DETAILED ACTION
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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-8, 10, 11, and 13-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gorohmaru et al. (US 2019/0019956) (hereafter “Gorohmaru”).
Regarding claims 1-8, 10, 11, and 13-17, Gorohmaru teaches an electroluminescent device comprising an anode, a hole injection layer, a hole transporting layer, a light emitting layer, an electron transporting layer, and a cathode (paragraphs [0322]-[0333]) (claims 14-16). Gorohmaru teaches that the hole injection layer is made from a coating composition, which is cured by heat-treating after the layered is formed on the anode (paragraphs [0322]-[0325]) (claims 13-17). Gorohmaru teaches that the coating composition can comprise the following compound and counterion,
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(paragraphs [0131] and [0337]) (claims 1-8, 10 and 11).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
Claim(s) 9 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gorohmaru et al. (US 2019/0019956) (hereafter “Gorohmaru”) as applied to claims 1-8, 10, 11, and 13-17 above.
Regarding claims 9 and 12, Gorohmaru teaches that besides
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as the crosslinking/curing group, the group can also be
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and the groups are substituents for each other (paragraphs [0121] and [0131]).
Gorohmaru does not specifically teach a compound that meets that applicant’s claimed compounds.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the crosslinkable/curing groups in
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, with
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. The substitution would have been one preferred crosslinkable/curing group for another crosslinkable/curing group and one would expect the groups to act in a similar manner and Gorohmaru teaches that the groups are substitutes for each other. This would lead to compounds that have the following structure,
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, and
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are a few examples.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Ohshima et al. (WO 2019/212022), Gorohmaru et al. (WO 2019/05931), and Gorohmaru et al. (JP2020-053671) all teach coating composition that comprises a compound that meets applicant’s formula I.
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
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