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 Status
The preliminary amendment filed on 10/19/2023 is acknowledged. Claims 1-15 were amended.
Claims 1-15 are pending.
Priority
The instant application is a national stage application of PCT/EP2022/060905 filed on 04/25/2022, which claims foreign priority to European application no. 22152274.1 filed on 01/19/2022 and application no. PCT/EP2021/060703 filed on 04/23/2021.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/19/2023, 1/18/2025, 05/22/2025, 01/05/2026, 01/23/2026, 02/06/2026, 02/17/2026, 03/09/2026, 03/12/2026, 04/20/2026, 05/28/2026, 07/14/2026, 08/13/2026, and 08/18/2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-11, and species wherein Z is a direct bond, in the reply filed on 07/09/2026 is acknowledged.
The election/restriction requirement is deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 12-15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 07/09/2026.
Claims 1-11 are under examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 5 recites Formulas IIa, IIb, and IIc (shown below). Formula IIb and IIc are identical. The specification also shows Formula IIb and IIc to also be identical. The claim is ambiguous because two completely identical formulas are recited under different labels. Furthermore, one of ordinary skill in the art would be unable to discern if applicant unintentionally recited duplicates or whether the structure should, in fact, be different. Therefore, the scope of the claim is indefinite.
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For the purposed of applying prior art, the position of REWG in Formula IIc will be interpreted as ortho to the rest of molecule i.e. on the same phenyl ring on the carbon directly adjacent to the bond attaching the ring to the rest of the molecule.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-11 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-2 and 8-9 of copending Application No. 18556629 (`629).
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because ‘629 does not recite the instant exocyclic ring 10 (shown below for clarity) and the instant REWG.
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‘629 recites the following: Claim 1: An organic molecule, comprising a structure represented by Formula I (shown below with instant Formula I for comparison) wherein n, m, p, and q is each an integer selected from 0 and 1, wherein n + m = 1 and p + q = 1; Z is at each occurrence independently selected from the group consisting of a direct bond, CR3R4, C=CR3R4, C=0, C=NR3, NR3, O, SiR3R4, S, S(O) and S(O)2; R1 (corresponding to the instant RIII) is selected from the group consisting of C1-C6-alkyl and C6-C12-aryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more C1-C6-alkyl substituents; R2 (corresponding to the instant RII and instant ring labelled 10) is at each occurrence independently from each other selected form the group consisting of: hydrogen, deuterium, N(R5)2, ORS, Si(R5)3, C1-C40-alkyl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R5C=CR5,C=C, Si(R5)2, Ge(R5)2, Sn(R5)2, C=0,C=S, C=Se, C=NR5, P(=O)(R5), SO, SO2, NR5,O, S or CONR5; C6-C60-aryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5; and C2-C57-heteroaryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5; Ra is at each occurrence independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, deuterium, N(R5)2, ORS, Si(R5)3, B(OR5)2, B(R5)2, OSO2R5,CF3,CN, F, Br, I,C1-C40-alkyl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R5C=CR5, C≡C, Si(R5)2, Ge(R5)2, Sn(R5)2, C=0, C=S, C=Se, C=NR5, P(=O)(R5), SO, SO2, NR5, O, S or CONR5; C1-C40-alkoxy, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R5C=CR5, C≡C, Si(R5)2, Ge(R5)2, Sn(R5)2, C=0, C=S, C=Se, C=NR5, P(=O)(R5), SO, SO2, NR5,O,S or CONR5; C1-C40-thioalkoxy, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R5C=CR5,C≡C, Si(R5)2, Ge(R5)2, Sn(R5)2, C=0, C=S, C=Se, C=NR5, P(=O)(R5), SO, SO2, NR5,O,S or CONR5; C2-C40-alkenyl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R5C=CR5,C≡C, Si(R5)2, Ge(R5)2, Sn(R5)2, C=0, C=S, C=Se, C=NR5, P(=O)(R5), SO, SO2, NR5,O, S or CONR5; C2-C40-alkynyl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R5C=CR5,C≡C, Si(R5)2, Ge(R5)2, Sn(R5)2, C=O, C=S, C=Se, C=NR5, P(=O)(R5), SO, SO2, NR5,O, S or CONR5; C6-C60-aryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5; and C2-C57-heteroaryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5; R5 is at each occurrence independently from another selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, deuterium, N(R6)2, OR6, Si(R6)3, B(OR6)2, B(R6)2, OSO2R6, CF3, CN, F, Br, I, C1-C40-alkyl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R6 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R6C=CR6, C≡C, Si(R6)2, Ge(R6)2, Sn(R6)2, C=O, C=S, C=Se, C=NR6, P(=O)(R6), SO, SO2, NR6,O, S or CONR6; C1-C40-alkoxy, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R6 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R6C=CR6, C≡C, Si(R6)2, Ge(R6)2, Sn(R6)2, C=O, C=S, C=Se, C=NR6, P(=O)(R6), SO, SO2, NR6,O,S or CONR6; C1-C40-thioalkoxy, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R6 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R6C=CR6, C≡C, Si(R6)2, Ge(R6)2, Sn(R6)2, C=O, C=S, C=Se, C=NR6, P(=O)(R6), SO, SO2, NR6,O, S or CONR6; C2-C40-alkenyl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R6 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R6C=CR6, C≡C, Si(R6)2, Ge(R6)2, Sn(R6)2, C=O, C=S, C=Se, C=NR6, P(=O)(R6), SO, SO2, NR6,O, S or CONR6; C2-C40-alkynyl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R6 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R6C=CR6, C≡C, Si(R6)2, Ge(R6)2, Sn(R6)2, C=O, C=S, C=Se, C=NR6, P(=O)(R6), SO, SO2, NR6,O, S or CONR6; C6-C60-aryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R6; and C2-C57-heteroaryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R6; R6 is at each occurrence independently from another selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, deuterium, OPh, CF3,CN, F, C1-C5-alkyl, wherein one or more hydrogen atoms are optionally, independently substituted by deuterium, CN, CF3, or F; C1-C5-alkoxy, wherein one or more hydrogen atoms are optionally, independently substituted by deuterium, CN, CF3, or F; C1-C5-thioalkoxy, wherein one or more hydrogen atoms are optionally, independently substituted by deuterium, CN, CF3, or F; C2-C5-alkenyl, wherein one or more hydrogen atoms are optionally, independently substituted by deuterium, CN, CF3, or F; C2-C5-alkynyl, wherein one or more hydrogen atoms are optionally, independently substituted by deuterium, CN, CF3, or F; C6-C18-aryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more C1-C5-alkyl substituents; C2-C17-heteroaryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more C1-C5-alkyl substituents; N(C6-C18-aryl)2; N(C2-C17-heteroaryl)2, and N(C2-C17-heteroaryl)(C6-C18-aryl); wherein any of the substituents Ra, R5, and R6 may independently form a mono- or polycyclic, aliphatic, aromatic, heteroaromatic and/or benzo-fused ring system with one or more substituents Ra, R5 and/or R6; wherein R1 and R2 may form a mono- or polycyclic, aliphatic, aromatic, heteroaromatic and/or benzo-fused ring system with one or more substituents R1 and/or R2. Claim 2: The organic molecule according to claim 1, wherein Z is a direct bond. Claim 8: A composition comprising: (a) an organic molecule according to claim 1, (b) a host material, which differs from the organic molecule, and (c) optionally, a dye and/or a solvent. Claim 9: The composition according to claim 8 containing 0.1-30% by weight of the organic molecule.
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the claims of ‘629 by selecting Z, as a direct bond, C6-aryl for R2, and selecting the substituent R5 on the C6 aryl to be CF3, CN, F, C6-C60-aryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R6, and C2-C57-heteroaryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R6 to arrive at the instantly claimed invention. It would have been prima facie obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to C6-aryl for R2 and select the substituent R5 on the C6 aryl to be CF3, CN, F, C6-C60-aryl or C2-C57-heteroaryl because ‘629 recites R2 can be C6-aryl and can have the substituent R5 which can be CF3, CN, F, C6-C60-aryl or C2-C57-heteroaryl. One of ordinary skill in the art would have a reasonable expectation of success because ‘629 explicitly recites these as alternatives for those positions.
Regarding instant claims 2 and 3, ‘629 recites RV is selected from the group consisting of C6-C60 aryl, corresponding to the instant ring 10. The C6-C60 aryl is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5, corresponding to the instant REWG. R5 on the C6 aryl can be selected from CF3, CN, F, C6-C60-aryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R6, and C2-C57-heteroaryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R6. R5 corresponds to the instant REWG being selected from F, CF3, CN, or a group E being an aryl having 6 to 14 aromatic ring atoms or a heteroaryl group having 6 to 14 aromatic ring atoms.
Regarding instant claim 4, ‘629 recites wherein Z is a direct bond, corresponding to the instant molecule wherein Z is a direct bond.
Regarding instant claim 5, ‘629 recites RV is selected from the group consisting of C6-C60 aryl, corresponding to the instant ring 10. The C6-C60 aryl is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5, corresponding to the instant REWG. ‘629 does not specify the location of the substitution on the Ph. However, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify ‘629 by substituting on the ortho, meta, or para position of Ph to arrive at the instantly claimed invention. It would have been prima facie obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to substitute the Ph at the ortho, meta, or para positions because the phenyl ring only has three unique positions (ortho, meta, and para) available for substitution. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would choose one of these three locations to choose for the position of the substituent and this would predictably result in substitution on the Ph ring.
Regarding instant claim 6, ‘629 recites wherein Z is a direct bond, corresponding to the instant molecule wherein Z is a direct bond, corresponding to the instant Formula IIIc.
Regarding instant claim 7, ‘629 recites wherein R2 is a hydrogen, corresponding to the instant formula IVb.
Regarding instant claim 8, ‘629 recites wherein Ra is at each occurrence independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, deuterium, N(R5)2, CF3, CN, C1-C40-alkyl, C6-C60-aryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5, and C2-C57-heteroaryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5, corresponding to the instant Ra being selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, deuterium, Me, iPr, tBu, CN, CF3, Ph, pyridinyl, pyrimidinyl, carbazolyl, triazinyl, and N(Ph)2.
Regarding instant claim 9, ‘629 recites wherein Ra is at each occurrence independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, deuterium, N(R5)2, CF3, CN, C1-C40-alkyl, C6-C60-aryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5, and C2-C57-heteroaryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5. ‘629 does not recite instant Formula Va, Vb, and Vc wherein specific Ra substituents are modified to hydrogen. However, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify ‘629 by modifying specific Ra substituents to hydrogen to arrive at the instantly claimed invention. It would have been prima facie obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modifying specific Ra substituents to hydrogen because ‘629 teaches Ra can be hydrogen. One of ordinary skill in the art would have a reasonable expectation of success because ‘629 explicitly teaches Ra is at each occurrence independently selected from hydrogen.
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Further regarding instant claim 9, the modifications of Ra to arrive at instant formulas Va, Vb, and Vc are shown below respectively.
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Regarding instant claim 10, ‘629 recites a composition comprising: (a) an organic molecule, (b) a host material, which differs from the organic molecule, and (c) optionally, a dye and/or a solvent, corresponding to the instant composition comprising an organic molecule, a host material, which differs from the organic molecule, and optionally, a dye and/or solvent.
Regarding instant claim 11, ‘629 recites the composition containing 0.1-30% by weight of the organic molecule, corresponding to the instant composition comprising 0.1-30% by weight of the organic molecule. In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists (see MPEP 2144.05(I)).
Claims 1-8 and 10-11 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 17-19 and 25-26 of copending Application No. 18728003 (`003).
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because ‘003 does not recite the instant exocyclic ring 10 (shown below for clarity) and the instant REWG. ‘003 recites claim 17. An organic molecule, comprising a structure represented by Formula I (shown below). The similarities in scope of ‘629 to the instant application are highlighted in bold below.
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‘003 recites the following: Claim 17: An organic molecule, comprising a structure represented by Formula I (shown below with instant Formula I for comparison) wherein p and q are each an integer selected from the group consisting of 0 and 1, wherein p + q = 1; r is at each occurrence an integer selected from the group consisting of 0, 1, 2, and 3; s is at each occurrence an integer selected from the group consisting of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4; Z is at each occurrence independently selected from the group consisting of a direct bond, CR3R4, C=CR3R4, C=0, C=NR3, NR3, O, SiR3R4, S, S(O) and S(O)2; Ra, R3, and R4 are at each occurrence independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, deuterium, N(R5)2, ORS, Si(R5)3, B(OR5)2, B(R5)2, OSO2R5,CF3,CN, F, Br, I,C1-C40-alkyl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R5C=CR5, C≡C, Si(R5)2, Ge(R5)2, Sn(R5)2, C=0, C=S, C=Se, C=NR5, P(=O)(R5), SO, SO2, NR5, O, S or CONR5; C1-C40-alkoxy, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R5C=CR5, C≡C, Si(R5)2, Ge(R5)2, Sn(R5)2, C=0, C=S, C=Se, C=NR5, P(=O)(R5), SO, SO2, NR5,O,S or CONR5; C1-C40-thioalkoxy, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R5C=CR5,C≡C, Si(R5)2, Ge(R5)2, Sn(R5)2, C=0, C=S, C=Se, C=NR5, P(=O)(R5), SO, SO2, NR5,O,S or CONR5; C2-C40-alkenyl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R5C=CR5,C≡C, Si(R5)2, Ge(R5)2, Sn(R5)2, C=0, C=S, C=Se, C=NR5, P(=O)(R5), SO, SO2, NR5,O, S or CONR5; C2-C40-alkynyl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R5C=CR5,C≡C, Si(R5)2, Ge(R5)2, Sn(R5)2, C=O, C=S, C=Se, C=NR5, P(=O)(R5), SO, SO2, NR5,O, S or CONR5; C6-C60-aryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5; and C2-C57-heteroaryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5; R5 is at each occurrence independently from another selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, deuterium, N(R6)2, OR6, Si(R6)3, B(OR6)2, B(R6)2, OSO2R6, CF3, CN, F, Br, I, C1-C40-alkyl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R6 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R6C=CR6, C≡C, Si(R6)2, Ge(R6)2, Sn(R6)2, C=O, C=S, C=Se, C=NR6, P(=O)(R6), SO, SO2, NR6,O, S or CONR6; C1-C40-alkoxy, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R6 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R6C=CR6, C≡C, Si(R6)2, Ge(R6)2, Sn(R6)2, C=O, C=S, C=Se, C=NR6, P(=O)(R6), SO, SO2, NR6,O,S or CONR6; C1-C40-thioalkoxy, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R6 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R6C=CR6, C≡C, Si(R6)2, Ge(R6)2, Sn(R6)2, C=O, C=S, C=Se, C=NR6, P(=O)(R6), SO, SO2, NR6,O, S or CONR6; C2-C40-alkenyl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R6 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R6C=CR6, C≡C, Si(R6)2, Ge(R6)2, Sn(R6)2, C=O, C=S, C=Se, C=NR6, P(=O)(R6), SO, SO2, NR6,O, S or CONR6; C2-C40-alkynyl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R6 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R6C=CR6, C≡C, Si(R6)2, Ge(R6)2, Sn(R6)2, C=O, C=S, C=Se, C=NR6, P(=O)(R6), SO, SO2, NR6,O, S or CONR6; C6-C60-aryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R6; and C2-C57-heteroaryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R6; R6 is at each occurrence independently from another selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, deuterium, OPh, CF3,CN, F, C1-C5-alkyl, wherein one or more hydrogen atoms are optionally, independently substituted by deuterium, CN, CF3, or F; C1-C5-alkoxy, wherein one or more hydrogen atoms are optionally, independently substituted by deuterium, CN, CF3, or F; C1-C5-thioalkoxy, wherein one or more hydrogen atoms are optionally, independently substituted by deuterium, CN, CF3, or F; C2-C5-alkenyl, wherein one or more hydrogen atoms are optionally, independently substituted by deuterium, CN, CF3, or F; C2-C5-alkynyl, wherein one or more hydrogen atoms are optionally, independently substituted by deuterium, CN, CF3, or F; C6-C18-aryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more C1-C5-alkyl substituents; C2-C17-heteroaryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more C1-C5-alkyl substituents; N(C6-C18-aryl)2; N(C2-C17-heteroaryl)2, and N(C2-C17-heteroaryl)(C6-C18-aryl); wherein any of the substituents Ra, R3, R4, R5, and/or R6 may independently form a mono- or polycyclic, aliphatic, aromatic, heteroaromatic and/or benzo-fused ring system with one or more substituents Ra, R3, R4, R5, and R6. Claim 18: The organic molecule according to claim 17, comprising a structure of Formula Ia (shown below). Claim 19: The organic molecule according to claim
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17, wherein Ra is at each occurrence independently from each other selected from the group consisting of: Ph, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents independently from each other selected from the group consisting of CN, CF3, and Ph. Claim 25: A composition comprising: the organic molecule, a host material, which differs from the organic molecule, and optionally, a dye and/or a solvent. Claim 26: The composition containing 0.1-30% by weight of the organic molecule based on a total weight of 100% by weight of the composition.
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the claims of ‘003 by selecting Z, as a direct bond, C6-aryl for Ra, and selecting the substituent R5 on the C6 aryl to be CF3, CN, F, C6-C60-aryl, and C2-C57-heteroaryl to arrive at the instantly claimed invention. It would have been prima facie obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to C6-aryl for R2 and select the substituent R5 on the C6 aryl to be CF3, CN, F, C6-C60-aryl or C2-C57-heteroaryl because ‘003 recites Ra can be C6-aryl and can have the substituent R5 which can be CF3, CN, F, C6-C60-aryl or C2-C57-heteroaryl. One of ordinary skill in the art would have a reasonable expectation of success because ‘003 explicitly recites these as alternatives for those positions.
Regarding instant claims 2 and 3, ’003 recites wherein Ra is at each occurrence independently from each other selected from the group consisting of: Ph, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents independently from each other selected from the group consisting of CN, CF3, and Ph. Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the claims of ‘003 by selecting Z, as a direct bond, Ph for Ra, and selecting the substituent on the Ph to be CF3, CN, or Ph, to arrive at the instantly claimed invention. It would have been prima facie obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to select Z, as a direct bond, Ph for R2 and select the substituent on the Ph to be CF3, CN, or Ph because ‘003 recites Z can be a direct bond, Ra can be Ph and can have the substituents which can be CF3, CN, or Ph. One of ordinary skill in the art would have a reasonable expectation of success because ‘003 explicitly recites these as alternatives for those positions.
Further regarding instant claim 2, ’003 recites wherein Ra is selected from Ph which can be substituted with CN, corresponding to the instant REWG being CN, CF3, corresponding to the instant REWG being CF3, and Ph, corresponding to the instant REWG being a group E which is an aryl having 2 aromatic ring atoms.
Regarding instant claim 3, ’003 recites wherein Ra is selected from Ph which can be substituted with CN, corresponding to the instant REWG being CN, CF3, corresponding to the instant REWG being CF3.
Regarding instant claim 4, ‘003 recites the organic molecule comprising a structure of Formula Ia wherein (Z)p is a direct bond (shown above), corresponding to the instant organic molecule wherein Z is a direct bond.
Regarding instant claim 5, ’003 recites wherein Ra is selected from Ph which can be substituted with CN, or CF3. ‘003 does not specify the location of the substitution on the Ph. However, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify ‘003 by substituting on the ortho, meta, or para position of Ph to arrive at the instantly claimed invention. It would have been prima facie obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to substitute the Ph at the ortho, meta, or para positions because the phenyl ring only has three unique positions (ortho, meta, and para) available for substitution. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would choose one of these three locations to choose for the position of the substituent and this would predictably result in substitution on the Ph ring.
Regarding instant claim 6, ‘003 recites organic molecule, comprising a structure of Formula Ia (shown above), corresponding to the instant Formula IIIc.
Regarding instant claim 7, ‘003 recites Ra is at each occurrence independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, corresponding to the instant Formulas IVa and IVb.
Regarding instant claim 8, ‘003 recites wherein Ra is at each occurrence independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, deuterium, N(R5)2, CF3, CN, C1-C40-alkyl, C6-C60-aryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5, and C2-C57-heteroaryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5, corresponding to the instant Ra being selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, deuterium, Me, iPr, tBu, CN, CF3, Ph, pyridinyl, pyrimidinyl, carbazolyl, triazinyl, and N(Ph)2.
Regarding instant claim 10, ‘003 recites a composition comprising: the organic molecule, a host material, which differs from the organic molecule, and optionally, a dye and/or a solvent, corresponding to the instant composition comprising an organic molecule, a host material, which differs from the organic molecule, and optionally, a dye and/or solvent.
Regarding instant claim 11, ‘003 recites the composition containing 0.1-30% by weight of the organic molecule based on a total weight of 100% by weight of the composition, corresponding to the instant composition comprising 0.1-30% by weight of the organic molecule. In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists (see MPEP 2144.05(I)).
Claims 1-10 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 20 and 27 of copending Application No. 17997022 (`022).
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‘022 recites the following: Claim 20: The organic molecule according to claim 16, comprising a structure of Formula III-2 (shown below) wherein R3 is a C6-C18-aryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5, and wherein R1, R2, RI, RII, RIII, RIV, RV, and Ra are selected from hydrogen, deuterium, N(R5)2, OR5, Si(R5)3, B(OR5)2, B(R5)2, OSO2R5,CF3,CN, F, Br, I, C1-C40-alkyl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R5C=CR5, C≡C, Si(R5)2, Ge(R5)2, Sn(R5)2, C=0, C=S, C=Se, C=NR5, P(=O)(R5), SO, SO2, NR5, O, S or CONR5; C1-C40-alkoxy, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R5C=CR5, C≡C, Si(R5)2, Ge(R5)2, Sn(R5)2, C=0, C=S, C=Se, C=NR5, P(=O)(R5), SO, SO2, NR5,O,S or CONR5; C1-C40-thioalkoxy, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R5C=CR5,C≡C, Si(R5)2, Ge(R5)2, Sn(R5)2, C=0, C=S, C=Se, C=NR5, P(=O)(R5), SO, SO2, NR5,O,S or CONR5; C2-C40-alkenyl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R5C=CR5,C≡C, Si(R5)2, Ge(R5)2, Sn(R5)2, C=0, C=S, C=Se, C=NR5, P(=O)(R5), SO, SO2, NR5,O, S or CONR5; C2-C40-alkynyl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5 and wherein one or more non-adjacent CH2-groups are optionally substituted by R5C=CR5,C≡C, Si(R5)2, Ge(R5)2, Sn(R5)2, C=O, C=S, C=Se, C=NR5, P(=O)(R5), SO, SO2, NR5,O, S or CONR5; C6-C60-aryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5; and C2-C57-heteroaryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5; RV is selected from the group consisting of C6-C60 aryl which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5 (see page 2, line 6). R5 is at each occurrence independently from another selected from a Markush group consisting of CF3, CN, F, and C6-C60 aryl and C2-C57 heteroaryl which are both optionally substituted with one or more substituents R6 (see page 4, lines 20-36 and page 5, lines 1-14). R6 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, deuterium, CF3, CN, F, C1-C5 alkyl, C1-C5 alkoxy, C1-C5 thioalkoxy, C2-C5 alkenyl, C2-C5 alkynyl, C6-C18 aryl, C2-C17 heteroaryl, N(C6-C18-aryl)2, N(C2-C17-heteroaryl)2, and N(C2-C17-heteroaryl) (C6-C18-aryl), and wherein optionally, one or more substituents R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, RI, RII, RIII, RIV, and RV, each independently form a mono- or polycyclic, aliphatic, aromatic, heteroaromatic and/or benzo-fused ring system with one or more adjacent substituents selected from among R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, RI, RII, RIII, RIV, and RV. Claim 27: A composition, comprising:(a) the organic molecule according to claim 16, as an emitter and/or a host, and (b) an emitter and/or a host material, which differs from the organic molecule, and (c) optionally, a dye and/or a solvent.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify ‘022 by selecting the substituent R5 on the C6 aryl ring of R3 to form a benzo-fused ring system with substituent R1 on ring labelled 6 and selecting RV to be Ph to arrive at the instantly claimed invention. It would have been prima facie obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modify '022 by selecting the substituent R5 on the C6 aryl ring of R3 to form a benzo-fused ring system with substituent R1 on ring labelled 6 and selecting RV to be Ph because ‘022 recites R5 can form a benzo-fused ring system with substituent R1 and RV to be Ph. One of ordinary skill in the art would have a reasonable expectation of success because ‘022 explicitly recites these functional groups are suitable alternatives for that position.
Regarding instant claim 2, ‘022 recites RV is selected from the group consisting of C6-C60 aryl, corresponding to the instant ring 10. The C6-C60 aryl is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5, corresponding to the instant REWG. R5 is at each occurrence independently from another selected from a Markush group consisting of CF3, CN, F, and C6-C60 aryl and C2-C57 heteroaryl which are both optionally substituted with one or more substituents R6, corresponding to the instant REWG being selected from the group consisting of F, CF3, CN, a group E which is an aryl having 6 to 14 aromatic ring atoms or a heteroaryl group having 6 to 14 aromatic ring atoms which may contain substituents R5, and which contains, as constituents of the aromatic ring, one or more groups V, wherein the one or more groups V are selected from the group consisting of =N-, =C(F)-, =C(CN)-, and =C(CF3)-, and wherein the heteroaryl group is not bonded via a nitrogen atom.
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Regarding instant claim 3, ‘022 recites R5, which corresponds to the instant REWG, is C2-C57 heteroaryl which are both optionally substituted with one or more substituents R6, with R6 corresponding to the instant R5 on REWG, wherein R6 is CF3, CN, F, C1-C5 alkyl, C1-C5 alkoxy, C1-C5 thioalkoxy, C2-C5 alkenyl, C2-C5 alkynyl, C6-C18 aryl, C2-C17 heteroaryl, N(C6-C18-aryl)2, N(C2-C17-heteroaryl)2, and N(C2-C17-heteroaryl) (C6-C18-aryl), corresponding to all instant structures shown on pages 8 and 9 of the instant claims as well as the structures on page 10 shown below.
Regarding instant claim 4, ‘022 recites the compound shown above, corresponding to the instant Formula I wherein Z is a direct bond.
Regarding instant claim 5, ‘022 recites RV is selected from the group consisting of C6-C60 aryl, corresponding to the instant ring 10. The C6-C60 aryl is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5, corresponding to the instant REWG. ‘022 does not specify the location of the substitution on the Ph. However, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify ‘022 by substituting on the ortho, meta, or para position of Ph to arrive at the instantly claimed invention. It would have been prima facie obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to substitute the Ph at the ortho, meta, or para positions because the phenyl ring only has three unique positions (ortho, meta, and para) available for substitution. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would choose one of these three locations to choose for the position of the substituent and this would predictably result in substitution on the Ph ring.
Regarding instant claim 6, ‘022 recites the compound shown above and forming a benzo-fused ring system with substituent R1 and RV to be Ph, corresponding to the instant formula IIIc.
Regarding instant claim 7, ‘022 recites R2 and RIV is at each occurrence independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, corresponding to the instant Formulas IVa and IVb.
Regarding instant claim 8, ‘022 recites wherein Ra is at each occurrence independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, deuterium, N(R5)2, CF3, CN, C1-C40-alkyl, C6-C60-aryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5, and C2-C57-heteroaryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5, corresponding to the instant Ra being selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, deuterium, Me, iPr, tBu, CN, CF3, Ph, pyridinyl, pyrimidinyl, carbazolyl, triazinyl, and N(Ph)2.
Regarding instant claim 9, ‘022 recites wherein Ra is at each occurrence independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, deuterium, N(R5)2, CF3, CN, C1-C40-alkyl, C6-C60-aryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5, and C2-C57-heteroaryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents R5. ‘022 does not recite instant Formula Va wherein specific Ra substituents are modified to hydrogen. However, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify ‘022 by modifying specific Ra substituents to hydrogen to arrive at the instantly claimed invention. It would have been prima facie obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modifying specific Ra substituents to hydrogen because ‘022 teaches Ra can be hydrogen. One of ordinary skill in the art would have a reasonable expectation of success because ‘022 explicitly teaches Ra is at each occurrence independently selected from hydrogen.
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Further regarding instant claim 9, the modifications of Ra to arrive at instant formula Va is shown below.
Regarding instant claim 10, ‘022 recites a composition, comprising: (a) an organic molecule, in particular in the form of an emitter and/or a host, and (b) an emitter and/or a host material, which differs from the organic molecule, and (c) optionally, a dye and/or a solvent, corresponding to the instant composition comprising an organic molecule, a host material, which differs from the organic molecule, and optionally, a dye and/or solvent.
Conclusion
No claim is found allowable.
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/KRISTEN W BRADY/ Examiner, Art Unit 1692
/SCARLETT Y GOON/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1693
