Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/719,493

AUTHENTICATION APPARATUS, COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, AUTHENTICATION METHOD, AND PROGRAM

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Jun 13, 2024
Priority
Jan 12, 2022 — nonprovisional of PCTJP2022000720
Examiner
TO, BAOTRAN N
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allowance Rate
577 granted / 670 resolved
+26.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+12.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
10 currently pending
Career history
678
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
14.8%
-25.2% vs TC avg
§103
38.1%
-1.9% vs TC avg
§102
16.0%
-24.0% vs TC avg
§112
12.9%
-27.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 670 resolved cases

Office Action

§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 . This Office action is responsive to Preliminary Amendment filed on 06/13/2024. Claims 1-8 have been amended. Claims 1-8 are presented for examination. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/13/2024. 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 Objections Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities: the acronym term “Grad-CAM” in line 4 must be written out. Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d): (d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers. The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph: Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers. Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claim 8 recites a “non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon, which when executed, cause a computer to execute the authentication method according claim 7” in lines 1-3. However, claim 8 does not really require any limitations of the independent claim 7. Therefore, Claim 8 is rejected as being improper dependent form as they fail to include the limitations of independent claim 7. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-6 are allowed. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: the independent claims 1 and 7 are allowed because the prior art of the record alone or in combination does not teach or suggest the combination of limitations, when considered as a whole, obtaining first classification basis information indicating information visualizing a classification basis of first input information of the machine learning model on a basis of information transmitted by the authentication target apparatus;as information transmitted by a non- public information management apparatus, non-public information as a data set of valid second input information and second classification basis information indicating information visualizing a classification basis of the second input information; and authenticating the validity of the machine learning model of the authentication target apparatus by comparing the first classification basis information with the second classification basis information” as recited in independent claims 1 and 7. Dependent Claims 1-6 are allowed due to dependency. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure (see PTO-892). Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BAOTRAN N TO whose telephone number is (571)272-8156. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9-5 ET. 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, Amir Mehrmanesh can be reached at 571-270-3351. 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. /BAOTRAN N TO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2435
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 13, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 10, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

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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
86%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+12.3%)
2y 5m (~1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 670 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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