Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 06, 2026
Application No. 18/628,603

SYSTEM FOR AUTONOMOUS TRAINING AND ENRICHMENT OF ANIMALS

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Apr 05, 2024
Priority
Apr 06, 2023 — provisional 63/494,754
Examiner
ALEKSIC, NEVENA
Art Unit
3647
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Porter Al Labs Inc.
OA Round
2 (Final)
74%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
87%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 74% — above average
74%
Career Allowance Rate
86 granted / 116 resolved
+22.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +13% lift
Without
With
+12.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
32 currently pending
Career history
137
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.2%
-38.8% vs TC avg
§103
49.9%
+9.9% vs TC avg
§102
23.9%
-16.1% vs TC avg
§112
24.9%
-15.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 116 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 . Drawings The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: element ‘114’ in Fig. 2C. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance. Claim Objections Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 9, line 1 recites “wherein system is further configured to:” and should be amended as follows “wherein the system is further configured to:”. Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of the first paragraph 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 the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112: 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. Claims 36-37, and 40-42 are 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(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Each of the following do not have support in the original specification: Claim 36 recites “wherein the cloud-based processor is configured to transmit a session-control message to the processing system that causes the processing system to initiate the cue signal, the session-control message comprising at least one of behavior identifier corresponding to a requested behavior”; Claim 37 recites “wherein the processing system is configured to initiate the cue signal responsive to a trigger condition, the trigger condition comprising at least one of: expiration of a timer associated with a training session, or detection, from the first set of pose data, that sensor activity remains below an activity threshold for at least a period of time”; Claim 40 recites “a proximity sensing subsystem”, “an interaction sensing subsystem”, “a behavior score”, “a wireless transceiver”, and “construct one or more representations for behavior evaluation based on the first set of sensor data, the one or more representations comprising at least one of: a point-cloud representation based on the depth measurements, a temporally ordered sequence of motion descriptors bases on the image data, or a temporally ordered sequence representing motion of the animal within the time window”; Claim 41 recites “a start signal”; and Claim 42 recites “a scheduling module”. 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. Claim 1-2, 4, 7, 9, 11-16, and 32-39 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 1 recites “a processing system configured to receive the first set of pose data, the processing system being configured to transmit the first set of data to the processing system” which is indefinite because it is unclear how the processing system is configured to transmit data to itself. Claim 1 recites the limitation "the first machine learning model" in lines 18-19. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Lines 15 and line 17 introduce “a first machine learning model” so it is unclear which machine learning model “the first machine learning model” refers back to. Claim 4 recites the limitation "the reward" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 4 depends on claim 1, and claim 1 recites “a reward device”. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-2, 4, 7, 9, 11-16, and 32-39 would be allowable if rewritten or amended 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. 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 NEVENA ALEKSIC whose telephone number is (571)272-1659. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8:30am-5:30pm ET. 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, Kimberly Berona can be reached at (571)272-6909. 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. /N.A./Examiner, Art Unit 3647 /KIMBERLY S BERONA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3647
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 05, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 22, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Jan 22, 2026
Response Filed
May 26, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

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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
87%
With Interview (+12.9%)
2y 3m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 116 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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