Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/694,087

METHOD, DEVICE AND COMPUTER STORAGE MEDIUM OF COMMUNICATION

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Mar 21, 2024
Priority
Sep 22, 2021 — nonprovisional of PCTCN2021119712
Examiner
WENDELL, ANDREW
Art Unit
2648
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
NEC Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
84%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 84% — above average
84%
Career Allowance Rate
753 granted / 894 resolved
+22.2% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+11.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
17 currently pending
Career history
912
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.7%
-37.3% vs TC avg
§103
81.5%
+41.5% vs TC avg
§102
3.3%
-36.7% vs TC avg
§112
1.5%
-38.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 894 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 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 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. Claims 43-45, 47-50, and 52 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leng et al. (US Pat Pub# 2023/0422151) in view of Chun et al. (US Pat Pub# 2019/0182747). Regarding claims 43 and 48, Leng teaches a method of a relay User Equipment (Fig. 3 and Sections 0115, 0127, 0132-0133, 0154, and 0164, Relay User Equipment), comprising receiving, from a remote UE, first information to indicate System Information Block (Fig. 3 and Sections 0115, 0127, 0132-0133, 0154, and 0164, relay user equipment receiving a System Information block from a remote user equipment), and upon receiving, from network, the SIB indicated in the first information (Fig. 3 and Sections 0115, 0127, 0132-0133, 0154, and 0164, network sending to the relay user equipment System Information Block). Leng fails to teach initiating a transfer procedure. Chung teaches upon receiving, from network, the SIB indicated in the first information, initiating a transfer procedure related to the SIB to the remote UE (Fig. 14 and Sections 0169, 0216, and 0246, network sending a System Information Block to start a transfer procedure etc.). Therefore, it would have been obvious at the time of the invention to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate initiating a transfer procedure as taught by Chung into Leng’s method in order to improve performance. Regarding claims 44 and 49, Leng teaches receiving second information from the remote UE, wherein the remote UE enters a connected state with the network, and releasing received SIB upon the reception of the second information (Fig. 3 and Sections 0115, 0127, 0132-0133, 0154, and 0164, multiple System Information Blocks etc.). Regarding claims 45 and 50, Leng teaches wherein the first information indicates a plurality of SIBs, and upon receiving, from the network, the plurality of SIBs indicated in the first information, initiating the transfer procedure related to the plurality of SIBs to the remote UE (Fig. 3 and Sections 0115, 0127, 0132-0133, 0154, and 0164, multiple System Information Blocks etc.). Regarding claims 47 and 52, Leng teaches performing acquisition of system information after receiving the first information (Fig. 3 and Sections 0115, 0127, 0132-0133, 0154, and 0164, acquiring System Information Blocks etc.). Claims 46 and 51 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leng et al. (US Pat Pub# 2023/0422151) in view of Chun et al. (US Pat Pub# 2019/0182747) and further in view of Bangolae et al. (US Pat Pub# 2018/0098370). Regarding claims 46 and 51, Leng in view of Chun teaches the limitations in claims 43 and 48. However, Leng and Chun fails to teach a List Information Element. Bangolae teaches wherein the first information comprises requested SIB-List Information Element (Sections 0099-0100, information element in the System Information Block). Therefore, it would have been obvious at the time of the invention to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate a List Information Element as taught by Bangolae into initiating a transfer procedure as taught by Chung into Leng’s method in order to improve information collecting. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW WENDELL whose telephone number is (571)272-0557. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30AM-5PM. 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, Wesley Kim can be reached at 571-272-7867. 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. /ANDREW WENDELL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2648 3/6/2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Mar 21, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 12, 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

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
84%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+11.6%)
2y 4m (~2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 894 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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