Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 17/516,597

REGISTERING AND ASSOCIATING MULTIPLE USER IDENTIFIERS FOR A SERVICE ON A DEVICE

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Nov 01, 2021
Priority
May 31, 2019 — provisional 62/855,864 +1 more
Examiner
LAFONTANT, GARY
Art Unit
2646
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Apple Inc.
OA Round
5 (Final)
73%
Grant Probability
Favorable
6-7
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
74%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 73% — above average
73%
Career Allowance Rate
340 granted / 465 resolved
+11.1% vs TC avg
Minimal +1% lift
Without
With
+1.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
27 currently pending
Career history
495
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.7%
-38.3% vs TC avg
§103
75.2%
+35.2% vs TC avg
§102
19.8%
-20.2% vs TC avg
§112
1.5%
-38.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 465 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . The amendment filed on 05/11/2026 has been acknowledged. Amendment Summary Claims 1, 9, 13 are amended. Response to Arguments/Amendment The amendment to Claims 1, 9, 13 has overcome the 112th(b) rejection, as applied to claim # 1-20. Thus the 112th(b) rejection has been withdrawn. Response to Arguments/Amendment Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims # 1-20 have been considered but they are not persuasive. 1) Applicant current amendment has not changed the scope of the claims that were rejected by the board. Examiner maintained rejection and board decision since the scope of the claim is not changed, the board decision and arguments still applied to the amended claims. The arguments about device generated authentication are different than its interpretation in the claim. The lack of antecedent renders the argument moot. Conclusion Therefore for each of these about reasons, Lu in view of Schwagmann does teach all of the limitations of claim 1. Claim 9, 13 contain similar features as claim 1, therefore it is subject to all explanations above. The rejections on the dependent claims with respective to claim 1 and claim 9 and Claim 13 remain. Therefore, Applicant requests that this art ground of rejection of these claims under 35 U.S.C. §103 to be withdrawn has been denied. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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. Claim(s) 1-5, 9-11, 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu (US 2013/0125227 A1) in view of Schawagmann (US 2008/0003957 A1). Regarding Claim 1, 9, 13 Lu discloses a method (See [Abstract]; a method for accessing a storage server of an IM service system and an IM service system) comprising: receiving, at a server (Fig.1(IM Server)) and from a particular device (Fig.1(IM Client 1), a registration request (See [0041-0043]; an IM client sends a registration request message to an IM service system) for registering a first user identifier (See [0045]; a registration process is triggered) for at least one service (See [0042]; IM Service) on a particular device (Fig.1(IM Client 1), the registration request comprising device-generated authentication information (See [0043-0044]; user identifier associated and generated by one device) obtaining, by the server, other user identifiers associated with the first user identifier (See [0043]; obtains other user identifiers associated with the first user identifier), the authentication information that was generated for the particular device (Fig.1(IM Client 1) and cryptographically binds each of the plurality of user identifiers the particular device (See [0010]; [0045]); registration process triggered authentication of each user identifiers). performing, by the server (Fig.1(IM Server)), an authentication of a plurality of user identifiers associated with the particular device (See [0045]; the registration process triggers the authentication process of the first user identifier and a plurality of user identifiers associated with the first user identifier) based at least on the authentication information (See [0045]; The authentication is performed using the plurality of user identifiers); performing, by the server (Fig.1(IM Server)), a registration of the at least one service for the particular device (See [0045-0046]; the service associated with the plurality of user identifiers is registered) using the authenticated plurality of user identifiers (See [0045]; The authentication is performed using the plurality of user identifiers); and transmitting, from the server (Fig.1(IM Server)), to the particular device (Fig.1(IM Client 1), information for accessing the at least one service via each respective user identifier of the plurality of user identifiers (See [0045-0046]; transmitting registration success response to IM client). But Lu fails to explicitly recite about A registration request for registering a plurality of user identifiers for a particular device. However in an analogous art, Schawagmann teaches about a registration request corresponding to a plurality of user identifiers associated with particular device (See [0078]) Lu and Schawagmann are analogous art because they all pertain to server and client device interaction in term of registration and authentication. Lu teaches about registration request comprising a user identifier and authentication information. Schawagmann teaches about a registration request corresponding to a plurality of user identifiers associated with particular device where one identifier can be used for all associated user identifiers. Lu could use Schawagmann features in term of using one message comprising all user identifiers to be registered and authenticate all corresponding user identifications associated with a particular device. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time of the filing of the application to combine Schawagmann and Lu as to obtain an efficient telecommunication system. Regarding Claim 2, Lu and Schawagmann teach all the features with respect to claim 1 and Lu further teaches performing, by the server (Fig.1(IM Server)), a registration of the at least one service (See [0045]; the registration process triggers the authentication process of the first user identifier and a plurality of user identifiers associated with the first user identifier) for a plurality of devices (See Fig.1; multiple clients can register to at least a server service), wherein the registration includes at least one respective handle (See {[0047]; [0051]; client uses login request to access services) for accessing the at least one service on a respective device via each respective user identifier (See [0047]; [0051]; in order to access at least one service, client needs to be authenticated). Regarding Claim 3, Lu and Schawagmann teach all the features with respect to claim 2 and Lu further teaches wherein the performing the authentication (See [0045]; [0051]; authenticating IM client associated with multiple users) comprises performing a batch operation of authenticating the plurality of user identifiers associated with the plurality of devices (See [0045]; [0051]; the registration process triggers the authentication process of the first user identifier and a plurality of user identifiers associated with the first user identifier). Regarding Claim 5, 11 Lu and Schawagmann teach all the features with respect to claim 1, 9 and Lu further teaches wherein at least one corresponding user identifier is associated with a corresponding subscriber identity module (See Fig.1(3G); [0014-0016]; [0070-0072] an identity verification module is used in the network). Claim(s) 6 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu (US 2013/0125227 A1) in view of Schawagmann (US 2008/0003957 A1) and further in view of Examiner Official Notice. Regarding Claim 6, 12 Lu and Schawagmann teach all the features with respect to claim 1, 9 But Lu and Schawagmann fail to explicitly recite wherein the registration includes a tag identifying a priority of each of the plurality of user identifiers for accessing the at least one service in a particular order. “Examiner Official Notice” Examiner takes official notice in that assigning a tag for associating priority tag to an identifier among plurality of identifiers in order to access a server in order of priority is trivial and is known in the art. Therefore, it would have been obvious for Lu to use this feature in its art in order to obtain an efficient registration/access server method. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 4, 7, 8, 10 and 14-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in statutory independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion 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 GARY LAFONTANT whose telephone number is (571)272-3037. The examiner can normally be reached 10:00AM -6:00PM. 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, Jeanette Parker can be reached at 571-2703647. 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. /GARY LAFONTANT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2646
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 22 earlier events
Nov 20, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Jan 21, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Jan 28, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Feb 11, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
May 11, 2026
Response Filed
Jun 01, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Jun 02, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jun 16, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

6-7
Expected OA Rounds
73%
Grant Probability
74%
With Interview (+1.0%)
2y 5m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 465 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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