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 .
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 1-3 and 6-22 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 one or more vehicle keypoints" in line 16. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. This limitation appears to be part of amending claim 1 to incorporate the limitations of original claims 3 and 4 into claim 1. Claim 1 has limitations for “associating, …, one or more vehicle key points from the plurality of keypoints with the bounding box corresponding to the at least one vehicle” later in claim 1, which were also in original claim 1. Claim 1 may be amended to clearly show when “the one or more vehicle keypoints from the plurality of vehicle key points” is first introduced and its relationship to the associating step. Further, the claims should be consistent in referring to “keypoints” or “key points”.
Claims 2, 3, 6-9, 21 and 22 depend from claim 1 and are rejected for the same reason.
Independent claim 10 and its dependent claims 11-16, and independent claim 17 and its dependent claims 18-20 recite similar indefinite language and are rejected for the same reason.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 13, 14 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claims 13 and 14 recite limitations that were incorporated into independent claim 10. Similarly, claim 19 recites limitations that have been incorporated into independent claim 17. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s claim amendments and arguments, see pages 10-12, filed 27 January 2026, with respect to claims 1-3, 6-12, 15-18 and 20 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of claims 1-3, 6-12, 15-18 and 20 under 35 U.S.C. 101 has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s claim amendments and arguments, see pages 12-13, filed 27 January 2026, with respect to claims 1-3, 6-12, 15-18 and 20 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejections under 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 of 1-3, 6-12, 15-18 and 20 has been withdrawn.
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 MANUEL L BARBEE whose telephone number is (571)272-2212. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9-5:30..
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Shelby A Turner can be reached at 571-272-6334. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MANUEL L BARBEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2857