Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/721,525

WEARABLE VIDEO DISPLAY

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Jan 13, 2025
Examiner
TZENG, FRED
Art Unit
2625
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Kopin Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
87%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 8m
To Grant
90%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 87% — above average
87%
Career Allow Rate
666 granted / 768 resolved
+24.7% vs TC avg
Minimal +3% lift
Without
With
+3.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
16 currently pending
Career history
784
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.8%
-38.2% vs TC avg
§103
31.0%
-9.0% vs TC avg
§102
34.5%
-5.5% vs TC avg
§112
21.4%
-18.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 768 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 . Claims 1-5 are present for examination. Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Specification The specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification. Claim Objections Claims 3-5 are objected to under 37 CFR 1.75(c) as being in improper form because a multiple claim dependency, namely, claim 3 improperly depending on claims 1 or 2, claim 4 improperly depending on claims 1 to 3, as well as claim 5 improperly depending on claims 1 to 4. Correction is required. See MPEP § 608.01(n). 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. Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shanley, IV et al (US 2018/0017208), hereinafter as Shanley. RE claim 1, Shanley discloses the invention substantially as claimed. Shanley discloses that a wearable video display device which is worn on the head of a user (see figure 1A and sections [0036], [0038], [0039], [0040]; i.e., headset 100) and which comprises a display unit provided with a display element and an eyepiece optical system accommodated in a housing (see figure 5 and section [0087]; i.e., the lens 510 may be clear as eyeglasses and may also be an LCE projection screen for projector 540 to project images/videos onto the lens 510), a left frame and a right frame which extend in a rearward direction from the display unit and are provided independently of one another (see figures 1A/1B/5 and sections [0041], [0042], [0044], [0087], [0092]; i.e., the left frame 140 and the right frame 140), a forehead support potion which accepts a supporting force from a supra-orbital margin of the user’s forehead (see figures 1A/1B and sections [0040], [0041], [0043], [0082]; i.e., the forehead pads 150 taking away some of the weight of headset 100), and a nose support portion which accepts a supporting force from the user’s nose (see figures 1A/1B and sections [0040], [0041], [0081]; i.e., the nose bridge 160), wherein: rear regions of the left frame and the right frame serve as occipital support portions that accept a supporting force from the back of the user’s head (see figures 1A/1B/4 and sections [0040], [0045], [0082], [0085]; i.e., the compliant arms 110 of the left/right frame 140); and a total weight of the wearable video display device is supported by the forehead support portion, the nose support portion and the occipital support portions (see sections [0081], [0082], [0085]; i.e., the total weight 410 is supported by the forehead support portion 150, the nose support portion 160 and the occipital support portion 110). However, Shanley does not specifically disclose that the total weight of the wearable video display device is set to 300 gf or less. The use of mathematical formula or ranges (i.e., the total weight of the wearable video display device is set to 300 gf or less) are akin to optimizing the values of a result effective variables. Therefore, determining the optimal value of a result effective variable would have been obvious and ordinarily within the skill of the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 276, 205 USPQ 215, 219 (CCPA 1980). RE claim 2, Shanley in view of the rationale above disclose that wherein the forehead support portion and the occipital support portion apply a pinching force to the head of the user from front and rear directions, and the nose support portion applies a force due to a portion of the total weight onto the nose of the user (see sections [0043, [0082], [0081], [0085]). RE claim 3, Shanley in view of the rationale above disclose that wherein the occipital support portions are configured by forming rear regions of the left frame and the right frame with a curved shape when viewed from above (see section [0082]; i.e., compliant arms 110 are the occipital support portions, and compliant arms 110 being the rear extensions of the left/right frames 140), and a part of the forehead support portion that comes into contact with the forehead of the user is formed with a curved shape when viewed from above (see figures 1A/1B and sections [0040], [0043]; i.e., the forehead pads 150). RE claim 4, Shanley in view of the rationale above disclose that wherein the forehead support portion is provided divided to the left and right, sandwiched the nose support portion, when viewed from above (see figures 1A/1B and section [0043]; i.e., the left forehead pad 150, and the right forehead pad 150). RE claim 5, Shanley in view of the rationale above disclose that wherein a front end side of the left frame and a front end side of the right frame are connected to a front frame, and the front frame is fitted to the display unit (see figures 1A/1B and sections [0041], [0048], [0049]; i.e., front end side of the left/right side frames 140 are connected to the front frame 140 by the left/right frame adapters 130). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Chigira et al (USPN 6,388,640) Kaufmann et al (USPN 6,480,174) Suzuki (USPN 5,880,773) Mizoguchi et al (USPN 6,144,347) Chigira (USPN 6,914,583) Any inquiry concerning this communication from the examiner should be directed to FRED TZENG whose telephone number is 571-272-7565. The examiner can normally be reached on weekdays from 2:0 pm to 10:00 pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, William Boddie can be reached on 571-272-0666. The fax phone numbers for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned are 571-273-8300 for regular communications and 571-273-7565 for After Final communications. Informal 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/docs 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 (IN USA). /FRED TZENG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2625 FFT January 08, 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jan 13, 2025
Application Filed
Jan 08, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §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
87%
Grant Probability
90%
With Interview (+3.4%)
2y 8m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 768 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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