Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/631,472

Organic electroluminescent device

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Apr 10, 2024
Priority
Aug 12, 2019 — provisional 62/885,550 +3 more
Examiner
WOLDEGEORGIS, ERMIAS T
Art Unit
2893
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
The Regents of the University of Michigan
OA Round
3 (Final)
71%
Grant Probability
Favorable
4-5
OA Rounds
9m
Est. Remaining
83%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 71% — above average
71%
Career Allowance Rate
533 granted / 753 resolved
+2.8% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+12.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
32 currently pending
Career history
798
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.1%
-39.9% vs TC avg
§103
90.7%
+50.7% vs TC avg
§102
7.8%
-32.2% vs TC avg
§112
0.9%
-39.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 753 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Allowable Subject Matter The indicated allowability of claims 21 and 27 are withdrawn in view of the newly discovered reference(s) to Kim’2019. Rejections based on the newly cited reference(s) follow. Response to Amendment Claims 1-20, 22-26, and 28-40 have been cancelled; Claims 41-56 have been newly added; and claims 21, 27, and 41-56 are currently pending. 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 21, 27, 41-42, and 52-56 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thompson et al. (US 2015/0060830 A1, hereinafter “Thompson”) in view of Kim et al. (Kim et al., “Systematic Control of the Orientation of Organic Phosphorescent Pt Complexes in Thin Films for Increased Optical Outcoupling”, Advanced Materials, June 2019, 1900921 (1 of 11), hereinafter “Kim’2019”). In regards to claim 21, Thompson discloses (See, for example, Fig. 1) an organic light emitting device (OLED) comprising: an anode (115); a cathode (160); a light emitting layer (135) having a first surface, a second surface, and a thickness therebetween, the light emitting layer (135) being disposed between the anode (115) and the cathode (160). However, Thompson is silent about that the light emitting layer comprises the light emitting layer comprises at least one phosphorescent compound of General formula (II): PNG media_image1.png 186 338 media_image1.png Greyscale wherein a transition dipole moment of the at least one phosphorescent compound is substantially perpendicular to the thickness of the light emitting layer. Kim’2019 discloses the light emitting layer comprises at least one phosphorescent compound of General formula (II) (Pt(II) phosphorescent complexes used as emitters in the light emitting layer, including the binuclear complex (dbx)(Pt(dpm))2, See, pp. 2-4); and wherein a transition dipole moment of the at least one phosphorescent compound is substantially perpendicular to the thickness of the light emitting layer (Kim’2019 directly measures the transition dipole moment (TDM) orientation of each Pt complex via angle-dependent p-polarized photoluminescence and reports θhor values as follows … (dbx)(Pt(dpm))2 θhor = 0.76±0.01, See, for example, pp. 2-4, Fig. 3C. Values of θhor above 0.67 (the isotropic baseline) indicate a net preferential horizontal alignment, meaning the TDM is substantially perpendicular to the thickness of the light emitting layer, see, for example, pp. 2, 6 and 9) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Thompson by Kim’2019 because this would help maximize outcoupling efficiency. In regards to claim 27, Thompson as modified above discloses wherein the platinum complex is: PNG media_image2.png 194 286 media_image2.png Greyscale (See, for example, Table 1, Kim’2019) In regards to claims 41 and 42, Thompson as modified above discloses wherein Z21, Z22, Z23, Z24, Z25, and Z26 are each independently CR23 (See, for example, Table 1, Kim’2019; R23 being hydrogen). In regards to claims 52, 53 and 54, Thompson as modified above discloses wherein R21 and R22 are independently selected from the group consisting of tert-butyl (See, for example, pp. 3-6, Kim’2019). In regards to claim 55, Thompson as modified above discloses that the light emitting layer further comprises a host (See, for example, page 7, Kim’2019). In regards to claim 56, Thompson as modified above discloses (See, for example, Fig. 1) the consumer product is selected from the group consisting of a flat panel display, a computer monitor, a medical monitor, a television, a billboard, a light for interior or exterior illumination and/or signaling, a heads-up display, a fully or partially transparent display, a flexible display, a laser printer, a telephone, a cell phone, tablet, a phablet, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wearable device, a laptop computer, a digital camera, a camcorder, a viewfinder, a micro-display that is less than 2 inches diagonal, a 3-D display, a virtual reality or augmented reality display, a vehicle, a video wall comprising multiple displays tiled together, a theater or stadium screen, a light therapy device, and a sign (See, for example, Par [0044]). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 43-51 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. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 21 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Conclusion THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Correspondence Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERMIAS T WOLDEGEORGIS whose telephone number is (571)270-5350. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8 am - 5 pm E.S.T.. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Britt Hanley can be reached on 571-270-3042. 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. /ERMIAS T WOLDEGEORGIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 10, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 12, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Sep 12, 2025
Response Filed
Dec 08, 2025
Final Rejection mailed — §103
Mar 09, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Mar 27, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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LIGHT-EMITTING DEVICE AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS INCLUDING SAME
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3y 4m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
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METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A LAYER OF MULTI-CATION PEROVSKITE TO FORM PHOTO-ACTIVE LAYER INVOLVING SLOT DIE COATING OR A BLADE COATING OF WET FILM, AND SWEEPING OF THE WET FILM BY FLOW OF DRY AIR OR INERT GAS HAVING SPECIFIED SPEED, AND APPLICATION OF HEAT TREATMENT TO SUBSTRATE
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Patent 12626642
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Patent 12622028
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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

4-5
Expected OA Rounds
71%
Grant Probability
83%
With Interview (+12.4%)
2y 10m (~9m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 753 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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