Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/761,744

IN-GAME ASSET TRACKING USING NFTS THAT TRACK IMPRESSIONS ACROSS MULTIPLE PLATFORMS

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Jul 02, 2024
Priority
Aug 03, 2021 — continuation of 12/029,984
Examiner
WILLIAMS, ROSS A
Art Unit
3715
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Sony Group Corporation
OA Round
4 (Final)
62%
Grant Probability
Moderate
5-6
OA Rounds
1y 5m
Est. Remaining
79%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 62% of resolved cases
62%
Career Allowance Rate
408 granted / 663 resolved
-8.5% vs TC avg
Strong +17% interview lift
Without
With
+17.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 8m
Avg Prosecution
48 currently pending
Career history
722
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
23.7%
-16.3% vs TC avg
§103
41.5%
+1.5% vs TC avg
§102
18.8%
-21.2% vs TC avg
§112
11.0%
-29.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 663 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 . Status of Claims Claims 1, 13 and 18 have been amended. Claim 2 has been cancelled Claims 1 and 3– 21 are pending. 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 1 and 3 – 21 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. The terms “Important” and “interesting”, in multiple lines in reference to various “events”, in claim 1, 13 and 18 are relative terms which renders the claims indefinite and by extension their respective dependent claims. The terms “Important” and “interesting” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. The term Important is subjective in nature. What one person may find or deem important; another person may not find important. The specification fails to explicitly disclose or define what is meant by important or what exactly important encompasses to fully determine the metes and bounds of the term and claims. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments and amendments filed 11/10/2025 with respect to the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The Examiner withdraws the rejection. Regarding the rejection of the claims under 35 U.S.C. 112, the Applicant has amended the claims to include the subjective limitations of “important and interesting when describing events. The Applicant states “ Applicant respectfully disagrees. Nevertheless, to expedite prosecution and without conceding to the propriety of the rejections, Applicant has amended the claims to address the Examiner's concerns. In view of the amendments, Applicant respectfully requests withdrawal of the rejections of the claims under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. § 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph.” However, the Examiner notes and maintains that these are relative terms which renders the claims indefinite and by extension their respective dependent claims. The terms “Important” and “interesting” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. The term Important is subjective in nature. What one person may find or deem important; another person may not find important. The specification fails to explicitly disclose or define what is meant by important or what exactly important encompasses to fully determine the metes and bounds of the term and claims. The Examiner recommends removing this subjective claim terminology to advance prosecution. Conclusion Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROSS A WILLIAMS whose telephone number is (571)272-5911. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8am - 4pm. 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, Kang Hu can be reached at (571)270-1344. 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. /RAW/ Examiner, Art Unit 3715 8/21/2026 /KANG HU/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3715
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 5 earlier events
Oct 21, 2025
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Oct 27, 2025
Examiner Interview Summary
Nov 10, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Nov 16, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Mar 06, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Apr 24, 2026
Response Filed
Aug 06, 2026
Examiner Interview (Telephonic)
Aug 26, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112 (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

5-6
Expected OA Rounds
62%
Grant Probability
79%
With Interview (+17.4%)
3y 8m (~1y 5m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 663 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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