Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 25, 2026
Application No. 18/781,216

MULTI-DEVICE ELECTRONIC ACCESS CONTROL APPLICATION, SYSTEM AND METHOD

Final Rejection §DP
Filed
Jul 23, 2024
Priority
Feb 22, 2019 — provisional 62/809,085 +6 more
Examiner
LE, CHAU D
Art Unit
2408
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Security Enhancement Systems LLC
OA Round
2 (Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
6m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allowance Rate
464 granted / 544 resolved
+27.3% vs TC avg
Strong +17% interview lift
Without
With
+16.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
14 currently pending
Career history
562
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
15.9%
-24.1% vs TC avg
§103
44.0%
+4.0% vs TC avg
§102
15.0%
-25.0% vs TC avg
§112
7.7%
-32.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 544 resolved cases

Office Action

§DP
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 Applicant's submission filed on 8/21/2026 has been entered. The claims 1-20 are pending. Terminal Disclaimer The terminal disclaimer filed on 8/21/26 disclaiming the terminal portion of any patent granted on this application which would extend beyond the expiration date of US Patent 12,046,093 has been reviewed and is NOT accepted. The terminal disclaimer filed listed a different Applicant/Assignee than what’s on the record. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments, filed 8/21/26, with respect to the previous Office action have been fully considered and are persuasive. The previous prior art rejection has been withdrawn. An interview was held on 9/1/2026 and Applicant indicating a new Application Data Sheet will be filed in the coming days to correct the rejected terminal disclaimer filed on 8/21/26. With no filings as of 9/14, the previous double patenting rejection is being repeated below. Double Patenting The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the claims at issue are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); and In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969). A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP §§ 706.02(l)(1) - 706.02(l)(3) for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b). The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/forms/. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp. Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,046,093. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims of the instant application is obvious by the ‘Patent. The preliminary amendment filed with mark-up on 2/3/25 essentially shows the Patent’s “remote application server” and “mobile electronic device” are now being discloses as “a first server” and “a first client device”, respectively, in the Instant Application. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to substitute “a first server” as a “remote application server”, and likewise for the client device, as this first server is later used to receiving requests relating to software application, and hence is an obvious name substitution while performing similar function. Dependent claims are likewise rejected. Therefore, the claims 1-20 of the instant application are rejected by claims 1-20 of the Patent under obviousness nonstatutory double patenting. Allowable Subject Matter The claims 1-20 are allowed over prior arts. This communication warrants no examiner's reason for allowance, as applicant's reply makes evident the reason for allowance, satisfying the record as whole as required by rule 37 CFR 1.104 (e). In this case, the substance of applicant's remarks in the Amendment filed on 8/21/26 point out the reasons claims are patentable over the prior art of record. Thus, the reason for allowance is in all probability evident from the record and no statement for examiner's reason for allowance is necessary (see MPEP 1302.14). Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.” Conclusion THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 CHAU LE whose telephone number is (571)270-7217. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8:00-5:00. 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, EDWARDS LINGLAN can be reached on (571) 270-5440. 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. /Chau Le/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2408
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 23, 2024
Application Filed
Feb 03, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Apr 21, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §DP
Aug 21, 2026
Response Filed
Sep 01, 2026
Examiner Interview (Telephonic)
Sep 16, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §DP (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12771607
SYSTEM, METHOD, AND DEVICE FOR MODIFYING NETWORK FUNCTIONALITY BASED ON PROVIDED PASSPHRASE
1y 7m to grant Granted Oct 20, 2026
Patent 12764523
USIM-CALCULATED CONCEALED IDENTIFIER FAILURE HANDLING
3y 8m to grant Granted Oct 13, 2026
Patent 12763961
REMOTE CONTROL METHOD AND APPARATUS
2y 4m to grant Granted Oct 13, 2026
Patent 12757015
ENROLLMENT OF ENROLLEE DEVICES TO A WIRELESS NETWORK
3y 7m to grant Granted Oct 06, 2026
Patent 12750366
Systems and methods for extensible, modular, and hierarchical step-up authentication
2y 3m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
85%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+16.8%)
2y 9m (~6m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 544 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month