Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/667,622

TECHNIQUES FOR HIGH-SPEED DECODING OF VARIABLE LENGTH INTEGERS

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
May 17, 2024
Examiner
LAUTURE, JOSEPH J
Art Unit
2845
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Lemon Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
95%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 11m
To Grant
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 95% — above average
95%
Career Allow Rate
722 granted / 761 resolved
+26.9% vs TC avg
Minimal +1% lift
Without
With
+0.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
1y 11m
Avg Prosecution
8 currently pending
Career history
769
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.0%
-35.0% vs TC avg
§103
36.3%
-3.7% vs TC avg
§102
35.1%
-4.9% vs TC avg
§112
13.6%
-26.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 761 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 § 102 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1, 9 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Dean et al (US 7,068,192). Regarding claim 1, Dean et al teach in figures (2-7) a computer-implemented method for decoding variable length integers (See column 1: lines 20-22), comprising: obtaining a series of bits encoding one or more variable length integers (input of figure 7); applying a mask (step 708, the mask including tag bits) to the series of bits to determine a number of bytes (i.e., storage length, see claims 1, 11) that correspond to each of the one or more variable length integers in the series of bits; and decoding (See decoder 210 of figure 2) each of the one or more variable length integers based on the number of bytes that correspond to each of the one or more variable length integers. Regarding claim 9, Dean et al teach in figures (2-7) an apparatus for decoding variable length integers (See abstract), the apparatus comprising one or more processors (See claim 20) and one or more non-transitory memories with instructions thereon, wherein the instructions upon execution by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: obtain a series of bits encoding one or more variable length integers (input of figure 7); apply a mask (step 708, the mask including tag bits) to the series of bits to determine a number of bytes (i.e., storage length, see claims 1, 11) that correspond to each of the one or more variable length integers in the series of bits; and decode (See decoder 210 of figure 2) each of the one or more variable length integers based on the number of bytes that correspond to each of the one or more variable length integers. Regarding claim 17, Dean et al teach in figures (2-7) One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing instructions that when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to execute a method (See claim 20) for decoding variable length integers, wherein the method comprises: obtaining a series of bits encoding one or more variable length integers (input of figure 7); applying a mask (step 708, the mask including tag bits) to the series of bits to determine a number of bytes (i.e., storage length, see claims 1, 11) that correspond to each of the one or more variable length integers in the series of bits; and decoding (See decoder 210 of figure 2) each of the one or more variable length integers based on the number of bytes that correspond to each of the one or more variable length integers. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-8, 10-16 and 18-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH J LAUTURE whose telephone number is (571)272-1805. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30 AM-6:00 PM. 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, Dameon Levi can be reached at 5712722105. 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. /JOSEPH J LAUTURE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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Prosecution Timeline

May 17, 2024
Application Filed
Jan 23, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
95%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+0.8%)
1y 11m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 761 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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