Last updated: July 17, 2026

Application No. 18/715,253

AN AUDIO APPARATUS AND METHOD OF OPERATING THEREFOR

Non-Final OA

Filed

Oct 24, 2024

Priority

Dec 02, 2021 — EU 21211964.8 +1 more

Examiner

SHAH, PARAS D

Art Unit

Tech Center

Assignee

Koninklijke Philips N.V.

OA Round

1 (Non-Final)

Interview Optional

— +31.4% interview lift. Examiner has a relatively high allowance rate (73%); +31.4% interview lift. A written response may suffice.

Based on 651 resolved cases, 2023–2026

Examiner Intelligence

SHAH, PARAS D View full profile →

Grants 73% — above average

Career Allowance Rate

477 granted / 651 resolved

+13.3% vs TC avg

Strong +31% interview lift

Without

With

+31.4%

Interview Lift

resolved cases with interview

Typical timeline

3y 9m

Avg Prosecution

17 currently pending

Career history

675

Total Applications

across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101

8.5%

-31.5% vs TC avg

§103

80.4%

+40.4% vs TC avg

§102

3.4%

-36.6% vs TC avg

§112

4.3%

-35.7% vs TC avg

Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 651 resolved cases

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 24, 2024

Application Filed

Jul 18, 2025

Response after Non-Final Action

Apr 30, 2026

Non-Final Rejection mailed (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

18/172,017

Patent 12670920

Joint Acoustic Echo Cancellation (AEC) and Personalized Noise Suppression (PNS)

3y 4m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026

18/525,307

Patent 12670924

SPATIAL REGION BASED AUDIO SEPARATION

2y 7m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026

18/511,061

Patent 12633295

THREE-DIMENSIONAL AUDIO SIGNAL CODING METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND ENCODER

2y 6m to grant Granted May 19, 2026

18/011,128

Patent 12586591

SOUND SIGNAL DECODING METHOD, SOUND SIGNAL DECODER, PROGRAM, AND RECORDING MEDIUM

3y 3m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026

18/388,726

Patent 12579367

TWO-TOWER NEURAL NETWORK FOR CONTENT-AUDIENCE RELATIONSHIP PREDICTION

2y 4m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026

Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2

Expected OA Rounds

73%

Grant Probability

99%

With Interview (+31.4%)

3y 9m (~2y 0m remaining)

Median Time to Grant

Low

PTA Risk

Based on 651 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.