Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 38 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends. Claim 38 refers to the electronic component of claim 36 and specifies a method of fabricating the light-emitting layer. What is being claimed is a product and the determination of the patentability of a product is generally independent of any method of making. Since the product of claim 36 does not appear to be altered in any way by the fabrication process of claim 38, claim 38 has an improper independent form.
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, 6-15, 17, 30 and 34-41 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2021/0288271 A1 to Hamze et al.
Regarding claim 1, Hamze et al. discloses an OLED comprising a metal complex exemplified by the following compound (abstract and page 41):
PNG
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408
802
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Greyscale
which is representative of the claimed compound wherein X1, Y and X2 are respectively N, B, N; A-E are benzene rings; c1-c5, X1’, X2’, J and G are absent; each of D and E forms a dative bond with formula II wherein M = Au and formula IIa is similar to the 4th group in claim 8. Claim 1 is therefore unpatentable. See MPEP § 2131.02(II). So are claims 2-4, 6-7, 9-15, 17, 30 and 34-35. The 3rd compound in claim 8 is met by the first compound on page 30. The features of claims 36-41 are disclosed at pages 49-50, 55 and 63.
Other Prior Art of Record
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: US 2020/0388774 A1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 16, 18-29 and 31-33 are 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 following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The invention as described in these claims is not disclosed, suggested, or made obvious by Hamze et al., which represents the closest prior art of record, either alone or in combination with other prior art teachings.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VU ANH NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-5454. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00 AM-5:00 PM.
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/VU A NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1762
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