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 .
2. This application is a 371 of App. No. PCT/EP2022/074549, filed on 09/05/2022, which is entitled to and claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional App. No. 63/241,305, filed 09/05/2022. The preliminary amendment filed on 08/10/2026 is entered and acknowledged by the Examiner.
3. Applicant’s election of Group I, claims 1-3, 19-25 (i.e., structure (Ia)) with traverse in the reply filed on 08/10/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 79-81,85-86 are amended to only cited structure (Ia). As such, claim 79-90 will be rejoined upon an indication that claim 1 is deemed allowable.
4. Claims 1-3, 19-25, 34-35, 48-49, 60, 62, 79-90 are pending. Claims 1-3, 19-25 are under examination on the merits. Claims 1, 3, 23, 79-81, 85-86 are amended. Claims 4-18, 26-33, 36-47, 50-59, 61, 63-78, 91-101 are cancelled. Claims 34-35, 48-49, 60, 62, 79-90 are withdrawn to a non-elected invention from further consideration.
Information Disclosure Statement
5. The information disclosure statement submitted on 06/05/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the examiner has considered the information disclosure statement.
Drawings
6. The drawings are received on 02/27/2024. These drawings are acceptable.
Priority
7. Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted on 02/27/2024 under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Claim Objections
8. Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities: It is suggested that “is selected from the group consisting of o a glycol ether derivative" be deleted and "is selected from the group consisting of a glycol ether derivative" be inserted in its stead so as to engender claim language clarity. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
9. 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.
10. Claims 1-3, 19-25 are 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 applicant regards as the invention. Claim 1 recites the limitation "wherein for the core moietie (Ia)" in line 24. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claims 2-3, 19-25 being depended on claim 1 are rejected as well.
For the purpose of examination against the prior art, claim 1 is construed to recite” wherein the (Ia)”.
11. Claims 1-3, 19-25 are 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention. Claim 1 recites “and for core moieties (Id), the divalent linking group is selected from the group consisting of oxy (-O-), oxycarbonyl (-O-C(=O)-), carbonyloxy(-C(=O)-O-), ethyne (≡ ), 1,4-phenylene(-Ph-), 1,4-phenyleneoxy(-Ph-O-), 1,4-oxyphenylene(-O-Ph-), carbonyl (-(C=O)-), sulfinyl (-(S(=O))-), sulfone (-S(=O)₂-), 1,2-ethene(-CH=CH-), 1,1- ethene (-C(=CH₂)-), and methylene (-CH₂-)”, wherein the core moieties (Id) is cancelled, thus claim 1 is indefinite. Claims 2-3, 19-25 being depended on claim 1 are rejected as well.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
12. 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.
13. Claims 1-3, 19-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a)(1) as being unpatentable over
Van der Pol et al. (A Polymer with the Mesomorphic Order of Liquid Crystalline Phthalocyanines Macromolecules 1990, 23, 155-162, hereinafter “Van der Pol”) or Rueda et al. (Polymerizable wedge-shaped ionic liquid crystals for fabrication of ion-conducting membranes: Impact of the
counterion on the phase structure and conductivity, European Polymer Journal 81 (2016) 674–685, hereinafter “Rueda”) in view of Wojtecki et al. (US Pub. No. 2019/0391494 A1, hereinafter “Wojtecki”).
Regarding claims 1-3, 19-21: Van der Pol teaches the present compound M-4 and a related compound with two cyano groups, as well as solutions of these compounds in DMSO, MeOH, acetone, DMF and 2-(dimethylamino)ethanol (Page 157, scheme 1, compounds 5 and 7; Page 161, left Col., lines 15-36; Page 161, left Col., line 54 to right Col., line 4), wherein X is an oxy(-O-) group, B is -OH moiety. Van der Pol does not expressly teach said compound of structure (I) comprises from about 0.5 wt. % to about 3.00 wt. % of said composition, and wherein said organic spin casting solvent is selected from the group consisting of a glycol ether derivative, a glycol ether ester derivative, and mixtures thereof.
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However, Wojtecki teaches a method comprising: forming an initial self-assembled monolayer (SAM) (Page 2, [0030]) on a top surface of a substrate using a compound having a structure of formula (2) as set forth (Page 4, [0057]). Wojtecki teaches compositions for preparing a SAM layer, wherein the compositions comprise a solvent and 0.1-5 wt % of a SAM-forming compound in contact with the solvent, wherein wt % is based on total weight of the composition. The SAM-forming compound can be dissolved or dispersed in the solvent. The compositions are suitable for forming a SAM layer comprising the SAM-forming compound. Exemplary solvents include, but are not limited to propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate (PGMEA), and propylene glycol monomethyl ether (PGME) (Page 5, [0078]).
Thus, the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made, since the selection of an appropriate self-assembled monolayers compound with a solvent based on its suitability for its intended use supported a prima facie obviousness determination in Sinclair & Carroll Co. v. Interchemical Corp., 325 U.S. 327, 65 USPQ 297 (1945).
Regarding claims 1-3, 21-25: Rueda teaches the present compound M-3 and a related compound, wherein X is an oxy(-O-) group, B is -OH moiety (Page 675, Chart 1). Rueda does not expressly teach said compound of structure (I) comprises from about 0.5 wt. % to about 3.00 wt. % of said composition, and wherein said organic spin casting solvent is selected from the group consisting of a glycol ether derivative, a glycol ether ester derivative, and mixtures thereof.
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However, Wojtecki teaches a method comprising: forming an initial self-assembled monolayer (SAM) (Page 2, [0030]) on a top surface of a substrate using a compound having a structure of formula (2) as set forth (Page 4, [0057]). Wojtecki teaches compositions for preparing a SAM layer, wherein the compositions comprise a solvent and 0.1-5 wt % of a SAM-forming compound in contact with the solvent, wherein wt % is based on total weight of the composition. The SAM-forming compound can be dissolved or dispersed in the solvent. The compositions are suitable for forming a SAM layer comprising the SAM-forming compound. Exemplary solvents include, but are not limited to propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate (PGMEA), and propylene glycol monomethyl ether (PGME) (Page 5, [0078]).
Thus, the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made, since the selection of an appropriate self-assembled monolayers compound with a solvent based on its suitability for its intended use supported a prima facie obviousness determination in Sinclair & Carroll Co. v. Interchemical Corp., 325 U.S. 327, 65 USPQ 297 (1945).
Examiner Information
14. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Bijan Ahvazi, Ph.D. whose telephone number is (571) 270-3449. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 9.00 A.M. -7 P.M..
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joseph Del Sole can be reached on 571-272-1130. 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.
/Bijan Ahvazi/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1763
09/08/2026
bijan.ahvazi@uspto.gov
Prosecution Insights