Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/677,698

MOUNTLESS QUERYING OF LISTING DATA

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
May 29, 2024
Examiner
ARYAL, AAYUSH
Art Unit
2435
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Snowflake Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 6m
To Grant
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allow Rate
88 granted / 103 resolved
+27.4% vs TC avg
Moderate +9% lift
Without
With
+9.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
12 currently pending
Career history
115
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.6%
-36.4% vs TC avg
§103
57.2%
+17.2% vs TC avg
§102
18.7%
-21.3% vs TC avg
§112
13.6%
-26.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 103 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Allowable Subject Matter Claims 6,8 and 16 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. Regarding Claim 6, prior art does not explicitly disclose generating, prior to obtaining the query, the database based on the identifier for the database; obtaining an indication that the database is to be shared within an organization; and generating, based on the indication that the database is to be shared within the organization, an association between the universal listing identifier and the database, wherein activating the at least one role for the database and generating the in-memory placeholder object are based on the association. Regarding Claims 8 and 16, prior art does not explicitly disclose assign a temporary identifier to the in-memory placeholder object; and assign a data share identifier of the database to the in-memory placeholder object, wherein to provide the access to the data of the database 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) 1-5,7,9-15 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gnanaprakasom herein after ‘Hari’ (US20230401181) in view of Beall (US6748376). Regarding Claims 1,12 and 17, Hari discloses providing access to data of the database based on the in-memory placeholder object and the query. (Figure 3 and Paragraph [0046] Examiner Note (E.N.) The request is sent to the Virtual Warehouse manager application which is then sent to a virtual warehouse to access a database and return said query to the requestor) Hari does not, but in related art, Beall discloses A method, comprising: obtaining a query (Figure 2(a) E.N. A query is obtained) that includes a universal listing identifier of a database, wherein the universal listing identifier is different from an identifier for the database; (Col 4 lines 29-39 E.N. The database is constructed in a manner known as a “universal” catalog (universal listing identifier), in which like products from different suppliers have a single database record. Constructing a universal catalog requires an editor to ensure that each unique product has a unique database record (identifier).) activating, by a processing device and at runtime, at least one role for accessing the database and shared objects based on the universal listing identifier; (Figure 2(a) E.N. The user inputs a search string which the software uses to find the object, See Figure 3) generating, based on the universal listing identifier and the at least one activated role, an in-memory placeholder object associated with the database; and (Figure 3 E.N. The user is shown the response to the query in the database) Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hari to incorporate the teachings of Beall because Hari does not explicitly disclose universal listing identifier which is taught by Beall. Incorporating the teachings of Beall to Hari allows for the use of a universal listing identifier alongside a database to allow for a more efficient and correct response to a query. Regarding Claim 2,13 and 18 Hari in view of Beall discloses the method of Claim 1, the system of Claim 12 and the non-transitory computer-readable medium of Claim 17. Hari does not, but in related art, Beall discloses wherein the universal listing identifier comprises: a first portion comprising an exchanged defined prefix; a second portion comprising an identifier of an organization; and a third portion comprising an identifier of a resource. (Col 5 lines 11-19 E.N. The example search string in box is “bic ped red” which represents a combination of manufacturer name, classification and attribute. One of ordinary skill in the art can determine that the string comprises an identifier for the object.) Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hari to incorporate the teachings of Beall because Hari does not explicitly disclose universal listing identifier which is taught by Beall. Incorporating the teachings of Beall to Hari allows for the use of a universal listing identifier alongside a database to allow for a more efficient and correct response to a query. Regarding Claim 3,14 and 19 Hari in view of Beall discloses the method of Claim 1, the system of Claim 12 and the non-transitory computer-readable medium of Claim 17. Hari further argues deactivating, subsequent to providing the access to the data of the database, the at least one activated role; and remove the in-memory placeholder object from memory. (Paragraph [0059] E.N. The computing device may create a new scheduled or one-time process that may run on the data objects. For example, the data scientist may provide job creation information for the new job such as a name of the job, the line of business, the subdomain, the database, the schema, the Snowflake warehouse, load patterning, etc. The computing device may review the data objects referenced in the job creation information. The computing device also checks the user role access to the table and request access if needed.) Regarding Claim 4, Hari in view of Beall discloses the method of claim 1. Hari further argues wherein providing the access to the data of the database comprises transmitting query results associated with the database to a computing device. (Figure 3 and Paragraph [0042] E.N. A data sharing platform and a cloud database platform depicts portions of a system configured according to the Snowflake architecture or a similar architecture which users share via a data marketplace and/or submit queries using one or more virtual warehouses) Regarding Claim 5,15 and 20 Hari in view of Beall discloses the method of claim 1, the system of Claim 12 and the non-transitory computer-readable medium of Claim 17. Hari further argues wherein the query is associated with a computing device that belongs to an organization, and wherein the data of the database belongs to the organization. (Figure 3 and Paragraph [0042] E.N. A data sharing platform and a cloud database platform depicts portions of a system configured according to the Snowflake architecture or a similar architecture which users share via a data marketplace and/or submit queries using one or more virtual warehouses) Regarding Claim 7, Hari in view of Beall discloses the method of claim 1. Hari further argues wherein determining that a user associated with the query and the database are associated with a same organization, wherein activating the at least one role for the database and generating the in-memory placeholder object are based on the determination. (Paragraph [0056] and Figure 3 E.N. The roles are entities to which privileges on the data objects may be granted or revoked. The computing device assigns the Snowflake roles to users to allow them to perform actions needed for business functions in their organization. A user may be assigned multiple roles, which allows the user to switch roles to perform different actions using separate sets of privileges.) Regarding Claim 9, Hari in view of Beall discloses the method of claim 1. Hari does not, but in related art, Beall discloses wherein the query further comprises a database command, and wherein providing the access to the data of the database comprises executing the database command based on the universal listing identifier. (Figure 2(a) and 2(b) E.N. The user sends a query to the search which causes the issuance of a database command to retrieve matching data from the database.) Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hari to incorporate the teachings of Beall because Hari does not explicitly disclose universal listing identifier which is taught by Beall. Incorporating the teachings of Beall to Hari allows for the use of a universal listing identifier alongside a database to allow for a more efficient and correct response to a query. Regarding Claim 10, Hari in view of Beall discloses the method of claim 1. Hari further discloses wherein activating the at least one role and generating the in-memory placeholder object are based on the identification. (Paragraph [0056] E.N. The roles are entities to which privileges on the data objects may be granted or revoked. The computing device assigns the Snowflake roles to users to allow them to perform actions needed for business functions in their organization. A user may be assigned multiple roles, which allows the user to switch roles to perform different actions using separate sets of privileges.) Hari does not, but in related art, Beall discloses identifying, via an index, the database based on the universal listing identifier, (Figure 4 E.N. A database results based on the universal listing identifier is disclosed.) Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hari to incorporate the teachings of Beall because Hari does not explicitly disclose universal listing identifier which is taught by Beall. Incorporating the teachings of Beall to Hari allows for the use of a universal listing identifier alongside a database to allow for a more efficient and correct response to a query. Regarding Claim 11, Hari in view of Beall discloses the method of claim 1. Hari further argues wherein the at least one role comprises a share role and a hierarchy of roles associated with the share role. (Paragraph [0056] E.N. The roles are entities to which privileges on the data objects may be granted or revoked. The computing device assigns the Snowflake roles to users to allow them to perform actions needed for business functions in their organization. A user may be assigned multiple roles, which allows the user to switch roles to perform different actions using separate sets of privileges.) Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AAYUSH ARYAL whose telephone number is (571)272-2838. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.. 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 Hirl can be reached at (571) 272-3685. 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. /AAYUSH ARYAL/Examiner, Art Unit 2435 /JOSEPH P HIRL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2435
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 29, 2024
Application Filed
Jan 10, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12596785
System and method for password expiration management
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12591690
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TESTING NETWORK AND SECURITY DEVICES TO DETECT AND MITIGATE VULNERABILTIES
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12585817
DATA LIFECYCLE DISCOVERY AND MANAGEMENT
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12579258
ADVANCED PERSISTENT THREAT DETECTION
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12579270
LOGOS AS VISUAL INDICATORS OF TRUST IN APPLICATIONS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

AI Strategy Recommendation

Get an AI-powered prosecution strategy using examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Powered by AI — typically takes 5-10 seconds

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
85%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+9.0%)
2y 6m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 103 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow 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