Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/403,546

SYSTEM AND PROCESS FOR ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS

Non-Final OA §101§112
Filed
Jan 03, 2024
Examiner
HUDSON, MARLA LAVETTE
Art Unit
3694
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
BANK OF MONTREAL
OA Round
5 (Non-Final)
57%
Grant Probability
Moderate
5-6
OA Rounds
2y 6m
To Grant
82%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 57% of resolved cases
57%
Career Allow Rate
65 granted / 114 resolved
+5.0% vs TC avg
Strong +26% interview lift
Without
With
+25.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
24 currently pending
Career history
138
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
46.5%
+6.5% vs TC avg
§103
26.6%
-13.4% vs TC avg
§102
5.3%
-34.7% vs TC avg
§112
16.7%
-23.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 114 resolved cases

Office Action

§101 §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 . Status of Claims The following is Office Action on the merits in response to the communication received on 11/18/25. Claim status: Amended claims: 1, 8, and 15 Canceled claims: none Added New claims: None Pending claims: 1-20 Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101 The Applicant’s arguments and amendments overcome the 101 Rejections, therefore, the Rejection(s) are moot. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 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. Claims 1-7 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 recites the limitation "the request" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claims 2-7 depend from Claim 1 and are rejected for these reasons. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 8-20 are allowed. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments, see pages 8-11, filed 11/18/25, with respect to the Rejections under 35 U.S.C. 101 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The Rejections under 35 U.S.C. 101 of Claims 1-20 have been withdrawn. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARLA HUDSON whose telephone number is (571)272-1063. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. ET. 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, Bennett Sigmond can be reached at (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 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. /M.H./Examiner, Art Unit 3694 /BENNETT M SIGMOND/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3694
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jan 03, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 08, 2024
Non-Final Rejection — §101, §112
Nov 07, 2024
Interview Requested
Nov 12, 2024
Examiner Interview Summary
Nov 12, 2024
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Nov 14, 2024
Response Filed
Dec 14, 2024
Final Rejection — §101, §112
Jan 02, 2025
Interview Requested
Feb 03, 2025
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Feb 04, 2025
Examiner Interview Summary
Feb 06, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Apr 07, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Apr 10, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
May 02, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §101, §112
Aug 01, 2025
Interview Requested
Aug 07, 2025
Response Filed
Aug 07, 2025
Examiner Interview Summary
Aug 07, 2025
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Sep 17, 2025
Final Rejection — §101, §112
Nov 18, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Dec 05, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Dec 16, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Jan 05, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §101, §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

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2y 5m to grant Granted Aug 12, 2025
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

5-6
Expected OA Rounds
57%
Grant Probability
82%
With Interview (+25.5%)
2y 6m
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 114 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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