Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/620,274

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR NETWORK DISCOVERY

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Mar 28, 2024
Examiner
BARRY, LANCE LEONARD
Art Unit
2457
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
ServiceNow Inc.
OA Round
4 (Final)
84%
Grant Probability
Favorable
5-6
OA Rounds
4m
Est. Remaining
87%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 84% — above average
84%
Career Allowance Rate
346 granted / 414 resolved
+25.6% vs TC avg
Minimal +4% lift
Without
With
+3.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
18 currently pending
Career history
433
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
12.7%
-27.3% vs TC avg
§103
42.0%
+2.0% vs TC avg
§102
3.3%
-36.7% vs TC avg
§112
31.2%
-8.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 414 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claims 1-8, 16-26, and 28 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. Regarding claims 1, 16, and 21, “the information of the one or more software applications” lacks antecedent basis. Regarding claims 16 and 21, the relation between “each agent” and “the plurality of agents” is unclear. Regarding claim 28, “the respective hard resource” lacks antecedent basis. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 and Specification Objection The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(a): (a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph: The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. Claim 28 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim contains subject matter that was not described in the original specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. More specifically, the new claim recites “the information collected by each agent based on the process information comprises relationships between the one or more software applications . . . and relationships between the one or more software applications and the respective hard resource . . . .” The Examiner cannot find support for these relationships in the parts of the Specification cited by the Applicant. Similarly, the specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the aforementioned subject matter of claim 28. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o). Specification The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities. The abstract is objected to for not being descriptive as it could be. It should be amended to reflect the amendments of August 6, 2026. The phrase “to discovery software resources” (¶ 41) is unclear. Other Art The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to the instant disclosure. For example, US 20230328130’s remote desktop protocol (RDP) operating system (OS) session remote-control includes providing security credentials to a client device. 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 Lance Leonard Barry whose telephone number is (571)272-5856. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 700-430 ET 730-1630. 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 email the Examiner. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ario Etienne can be reached on 571-272-4001. 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. /LANCE LEONARD BARRY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2457
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 9 earlier events
Mar 10, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
May 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Jul 24, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Jul 24, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Aug 06, 2026
Response Filed
Aug 10, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Aug 10, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Aug 28, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12704823
METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR PROVIDING DATA FROM AN INTERNAL DATA PROCESSING SYSTEM OF AN INDUSTRIAL PLANT TO AN EXTERNAL DATA PROCESSING SYSTEM
4y 2m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12671622
ADAPTIVE NETWORK TRACE ANALYSIS USING REFERENCE COMMUNICATION FLOWS
1y 10m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026
Patent 12647491
Handling Discovery Requests in a Network
1y 11m to grant Granted Jun 02, 2026
Patent 12641161
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR REAL-TIME REPOSITORY MANAGEMENT FOR UNIVERSAL SERVICE DEPLOYMENT
1y 7m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Patent 12634374
TRAFFIC INFLUENCE FOR INITIAL EAS SELECTION
2y 0m to grant Granted May 19, 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

5-6
Expected OA Rounds
84%
Grant Probability
87%
With Interview (+3.5%)
2y 10m (~4m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 414 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