Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/623,953

REFARMING TELECOMMUNICATIONS SPECTRUM BLOCKS IN A TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Apr 01, 2024
Priority
Dec 22, 2021 — continuation of 11/956,166
Examiner
NGUYEN, THAI
Art Unit
2469
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
T-Mobile USA Inc.
OA Round
2 (Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
3m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allowance Rate
681 granted / 800 resolved
+27.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +14% lift
Without
With
+13.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
24 currently pending
Career history
816
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.9%
-31.1% vs TC avg
§103
43.5%
+3.5% vs TC avg
§102
11.0%
-29.0% vs TC avg
§112
29.8%
-10.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 800 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
DETAILED ACTION 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. Claim 14 is 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 14 recites the limitation "the system of claim 1" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-3, 6-11, 15-17, 19, 20 are allowed. 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 THAI NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7632. The examiner can normally be reached M-F campus 10:30-5pm, telework 6pm-8pm| Telework count days. 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, Ian N Moore can be reached at (571)272-3085. 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. /THAI NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2469
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 01, 2024
Application Filed
May 12, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Aug 12, 2026
Response Filed
Aug 25, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12720543
DATA SCHEDULING METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND DATA SENDING METHOD AND APPARATUS
2y 6m to grant Granted Aug 25, 2026
Patent 12701397
MULTICAST HANDOVER FOR MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS
2y 10m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
Patent 12701632
METHOD AND DEVICE FOR INFORMING ABOUT WHETHER SL DRX OPERATION IS SUPPORTED IN NR V2X
2y 8m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
Patent 12695575
BEAM RELATED TRACKING REFERENCE SIGNAL AVAILABILITY SIGNALING
2y 8m to grant Granted Jul 28, 2026
Patent 12689482
REFERENCE SIGNAL PORT INDICATION TECHNIQUES
2y 8m to grant Granted Jul 21, 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
85%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+13.6%)
2y 9m (~3m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 800 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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