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1789
Prosecution Insights