Office Action Predictor
Last updated: April 16, 2026
Application No. 18/617,759

SYSTEMS AND METHODS TO MONITOR AND IMPROVE DRIVING BEHAVIOR

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Mar 27, 2024
Examiner
BARAKAT, MOHAMED
Art Unit
2689
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Hats Group LLC
OA Round
2 (Final)
74%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2y 4m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 74% — above average
74%
Career Allow Rate
612 granted / 830 resolved
+11.7% vs TC avg
Strong +38% interview lift
Without
With
+38.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
27 currently pending
Career history
857
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.4%
-36.6% vs TC avg
§103
49.7%
+9.7% vs TC avg
§102
18.5%
-21.5% vs TC avg
§112
18.9%
-21.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 830 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claim status 2. In response to the amendments filed 11/16/2025, claims 1, 3, 5, 6 and 9-19 were amended and no claims were canceled and/or added. Therefore, claims 1-20 are currently pending for examination. The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior office action. Claim Objections 3. Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities: “the claim is ending with multiple full stops”. Appropriate correction is required. Claim 18 is objected to because of the following informalities: “a driver” in line 2 should be “the driver” and “a vehicle” in line 3 should be “the vehicle”. Appropriate correction is required. Claim 19 is objected to because of the following informalities: “select apps” should be “the one or more apps”. Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 4. Claims 3-4, 6 and 12 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. Claim 3 recites the limitation "the user" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 4 recites the limitation "the location of the vehicle" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 6 recites the limitation "the speed" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 12 recites the limitation "the system when the vehicle speed" in lines 4-5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Allowable Subject Matter 5. Claims 1-2, 5, 7-9, 11, 13-17 and 20 are allowed. Claims 3-4, 6 and 12 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Claims 10 and 18-19 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the objections set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion 6. 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action. 7. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMED BARAKAT whose telephone number is (571)270-3696. The examiner can normally be reached on 9:00am-5:00PM. 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, Davetta Goins can be reached on (571) 272-2957. 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. /MOHAMED BARAKAT/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2689
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Prosecution Timeline

Mar 27, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 15, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §112
Nov 16, 2025
Response Filed
Feb 18, 2026
Final Rejection — §112
Mar 30, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action

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

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
74%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+38.2%)
2y 4m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 830 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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