Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/602,264

COMMUNICATION METHOD AND RELATED APPARATUS

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Mar 12, 2024
Priority
Sep 15, 2021 — CN 202111081765.9 +1 more
Examiner
TON, DANG T
Art Unit
2476
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
OA Round
2 (Final)
89%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
90%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 89% — above average
89%
Career Allowance Rate
556 granted / 625 resolved
+31.0% vs TC avg
Minimal +1% lift
Without
With
+0.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 2m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
644
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.9%
-36.1% vs TC avg
§103
45.9%
+5.9% vs TC avg
§102
26.2%
-13.8% vs TC avg
§112
7.8%
-32.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 625 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . 2. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. 3. 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. 4. Claims 1,17 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (2018/0310338) in view of Li et al. (2021/0232778). For claim 1, Li et al. (2018/0310338) discloses a communication method comprising: receiving, by a first device, first indication information from a second device; and enabling or disabling, by the first device, an intelligent channel access function based on the first indication information, wherein the intelligent channel access function includes accessing a channel ( See paragraphs 0026 lines 1-2 and 0027 lines 1-4). Li et al. (2018/0310338) also discloses a processor; and a memory configured to store computer readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the communication apparatus to executing. For claim 1 and claim 21, Li et al. (2018/0310338) discloses all the subject matter of the claimed invention with the exception of accessing a channel based on a channel access decision output by a neural network. Li et al. (2021/0232778) from the same or similar fields of endeavor teaches a provision of accessing a channel based on a channel access decision output by a neural network (See paragraph 0051 lines 1-5). Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use accessing a channel based on a channel access decision output by a neural network as taught by Li et al. (2021/0232778) in the communications network of Li et al. (2018/0310338) for the purpose of using the neural network. The independent claim 17 is rejected for the same reason as claim 1. 5. Claims 2-16 and 18-20 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. 6. Applicant's arguments filed 6/17/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. In the remarks of 6/17/2026, the applicant traverses the rejection of 103(a1). The traversal is based on the ground that the references do not teach "enabling or disabling, by the first device, an intelligent channel access function based on the first indication information, wherein the intelligent channel access function includes accessing a channel based on a channel access decision output by a neural network.". This arguments are not found to be persuasive. Applicant’s attention is directed at paragraph 0051 lines 1-5 of Li et al. wherein it teaches "enabling or disabling, by the first device, an intelligent channel access function based on the first indication information, wherein the intelligent channel access function includes accessing a channel based on a channel access decision output by a neural network.". 7. 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 DANG T TON whose telephone number is (571)272- 3171. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 5:30 AM to 3:00 PM. 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, Ayaz Sheikh can be reached at 571-272-3795. 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. /DANG T TON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476 /D.T.T/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Mar 12, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 18, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jun 17, 2026
Response Filed
Sep 10, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12745169
Selecting and controlling base stations for Wi-Fi access points with cellular connection
4y 1m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12745176
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING POWER SAVING ON BASIS OF XR TRAFFIC CHARACTERISTICS IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
2y 7m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12745130
METHOD AND DEVICE FOR PROCESSING BUFFER STATE REPORT IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM USING INTER-ENB CARRIER AGGREGATION TECHNOLOGY
2y 9m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12739891
PRE-SCHEDULING SCHEDULED RESOURCE BLOCKS (SRB) TO USER EQUIPMENT (UE) TO IMPROVE LATENCY AND USER EXPERIENCE
2y 5m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12719624
ENVIRONMENT SENSING USING RADIO FREQUENCIES
3y 11m to grant Granted Aug 25, 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

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
89%
Grant Probability
90%
With Interview (+0.9%)
2y 2m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 625 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