Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/731,412

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ACCESSING DIGITAL COLLECTIBLES

Non-Final OA §101§102
Filed
Jun 03, 2024
Examiner
SHORTER, RASHIDA R
Art Unit
3626
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Novajax, Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
18%
Grant Probability
At Risk
1-2
OA Rounds
4y 0m
To Grant
44%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants only 18% of cases
18%
Career Allow Rate
54 granted / 299 resolved
-33.9% vs TC avg
Strong +26% interview lift
Without
With
+26.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
4y 0m
Avg Prosecution
40 currently pending
Career history
339
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
43.4%
+3.4% vs TC avg
§103
33.7%
-6.3% vs TC avg
§102
11.6%
-28.4% vs TC avg
§112
8.9%
-31.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 299 resolved cases

Office Action

§101 §102
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 . DETAILED ACTION Status of Claims This action is in reply to the application filed on June 3, 2024 Claims 1-4 are currently pending and have been examined. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101 Claims 1-4 are drawn to a method (i.e., a process). As such, claims 1-4 are drawn to one of the statutory categories of invention (Step 1: YES). Claims 1-4 do not describe an abstract idea. 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. (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Shaffer (2021/0211313). Claim 1 Shaffer discloses a method of automatically retrieving a digital collectible comprising: scanning, by a client device, a communication chip embedded within a merchandise item (Shaffer [0008][0009]); See [0008] “the present invention provides a unique code, for example a QR code, on a physical product. The code is conveniently readable, for example by a smartphone or tablet, and connects the reader to a specific network address.” See also [0034] “the code could be provided by an embedded RFID device, magnetically readable region, smartcard or similar type contact or contactless chip, near field RF identifier, or any other suitable hardware to deliver or display a code.” automatically rendering, by an application executing on the client device, a profile access interface (Shaffer [0115]). See at least “the creator may either scan the QR code 30, using the zingcode app 31, which takes the user directly into the administration section. Alternatively, the creator may log in via the URL using a browser 32, and log in their allocated password to the administration section 33.” granting, by an authentication module of the application executing on the client device [Figure 9, 31, 33], access to a profile corresponding to the communication chip embedded within the merchandise item based on an authentication of a requestor (Shaffer [0075]-[0077]); See [0077] “The registered user then has access (by scanning the code) to special content only available to purchasers so connected” selecting, by a claiming module of the application executing on the client device, a digital collectible comprising a unique identifier associated with the communication chip embedded within the merchandise item (Shaffer [0061][0076]-[0077]) See [0034] for contactless chip. See also [0077] “For example, a current season jersey for a baseball player may give access to the team media, as well as for that player.” See [0061] “A unique code is attached to the respective item, which when read, provides details of the object.” Claim 2 Shaffer discloses: generating, by the application, a wallet address corresponding to the client device; storing, by the application, the digital collectible at the wallet address (Shaffer [0044]); See at least “This may be provided using a convenient web interface, for example from a smartphone. At step 130, the software enables the user to search for content in a library of content. The software then provides content for insertion into the electronic document at step 132, for example by downloading content and storing it in the memory of the smartphone [wallet address corresponding to the client device] 82.” determining, by the application, predetermined permissions corresponding to the digital collectible (Shaffer [0077]). See at least “The registered user then has access (by scanning the code) to special content only available to purchasers so connected.” Claim 3 Shaffer discloses: scanning, by the client device, the communication chip; granting, by the authentication module of the application, access to permitted content based on a comparison of the profile identifier to a set of authentication information (Shaffer [0077][Figure 9, 31]). See at least “The registered user then has access (by scanning the code) to special content only available to purchasers so connected.” Claim 4 Shaffer discloses: executing, by the application, a media item based on access to the permitted content (Shaffer [0077]). See at least “The registered user then has access (by scanning the code) to special content only available to purchasers so connected. For example, a current season jersey for a baseball player may give access to the team media, as well as for that player.” Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RASHIDA R SHORTER whose telephone number is (571)272-9345. The examiner can normally be reached Monday- Friday from 9am- 530pm. 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, Jessica Lemieux can be reached at (571) 270-3445. 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. /RASHIDA R SHORTER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3626
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 03, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 25, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §101, §102 (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
18%
Grant Probability
44%
With Interview (+26.2%)
4y 0m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 299 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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