DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: The Specification filed 10/10/23 recites the structures of compounds on the following pages: 45-97, 188, and 189 which are all graphically unclear due to their low resolution; they are barely legible. They all need to be replaced by structures which are clearly legible, with all bonds and atoms that are clearly drawn (i.e., with solid lines).
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
4. Claims 12 and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities: the claims recite the structures of compounds which are all graphically unclear due to their low resolution; they are barely legible). They all need to be replaced by structures which are clearly legible, with all bonds and atoms that are clearly drawn (i.e., with solid lines).
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Claims 1-7, 9, 13-15, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (WO 2020/022751 A1).
Examiner’s Note: The Office has relied on national phase publication US 2021/0053998 A1 as then English equivalent of WIPO publication WO 2020/022751 A1 (herein referred to as “Kim et al.”). Unless otherwise noted, all figure, page, and paragraph numbers referenced herein refer to numbers found in the national phase publication.
Kim et al. discloses compounds of the following form:
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196
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([0014]) where Y = B, N ([0018]) and R1 = independently substituted or unsubstituted C1-30 alkyl group ([0020]); alkyl groups include ethyl, pentyl, hexyl, “and the like” ([0027]). An embodiment is disclosed:
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(page 28) such that R2 = R7 = unsubstituted aryl group of 6 ring-forming carbon atoms (phenyl), R1 = R3-6 = R8-9 = R11 = hydrogen, and X1-2 = N(Rx) (with Rx = phenyl) of Applicant’s Formula 1; a = 0 of Applicant’s Formula 4-1. However, Kim et al. does not explicitly disclose a compound that fully reads on Applicant’s Formula 1, particularly in regards to the presence of a group of Applicant’s Formula 2. Nevertheless, it would have been obvious to modify the compound as disclosed by Kim et al. (above) such that R10 = Applicant’s Formula 2 (with Y = hydrogen, n = 3-5, and Ry = unsubstituted alkyl group of 1-3 carbon atoms). The motivation is provided by the fact that the modification merely involves the exchange of one group (ethyl) for a functional equivalent (pentyl or hexyl) selected from a highly finite list of viable alkyl alternatives as taught by Kim et al. (and easily envisioned from the scope of its general formula); further motivation exists, as the modification merely involves a homologous extension of a straight-chain alkyl producing a compound that can be expected to have highly similar chemical and physical properties, thus rendering the production predictable with a reasonable expectation of success.
Kim et al. further discloses an organic electroluminescent (EL) device comprising a pair of electrodes on a substrate, interposed therein the following layers: hole-injecting layer, hole-transporting layer, electron-blocking layer, light-emitting layer, electron-transporting layer, cathode, and capping layer ([0002]-[0003], [0286]-[0288]); its inventive compounds serve as (blue-emitting) dopant material (which is further combined with host material) in the light-emitting layer ([0005]-[0006]).
Allowable Subject Matter
8. Claims 8, 10-12, 16, and 18-20 are currently 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 (and also further amended, in regards Claims 12 and 20, to overcome the minor informalities as set forth above).
Examiner’s Note: The Office has relied on national phase publication US 2021/0053998 A1 as then English equivalent of WIPO publication WO 2020/022751 A1 (herein referred to as “Kim et al.”). Unless otherwise noted, all figure, page, and paragraph numbers referenced herein refer to numbers found in the national phase publication.
The closest prior art is provided by Kim et al. (WO 2020/022751 A1), which discloses compounds of the following form:
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196
376
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([0014]) where Y = B, N ([0018]) and R1 = independently substituted or unsubstituted C1-30 alkyl group ([0020]); alkyl groups include ethyl, pentyl, hexyl, “and the like” ([0027]). An embodiment is disclosed:
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274
370
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(page 28). However, it is the position of the Office that neither Kim et al. singly nor in further combination with any other prior art discloses any of the compounds as recited in the claims, particularly in regards to the nature of the substituents attached to the core boron-containing condensed heterocyclic group of Applicant’s Formula 1.
Conclusion
9. 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.
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/JAY YANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1786
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