Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/546,490

COMPOUND, MATERIAL FOR ORGANIC ELECTROLUMINESCENT ELEMENT, ORGANIC ELECTROLUMINESCENT ELEMENT, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Aug 15, 2023
Priority
Feb 26, 2021 — JP 2021-031230 +3 more
Examiner
GARRETT, DAWN L
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Idemitsu Kosan Co.,ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
73%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3m
Est. Remaining
83%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 73% — above average
73%
Career Allowance Rate
710 granted / 978 resolved
+12.6% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+10.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 5m
Avg Prosecution
51 currently pending
Career history
1029
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.8%
-39.2% vs TC avg
§103
44.5%
+4.5% vs TC avg
§102
14.1%
-25.9% vs TC avg
§112
26.1%
-13.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 978 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . The preliminary amendment dated August 15, 2023 is entered. Claims 8-27, 29, 30, 32, and 33 were amended. Claims 1-33 are pending. The amendments of the specification and abstract dated August 15, 2023 are acknowledged. The second preliminary amendment of the specification dated August 28, 2023 is acknowledged. Claim Objections Claim 30 is objected to because of the following informalities: It is suggested the phrase “first hole transporting layer, the second hole transporting layer” be changed to “first hole transporting layer or the second hole transporting layer” for improved clarity. Appropriate correction is required. 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. (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. Claims 1-6, 8-14, 16-19, and 22-33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) or 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Uno (US 2022/0416174 A1). Uno teaches hole transporting polycyclic compounds having a Formula 1 (see par. 6) where A7 may be Formula 2-1 (see par. 9) and X is oxygen: PNG media_image1.png 152 272 media_image1.png Greyscale PNG media_image2.png 116 266 media_image2.png Greyscale . Uno discloses at least the following Formula 1 example compound “A112” for a light emitting device (see page 26): PNG media_image3.png 250 288 media_image3.png Greyscale . The compound is within claim 1 formula (1) and is identical to Compound 20 of claim 25. Also the compound is within the instant formula of claim 2 having a naphthyl group. The compound is also within at least claim 6, 8, 16, 22, and 26 requirements. Further regarding claim 1 and per instant claims 3, 13, and 17, example compounds “A109” and “A110” are also taught (see page 26): PNG media_image4.png 224 284 media_image4.png Greyscale PNG media_image5.png 220 294 media_image5.png Greyscale . Also the following example “F178” is further taught per instant claims 1, 3, 9, 17, and 23 (see page 232): PNG media_image6.png 338 308 media_image6.png Greyscale . Further regarding claim 1 and claims 4, 10, and 18, example compound “F184” is taught (see page 233): PNG media_image7.png 288 310 media_image7.png Greyscale . Regarding claim 1 and claims 5, 11, and 19, the following example “E184” is taught (see page 198): PNG media_image8.png 258 290 media_image8.png Greyscale . Regarding claim 1 and at least claim 12, the following example compound “F182” is taught (see page 232): PNG media_image9.png 230 290 media_image9.png Greyscale . Regarding claim 1 and at least claims 14 and 24, the following example compound “F197” (see page 235): PNG media_image10.png 288 302 media_image10.png Greyscale . Regarding device claims 27-29, an example device 12 (see Table 1, page 273, see par. 340, 341, 345) was made including the following example compound “E190” in a hole transporting layer: PNG media_image11.png 220 286 media_image11.png Greyscale . Regarding claims 30 and 31, a layer of 1-TNATA per instant “first hole transporting layer” was formed between an anode of ITO and the hole transport layer comprising “E190” (see par. 340) per instant “second hole transporting layer”. Regarding claim 32, the layer comprising “E190” is adjacent the emission layer (see par. 340-341). Regarding claim 33, the organic electroluminescent device displaying light is considered to be an electronic device (see par. 340-341). 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. Claims 6, 7, 15, 20, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uno (US 2022/0416174 A1). Uno is relied upon as set forth above. Uno teaches hole transporting polycyclic compounds having a Formula 1 (see par. 6) where A7 may be Formula 2-1 (see par. 9): PNG media_image1.png 152 272 media_image1.png Greyscale PNG media_image2.png 116 266 media_image2.png Greyscale . L1 and L2 may be direct linkage or arylene of 6 to 30 carbon atoms and m and n are 0 to 2 (see par. 10). One of Ar1-1 or Ar2-1 is substituted or unsubstituted aryl of 10 to 40 carbon atoms (see par. 10). More specifically Ar2-1 to Ar2-3 may be substituted phenyl, biphenyl group, or terphenyl (see par. 32) and the term “substituted” may include aryl group (see par. 58), which may be phenyl (see par. 64). While it is not seen where a specifically phenyl-substituted biphenyl or terphenyl group is shown in an example compound taught by Uno per specific biphenyl or terphenyl-containing groups of compounds in claims 6, 7, 15, 20, and 21, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have included phenyl substituents upon a biphenyl or terphenyl group for an Ar2-1 group of a compound according to Uno, because Uno teaches an aryl group may include the substitution. Given the teachings of the reference, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant invention to form compounds as described above, wherein the resultant compounds and devices comprising the compounds would also meet the limitations of the instant claims. One would expect to achieve functional compounds within the disclosure of Uno with a predictable result and a reasonable expectation of success. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Shahnawaz, et al. "Hole-transporting materials for organic light-emitting diodes: an overview." Journal of Materials Chemistry C 7.24 (2019): 7144-7158. The reference provides an overview of hole transporting material and is considered relevant to the field of the endeavor. Kato et al. US 2012/0248426 A1 teaches monoamine compounds specifically including the following substituted terphenyl groups (see page 10): PNG media_image12.png 160 206 media_image12.png Greyscale PNG media_image13.png 134 208 media_image13.png Greyscale . The above known substituted terphenyl groups are relevant to instant 1-e and 1-f groups. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Dawn Garrett whose telephone number is (571)272-1523. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Thursday (Eastern Time). 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. 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. /DAWN L GARRETT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1786
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 15, 2023
Application Filed
Aug 17, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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LIGHT-EMITTING DEVICE INCLUDING HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUND AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS INCLUDING THE LIGHT-EMITTING DEVICE
4y 6m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12735435
POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC DERIVATIVE COMPOUND AND ORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING DEVICE USING SAME
4y 1m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12740318
ORGANIC LIGHT EMITTING DIODE AND ORGANIC LIGHT EMITTING DEVICE INCLUDING THEREOF
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Patent 12729215
ELECTROLUMINESCENT MATERIAL AND DEVICE THEREOF
3y 10m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Patent 12723051
NOVEL COMPOUND AND ORGANIC LIGHT EMITTING DEVICE COMPRISING THE SAME
5y 4m to grant Granted Sep 01, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
73%
Grant Probability
83%
With Interview (+10.3%)
3y 5m (~3m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 978 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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