Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/619,184

PRESENTING STATISTICS INFORMATION ON GARMENTS BY GROUPING MAIN FEATURES OF EACH GARMENT INTO PRIMARY FEATURES

Final Rejection §102§103
Filed
Mar 28, 2024
Priority
May 12, 2023 — RE 10-2023-0061797 +1 more
Examiner
SUN, JIANGENG
Art Unit
2671
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Clo Virtual Fashion Inc.
OA Round
2 (Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allowance Rate
348 granted / 423 resolved
+20.3% vs TC avg
Moderate +13% lift
Without
With
+13.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
19 currently pending
Career history
434
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
7.9%
-32.1% vs TC avg
§103
51.1%
+11.1% vs TC avg
§102
20.4%
-19.6% vs TC avg
§112
18.9%
-21.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 423 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
DETAILED ACTION Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed on page 9-10 with respect to rejections under 102 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that “Zhao thus clusters per-block colors across the training set, not per-garment main features into groups associated with primary features shared across garments” and “Zhao discloses no display, no user-facing presentation”. The argument is not persuasive because “not per-garment main features into groups associated with primary features” is not in the claim. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). Also Zhao teaches many code book with images, including what is shown in the figures, therefore “Zhao discloses no display, no user-facing presentation” is also not persuasive. Applicant's arguments filed on page 10-11 with respect to rejections of claims 1, 11, 17 under 103 are similarly not persuasive as shown above. Rejections to claims 10 and 16 are withdrawn after further consideration. 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. (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) 1-2, 4-6, 11-12, 13, 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhao ( CN 103955952) Regarding claim 1. Zhao teaches a method of providing statistics information, the method comprising: Extracting, for each of garments, a respective main feature of a category ([0030], extracting clothing image ) by analyzing stored information on the garments, the respective main feature representing a predominant feature of the category in the garment([0032], obtaining the main colour of foreground image); assigning the main features of the garments to groups, each of the groups associated with a primary feature of the category that is shared across garments in each of the groups( [0034], a plurality of main colours according to percentage to obtain foreground image, setting a percentage threshold value T, when a certain color occupying percentage of the whole image pixel number is more than percent threshold T, it is considered that the color as a main color); processing information on the garments according to the groups to generate statistics information on primary features([0037], main colour of all partial blocks all clothing image clustering, obtaining K clustering, namely codebook; [0039], counting out the number of partial blocks of each cluster, and encoding of the garment image ) ; and presenting, on a display, the generated statistics information including visual identifications of the primary features ([0038], the clothes image is encoded according to the codebook). Regarding claim 2, Zhao teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising selecting the garments for extracting the main features according to one or more criteria from stored garments( [0029], orderly selecting clothing image). Regarding claim 4, Zhao teaches the method of claim 1, wherein assigning the main features of the garments comprises: determining a reference value( [0034], percent threshold T) for each of the groups, the reference value indicating a standard([0034], that the color as a main color of the foreground image) or common feature; determining similarity of the main features and reference values of the groups( [0035], the foreground image is divided into several partial blocks and calculating primary colors belonging to each of the partial blocks of the colour of the partial blocks are averaged to obtain the average value of the foreground image of each primary color are compared) ; and assigning the main features to the groups according to the determined similarity ( [0035], when the difference is greater than the set value, it is considered that the local block has no corresponding main colour, marked as zero value; if the difference is less than the set value, the main colour difference value is the smallest as the main colour of the partial blocks). Regarding claim 5, Zhao teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the generated statistics information comprises ratios of the primary features occupied in the garments ( [0025], retrieval accurate ratio between influencing feature). Regarding claim 6, Zhao teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the category is one of colors([0037], main colour of all partial blocks all clothing image) , textures of fabric, garment styles, or glyphs on the garments. Claims 11-12, 13, 17-18 recite the medium and device for the method in claims 1-2, 4-6. Since Zhao teaches medium and device ( [0002] , computer), those claims are also rejected. 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. Claim(s) 3, 7-10, 14-16, 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haitani ( US20150379000). Regarding claim 3, Zhao teaches the method of claim 2. Zhao teaches wherein the one or more criteria comprises at least one of time periods of designing the garments, identifications of designers of the garments, and keywords. However, Haitani teaches comprises at least one of time periods of designing the garments, identifications of designers of the garments, and keywords ( [0023], the various color data providers 130 are associated with a particular community of people such as artists, designers, photographers, cinematographers, fashion experts, critics, or the like). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Zhao and Haitani, by associate colors in Haitani with designer as taught by Haitani therefore designer can be used as a selection criteria for colors, with motivation to “generate visualizations associated with color palettes identified from keyword searches” ( Haitani, Abstract) Regarding claim 7, Zhao teaches the method of claim 1. Zhao does not expressly teach further comprising, responsive to receiving selection of one of the primary features, presenting statistics information on main features assigned to a group corresponding to the selected primary feature. However Haintani teaches responsive to receiving selection of one of the primary features, presenting statistics information on main features assigned to a group corresponding to the selected primary feature( [0047], When the selected affiliated color is added to the palette, a new list of affiliated colors can be generated based at least in part on the colors in the palette). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Zhao and Haitani, by selecting new list of colors in Zhao following the teaching of Haintani, with motivation to “generate visualizations associated with color palettes identified from keyword searches” ( Haitani, Abstract) Regarding claim 8, Zhao in teaches the method of claim 7, wherein the presented statistics information on the main features includes ratios of at least a subset of the main features assigned to the group(Haintani, [0047], a new list of affiliated colors can be generated based at least in part on the colors in the palette). Regarding claim 9, Zhao teaches the method of claim 1. Zhao does not expressly teach further comprising presenting mood keywords corresponding to the primary features. However Haitani teaches presenting mood keywords corresponding to the primary features( [0047], mood and/or setting colors or images including certain colors may be surfaced and/or presented to a user based on affiliated colors or color palettes). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Zhao and Haitani, by associate colors in Haitani with mood as taught by Haitani, with motivation to “generate visualizations associated with color palettes identified from keyword searches” ( Haitani, Abstract). Regarding claim 10, Zhao in view of Haintani teaches the method of claim 9, further comprising: storing mapping between features of the category and the mood keywords; and determining the mood keywords to be presented according to the stored mapping ( Haintani, 206 in Fig. 2). Claims 14-15, 19-20 recite the medium and device for the method in claims 3, 7-9. Since Zhao teaches medium and device ( [0002] , computer), those claims are also rejected. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 10, 16 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 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 JIANGENG SUN whose telephone number is (571)272-3712. The examiner can normally be reached 8am to 5pm, EST, M-F. 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, Randolph Vincent can be reached at 571 272 8243. 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. JIANGENG SUN Examiner Art Unit 2661 /Jiangeng Sun/Examiner, Art Unit 2671
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Mar 28, 2024
Application Filed
May 18, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103
Aug 07, 2026
Response Filed
Aug 26, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12749162
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DENOISING IN MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING
3y 6m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12749159
Generalizable Image-Based Training Framework for Artificial Intelligence-Based Noise and Artifact Reduction in Medical Images
3y 1m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12737841
METHODS AND DEVICES FOR ENHANCEMENT OF POROUS MEDIA IMAGES
3y 0m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12727788
BIOMETRIC IMAGING DEVICE, BIOMETRIC IMAGING METHOD AND PROGRAM
3y 2m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Patent 12731436
INTELLIGENT RECOGNITION METHOD FOR JOB CONTENTS OF BARBERSHOP EMPLOYEES
1y 3m to grant Granted Sep 08, 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
82%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+13.4%)
2y 8m (~2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 423 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