Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/681,520

ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND METHOD IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION

Non-Final OA §102§112
Filed
Feb 06, 2024
Examiner
LOPATA, ROBERT J
Art Unit
2471
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Sony Group Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
89%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 6m
To Grant
91%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 89% — above average
89%
Career Allow Rate
851 granted / 953 resolved
+31.3% vs TC avg
Minimal +2% lift
Without
With
+1.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
24 currently pending
Career history
977
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.2%
-31.8% vs TC avg
§103
26.1%
-13.9% vs TC avg
§102
38.8%
-1.2% vs TC avg
§112
13.6%
-26.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 953 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §112
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 . Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 2/6/24 and 11/14/24. The submission 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 § 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 13 and 64 recites the limitation "the subsequent control information" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. 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)(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, 29, 54 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by He et al. (US Patent 11,064,473) published US on 7/18/19. Regarding claims 1, 29, and 54, He teaches a control-side electronic device in a wireless communication system, the control-side electronic device being capable of performing transmission with a terminal-side electronic device in the wireless communication system, wherein the control-side electronic device comprises at least one processor; and at least one storage device comprising computer program codes, wherein the at least one storage device and the computer program codes are configured to, through the at least one processor, cause the control-side electronic device to perform: (i.e. fig. 4 shows a network device comprising a processor, memory and transceiver for executing programmed instructions; see paragraphs 42) acquiring control information related to wireless communication between the control-side electronic device and the terminal-side electronic device, (i.e. He discloses a next gen gNB, network side device may generate a compact DCI format controlling communications between the device and a UE; see claim 1) and sending the acquired control information to the terminal-side electronic device in the wireless communication system, wherein the control information is set such that the number of detection operations performed by the terminal-side electronic device on the control information in wireless communication is reduced. (i.e. He discloses the compact DCI format may be sent to a UE, which may reduce a number of monitoring and decoding operations of the UE by reducing the number of blind decoding; see claim 1) Claim(s) 1, 29, 54 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Luo et al. (US Publication 2023/0022171) published PCT/CN20/128416. Regarding claims 1, 29, and 54, Luo teaches a control-side electronic device in a wireless communication system, the control-side electronic device being capable of performing transmission with a terminal-side electronic device in the wireless communication system, wherein the control-side electronic device comprises at least one processor; and at least one storage device comprising computer program codes, wherein the at least one storage device and the computer program codes are configured to, through the at least one processor, cause the control-side electronic device to perform: (i.e. fig. 4 shows a network (control) side apparatus comprising a processor, memory and transceiver for executing programmed instructions; see paragraphs 268 - 271) acquiring control information related to wireless communication between the control-side electronic device and the terminal-side electronic device, (i.e. fig. 2 shows the network (control) side device may determine a monitoring scheme (s101) related to wireless communications between the network side device and a terminal side device; see paragraphs 234 - 237) and sending the acquired control information to the terminal-side electronic device in the wireless communication system, wherein the control information is set such that the number of detection operations performed by the terminal-side electronic device on the control information in wireless communication is reduced. (i.e. fig. 2 shows the network (control) side device may transmit the monitoring scheme to the terminal side device (s102); see paragraphs 234 - 237) (See Also; the adaptive network side adjustment of the monitoring scheme for the terminal enhanced power-saving for the terminal device by reducing monitoring duration in one embodiment; see paragraphs 238 - 246) Allowable Subject Matter Claim 2, 56, 62 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. Claim 3 and 57 objected to as being dependent upon a objected claim that would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Claim 5 and 58 objected to as being dependent upon a objected claim that would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Claim 7 and 59 objected to as being dependent upon a objected claim that would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Claim 9 and 60 objected to as being dependent upon a objected claim that would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Claim 11 objected to as being dependent upon a objected claim that would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Claim 12, 61 and 63 objected to as being dependent upon a objected claim that would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT J LOPATA whose telephone number is (571)270-5158. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 10-7 EST. 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, Sujoy Kundu can be reached at (571)272-8586. 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. ROBERT J. LOPATA Primary Examiner Art Unit 2471 /ROBERT J LOPATA/ March 11, 2026Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2471
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 06, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 11, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §112 (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

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
89%
Grant Probability
91%
With Interview (+1.5%)
2y 6m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 953 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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