Office Action Predictor
Last updated: April 16, 2026
Application No. 18/647,852

CONVERTING ENFORCEMENT POLICY INFORMATION INTO PROVISIONING TEMPLATE INFORMATION

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Apr 26, 2024
Examiner
KEEHN, RICHARD G
Art Unit
2444
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Vmware LLC
OA Round
2 (Final)
79%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2y 11m
To Grant
87%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 79% — above average
79%
Career Allow Rate
666 granted / 840 resolved
+21.3% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+7.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
14 currently pending
Career history
854
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
12.0%
-28.0% vs TC avg
§103
50.1%
+10.1% vs TC avg
§102
15.1%
-24.9% vs TC avg
§112
15.6%
-24.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 840 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
DETAILED ACTION Claims 1-20 are pending and have been examined. There are no new, nor canceled claims. Applicant’s amendments necessitate a new ground of rejection. Accordingly, this Office action is made FINAL. 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 amendments with arguments, see page 6, filed 1/6/2026, with respect to the rejection of Claims 1-20 under 35 U.S.C. 101 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of Claims 1-20 under 35 U.S.C. 101 has been withdrawn. Applicant’s amendments with arguments, see page 6, filed 1/6/2026, with respect to the objection to Claims 2 and 10 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The objection to Claims 2 and 10 has been withdrawn. Applicant’s amendments with arguments, see pages 6 and 7, filed 1/6/2026, with respect to the rejection of Claims 1-20 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of Claims 1-20 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) has been withdrawn. 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 1-20 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 the limitation "the provisioning template" in the first limitation. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claims 1, 9 and 17 recite the limitation "the provisional template" in the “determine a location” limitation. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The dependent claims are also rejected based upon incorporation of the rejected independent claim. Interview Practice USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) The USPTO AIR is a new optional online interview scheduling tool that allows Applicants to request an interview with an Examiner for their pending patent application. The USPTO AIR form is available on our website at: http://www.uspto.gov/patent/laws-and-regulations/interview-practice. By submitting this type of interview request, the pending patent application will be in compliance with the written authorization requirement for Internet communication in accordance with MPEP §502.03. This authorization will be in effect until the Applicant provides a written withdrawal of authorization to the Examiner of record. If you have questions or need assistance with the USPTO AIR form or with interview practice at the USPTO, please contact an Interview Specialist at http://www.uspto.gov/patent/laws-and-regulations/interview-practice/interview-specialist or send an email to ExaminerInterviewPractice@USPTO.GOV. Examiner Notes: A) Prior to conducting any interview (whether using AIR or not), Applicant(s) must submit an agenda including the proposed date and time, all arguments in writing, and proposed claim amendments (if applicable). Any proposed amendments or arguments not presented in the agenda will only be heard by the Examiner, but because the Examiner will not have heard them in advance and been given an equitable opportunity to consider them, no decision will be rendered, nor agreement made. ALL AGENDAS MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE EXAMINER AT LEAST 24 HOURS PRIOR TO THE START OF THE INTERVIEW, OR THE PREVIOUS BUSINESS DAY, WHICHEVER IS LONGER, or the interview may have to be rescheduled. B) After-final interviews may be granted, but the agenda must be in compliance with MPEP 713.09 which limits the interview only to discussions of proposed amendments, or clarification for appeal. After-final interviews are not to be conducted for the purpose of rehashing previously made arguments. After seeing the agenda, Examiner will decide whether to grant or deny the interview. 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 RICHARD G KEEHN whose telephone number is (571)270-5007. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm Eastern. 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, John A Follansbee can be reached at 571-272-3964. 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. /RICHARD G KEEHN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2444
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Prosecution Timeline

Apr 26, 2024
Application Filed
Oct 21, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §112
Jan 06, 2026
Response Filed
Jan 20, 2026
Final Rejection — §112
Apr 07, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action

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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
79%
Grant Probability
87%
With Interview (+7.7%)
2y 11m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 840 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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