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 .
DETAILED ACTION
1. Claims 1-17 are pending in the current application.
2. This application has JAPAN 2022-189150 11/28/2022 JAPAN 2023-114990 07/13/2023.
Response to Restriction Election
3. Applicant’s election of group I and the species, compound A-13
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, in the reply filed on June 4, 2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.03(a)). Applicants’ representative fails to state which claims read on the elected species, which could be held non-responsive, however the examiner has determined that claims 1, 3, 5-8 read on the species. As detailed in the following rejections, the generic claim encompassing the elected species was not found patentable. The search and examination was continued until prior art was found that anticipated or rendered obvious a non-elected species that falls within the scope of the generic Markush claim reading on the elected species. As per MPEP 803.02 II. C. “[T]he examiner must continue to search the species of the claim unless the claim has been found to be unpatentable over prior art.” The examiner “need not continue to search the claim if the claim is rejected over prior art”. [ibid. D.] Therefore, the search and examination is restricted to the claims reading on the elected species, and claims not reading on the elected species are held withdrawn. Accordingly, claims 2 and 4 which do not read on the elected species are withdrawn.
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.
4. Claim(s) 1, 5-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee EP 3715437. Lee on pages 32-33 teaches compounds 24, 31 and 32:
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These compounds read on Formula One of claim 1 wherein M is Ir, L is the derivative 3 where R 40 and R 42 are alkyl, R 41 is H, m is 1, p is 2, R20 and 2R22 are methyl, R10 and R14 are H, F, or aryl, R7 is F, and all the other Rs are H, and n is 0.
Objections
5. Claim 3 is objected to for depending from a rejected base claim, but would be allowable in independent format with all the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claim.
Allowable Subject Matter
6. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The closest prior art is Lee as cited above. The differs from the compounds of claim 3 by the ring fusion with the variable X. There is no teaching suggestion motivation or explanation in the prior art that would lead one to a ring fused analog at these positions.
Conclusion
7. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID K O'DELL whose telephone number is (571)272-9071. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday 9:30 - 7:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Clinton Brooks can be reached on 571-270-7682. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DAVID K O'DELL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1621
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