Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/607,021

INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD AND DEVICE THEREOF

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Mar 15, 2024
Priority
Mar 29, 2023 — CN 202310322992.9
Examiner
WALSH, JOHN B
Art Unit
2451
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Lenovo (United States) Inc.
OA Round
2 (Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
7m
Est. Remaining
91%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allowance Rate
671 granted / 816 resolved
+24.2% vs TC avg
Moderate +9% lift
Without
With
+8.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
841
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.0%
-36.0% vs TC avg
§103
59.5%
+19.5% vs TC avg
§102
24.6%
-15.4% vs TC avg
§112
5.2%
-34.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 816 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 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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. Claims 1, 10 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication 2002/0012428 to Neyman et al. in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 2024/0177729 to Parida et al. Neyman et al. ‘428 disclose: As concerns claim 1, an information processing method, comprising: determining at least two sessions (0028-more than two telephones; multiple calls/session to agent) corresponding to a first session object (0009-agent station), wherein the at least two sessions have one-to-one correspondence with at least two second session objects (0009-telephone callers; 0011; each caller is connected with the agent via their own telephone, thus one to one with agent), and each of the at least two sessions includes a plurality of stages based on progress; analyzing the at least two sessions, to obtain session stages (0032-overall record; 0089-call and agent status; 0092-0093-call parameters and properties; BRI-“stages” is given the broadest reasonable interpretation and limitations from the specification are not read into the claims and the claim does not provide any particular definition for the term) of the at least two sessions, respectively, wherein each of the session stages is one of the plurality of stages that the corresponding session is currently in during corresponding session process; and determining that at least one session satisfies a preset condition (0034-control and customize routing of incoming calls depending on certain data elements; 0035-customize and adjust routing; 0037-white list; 0041-route the call, transfer call) based on the session stages of the at least two sessions, and allocating at least one second session object (0034-routing call; 0045-personal routing rules; 0037-white list) to be connected to the first session object. As concerns claim 10, an electronic device comprising: at least one processor (0029); and at least one memory (0012-PC inherent to have memory) storing executable program instructions that, when being executed, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above). As concerns claim 19, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable program instructions that, when being executed, cause at least one processor to perform the method according to claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above). Neyman et al. ‘428 do not disclose: each of the at least two sessions includes a plurality of stages based on progress. Parida et al. ‘729 teach: each of the at least two sessions includes a plurality of stages based on progress (0041-stage of conversation; stage may indicate progress of the conversation). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide the system of Neyman et al. ‘428 with progress stages for a session, as taught by Parida et al. ‘729, in order to provide additional context. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-9 and 11-17 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. Claims 21 and 22 are allowed. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection necessitated by the newly amended claims. 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 JOHN B WALSH whose telephone number is (571)272-7063. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30-3:30 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, Christopher L Parry can be reached at 571-272-8328. 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. /JOHN B WALSH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2451
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Mar 15, 2024
Application Filed
Oct 27, 2025
Examiner Interview (Telephonic)
Nov 04, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jan 28, 2026
Response Filed
May 22, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Patent 12665947
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Patent 12647490
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2y 0m to grant Granted Jun 02, 2026
Patent 12641159
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2y 2m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
82%
Grant Probability
91%
With Interview (+8.7%)
2y 11m (~7m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 816 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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