Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 15/822,056

SYSTEM, PROCESS AND DEVICE FOR E-COMMERCE TRANSACTIONS

Non-Final OA §103§112
Filed
Nov 24, 2017
Priority
Nov 25, 2016 — provisional 62/426,388 +1 more
Examiner
FELTEN, DANIEL S
Art Unit
3692
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Royal Bank of Canada
OA Round
10 (Non-Final)
46%
Grant Probability
Moderate
10-11
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
59%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 46% of resolved cases
46%
Career Allowance Rate
273 granted / 592 resolved
-5.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +13% lift
Without
With
+12.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
4y 6m
Avg Prosecution
22 currently pending
Career history
633
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
21.7%
-18.3% vs TC avg
§103
59.6%
+19.6% vs TC avg
§102
7.6%
-32.4% vs TC avg
§112
9.2%
-30.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 592 resolved cases

Office Action

§103 §112
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 . Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114 A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 01/15/2026 has been entered. Status of Claims Claims 1-9 and 20-23 are withdrawn. Claim 10 is amended. Claim 24 is canceled. Claims 10-19 and 25-31 are pending. Response to Arguments Claim Rejections – 35 U.S.C. 112 Claim rejections of claims 10-19 and 25-31 under 35 U.S.C. 112(a), first paragraph based upon the current amendments are withdrawn. However, rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), second paragraph is maintained below. Claim Rejections- 35 U.S.C. 103 Claim rejections of claims 10-19 and 25-31 under 35 U.S.C. 103 are withdrawn. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 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. Claims 10-19 and 25-31 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 10 recites, “wherein a user account profile stores data relating to….,” Where applicant acts as his or her own lexicographer to specifically define a term of a claim contrary to its ordinary meaning, the written description must clearly redefine the claim term and set forth the uncommon definition so as to put one reasonably skilled in the art on notice that the applicant intended to so redefine that claim term. Process Control Corp. v. HydReclaim Corp., 190 F.3d 1350, 1357, 52 USPQ2d 1029, 1033 (Fed. Cir. 1999). The term “a user account profile” in claim 10 is used by the claim to mean “memory or storage,” while the accepted meaning is “a set of information that describes or is related to a user.” The term is indefinite because the specification does not clearly redefine the term, but merely, in ipsis verbis describes a user account profile as storing or that stores data-which is erroneous. A user profile does not itself store data, or perform the function of storing data, but is itself a collection of information that describes the user that can be stored on a storage device (e.g., server, memory, database, etc.,) Claims 11-19 and 25-31 are dependent on independent claim 10. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 10-19 and 25-31 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Itwaru (US 10,223,674) discloses customed transaction flow Laracey (US 10,102, 514) discloses payment method and systems 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 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 DANIEL S FELTEN whose telephone number is (571)272-6742. The examiner can normally be reached Flex. 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, Ryan D Donlon can be reached at 5712703602. 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. DANIEL S. FELTEN Examiner Art Unit 3692 /DANIEL S FELTEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3692
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 19 earlier events
Nov 04, 2024
Response Filed
Feb 21, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103, §112
Jun 19, 2025
Response Filed
Sep 15, 2025
Final Rejection mailed — §103, §112
Jan 15, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Feb 17, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Feb 23, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103, §112
Feb 25, 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

10-11
Expected OA Rounds
46%
Grant Probability
59%
With Interview (+12.6%)
4y 6m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 592 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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