Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/514,279

DETECTING LEAKAGE ERRORS IN HYPERFINE QUBITS

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Nov 20, 2023
Priority
Dec 21, 2022 — provisional 63/476,418
Examiner
CHAUDRY, MUJTABA M
Art Unit
2112
Tech Center
2100 — Computer Architecture & Software
Assignee
Quantinuum LLC
OA Round
3 (Final)
84%
Grant Probability
Favorable
4-5
OA Rounds
1m
Est. Remaining
88%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 84% — above average
84%
Career Allowance Rate
701 granted / 831 resolved
+29.4% vs TC avg
Minimal +4% lift
Without
With
+3.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
21 currently pending
Career history
854
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.8%
-34.2% vs TC avg
§103
32.9%
-7.1% vs TC avg
§102
5.0%
-35.0% vs TC avg
§112
33.4%
-6.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 831 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
DETAILED ACTION Applicants’ response filed 12/9/2025 has been considered. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claims 1-20 and 24-26 are pending. Rejections under 35 USC 112 are maintained in view of amendments and are reformulated herein. Pertinent prior art has been cited for Applicants’ review. Inlek et al. USPAP 20230289645A1 (i.e., paragraph 0051 and Figures 4, 10 and 12). This prior art maybe applied once the claims are clear. Application is pending. 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 1-20 and 24-26 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. For example, claim 1 teaches: PNG media_image1.png 586 649 media_image1.png Greyscale The claim states, “…a first manipulation signal configured to, when the one or more atomic objects within the particular region are in a qubit space of a ground state manifold, cause...the one or more atomic objects…to evolve from respective states in qubit space of the ground state to respective states in a shelving manifold and the first manipulation signal configured to, when the one or more atomic objects with the particular region are in one or more leaked states and therefore are not in the qubit space of the ground state manifold, not cause the respective quantum states of the one or more atomic objects within the particular region to evolve to the respective states in the shelving manifold…” This limitation is partially unclear. If the first manipulation signal is used to evolve the atomic objects from a ground state to a shelving state, the how is the first manipulation signal able to do anything about those objected that are in a leaked state? Does the first manipulation signal detect for leaked states? It is not entirely clear what exactly is the first manipulation signal is meant to do that is different than the second manipulation signal. There are disconnects between the first manipulation signal and the second manipulation signal. The claim then states, “…a second manipulation signal…to perform a detection operation on the atomic objects…” What exactly is being detected? Is the second manipulation signal used to detect for leak errors? How is the second manipulation signal related to the first manipulation signal? Does the first manipulation signal also detect for leaked states or it is just the second manipulation signal? Essential elements are missing in the claim regarding the exact process of leak detection with regards to the first manipulation signal and the second manipulation signal. Independent claims 11 and 24 are rejected for similar reasons. Respective dependent claims 2-10, 12-20 and 25-26 are rejected at least based on dependency. Corrections are requested. Conclusion 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 MUJTABA M CHAUDRY whose telephone number is (571)272-3817. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5:30pm. 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, Albert DeCady can be reached at 571-272-3819. 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. MUJTABA M. CHAUDRY Primary Examiner Art Unit 2112 /MUJTABA M CHAUDRY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2112
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 5 earlier events
Aug 21, 2025
Response Filed
Sep 11, 2025
Final Rejection mailed — §112
Nov 17, 2025
Interview Requested
Nov 25, 2025
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Nov 25, 2025
Examiner Interview Summary
Dec 09, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Dec 20, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Mar 12, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12640843
METHOD, COMMUNICATION DEVICE, PROCESSING DEVICE, AND STORAGE MEDIUM FOR PERFORMING CHANNEL ENCODING, AND METHOD, COMMUNICATION DEVICE, PROCESSING DEVICE, AND STORAGE MEDIUM FOR PERFORMING CHANNEL DECODING
1y 7m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Patent 12608264
Method and Apparatus for Monitoring and Alerting Errors in a Distributed Storage Network
1y 9m to grant Granted Apr 21, 2026
Patent 12603802
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR IDENTIFICATION VIA CHANNELS AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT
2y 4m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12596946
QUANTUM METADATA LINEAGE TRACING USING QUANTUM MULTIPART ENTANGLED TWIN TECHNOLOGY
3y 0m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12587213
METHOD AND SYSTEM OF ERROR INJECTION FOR LOW-DENSITY PARITY-CHECK
3y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

4-5
Expected OA Rounds
84%
Grant Probability
88%
With Interview (+3.7%)
2y 8m (~1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 831 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month