Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/393,631

HIERARCHICAL REPRESENTATION MODELS

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Dec 21, 2023
Examiner
ANYAN, BARBARA BURGESS
Art Unit
2457
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
78%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 7m
To Grant
53%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 78% — above average
78%
Career Allow Rate
569 granted / 731 resolved
+19.8% vs TC avg
Minimal -24% lift
Without
With
+-24.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 7m
Avg Prosecution
7 currently pending
Career history
738
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
16.5%
-23.5% vs TC avg
§103
28.2%
-11.8% vs TC avg
§102
36.6%
-3.4% vs TC avg
§112
9.1%
-30.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 731 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis ( i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1 , 10, 17 are rejected under 35 USC 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wolfe et al. (hereinafter “Wolfe”, US Patent 12/393,786 B2). As per claims 1, 17 , - A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving a first input associated with a first entity at a first level of a hierarchy (column 3, lines 20-24, column 6, lines 47-55, Wolfe teaches first action subset (first input associated with first entity) associated with a first hierarchy) ; receiving a second input associated with a second entity at a second level of the hierarchy, the second entity linked to the first entity within the hierarchy (column 3, lines 25-28, column 6, lines 56-65, Wolfe teaches presenting a second entity subset associated with a second hierarchy) ; generating a first low-dimensional feature representation based on the first input, the first low-dimensional feature representation representing the first entity ( column 9, lines 53-65, Wolfe teaches input used by machine learning model. The machine learning model using parameters) ; and generating a second low-dimensional feature representation based on the first input, the second input and the first low-dimensional feature representation, the second low-dimensional feature representation representing the second entity column 9, lines 53-65, Wolfe teaches input used by machine learning model. The machine learning model using parameters) . As per claim 10 , A computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein the first input or the second input comprises text data, categorical data or numerical data (column 3, lines 58-67, column 4, lines 1-7 ). . Allowable Subject Matter Claim 20 is allowed. Claims 2-9, 11-1 6, 18-19 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. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT BARBARA BURGESS ANYAN whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-3996 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT IFP M-F 8am-5pm . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Ario Etienne can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272-4001 . 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. December 16, 2025 /BARBARA B Anyan/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2457
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 21, 2023
Application Filed
Dec 17, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (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

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
78%
Grant Probability
53%
With Interview (-24.5%)
3y 7m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 731 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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