Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/183,996

DATA SECURITY IN LOW EARTH ORBIT DATA CENTERS

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Mar 15, 2023
Examiner
ACOLATSE, KODZOVI
Art Unit
2478
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
International Business Machines Corporation
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
2y 8m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allow Rate
761 granted / 913 resolved
+25.4% vs TC avg
Strong +22% interview lift
Without
With
+22.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
63 currently pending
Career history
976
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.0%
-35.0% vs TC avg
§103
52.7%
+12.7% vs TC avg
§102
25.0%
-15.0% vs TC avg
§112
8.5%
-31.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 913 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 . This is responsive to Application 18/183,996 filed 03/15/2023 in which claims 1-20 are presented for examination. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 7 and 14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. 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. Claims 1-6, 8-13 and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al (US 2014/0354810 A1) in view of Rakshit (US 2021/0364648 A1). Regarding claim 1, Wang teaches a method for securing data stored in a low earth orbit (LEO) data center, comprising: obtaining physical characteristics of a data center (Wang: Fig. 1; [0008]-[0009] obtaining moving state of a moving data center 30); obtaining physical characteristics of one or more celestial objects (Wang: Fig. 1; [0008]-[0009] obtaining moving state of a moving object); comparing the physical characteristics of the one or more celestial objects and the data center (Wang: Fig.1; [0010] determining whether the moving data center will collide with moving object); based on a determination that the one or more celestial objects pose a risk to the LEO data center, backing up one or more data items stored on the data center to another data center in communication with the data center (Wang: Fig. 1; [0010], backup data from the moving data center to a remote data center in communication with the moving data center). Wang does not explicitly disclose that the data center is a low earth orbit (LEO) data center. Rakshit teaches low earth orbit (LEO) data center (Rakshit: Fig. 1; [0003]-[0005] space-based data center formed by LEO satellites). It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Wang wherein the data center is a low earth orbit (LEO) data center as disclosed by Rakshit to provide a system for coordinated smart contract-based satellite operation (Rakshit: Abstract). Regarding claim 8, Wang teaches a computing system having a memory having computer readable instructions and one or more processors for executing the computer readable instructions, the computer readable instructions controlling the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: obtaining physical characteristics of a data center (Wang: Fig. 1; [0008]-[0009] obtaining moving state of a moving data center 30); obtaining physical characteristics of one or more celestial objects (Wang: Fig. 1; [0008]-[0009] obtaining moving state of a moving object); comparing the physical characteristics of the one or more celestial objects and the data center (Wang: Fig.1; [0010] determining whether the moving data center will collide with moving object); based on a determination that the one or more celestial objects pose a risk to the LEO data center, backing up one or more data items stored on the data center to another data center in communication with the data center (Wang: Fig. 1; [0010], backup data from the moving data center to a remote data center in communication with the moving data center). Wang does not explicitly disclose that the data center is a low earth orbit (LEO) data center. Rakshit teaches low earth orbit (LEO) data center (Rakshit: Fig. 1; [0003]-[0005] space-based data center formed by LEO satellites). It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Wang wherein the data center is a low earth orbit (LEO) data center as disclosed by Rakshit to provide a system for coordinated smart contract-based satellite operation (Rakshit: Abstract). Regarding claim 15, Wang teaches a computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to perform operations comprising: obtaining physical characteristics of a data center (Wang: Fig. 1; [0008]-[0009] obtaining moving state of a moving data center 30); obtaining physical characteristics of one or more celestial objects (Wang: Fig. 1; [0008]-[0009] obtaining moving state of a moving object); comparing the physical characteristics of the one or more celestial objects and the data center (Wang: Fig.1; [0010] determining whether the moving data center will collide with moving object); based on a determination that the one or more celestial objects pose a risk to the LEO data center, backing up one or more data items stored on the data center to another data center in communication with the data center (Wang: Fig. 1; [0010], backup data from the moving data center to a remote data center in communication with the moving data center). Wang does not explicitly disclose that the data center is a low earth orbit (LEO) data center. Rakshit teaches low earth orbit (LEO) data center (Rakshit: Fig. 1; [0003]-[0005] space-based data center formed by LEO satellites). It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Wang wherein the data center is a low earth orbit (LEO) data center as disclosed by Rakshit to provide a system for coordinated smart contract-based satellite operation (Rakshit: Abstract). Regarding claims 2, 9 and 16, Wang in view of Rakshit teaches wherein the physical characteristics of the LEO data center include orbit details of the LEO data center including a distance from an earth surface, a trajectory vector, and a speed of travel (Wang: [0009], Rakshit: [0030]). Regarding claims 3, 10 and 17, Wang in view of Rakshit teaches wherein the physical characteristics of the one or more celestial objects are obtained from a celestial object detection service of a space station (Wang: Fig. 1; [0009], obtaining moving states/characteristic of a moving object). Regarding claims 4, 11 and 18, Wang in view of Rakshit teaches wherein the determination that the one or more celestial objects pose the risk to the LEO data center is based on one of determining that an interference area exists between the one or more celestial objects and the LEO data center and determining that at least one of the one or more celestial objects will come within a threshold distance of the LEO data center (Wang: Fig.1; [0009]-[0010] determining whether the moving data center will collide with moving object). Regarding claims 5, 12 and 19, Wang in view of Rakshit teaches wherein the threshold distance is a distance that is set by an administrator of the LEO data center (Wang: Fig.1; [0009]-[0010] determining whether the moving data center will collide with moving object; system 10 design by an administrator). Regarding claims 6, 13 and 20, Wang in view of Rakshit teaches wherein backing up the one or more data items stored on the LEO data center to another LEO data center in communication with the LEO data center comprises: querying a network of connected LEO data centers, including the another LEO data center, to obtain an available storage capacity for each of the network of connected LEO data centers; obtaining physical characteristics of each of the network of connected LEO data centers; and selecting the another data center from the network of connected LEO based on the available storage capacity and the physical characteristics of each of the network of connected LEO data centers (Wang: Fig. 1; [0010], backup data from the moving data center to a remote data center in communication with the moving data center). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KODZOVI ACOLATSE whose telephone number is (571)270-1999. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 10 am to 6pm. 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, Avellino Joseph can be reached at (571) 272-3905. 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. /KODZOVI ACOLATSE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
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Prosecution Timeline

Mar 15, 2023
Application Filed
Oct 23, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Jan 07, 2026
Response Filed
Mar 11, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
83%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+22.3%)
2y 8m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 913 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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