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 .
This office action is responsive to the Amendment and Remarks filed 28 October 2025. Claims 1-13 remain pending and presently under consideration in this application.
Response to Amendment
The rejections of claims under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112(pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as set forth in paragraphs 4 through 7 of the previous office action on the merits, are hereby withdrawn in view of applicant’s amendments to the same.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 28 October 2025 in response to each of the rejections of claims under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) over each of Ookawa, Tanaka et al., and Wittek et al., as respectively set forth paragraphs 10 through 12 in the previous office action on the merits, said arguments to the effect that , have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant’s arguments rely on language solely recited in preamble recitations in claims 1-13. When reading the preamble in the context of the entire claim, the recitation characterizing the claimed liquid crystal medium as “ferroelectric” is not limiting because the body of the claim describes a complete invention and the language recited solely in the preamble does not provide any distinct definition of any of the claimed invention’s limitations. Thus, the preamble of the claim(s) is not considered a limitation and is of no significance to claim construction. See Pitney Bowes, Inc. v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 182 F.3d 1298, 1305, 51 USPQ2d 1161, 1165 (Fed. Cir. 1999). See MPEP § 2111.02.
The claim does not recite any limitations, such as, for instance, reciting a limitation that the claimed liquid crystal medium exhibits a smectic C phase and contains a chiral agent, which would characterize the liquid crystal medium as “ferroelectric”.
Prior Art
The following prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure and discussion of ferroelectric liquid crystal compositions:
Pozhidaev et al., "Electro-optics of ferroelectric and antiferroelectric liquid crystal helical nanostructures", 2022, Journal of Molecular Liquids, Volume 367, Part B, p.120493.
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.
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.
Claims 1 and 3-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ookawa (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0022999).
Ookawa teaches a liquid crystal medium, the corresponding method of preparation thereof said liquid crystal medium, as well as the corresponding use thereof said liquid crystal medium in a liquid crystal display, characterized in that said liquid crystal medium comprises a compound inclusive of the compound of the present formula IA, as generally represented therein by
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140
727
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(abstract; [0026], p. 2; examples; claims), and more specifically, as represented therein by
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138
691
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or
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146
698
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([0084], p.6). Also, please note the following exemplified compounds (p. 106+):
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153
705
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150
705
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120
713
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131
730
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158
731
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312
723
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128
724
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163
698
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145
690
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315
740
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159
712
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.
Claims 1-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tanaka et al. (U.S. Patent No. 8,475,888).
Tanaka et al. teaches a liquid crystal medium, the corresponding method of preparation thereof said liquid crystal medium, as well as the corresponding use thereof said liquid crystal medium in a liquid crystal display, characterized in that said liquid crystal medium comprises a combination of a compound inclusive of the compound of the present formula IA, as generally represented therein by
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218
867
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(column 5, line 2), and more specifically, as represented therein by any one of
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443
702
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(column 5, line 40), or
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423
626
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(column 7, line 10), with a compound inclusive of the compounds of the present formulae IB and IC, as generally represented therein by
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148
427
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(column 13, line 1).
Claims 1 and 3-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wittek et al. (U.S. Patent No. 7,964,253).
Wittek et al. teaches a liquid crystal medium, the corresponding method of preparation thereof said liquid crystal medium, as well as the corresponding use thereof said liquid crystal medium in a liquid crystal display, characterized in that said liquid crystal medium comprises a compound inclusive of the compound of the present formula IA, as generally represented therein by
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143
603
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(abstract; column 3, line 14; claims), and more specifically, as represented therein by
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247
612
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305
614
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(column 7, line 35).
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Geraldina Visconti whose telephone number is (571)272-1334. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark F Huff can be reached at 571-272-1385. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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GERALDINA VISCONTI
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1737
/GERALDINA VISCONTI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1737