Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/781,037

SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE HAVING DQS COUNTER CIRCUIT

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Jul 23, 2024
Examiner
BASHAR, MOHAMMED A
Art Unit
2824
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Micron Technology, Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
95%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 0m
To Grant
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 95% — above average
95%
Career Allow Rate
608 granted / 640 resolved
+27.0% vs TC avg
Minimal +3% lift
Without
With
+3.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 0m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
665
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.1%
-39.9% vs TC avg
§103
63.4%
+23.4% vs TC avg
§102
11.0%
-29.0% vs TC avg
§112
8.8%
-31.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 640 resolved cases

Office Action

§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 . DETAILED ACTION 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. Claims 1-15 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. l12(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. Claim 1 and 20, last line recites “the other of the first and third divided data strobe signals.” and the scope related to said limitation is deemed indefinite. Because it is unclear what the limitation “the other” actually indicate. Claim 4 also recite recites “the other of the second and fourth divided data strobe signals.” where the scope related to said limitation is deemed indefinite as it didn’t clearly specify what is “other”. Claim 10, 12 recite also recite “the other of the second and fourth reset signals” which is unclear and indefinite for the same reason above. Claim 13, recite recites “the other of the first and third reset signals” which is unclear and indefinite for the same reason above. Claim 12, 13 recite recites “the other of output signals” which is very unclear and indefinite as it didn’t specify what is other signals. Allowable Subject Matter Claim 1-15 and 20 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), set forth in this Office action. Claims 16-19 are allowed. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Claim 16 include allowable subject matter since the prior art made of record and considered pertinent to the applicant’s disclosure, taken individually or in combination, does not teach or suggest the claimed invention having: a first shift register configured to perform a shift operation synchronously with the first divided data strobe signal; a second shift register configured to perform a shift operation synchronously with the second divided data strobe signal; and a first selector configured to select and output, as the write end signal, one of a first output signal of the first shift register and a second output signal of the second shift register based on a selection signal. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attachment. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMMED A BASHAR whose telephone number is 469-295-9277. The examiner can normally be reached on 9am-5pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Richard T Elms can be reached on 5712721869. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /MOHAMMED A BASHAR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2824
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 23, 2024
Application Filed
Jan 09, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §112
Apr 10, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Apr 10, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Apr 15, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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Patent 12580039
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2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12580036
APPARATUSES AND METHODS FOR FORCING MEMORY CELL FAILURES IN A MEMORY DEVICE
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12573467
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2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 10, 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
95%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+3.1%)
2y 0m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 640 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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