DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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 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.
Election/ Restriction
2. Applicant’s election without traverse of Species I, Figs. 1-15, claims 1-13, in the reply filed on 06/25/2026 is acknowledged.
3. Claims 14-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 06/25/2026, as noted above.
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.
4. Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bok et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2022/0393070 A1 (the ‘070 reference).
The reference discloses in Figs. 20, 21A, para [160] (paragraph(s) [0160]) and other text a display device as claimed.
Referring to claim 1, the ‘070 reference discloses a display device comprising:
a substrate (SUB, see Fig. 21A);
a first electrode (RFE1) and a third electrode (“third electrode”, label added by the examiner for ease of explanation, Fig. 20 reproduced below) integrally formed to be electrically connected to each other (by connection CNL1), and a second electrode (RFE2) and a fourth electrode (“fourth electrode”) integrally formed to be electrically connected to each other (by connection CNL2), the first, second, third, and fourth electrodes being spaced apart from each other above the substrate (the SUB);
a first dummy electrode (DMP1, para [257-258]]) and a second dummy electrode (“second dummy electrode”) spaced apart from each other above the substrate, and electrically insulated from the first, second, third, and fourth electrodes; and
a light-emitting element (LD, para [154]) electrically connected to the first and second electrodes (para [162]).
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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 of this title, 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.
5. Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. §103 as being unpatentable over Bok et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2022/0393070 A1 (the ‘070 reference) in view of Park et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 20220344314 or Chen et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 20250017069.
Referring to claim 13, the reference discloses a display device including the light-emitting element (LD) as detailed above for claim 1, but does not disclose a cover layer above the light-emitting element, an optical layer above the cover layer, and an overcoat layer above the optical layer.
Park, in disclosing a display device including a light-emitting element (ED, Fig. 29, para [258]), teaches a cover layer (EN) above the light-emitting element, an optical layer (CFL) above the cover layer, and an overcoat layer (DS) above the optical layer to control light emitted from the light-emitting element (para [258]; or Chen, in disclosing a display device including a light-emitting element (EM, Fig. 17B, para [156]), teaches a cover layer (201) above the light-emitting element, an optical layer (202, para [163]) above the cover layer, and an overcoat layer (14) above the optical layer to improve light-exiting efficiency from the light-emitting element (para [163]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed the reference’s display device with a cover layer above the light-emitting element, an optical layer above the cover layer, and an overcoat layer above the optical layer. One would have been motivated to make such a modification in view of the teachings in Park to control light emitted from the light-emitting element or in Chen to improve light-exiting efficiency from the light-emitting element.
Allowable Subject Matter
6. Claims 2-12 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 an examiner’s statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The cited art, whether taken singularly or in combination, especially when all limitations are considered within the claimed specific combination, fails to teach or render obvious a display device with all exclusive limitations as recited in claim 2, which may be characterized in that a pixel circuit layer is above the substrate and comprising a transistor electrically connected to the third electrode, and a common line above the substrate and integrally formed with the second and fourth electrodes to be electrically connected to the second and fourth electrodes.
Conclusion
7. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TU TU V HO whose telephone number is (571)272-1778. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Thursday 6:30 - 15:00, Monday through Thursday.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeff W Natalini can be reached on 571-272-2266. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
08-11-2026
/TU-TU V HO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2818
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