Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/729,598

SURVEILLANCE APPARATUS, SURVEILLANCE METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §101§102
Filed
Jul 17, 2024
Priority
Jan 28, 2022 — nonprovisional of PCTJP2022003433
Examiner
MCCORMACK, THOMAS S
Art Unit
2686
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
NEC Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
84%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allowance Rate
568 granted / 709 resolved
+18.1% vs TC avg
Minimal +4% lift
Without
With
+3.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 0m
Avg Prosecution
10 currently pending
Career history
724
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.7%
-34.3% vs TC avg
§103
63.0%
+23.0% vs TC avg
§102
14.2%
-25.8% vs TC avg
§112
7.7%
-32.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 709 resolved cases

Office Action

§101 §102
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 . Allowable Subject Matter Claims 5-8 are 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 Rejections - 35 USC § 101 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows: Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title. Claims 1-4, 9, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s)a method for correlating two moving devices, based on positions and type of sensor to a common moving body. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the steps of acquiring position, correlating information and generating a calculation of the correlation are nothing more than mere instructions to apply a process on a generic computer. The step. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because, under the broadest reasonable interpretation, the claims amount to nothing more than a calculating the correlation of the positions of two devices to a moving body using a generic computer. 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. Claims 1, 2, 9, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ide (US Pat No. 9,846,488). Regarding claims 1, 9, and 10, Ide teaches a surveillance apparatus comprising: at least one memory configured to store instructions; and at least one processor (See Col. 6, lines 47-54) configured to execute the instructions to perform operations comprising: acquiring first moving body information including a position of a held apparatus held by a predetermined moving body; acquiring second moving body information including a position and a type of a sensor moving body being a moving body detected based on sensor information generated by a sensor apparatus (See abstract, Col. 3 lines 10-28, Col. 5, line 61 to Col. 6 to line 9, and Col. 11, lines 4-38 teach that the two devices perform a function when the devices are both devices are in physical contact the user. Therefore, the positions of the devices are determined as being in contact with the user. Additionally, motion information from the devices is detected from the device sensors. The type of moving body (examples of a wristwatch or a key) are also determined through communication of device identification. The device type determines the function performed when motion device correspond to each other.); and correlating the first moving body information and the second moving body information that are related to a common moving body, based on a position of the held apparatus, and a position and a type of the sensor moving body (See abstract, Col. 11, line 39 to Col. 12 line 15, and Col. 8, lines 27-42, which teach that the devices’ motions are correlated based on (1) the positions of the devices being in contact with the user (the common moving body) and based on the motion associated with the type of devices in communication.). Regarding claim 2, Ide teaches correlating the first moving body information and the second moving body information that are related to the common moving body, further based on moving velocity acquired based on a position of the held apparatus (See Col. 5, lines 21-25). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOMAS S MCCORMACK whose telephone number is (571)272-0841. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. 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, Brian Zimmerman can be reached at (571) 272-3059. 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. /THOMAS S MCCORMACK/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2686
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 17, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 14, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §101, §102 (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
80%
Grant Probability
84%
With Interview (+3.7%)
2y 0m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 709 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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