Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/022,653

NETWORK SERVICE MANAGEMENT APPARATUS AND NETWORK SERVICE MANAGEMENT METHOD

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Feb 22, 2023
Priority
Feb 12, 2021 — nonprovisional of PCTIB2021051163
Examiner
KIM, DONG U
Art Unit
2197
Tech Center
2100 — Computer Architecture & Software
Assignee
Rakuten Symphony Inc.
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
87%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 87% — above average
87%
Career Allowance Rate
615 granted / 709 resolved
+31.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +13% lift
Without
With
+13.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
19 currently pending
Career history
740
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.8%
-38.2% vs TC avg
§103
81.3%
+41.3% vs TC avg
§102
7.1%
-32.9% vs TC avg
§112
6.0%
-34.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 709 resolved cases

Office Action

§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 . This Office Action is in response to the amendment filed on 12/11/2025. This Action is made FINAL. Claims 1-11 are pending and they are presented for examination. Response to Amendment Applicant's arguments with respect to claims 1-11 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) 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. Claim(s) 1-11 is/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. Claim 1 (similarly claims 8 and 9) recite: “wherein the recovery function includes a reboot determination that is expedited”. After careful review of the instant application, the examiner was unable to find any disclosure which describes “a reboot determination that is expedited”. The specification discloses causing an immediate failure of a reboot attempt based on a state “error” thus reducing wait time for a timeout. However, this does not teach “a reboot determination that is expedited”. The determination is already made to change the state to “error” state thus reboot attempt fails immediately. Thus, “determination” is done in a same manner and not expediated in any way. Claim 11 recite: “a failure in conforming the virtual machine in stored virtual machine state information”. The examiner is unclear as to how this limitation should be interpreted. The specification does not provide any details in regards to “a failure in confirming the virtual machine in stored virtual machine state information”. Claims 2-7, 10 and 11 are rejected based on rejection of its corresponding dependent claim. 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. Claim(s) 1-11 is/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 1 (similarly claims 8 and 9) recite: “wherein the recovery function includes a reboot determination that is expedited”. The specification discloses causing an immediate failure of a reboot attempt based on a state “error” thus reducing wait time for a timeout. However, this does not teach “a reboot determination that is expedited”. The determination is already made to change the state to “error” state thus reboot attempt fails immediately. Thus, “determination” is done in a same manner and not expediated in any way. Therefore, the examiner is unclear how a reboot determination is expediated. Claim 11 recite: “a failure in conforming the virtual machine in stored virtual machine state information”. The examiner is unclear as to how this limitation should be interpreted. Claims 2-7, 10 and 11 are rejected based on rejection of its corresponding dependent claim. 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 DONG U KIM whose telephone number is (571)270-1313. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00am - 5:00pm. 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, Bradley Teets can be reached at 5712723338. 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. /DONG U KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2197
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 22, 2023
Application Filed
Feb 22, 2023
Response after Non-Final Action
Sep 11, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Dec 11, 2025
Response Filed
Jan 06, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112
Apr 06, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
May 06, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
May 07, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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

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Prosecution Projections

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
87%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+13.2%)
2y 8m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 709 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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