Prosecution Insights
Last updated: September 29, 2026
Application No. 18/677,367

PERFORMING A DATABASE BACKUP BASED ON AUTOMATICALLY DISCOVERED PROPERTIES

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
May 29, 2024
Priority
Feb 20, 2019 — continuation of 11/169,887 +1 more
Examiner
BULLOCK, JOSHUA
Art Unit
2153
Tech Center
2100 — Computer Architecture & Software
Assignee
Cohesity Inc.
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
8m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allowance Rate
535 granted / 648 resolved
+27.6% vs TC avg
Strong +16% interview lift
Without
With
+16.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 0m
Avg Prosecution
23 currently pending
Career history
679
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
16.0%
-24.0% vs TC avg
§103
35.9%
-4.1% vs TC avg
§102
37.1%
-2.9% vs TC avg
§112
4.8%
-35.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 648 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Claims 1-4, 6-12, & 14-20 are pending. Claims 5 & 13 have been cancelled. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-4, 6-12, & 14-20 have been considered but are moot because the new grounds of rejection. See Office Action below. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claim(s) 1-3, 6, 8-11, 14, & 16-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gochkov et al. (US Pub. No. 2019/0347352 A1) in view of MAO et al. (US Pub. No. 2020/0125449 A1). In respect to Claim 1 Gochkov teaches: a method comprising: receiving, by a data platform executed by a computing system and from a primary system comprising a plurality of computing devices receiving data protection from the data platform, updated database state information that identifies a change in a configuration state of the primary system, (Gochkov teaches [0029, 0060] receiving and deriving role-change information when the example remote node monitor detects a replica node failure when the agent of the example replica node does not provide a configuration response.) wherein the change in the configuration state indicates a first computing device of the plurality of computing devices transitioned to an active database role; (Gochkov teaches [0065, 0069, 0077] instructing promotion of a node to become the new active/maser node: the example vote processor communicates with the agent of the replica node...to instruct the agent of the synchronous replica node to promote the replica database…to become the master database, and separately updates configuration to identify the new selected replica node – i.e., a device transitioning into the active role is captured as an updated configuration state.) updating, by the data platform, primary system configuration information based on the received updated database state information to reflect the change in the configuration state of the primary system; (Gochkov teaches [0069, 0077] the example vote processor updates the configuration stored in the configuration data store to identify the new selected replica node which is then distributed to the other nodes operating in the database system.) Gochkov does not explicitly disclose: and providing, by the data platform and to a backup agent executed by a different, second computing device of the plurality of computing devices associated with a standby database role, a set of one or more backup commands based on the updated primary system configuration information to perform a backup snapshot on the second computing device instead of the first computing device However, Mao teaches: and providing, by the data platform and to a backup agent executed by a different, second computing device of the plurality of computing devices associated with a standby database role, a set of one or more backup commands based on the updated primary system configuration information to perform a backup snapshot on the second computing device instead of the first computing device (Mao teaches [0024] a backup is generated from backup activities performed on the standby database server instead of the primary database server so as to free up the primary database system to continue performing transactional work without interruption.) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Mao into the system of Gochkov. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to provide a system for performing backup to make sure adequate data retention is performed for a set of data within the system. (Mao [0001]) As per Claim 2, Mao teaches: wherein providing the set of the one or more backup commands causes the second computing device to perform the backup snapshot (Mao [0024]) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Mao into the system of Gochkov. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to provide a system for performing backup to make sure adequate data retention is performed for a set of data within the system. (Mao [0001]) As per Claim 3, Mao teaches: causing, by the data platform, the backup agent to be installed on the second computing device (Mao [0024]) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Mao into the system of Gochkov. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to provide a system for performing backup to make sure adequate data retention is performed for a set of data within the system. (Mao [0001]) As per Claim 6, Gochkov teaches: wherein the updated primary system configuration information includes an indication of the second computing device (Gochkov [0065, 0069, 0077]) As per Claim 8, Gochkov teaches: wherein the plurality of computing devices are each a database node of the primary system (Gochkov [FIG. 1]) Claims 9-11, 14, & 16 are the system claims corresponding to method claims 1-3, 6, & 8 respectively, therefore are rejected for the same reasons noted previously. Claims 17-19 are the media claims corresponding to method claims 1-3 respectively, therefore are rejected for the same reasons noted previously. Claim(s) 4, 7, 12, 15, & 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gochkov and Mao above, and further in view of Thiel et al. (US Pub. No. 2013/0332770 A1). As per Claim 4, Gochkov and Mao do not explicitly disclose: wherein the updated database state information identifies the change in the configuration state from one of an active database role, a standby database role, or a passive database role for the second computing device to a different one of the active database role, the standby database role, or the passive database role for the second computing device However, Thiel teaches: wherein the updated database state information identifies the change in the configuration state from one of an active database role, a standby database role, or a passive database role for the second computing device to a different one of the active database role, the standby database role, or the passive database role for the second computing device (Thiel teaches [Abstract, 0043] a role change that provides for an active copy and one or more passive copies of the database at a given time, designating the first copy as the active copy and designating the second copy as a passive copy of the database, and on failure the second copy can be automatically designated as the active copy – a copy transitioning from passive to active.) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Thiel into the system of Gochkov and Mao. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to provide replication of databases in computer clusters that provide a basis for data protection and service availability when the replicated copies remain in service and are available to become active when a failure should occur to another copy. (Thiel [0001]) As per Claim 7, Gochkov and Mao do not explicitly disclose: wherein a database role for one or more other computing devices from the plurality of computing devices is the active database role However, Thiel teaches: wherein a database role for one or more other computing devices from the plurality of computing devices is the active database role (Thiel teaches [Abstract] that the cluster of copies model, in which a primary active manager can manage a first copy of a database in a first computer system cluster…that provide for an active copy and one or more passive copies, generalizes across multiple clusters and copies such that devices other than the one whose role just changed can independently carry the active designation.) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Thiel into the system of Gochkov and Mao. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to provide replication of databases in computer clusters that provide a basis for data protection and service availability when the replicated copies remain in service and are available to become active when a failure should occur to another copy. (Thiel [0001]) Claims 12 & 15 are the system claims corresponding to method claims 4 & 7 respectively, therefore are rejected for the same reasons noted previously. Claim 20 is the media claim corresponding to method claim 4, therefore is rejected for the same reasons noted previously. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSHUA BULLOCK whose telephone number is (571)270-1395. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 am - 4:00 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, Kavita Stanley can be reached at 571-272-8352. 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. /JOSHUA BULLOCK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2153 August 22, 2026
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Prosecution Timeline

Show 6 earlier events
May 15, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jun 15, 2026
Interview Requested
Jul 10, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Jul 13, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Jul 15, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Aug 13, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Aug 14, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Aug 26, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (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
83%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+16.3%)
3y 0m (~8m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 648 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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