Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/380,988

Pre-caching content using network capacity and other metrics

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Oct 17, 2023
Examiner
HENRY, MARIEGEORGES A
Art Unit
2455
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
T-Mobile Innovations LLC
OA Round
2 (Final)
77%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
3y 7m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 77% — above average
77%
Career Allow Rate
447 granted / 581 resolved
+18.9% vs TC avg
Strong +31% interview lift
Without
With
+30.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 7m
Avg Prosecution
26 currently pending
Career history
607
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.7%
-31.3% vs TC avg
§103
56.2%
+16.2% vs TC avg
§102
16.9%
-23.1% vs TC avg
§112
9.5%
-30.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 581 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION 1. This communication is in response to the application filed on 10/08/2025. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . 1a. Status of the claims: Claims 16-20 are withdrawn. Claims 1- 20 are pending. Response to Argument 2. Applicant's arguments filed 10/08/2025 have been fully considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 3. 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 of this title, 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. 4. Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Gopalakrishnan et al. hereinafter “Gopalakrishnan”) (US 2016/0316390 A1), in view of Foesrster et al. (hereinafter “Foerster”) (US 2014/0379835 A1), both references are IDS provided references, and further in view of Samuel et al. (hereinafter “Samuel”) (US 11,785,442 B2) Regarding claim 1, Gopalakrishnan discloses a system for intelligently caching content, the system comprising: one or more processors ( a processor is disclosed, Gopalakrishnan, [0019]); and one or more computer-readable media storing computer-usable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors ( a memory storing instructions executed by a processor is disclosed, Gopalakrishnan, [0019]), cause the one or more processors to: predict an upcoming time period of congestion for a cell site associated with a first device (forecasting a sample time window of congestion for a base station having a mobile device, Gopalakrishnan, [0044]; [0048]); and communicate instructions to download the content (by using a programs, content being download at a time with no congestion ( running a program for downloading is equated to executing instructions for downloading, Gopalakrishnan, [0059]), wherein the instructions include the window of time to download the content (by using a programs, content being download at a time with no congestion ( running a program for downloading is equated to executing instructions for downloading, and by downloading of the content at the time when there is less congestion a window of time for downloading the content is including in the instruction), Gopalakrishnan, [0059]). Gopalakrishnan does not explicitly disclose identify a window of time for pre-cache of content outside of the upcoming time period of congestion. Foerster discloses identify a window of time for pre-cache of content outside of the upcoming time period of congestion ( identify time with high network congestion as well as time with low congestion content and pre-cache the data during the low congestion before receiving the data (or before a presentation) , Foerster, [0050]; [0061]) . It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Foerster’s teachings with Gopalakrishnan’s teachings. One skilled in the art would be motivated to combine them in order to facilitate the receiving of data by identifying a high network congestion and a low network congestion efficiently by downloading the data when the congestion is low. Gopalakrishnan in view of Foerster do not disclose wherein identifying the window of time for pre-cache of content is based at least in part on a storage capacity of the first device and a system capacity for the cell site. Samuel discloses wherein identifying the window of time for pre-cache of content is based at least in part on a storage capacity of the first device and a system capacity for the cell site ( The mobile switch 14 comprises a buffer 16, a cell controller 18, and a home location register (HLR) 20. The cell controller 18 is a high speed general purpose digital computer that is programmed to control the functions required of the mobile switch 14. The HLR 20 is a memory device capable of storing a database under control of the cell controller 18. The database in the HLR 20 includes the profile and authorization information including the priority for each of the remote users. The buffer 16 is a memory device under control of the cell controller 18 that is used to receive and store data for later delivery to a remote user in the cell in accordance with one aspect of the present invention. While the buffer 16 is illustrated as within the mobile switch 14, the buffer could be remotely located, Samuel, page 10, lines 3-14; the pre-cache content is equated to data stored in a memory for later used, where buffer 16 performs the same function of a pre-cache that stores the data and provides the stored data when a request is made in the future for the stored data; the buffer size of an eNodeB is disclosed in column 6, lines 19-22; the store capacity of the first device is equated to the size of the memory of the device where the size of the memory is equated to the capacity of the memory ). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Samuel’s teachings with Gopalakrishnan’s teachings in view of Foerster’s teachings. One skilled in the art would be motivated to combine them in order to efficiently deliver a content to a remote device by using a cell control function that controls the storage capacity of the cell and by storing the data of the remote device in a home local register for doing so. Regarding claim 2, Gopalakrishnan, Foerster, and Samuel disclose the system of claim 1, wherein the window of time for pre-cache of content includes a start time and a stop time (the window of time of storing before a presentation period is between the time of first request and a first deadline (the first request is the starting time and the fist deadline id the stopping time) , Gopalakrishnan, [0035]). Regarding claim 3, Gopalakrishnan, Foerster, and Samuel disclose the system of claim 1, wherein the first device is customer premises equipment (CPE) ( an API disclosed is a customer premises equipment that allow a user to access a service provider, Gopalakrishnan, [0024]). Regarding claim 4, Gopalakrishnan, Foerster, and Samuel disclose the system of claim 3, wherein the first device is a fixed wireless access device ( a Set-box Box is disclosed, Gopalakrishnan, [0073]). Regarding claim 5, Gopalakrishnan, Foerster, and Samuel disclose the system of claim 1, wherein the first device is a mobile smartphone ( a smartphone is disclosed, Gopalakrishnan, [0018]). Regarding claim 6, Gopalakrishnan, Foerster, and Samuel disclose the system of claim 1, wherein the instructions to download the content includes a rate, a size, and a speed of the download ( a data rate, capacity, and other parameters to download the content is disclosed, Gopalakrishnan, [0018]; [0022]). Regarding claim 7, Gopalakrishnan, Foerster, and Samuel disclose the system of claim 1, wherein predicting the upcoming time period of congestion for a cell site further comprises identifying a quality of a radio link between the cell site and the first device ( different wireless access network having different qualities are disclosed ( wifi, Bluetooth, TV) , Gopalakrishnan, [0073];[0074]). Regarding claim 8, Gopalakrishnan, Foerster, and Samuel disclose the system of claim 7, wherein based on the quality of the radio link between the cell site and the first device, the processors are further configured to identify an estimated time needed for a download ( estimate time to complete data within time-shift window is disclosed, Gopalakrishnan, [0061]). Regarding claim 9, claim 9 is substantially similar to claim 1, thus the same rationale applies. Regarding claim 10, claim 10 is substantially similar to claim 2, thus the same rationale applies. Regarding claim 11, claim 11 is substantially similar to claim 3, thus the same rationale applies. Regarding claim 12, claim 12 is substantially similar to claim 4, thus the same rationale applies. Regarding claim 13, claim 13 is substantially similar to claim 6, thus the same rationale applies. Regarding claim 14, claim 14 is substantially similar to claim 7, thus the same rationale applies. Regarding claim 15, claim 15 is substantially similar to claim 8, thus the same rationale applies. Conclusion 5. 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARIEGEORGES A HENRY whose telephone number is (571)270-3226. The examiner can normally be reached on 11:00am -8:00pm East M-F. 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, Emmanuel Moise can be reached on 571 272-8365. 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. /MARIEGEORGES A HENRY/Examiner, Art Unit 2455 /ZI YE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2455
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Prosecution Timeline

Oct 17, 2023
Application Filed
Jun 26, 2025
Examiner Interview (Telephonic)
Jun 30, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Oct 08, 2025
Response Filed
Feb 02, 2026
Final Rejection — §103 (current)

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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
77%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+30.8%)
3y 7m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 581 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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