Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 17/456,169

ORCHESTRATING FEDERATED LEARNING IN MULTI-INFRASTRUCTURES AND HYBRID INFRASTRUCTURES

Final Rejection §101
Filed
Nov 23, 2021
Examiner
MCCARTHY, CHRISTOPHER S
Art Unit
2114
Tech Center
2100 — Computer Architecture & Software
Assignee
International Business Machines Corporation
OA Round
2 (Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
81%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allowance Rate
730 granted / 849 resolved
+31.0% vs TC avg
Minimal -5% lift
Without
With
+-4.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
13 currently pending
Career history
872
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
7.5%
-32.5% vs TC avg
§103
59.4%
+19.4% vs TC avg
§102
21.3%
-18.7% vs TC avg
§112
4.4%
-35.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 849 resolved cases

Office Action

§101
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 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows: Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title. Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because the claim is directed to a computer program product which is not claimed nor defined in the Specification as non-transitory and, therefore, can be interpreted as a transitory medium. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-8, 10-17, 19-20 are allowed. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 2022/0206873A1 to He et al.: Federated learning model using a container with aggregator of resources. 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 CHRISTOPHER S MCCARTHY whose telephone number is (571)272-3651. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30-5:00. 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, Bryce Bonzo can be reached at (571)272-3655. 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. /CHRISTOPHER S MCCARTHY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2113
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 23, 2021
Application Filed
Dec 04, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §101
Feb 19, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Feb 19, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Feb 24, 2026
Response Filed
Jun 17, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §101 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12675357
HANDLING CONTEXTUAL ACCIDENT DATA IN AN INFORMATION HANDLING SYSTEM (IHS)
2y 7m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12670053
DETECTING FAILURES IN SENSOR DEVICE SETTINGS
2y 5m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026
Patent 12645517
DEVICE AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE STATUS OF A USED ELECTRONIC DEVICE
2y 10m to grant Granted Jun 02, 2026
Patent 12639150
ERROR TRACKING BY A MEMORY SYSTEM
2y 5m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Patent 12639148
CENTRALIZED LOG VISUALIZATION FOR ANALYSIS DEBUGGING IN CLUSTER NETWORKS
2y 1m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
81%
With Interview (-4.8%)
2y 6m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 849 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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