Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/670,796

COMMUNICATION CONTROL SYSTEM AND COMMUNICATION CONTROL METHOD

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
May 22, 2024
Examiner
LAZARO, DAVID R
Art Unit
2455
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
NEC Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
87%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 11m
To Grant
90%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 87% — above average
87%
Career Allow Rate
660 granted / 759 resolved
+29.0% vs TC avg
Minimal +3% lift
Without
With
+3.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
12 currently pending
Career history
771
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
10.7%
-29.3% vs TC avg
§103
33.8%
-6.2% vs TC avg
§102
25.9%
-14.1% vs TC avg
§112
12.1%
-27.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 759 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Election/Restrictions Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I: Claims 1-4 and 8-11 in the reply filed on 12/22/25 is acknowledged. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 5/22/24 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1-4 and 8-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2015/0263897 by Ganichev et al. (Ganichev). With respect to claim 1, Ganichev teaches a communication control system comprising at least one processor, the at least one processor carrying out: generating a storage request that includes (i) a plurality of identifier groups each of which includes one or more identifiers and (ii) priorities which are given to the respective plurality of identifier groups; (Paragraph 29-30 – API commands are generated that include configuration information specific to creating routes; Paragraph 90-92, Fig. 7 object 745 – routes are created via api commands and include information specific to network address ranges (identifier groups) per route and respective priorities given to such address ranges) and requesting a storage means to store information included in the storage request. (Paragraph 29-30, Fig. 7 object 745 – exemplary network controller receives configuration information via API commands and in response to commands stores this information into storage for example as data objects) With respect to claim 2, Ganichev teaches the communication control system according to claim 1, wherein: each of the one or more identifiers includes at least one selected from the group consisting of an IP address, a data network name, an IP domain, and an IP prefix. (Paragraph 90-92, Fig. 7 object 745 – identifier group may be network address ranges including an IP prefix range) With respect to claim 3, Ganichev teaches the communication control system according to claim 2, wherein: the at least one processor further carries out managing the plurality of identifier groups, wherein the managing the plurality of identifier groups includes managing, in a same instance, a plurality of identifier groups to which different priorities are given. (Paragraph 29-30, Fig. 7 object 725 – plurality of identifier groups are managed under an instance of a logical router (i.e. LR instance 725 of Fig. 7). With respect to claim 4, Ganichev teaches the communication control system according to claim 1, wherein: the at least one processor further carries out acquiring request information which includes a target identifier; and the at least one processor further carries out providing, as a response to the request information, response information which includes a network function address associated with the target identifier. (Paragraph 92 – example route 745 shows a target identifier falling within the address range will be accepted and specified to the specific logical output port of x) Claims 8-11 are similar in scope to claims 1-4 and are rejected based on the same rationale. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID R LAZARO whose telephone number is (571)272-3986. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-4:30. 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, Emmanuel Moise can be reached at 571-272-3865. 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. /DAVID R LAZARO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2455
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Prosecution Timeline

May 22, 2024
Application Filed
Jan 23, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CLOUD RESOLVING AND INTERNET PATH FINDING
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Patent 12592895
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Patent 12592883
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Patent 12587312
HYBRID PRODUCT POLAR CODES-BASED COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS AND METHODS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12587481
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2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
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
87%
Grant Probability
90%
With Interview (+3.0%)
2y 11m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 759 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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