Ex Parte Pan et al

Patent Trials and Appeals Board

May 30, 2019

14126500 - (D) (P.T.A.B. May. 30, 2019)

UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE
14/126,500 12/16/2013
123223 7590 06/03/2019
Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (WM)
222 Delaware A venue, Ste. 1410
Wilmington, DE 19801-1621
FIRST NAMED INVENTOR
Junyou Pan
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www .uspto.gov
ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
074025-0373-US (287166) 4361
EXAMINER
TRUONG,DUC
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
1765
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
06/03/2019 ELECTRONIC
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
following e-mail address(es):
DBRIPDocket@dbr.com
IPDocketWM@dbr.com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte JUNYOU PAN and NIELS SCHUL TE
Appeal2018-006290
Application 14/126,500
Technology Center 1700
Before MICHAEL P. COLAIANNI, JENNIFER R. GUPTA, and
SHELDON M. McGEE, Administrative Patent Judges.
COLAIANNI, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
Appellants 1 appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134 the final rejection of
claims 20, 22-25, and 40. Claims 27-39 have been withdrawn from
consideration by the Examiner. We have jurisdiction over the appeal
pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 6(b ).
We REVERSE.
Appellants' invention is directed to non-linear copolymers, which
are particularly suitable for use in the interlayer, emission and/or
charge-transport layer of electroluminescent devices. (Spec. 1 :4--7;
claim 2 0.)
1 The Appeal Brief on page 2 indicates that "Merck Patent GmbH" is the
assignee of record.
Appeal2018-006290
Application 14/126,500
Claim 20 is illustrative of the issues on appeal:
20. A copolymer containing, as structural unit, a compound of
the general formula (4), (5), (6), (8) or (9)
(~:)
N,
(:~:~:£' _,.J:~::f J'~;;:~:~)
N
j_~
...... -,
i, ,.,,,~}
'·,,) __ ,,,.
forrnuh1 (9)
where the following applies to the symbols and indices:
J is on each occurrence, identically or differently, a single
covalent bond or a divalent bridge selected from the
group consisting of N(R1), B(R1), C(R1)2, 0, Si(R1)2,
C=C(R1)2, S, S=O, S02, P(R1) and P(=O)R1;
2
Appeal2018-006290
Application 14/126,500
R 1 is, identically or differently on each occurrence, -H, -F,
-Cl, Br, I, -CN, -N02, -Cf 3, B(OR2)2, Si(R2) 3, a
straight-chain alkyl, alkoxy or thioalkoxy group having 1
to 40 C atoms or a branched or cyclic alkyl, alkoxy or
thioalkoxy group having 3 to 40 C atoms, each of which
is optionally substituted by one or more radicals R2,
where one or more non-adjacent CH2 groups is
optionally replaced by R2C=CR2, C=C, Si(R2)2,
Ge(R2)2, Sn(R2)2, C=O, C=S, C=Se, C=NR2, 0, S, -COO-
or CONR2 and where one or more H atoms is optionally
replaced by D, F, Cl, Br, I, CN or N02, or arylamines, or
substituted or unsubstituted carbazoles, each of which is
optionally substituted by one or more radicals R2, or an
aryl or heteroaryl group having 5 to 40 ring atoms, which
by one or more aromatic;
R2 is on each occurrence, identically or differently, H, D or
an aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbon radical having 1 to
20 C atoms or a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic or
heteroaromatic ring system having 5 to 40 ring
atoms;
Ar1-Ar5 are selected, identically or differently on each
occurrence, from an unsubstituted or R1-substituted
aromatic or heteroaromatic ring system;
and where the dashed line represents a bond to an adjacent
monomer unit in the polymer,
wherein the copolymer is a conjugated copolymer and contains
the structural units of formula ( 4 ), ( 5), ( 6), (8) or (9) in an amount
of from at least 40mol% to 95mol%, and wherein the copolymer
contains at least one structural unit which is different from the
formula ( 4 ), ( 5), ( 6), (8) or (9), where the at least one further
structural unit is selected from the group consisting of emitter
unit, hole injection unit (HIM), hole transport unit (HTM),
electron injection unit (EIM), and electron transport unit(ETM),
wherein the HIM or HTM is selected from the group consisting
of triarylamine, benzidine, tetraaryl-para-phenylene diamine,
3
Appeal2018-006290
Application 14/126,500
triarylphosphine, phenol thiazine, phenoxazine, dihydro
phenazine, thi anthrene, dibenzo-para-dioxin, phenoxathiyne,
carbazole, azulene, thiophene, pyrrole, furan derivatives, and 0,
Sor N-containing heterocycles having a high HOMO of greater
than 5.8 e V, and wherein the EIM or ETM is selected from the
group consisting of pyridine, pyrimidine, pyridazine, pyrazine,
oxadiazole, quinoline, quinoxaline, anthracene, benzanthracene,
pyrene, perylene, benzimidazole, triazine, ketone, phosphine
oxide, phenazine derivatives, triarylboranes and O , S or N-
containing heterocycles having a low LUMO of less than 1.9 eV.
Appellants appeal the following rejection:
Claims 20, 22-25, and 40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102( e) as
unpatentable over Feldman (WO 2012/087955 Al; publ. June 28, 2012).
FINDINGS OF FACT & ANALYSIS
The Examiner's findings regarding Feldman are located on pages 2 to
3 of the Non-Final Office Action dated April 24, 20172 and pages 2 to 3 of
the Examiner's Answer dated April 4, 2018. The Examiner finds that
Feldman discloses, at page 9, a copolymer that includes monomers having a
formula 1 and another monomer (Non-Final Act. 2). The Examiner finds
that the weight ratios for the relative amounts of Feldman's first host having
at least one unit of formula 1 to a second host is generally in the range of
1 :20 to 20: 1 (Non-Final Act. 2-3). The Examiner finds that Feldman
teaches using a first host material H2 7 on page 80 of the disclosure, which
2 The Examiner refers in the Final Office Action dated September 15, 2017
to the Non-Final Office Action dated April 24, 2017 for a full statement of
the rejection (Final Act. 2). Accordingly, we cite to the Non-Final Office
Action for the Examiner's finding and conclusions regarding the applied
prior art.
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Appeal2018-006290
Application 14/126,500
corresponds to Formula 3 5 in claim 24 and at least one further structural
unit, which includes a second host compound (Ans. 2). The Examiner finds
that the weight ratios when converted to molar amounts would overlap with
the requirements in the claim.
Appellants argue that Feldman's disclosure lacks sufficient specificity
to anticipate claim 20 (App. Br. 11 ). Appellants contend that the Examiner
has picked and chosen random portions of Feldman's disclosure to arrive at
the claimed subject matter (App. Br. 12, 14). Appellants argue that each of
the compounds cited by the Examiner is a stand-alone compound and not
incorporated into a polymer (App. Br. 13).
We are persuaded by Appellants' arguments. Feldman discloses at
pages 8 to 9 a host compound that includes at least one unit having
Formula 1 and that the host compound may be a copolymer. See e.g.,
Feldman 9: 12-16. Feldman discloses further that the host compound is part
of a composition that includes a dopant and a second host compound
(Feldman 8-9). The host material may be a copolymer, but the composition
is made up of three components. The Examiner relies on the second host
material as corresponding to the additional monomers (Ans. 3). However, it
appears that the second host material is part of the composition that makes
up the photoactive layer, not the copolymer that forms the host compound.
Our understanding is supported by Feldman's page 9, lines 27-31, which
discloses the amount by weight of each component of the composition
relative to one another (i.e., dopant, first host material, and second host
material). Feldman further discloses in Table 2a the amount by weight of
dopant and host material in a composition (Feldman 88-89). The
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Appeal2018-006290
Application 14/126,500
preponderance of the evidence favors Appellants' argument that Feldman
fails to anticipate claims 20, 22-25, and 40.
On this record, we reverse the Examiner's§ I02(e) rejection.
DECISION
The Examiner's decision is reversed.
REVERSED
6