Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 17/913,023

AUTHENTICATION CONTROL APPARATUS, AUTHENTICATION SYSTEM, AUTHENTICATION CONTROL METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Sep 20, 2022
Examiner
GARCIA, GABRIEL I
Art Unit
2682
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
NEC Corporation
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
91%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2y 8m
To Grant
97%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 91% — above average
91%
Career Allow Rate
708 granted / 781 resolved
+28.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+6.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
15 currently pending
Career history
796
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.1%
-31.9% vs TC avg
§103
19.7%
-20.3% vs TC avg
§102
40.0%
+0.0% vs TC avg
§112
15.0%
-25.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 781 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 1.The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . This application has been examined. This office action is in response to the RCE filed on 12/30/25. Claims 1-16 are pending in this Application. Applicant’s amendment to the claims require a new ground of rejection. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a): (a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112: The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. 2. Claims 1-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. The independent recite the added limitation(s) “installed in an environment where unspecified third parties are present” is not described or suggested by the original specification. It is not clear what “unspecified third parties” represent(s). Is it actual person near inspecting (or present near), party (or company) or server for remote authentication server or DB?. Clarification or correction is required.. 3. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Koda (WO-2012086657-A1) teaches an authentication method for performing face authentication. 4. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Gabriel I. Garcia whose telephone number is (571) 272-7434. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday from 7:30 AM- 6:00 PM.. The fax phone number for this group is (571) 273-8600. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Benny Tieu can be reached on (571) 272-7490. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571- 273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application should be directed to the Group receptionist whose telephone number is (571) 272-2600. /Gabriel I Garcia/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2682 January 24, 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 20, 2022
Application Filed
Mar 14, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §112
Jun 20, 2025
Response Filed
Sep 25, 2025
Final Rejection — §112
Dec 30, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Jan 15, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Jan 24, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12602945
REAL-TIME DOCUMENT FORGERY DETECTION
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12602749
PARAMETER OPTIMIZING METHOD OF NEURAL NETWORK AND COMPUTING APPARATUS
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12593001
INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM STORING PROGRAM, AND INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD FOR ASSOCIATING FRONT SIDE AND BACK SIDE OF SHEET
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12568194
GAZE AND DEPTH BASED CAMERA FOCUSING
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 03, 2026
Patent 12561010
Device Orientation Detection
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 24, 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
91%
Grant Probability
97%
With Interview (+6.1%)
2y 8m
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 781 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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