Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 26, 2026
Application No. 18/636,060

APPARATUS, A METHOD AND A COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR VIDEO CODING AND DECODING

Final Rejection §101
Filed
Apr 15, 2024
Priority
Dec 31, 2014 — provisional 62/098,919 +3 more
Examiner
HOLDER, ANNER N
Art Unit
2484
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Nokia Corporation
OA Round
4 (Final)
79%
Grant Probability
Favorable
5-6
OA Rounds
7m
Est. Remaining
92%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 79% — above average
79%
Career Allowance Rate
605 granted / 765 resolved
+21.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +13% lift
Without
With
+13.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 1m
Avg Prosecution
20 currently pending
Career history
791
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.5%
-31.5% vs TC avg
§103
53.8%
+13.8% vs TC avg
§102
24.1%
-15.9% vs TC avg
§112
2.8%
-37.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 765 resolved cases

Office Action

§101
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 . Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed 08/19/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues Claims 17-21 is a physical media as the claims recite and, as such, cannot reasonably be interpreted to encompass transitory signals. The examiner disagrees as the Applicant's specification does not exclude transitory signals. Applicant specification recites [00431 (0602 -USPUB)] The embodiments of this invention may be implemented by computer software executable by a data processor of the mobile device, such as in the processor entity, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. Further in this regard it should be noted that any blocks of the logic flow as in the Figures may represent program steps, or interconnected logic circuits, blocks and functions, or a combination of program steps and logic circuits, blocks and functions. The software may be stored on such physical media as memory chips, or memory blocks implemented within the processor, magnetic media such as hard disk or floppy disks, and optical media such as for example DVD and the data variants thereof, CD. The specification language defining “physical media” doesn’t exclude carrier waves. MPEP §2106.03(II) Thus, a claim to a computer readable medium that can be a compact disc or a carrier wave covers a non-statutory embodiment and therefore should be rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as being directed to non-statutory subject matter. See, e.g., Mentor Graphics v. EVE-USA, Inc., 851 F.3d at 1294-95, 112 USPQ2d at 1134 (claims to a "machine-readable medium" were non-statutory, because their scope encompassed both statutory random-access memory and non-statutory carrier waves). Therefore, the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101 is being maintained. Terminal Disclaimer The terminal disclaimer filed on disclaiming the terminal portion of any patent granted on this application has been reviewed and is accepted. The terminal disclaimer has been recorded. Allowable Subject Matter Claims are allowed. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: [ . Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.” Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows: Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title. Claims 17-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because under the broadest reasonable interpretation of the instant claims in light of the specification encompasses transitory signals. However, transitory signals are not within one of the four statutory categories (i.e. non-statutory subject matter). See MPEP 2106(I) 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 ANNER HOLDER whose telephone number is (571)270-1549. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-4. 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, Joseph Ustaris can be reached at 571.272.7383. 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. /ANNER HOLDER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2483
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 1 earlier event
Dec 13, 2024
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §101
Jun 11, 2025
Response Filed
Sep 23, 2025
Final Rejection mailed — §101
Mar 23, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Apr 09, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
May 20, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §101
Aug 19, 2026
Response Filed
Sep 23, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §101 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12771871
EXTERNALLY ENHANCED PREDICTION FOR VIDEO CODING
3y 0m to grant Granted Oct 20, 2026
Patent 12771863
IMAGE ENCODING/DECODING METHOD AND DEVICE, AND RECORDING MEDIUM IN WHICH BITSTREAM IS STORED
1y 12m to grant Granted Oct 20, 2026
Patent 12771864
IMAGE ENCODING/DECODING METHOD AND DEVICE, AND RECORDING MEDIUM IN WHICH BITSTREAM IS STORED
1y 12m to grant Granted Oct 20, 2026
Patent 12764272
FUSION IMPROVEMENT AND SUB-PEL PRECISION MODE FOR TEMPLATE MATCHING RELATED TOOLS FOR VIDEO CODING
2y 6m to grant Granted Oct 13, 2026
Patent 12764336
MMVD AND SMVD COMBINATION WITH MOTION AND PREDICTION MODELS
2y 6m to grant Granted Oct 13, 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
79%
Grant Probability
92%
With Interview (+13.3%)
3y 1m (~7m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 765 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