Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/744,581

AI-BASED ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS

Non-Final OA §101§112
Filed
Jun 14, 2024
Examiner
MARCELO, MELVIN C
Art Unit
2463
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3m
Est. Remaining
79%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allowance Rate
692 granted / 802 resolved
+28.3% vs TC avg
Minimal -7% lift
Without
With
+-6.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
10 currently pending
Career history
807
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
9.8%
-30.2% vs TC avg
§103
34.6%
-5.4% vs TC avg
§102
24.3%
-15.7% vs TC avg
§112
18.1%
-21.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 802 resolved cases

Office Action

§101 §112
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 . 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 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because Claim 17 is directed to a “computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereupon” which can be reasonably and broadly interpreted to include transitory signals that are neither machine nor manufacture since it does not have a physical embodiment. The Examiner suggests to amend the claims to read as - - non-transitory computer-readable storage medium - - in order to exclude the non-statutory embodiments. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claims 4, 12 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 4, line 2, recites “detected negative results” which lacks a proper antecedent basis in prior claim 1 where the recited steps do not include any “detecting negative results.” Claim 12, line 4, recites “detected negative results” which lacks a proper antecedent basis in prior claim 9 where the recited functions do not include any “detecting negative results.” Claim 18, line 4, recites “detected negative results” which lacks a proper antecedent basis in prior claim 17 where the recited operations do not include any “detecting negative results.” Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-3, 5-11 and 13-16 are allowed. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Mada et al. (US 12009974 B1) teach a process for self-optimizing networks by obtaining performance metrics and machine learning to predict network events (Figure 2). Taneja et al. (US 2025/0350636 A1) teach data collection and the use of insight generation and sentiment analysis to detect fraudulent Information (paragraph 0080 and Figure 1). The prior art of record fails to anticipate or make obvious the feature of “inputting the parsed data to a time series insight generator configured to perform quantitative analysis on the parsed data; inputting the parsed data to a sentiment analyzer configured to perform qualitative analysis on the parsed data; and combining outputs from the time series insight generator and the sentiment analyzer to generate an output report indicative of anomalous metrics in the telecommunications network; wherein the output report is usable to identify a condition in the telecommunications network, root causes of the identified condition, and recommended actions in response to the identified condition.” Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MELVIN C MARCELO whose telephone number is (571)272-3125. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-6:00. 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, Asad Nawaz can be reached at 571-272-3988. 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. MELVIN C. MARCELO Primary Examiner Art Unit 2463 /MELVIN C MARCELO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2463 July 25, 2026
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Prosecution Timeline

Jun 14, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 29, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §101, §112
Sep 10, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Sep 10, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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3y 11m to grant Granted Aug 25, 2026
Patent 12720387
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Patent 12719641
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2y 2m to grant Granted Aug 25, 2026
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
79%
With Interview (-6.9%)
2y 6m (~3m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 802 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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