Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/316,381

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR OPTIMIZING TRANSACTION AUTHORIZATION CONVERSION RATE

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
May 12, 2023
Priority
Sep 27, 2017 — continuation of 10/607,231 +2 more
Examiner
RANKINS, WILLIAM E
Art Unit
3694
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Worldpay LLC
OA Round
6 (Non-Final)
58%
Grant Probability
Moderate
6-7
OA Rounds
3m
Est. Remaining
66%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 58% of resolved cases
58%
Career Allowance Rate
452 granted / 784 resolved
+5.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+8.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 4m
Avg Prosecution
28 currently pending
Career history
824
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
25.8%
-14.2% vs TC avg
§103
44.4%
+4.4% vs TC avg
§102
3.7%
-36.3% vs TC avg
§112
23.0%
-17.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 784 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 . DETAILED ACTION Status of Claims Claims 21, 24-28, 31-35 and 38-40 are pending. Claims 21, 28 and 35 are amended. Response to Arguments The 101 rejection of the claims is withdrawn. The amended claims represent meaningful limitations such that the claim amounts to a practical application of the abstract idea. For example, the claims recite the use of factor success data throughout the claims which are calibrated to optimize the machine learning model, etc. 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. Claims 21, 28, 35 and their dependents 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. As in claim 21, the claims recite: analyzing, by the one or more processors via the machine learning model, the payment authorization result to automatically calibrate the plurality of weights of the factor success data based on the modified payment transaction and the payment transaction authorization result, wherein automatically calibrating the factor success data optimizes the machine learning model for generating a plurality of subsequent authorization success factors for a subsequent payment transaction; and adding, by the one or more processors, the payment transaction authorization result and the automatically calibrated factor success data to the database of payment transaction processing results. The Office asserts that the specification does not disclose calibrating the plurality of weights of the factor success data. 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 WILLIAM E RANKINS whose telephone number is (571)270-3465. The examiner can normally be reached on 9-530 M-F. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Bennett Sigmond can be reached on 303-297-4411. 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. /WILLIAM E RANKINS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3694
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 16 earlier events
Jul 14, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Jul 18, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Aug 22, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Nov 21, 2025
Response Filed
Dec 10, 2025
Final Rejection mailed — §112
Mar 10, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Apr 08, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Apr 21, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action

Precedent Cases

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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
58%
Grant Probability
66%
With Interview (+8.4%)
3y 4m (~3m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 784 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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