Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/776,546

SHARING OF BASEBAND UNITS IN FIFTH GENERATION NETWORKS AND BEYOND

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Jul 18, 2024
Priority
Feb 25, 2022 — continuation of 12/082,106
Examiner
CUMMING, WILLIAM D
Art Unit
2645
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
AT&T Intellectual Property I L.P.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
90%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
5m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 90% — above average
90%
Career Allowance Rate
915 granted / 1018 resolved
+27.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+5.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
32 currently pending
Career history
1050
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
10.7%
-29.3% vs TC avg
§103
25.5%
-14.5% vs TC avg
§102
17.0%
-23.0% vs TC avg
§112
32.7%
-7.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1018 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
CTNF 18/776,546 CTNF 69003 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Specification 06-31 AIA The lengthy 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. 07-44 AIA The specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o). Correction of the following is required: “user equipment context modification request message” Drawings 06-36 AIA The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the steps of claimed sending a user equipment context modification request message to the gNodeB centralized unit control plane node from the primary node of the gNodeB distributed unit and, in response to the user equipment context modification request message, reassigning the user equipment to another gNodeB distributed unit must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “ Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet ” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-01 AIA The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a): (a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112: The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. 07-31-01 Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. The specification, for the filing date sought, does not originally support and inadequately describes the now claimed sending a user equipment context modification request message to the gNodeB centralized unit control plane node from the primary node of the gNodeB distributed unit and, in response to the user equipment context modification request message, reassigning the user equipment to another gNodeB distributed unit. Paragraph 33 of the specification states, “ In case a group of multiple UEs can use the same time-frequency with MU-MIMO, the F1AP 220 / MAC super scheduler 222 should, if possible, assign the same distributed unit server to that UE group. A similar UE grouping can be done for uplink scheduling of PUCCH formats and SRS. An F1-C “ UE Context Modification Required” message can be used by a distributed unit node to request modification of a long-lasting connection and possibly reassign a UE to another distributed unit node . The allocation of subcarriers to process a UE’s or UE group’s traffic can be done by considering, for example, a user equipment device type; (e.g., an IoT with a short-lived session and a small volume of traffic can be considered during allocation of the subcarriers). Subcarrier allocation can be done on a per-slot basis (with relatively frequent signaling between MACs and distributed MACs).” The specification does not mention “user equipment context modification request message.” A simple statement such as “Applicant has not pointed out where the new (or amended) claim is supported, nor does there appear to be a written description of the claim limitation ‘____’ in the application as filed.” is sufficient where the claim is a new or amended claim, the support for the limitation is not apparent, and applicant has not pointed out where the limitation is supported. See Hyatt v. Dudas, 492 F.3d 1365, 1370, 83 USPQ2d 1373, 1376 (Fed. Cir. 2007) (holding that “[MPEP] § 2163.04 [subsection] (I)(B) as written is a lawful formulation of the prima facie standard for a lack of written description rejection. ”) Conclusion If applicants wish to request for an interview, an "Applicant Initiated Interview Request" form (PTOL-413A) should be submitted to the examiner prior to the interview in order to permit the examiner to prepare in advance for the interview and to focus on the issues to be discussed. This form should identify the participants of the interview, the proposed date of the interview, whether the interview will be personal, telephonic, or video conference, and should include a brief description of the issues to be discussed. A copy of the completed "Applicant Initiated Interview Request " form should be attached to the Interview Summary form, PTOL-413 at the completion of the interview and a copy should be given to applicant or applicant's representative. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM D CUMMING whose telephone number is (571)272-7861. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 12 noon to 6pm. 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, Anthony S. Addy can be reached at (571) 272-7795. 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. WILLIAM D. CUMMING Primary Examiner Art Unit 2645 /WILLIAM D CUMMING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2645 Application/Control Number: 18/776,546 Page 2 Art Unit: 2645 NON-FINAL REJECTION Application/Control Number: 18/776,546 Page 3 Art Unit: 2645 NON-FINAL REJECTION Application/Control Number: 18/776,546 Page 4 Art Unit: 2645 NON-FINAL REJECTION Application/Control Number: 18/776,546 Page 6 Art Unit: 2645 NON-FINAL REJECTION Application/Control Number: 18/776,546 Page 7 Art Unit: 2645 NON-FINAL REJECTION Application/Control Number: 18/776,546 Page 9 Art Unit: 2645 NON-FINAL REJECTION
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 18, 2024
Application Filed
May 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Jul 31, 2026
Interview Requested
Aug 10, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Aug 10, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary

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
90%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+5.7%)
2y 6m (~5m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1018 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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