Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/425,624

METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR INTERFERING WITH AUTOMATED BOTS USING A GRAPHICAL POINTER AND PAGE DISPLAY ELEMENTS

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Jan 29, 2024
Examiner
CERVETTI, DAVID GARCIA
Art Unit
2409
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
SunStone Information Defense, Inc.
OA Round
2 (Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
3y 5m
To Grant
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allow Rate
990 granted / 1195 resolved
+24.8% vs TC avg
Strong +16% interview lift
Without
With
+15.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 5m
Avg Prosecution
27 currently pending
Career history
1222
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
14.6%
-25.4% vs TC avg
§103
26.8%
-13.2% vs TC avg
§102
22.0%
-18.0% vs TC avg
§112
17.5%
-22.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1195 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
DETAILED ACTION Applicant’s amendment filed 2/9/2026 has been fully considered. Claims 1-20 are pending and have been examined. 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 . Response to Amendment The rejection under 35 USC § 112 is withdrawn. The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 Claims 1-20 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. Claims 1, 17 recite the limitation "the variation". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 17 recites multiple instances of the limitation "a security proxy server", “a memory device”, “challenge file”, making it indefinite if the same or a new server is intended. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 17 repeats description of the challenge file, unclear the reason or need for this repetition. This is not intended to be a complete list of such indefiniteness issues. The dependent claims included in the statement of rejection but not specifically addressed in the body of the rejection have inherited the deficiencies of their parent claim and have not resolved the deficiencies. Therefore, they are rejected based on the same rationale as applied to their parent claims above. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-20 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: the remaining references put forth on the PTO-892 form are directed to image based and gesture based CAPTCHAs. THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 David García Cervetti whose telephone number is (571)272-5861. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 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, HADI S ARMOUCHE can be reached at (571)270-3618. 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. /David Garcia Cervetti/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2409
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jan 29, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 05, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §112
Feb 09, 2026
Response Filed
Mar 27, 2026
Final Rejection — §112 (current)

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

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
83%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+15.5%)
3y 5m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1195 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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