Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/467,117

METHODS, APPARATUSES AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCTS FOR PROVIDING VIRTUAL CAMERAS FOR HARDWARE INPUTS

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Sep 14, 2023
Examiner
GARCIA, GABRIEL I
Art Unit
2682
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Meta Platforms Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
91%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 8m
To Grant
97%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 91% — above average
91%
Career Allow Rate
708 granted / 781 resolved
+28.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+6.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
15 currently pending
Career history
796
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.1%
-31.9% vs TC avg
§103
19.7%
-20.3% vs TC avg
§102
40.0%
+0.0% vs TC avg
§112
15.0%
-25.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 781 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
Part III DETAILED ACTION 1. The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions. This application has been examined. Claims 1-20 are pending in this application. Claim Objections 2. Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: On line 3, the phase “an hardware” appears that it should change to “a hardware”. Appropriate correction is required. 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 3. Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Leng et al. (2024/0007583), hereafter referred as Leng. With regard claim 1, Leng teaches a method comprising: receiving, by a first device( see fig. 8, item labelled first device), one or more requests from one or more communication devices to utilize a camera of a second device as a virtual camera of the one or more communication devices (read on figs. 9-1, access to an external display can be implemented from another device); allowing access to the camera of the second device to at least one communication device of the one or more communication devices (read on figs. 9-11, allowing access to the external display can be implemented from another device) ; enabling the at least one communication device to utilize the camera of the second device to capture one or more images or videos (e.g. the portable device or cellular as depicted by fig. 11, can receive the captured image by the first device as depicted in figs. 9-11); and enabling provision of the captured one or more images or videos to the at least one communication device to enable display of the captured one or more images the first device as depicted in figs. 8-11 and display the captured image as depicted in fig.11). With regard claim 2, Leng further teaches performing image processing on one or more frames associated with the captured one or more images or videos, by an image processing module of an abstraction layer interface, to enable the at least one communication device to modify or change one or more image or video features of the captured one or more images or videos prior to the at least one communication device receiving the captured one or more images or videos from the camera of the second device (reads on fig. 11, a frame or portion of the captured image of the first device is displayed by the communication device, editing or performing synthesis processing as suggested by claim 23). With regard claim 3, Leng further teaches providing to the one or more communication devices access to an abstraction layer interface, comprising an hardware abstraction layer which enables the at least one communication device to utilize the camera of the second device, and the image processing module which enables the one or more communication devices to modify or change the one or more image or video features associated with the captured one or more images or videos reads on fig. 11, a layer or portion of the captured image of the first device is displayed by the communication device, editing or performing synthesis processing as suggested by claim 23). . With regard claim 4, Leng further teaches wherein the features comprise one or more of high dynamic range capture, noise reduction, distortion reduction, or one or more frame exposure times (see p[0152], the camera uses high dynamic range). With regard claim 5, Leng further teaches wherein the abstraction layer interface is configured to enable the provision of the captured one or more images or videos independent of a communication protocol utilized by the at least one communication device sending a request of the one or more requests (See abstract). With regard claim 6, Leng further teaches wherein enabling, based on the hardware abstraction Layer, the at least one communication device to utilize one or more applications, on the second device, wherein the one or more applications cause the camera to capture other images or other videos to provide to the at least one communication device (see abstract and p[0068]). With regard claim 7, Leng further teaches wherein the at least one communication device lacks an internal camera (inherently reads on fig. 11, the cellular or communication does have to incorporate a camera since the images are captured by a first device see fig. 9).. With regard claim 8, Leng further teaches wherein the at least one communication device a wearable device, smart glasses or another communication device (reads on fig. 11, the device is a communication device as depicted in fig. 11). With regard claim 9, Leng further teaches enabling access, based on the hardware abstraction layer, of the camera on the second device to a plurality of the one or more communication devices, to enable the plurality of the one or more communication devices to obtain other images or other videos captured by the camera of the second device (reads on figs. 8-11). With regard claim 10, Leng further enabling provision of different communication protocols to enable the plurality of communication devices to dynamically switch between the different communication protocols (inherently reads on p[0148], different protocols can be used). With regard to claims 11-20, the limitations of claims 11-20 are covered by the limitations of claims 1-10 above. Conclusion 4. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Gladkov et al. (11,132,827) teaches an artificial reality system architecture for concurrent application execution and collaborative 3D scene rendering. 5. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Gabriel I. Garcia whose telephone number is (571) 272-7434. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday from 7:30 AM-6:00 PM.. The fax phone number for this group is (571) 273-8600. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Benny Tieu can be reached on (571) 272-7490. 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. Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application should be directed to the Group receptionist whose telephone number is (571) 272-2600. /Gabriel I Garcia/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2682 January 06, 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 14, 2023
Application Filed
Jan 06, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (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

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
91%
Grant Probability
97%
With Interview (+6.1%)
2y 8m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 781 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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