DETAILED ACTION
1. 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 Office Action is responsive to the amendment filed on 02/26/2026.
3. Claims 1-17 are pending. Claims 1-17are under examination on the merits. Claims 1-2, 4-5 are amended.
4. The objections and rejections not addressed below are deemed withdrawn.
5. Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-17 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any of the references being used in the current rejection.
Information Disclosure Statement
6. The information disclosure statements submitted on 02/26/2026, and 03/05/2026 are
in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the examiner has considered the information disclosure statements.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
7. The following is a quotation of the fourth paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112:
Subject to the [fifth paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
8. Claims 2-3 are rejected under 35 USC 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of a previous claim. Applicant is required to cancel the claim, or amend the claim to place the claim in proper dependent form, or rewrite the claim in independent form. Claim 2, as written, depends on claim 1, which recites “Y1 is selected from hydrogen, a halogen group, a methyl group, an alkoxy group, a phenyl group, a diphenylamide group, a thiophenyl group, or a phenylethynyl group”, however, based on the content of the claim 1,Y1 is Br moiety. Thus, claim 2 as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of a previous claim 1. Claim 3 being depended on claim 2 is rejected as well.
9. Claim 4 is rejected under 35 USC 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of a previous claim. Applicant is required to cancel the claim, or amend the claim to place the claim in proper dependent form, or rewrite the claim in independent form. Claim 4, as written, depends on claim 1, which recites “Y1 is selected from hydrogen, a halogen group, a methyl group, an alkoxy group, a phenyl group, a diphenylamide group, a thiophenyl group, or a phenylethynyl group”, however, based on the content of the claim 1,Y1 is Br moiety. Thus, claim 4 as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of a previous
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
10. 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.
11. Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a)(1) as being unpatentable over Gon et al. (Vapochromic Luminescent π-Conjugated Systems with Reversible Coordination-Number Control of Hypervalent Tin(IV)-Fused Azobenzene Complexes, Chem. Eur. J. 2021, 27, 7561-7571, hereinafter “Gon”).
Regarding claims 1-4: Gon teaches a pigment, wherein the pigment is the syntheses of the tin(IV)-fused azobenzene (TAz) complexes with halogens (TAz-F). (Page 7562, left Col., Results and Discussion, Scheme 1). Gon does not expressly teach Y1 is Br.
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However, 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 it is held to be a prima facie case of obviousness since a person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized the interchangeability of the element (i.e. functional group) shown in the prior art for the corresponding element disclosed in the specification wherein the side chains syntheses merely done by routine experimentation.
Regarding claim 5: Gon teaches a solution comprising: a pigment, wherein the pigment is the syntheses of the tin(IV)-fused azobenzene (TAz) complexes with halogens (TAz-F) (Page 7562, left Col., Results and Discussion, Scheme 1), and an organic solvent, wherein a concentration of the pigment is 1 x 10⁻10 mol/L or more and 1 mol/L or less (Page 7564, Fig. 2).
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Allowable Subject Matter
12. Claims 6-17 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.
Gon is considered to be the closest prior art. Gon teaches a solution comprising: a pigment, wherein the pigment is the syntheses of the tin(IV)-fused azobenzene (TAz) complexes with halogens (TAz-F) (Page 7562, left Col., Results and Discussion, Scheme 1), and an organic solvent, wherein a concentration of the pigment is 1 x 10⁻10 mol/L or more and 1 mol/L or less (Page 7564, Fig. 2). Gon does not expressly teach a metal hydroxyl amount evaluation method as set forth. Therefore, the instant claims are distinguished over the prior art.
Response to Arguments
13. Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-17 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any of the references being used in the current rejection.
14. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Examiner Information
15. 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
03/10/2026
bijan.ahvazi@uspto.gov
Prosecution Insights