Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 28, 2026
Application No. 18/684,127

FUSED AROMATIC MOLECULES AS ELECTRODE MATERIALS

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Feb 15, 2024
Priority
Aug 19, 2021 — provisional 63/234,849 +2 more
Examiner
FERGUSON, DION
Art Unit
2848
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Massachusetts Institute Of Technology
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
87%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
95%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 87% — above average
87%
Career Allowance Rate
867 granted / 999 resolved
+18.8% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+8.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 1m
Avg Prosecution
26 currently pending
Career history
1021
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
77.2%
+37.2% vs TC avg
§102
10.6%
-29.4% vs TC avg
§112
3.8%
-36.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 999 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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. 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. Claims 14 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2020/037246. With respect to claim 14, WO ‘246 discloses an electrochemically active charge storage material (see paragraph [0061]), comprising: an active material comprising a fused aromatic system comprising carbon atoms, hydrogen atoms, and a plurality of heteroatoms each replacing a carbon atom (see paragraph [0082]), wherein: the ratio of carbon atoms to heteroatoms is between greater than 1 and less than 2 (see paragraph [0082]), wherein the plurality of heteroatoms comprise N, O, S, and/or Se (see paragraph [0082]). With respect to claim 25, WO ‘246 discloses a charge storage device, comprising: the electrochemically active charge storage material of claim 14. See the abstract, noting an electrochemical cell. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-13 are allowed. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: the prior art fails to teach, or fairly suggest, a bis-tetraamino-benzoquinone molecule as recited in independent claims 1 and 2. Claims 3-13 are allowed by virtue of their dependency from claim 2. Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.” Claims 24 and 26-32 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 a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: with respect to claims 24-32, the prior art fails to teach, or fairly suggest, the details associated with claims 24-32, when taken in conjunction with the limitations of claim 14. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. CA 3160705 and CA 3115290 discloses aromatic fused compound including substituted heteroatoms. The Office further notes that references marked as “x” references on search reports for associated patent applications from foreign patent offices have publication dates that are after the PCT filing date and the provisional priority date for the instant application. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DION R FERGUSON whose telephone number is (571)270-7566. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 5:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.. 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, Timothy Dole can be reached at 571-272-2229. 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. /DION R. FERGUSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2848
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 15, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 31, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
May 14, 2026
Response Filed

Precedent Cases

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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
87%
Grant Probability
95%
With Interview (+8.2%)
2y 1m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 999 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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