Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/590,843

METHODS FOR "NO TRANSMIT ZONE" INDICATION FOR UAVS

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Feb 28, 2024
Examiner
LEE, JUSTIN YE
Art Unit
2644
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Qualcomm Incorporated
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
9m
Est. Remaining
91%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allowance Rate
568 granted / 709 resolved
+18.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +11% lift
Without
With
+11.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 2m
Avg Prosecution
10 currently pending
Career history
721
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
§103
85.1%
+45.1% vs TC avg
§102
5.5%
-34.5% vs TC avg
§112
3.4%
-36.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 709 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 § 102 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1, 8, 10, 11, 17 and 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kazmi et al. (US 2026/0046821 A1). Consider claim 1, Kazmi teaches an apparatus for wireless communication at an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (Abstract and Fig. 1), comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and, based at least in part on stored information that is stored in the at least one memory, the at least one processor (UAV or UE would include a memory and a processor), individually or in any combination, is configured to: receive a first indication of a no-transmit zone (NTZ) associated with at least a first threshold for a transmission power for UAVs within the NTZ during a first period of time (paragraph 56, the UE receives an indication from the network. The indication is associated with a restricted zone with restricted transmission power); enter the NTZ (paragraph 56, the UE detects the entrance of the restricted zone) and limit, within the NTZ, the transmission power associated with a transmission from the UAV to meet the first threshold (paragraph 86, upon the network receives an indication of the UE enters the restricted zone the network instructs the UE to adjust its transmission power). Consider claim 20, claim 20 having similar limitation as claim 1, therefore, claim 20 is rejected for the same reasons claim 1 is rejected. Consider claim 11, claim 11 having similar limitation as claim 1, therefore, claim 11 is rejected for the same reasons claim 1 is rejected. Claim 11 additionally claims a network device which Kazmi also teaches network device in Fig. 1. Consider claims 8 and 17, Kazmi also teaches wherein the first threshold is associated with a first frequency range, and to limit, within the NTZ, the transmission power associated with the transmission from the UAV to meet the first threshold, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to: switch from transmitting via the first frequency range to transmitting via a second frequency range that is disjoint from the first frequency range (paragraph 69, the UE can be handover to a different cell when entering the restricted zone). Consider claims 10 and 19, Kazmi also teaches wherein the first indication indicates that the NTZ is a first class of NTZ associated with the first threshold (paragraph 56). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claim(s) 2-3 and 12-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kazmi et al. (US 2026/0046821 A1) in view of Hochdorf et al. (US 2022/0416860 A1). Consider claim 2-3 and 12-13, Kazmi does not teach wherein the transmission power is an effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) or wherein the first threshold is associated with one of a maximum EIRP or an average EIRP. Hochdorf further teaches wherein the transmission power is an effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) or wherein the first threshold is associated with one of a maximum EIRP or an average EIRP (paragraph 33, EIRP is used as the transmission power). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify and utilize the above teachings for the purposes of indicating a clear and precise transmission power. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 4-7, 9, 14-16 and 18 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN YE LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-5258. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30-8:00. 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, Kathy Wang-Hurst can be reached at 5712705371. 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. /JUSTIN Y LEE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2644 4/21/26
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 28, 2024
Application Filed
Apr 29, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

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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
80%
Grant Probability
91%
With Interview (+11.0%)
3y 2m (~9m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 709 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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