Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/784,076

SEQUENCE LABELING TASK EXTRACTION FROM INKED CONTENT

Non-Final OA §DP
Filed
Jul 25, 2024
Priority
Nov 12, 2021 — continuation of 12/087,070
Examiner
TRAN, CONGVAN
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
89%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
5m
Est. Remaining
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 89% — above average
89%
Career Allowance Rate
1052 granted / 1178 resolved
+29.3% vs TC avg
Minimal +5% lift
Without
With
+4.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
26 currently pending
Career history
1197
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.2%
-37.8% vs TC avg
§103
33.7%
-6.3% vs TC avg
§102
58.1%
+18.1% vs TC avg
§112
1.9%
-38.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1178 resolved cases

Office Action

§DP
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 . 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 conflicting claims 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); 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 nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined 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/patent/patents-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 www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp. Claims 1, 11 and 18 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claims 1, 11 and 18 respectively of U.S. Patent No. 12,087,070. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the patent claims include all the limitations of the instant application claims, respectively (see table below). The patent claims also include additional limitations. Hence, the instant application claims are generic to the species of invention covered by the respective patent claims. As such, the instant application claims are anticipated by the patent claims and are therefore not patentably distinct therefrom (See Eli Lilly and Co. v. Barr Laboratories Inc., 58 USPQ2D 1869, " a later genus claim limitation is anticipated by, and therefore not patentably distinct from, an earlier species claim", In re Goodman, 29 USPQ2d 2010, "Thus, the generic invention is 'anticipated' by the species of the patented invention" and the instant “application claims are generic to species of invention covered by the patent claim, and since without terminal disclaimer, extant species claim preclude issuance of generic application claims”). Claims 2-10, 12-17, and 19-20 are rejected as being dependent on independent claims 1, 11 and 18. Application 18/784,076 U.S. Patent No. 12,087,070 Claim 1. A computer system: one or more processors configured to: tokenize a target writing region of the one or more writing regions into a sequence of tokens, the sequence of tokens including tokens representing recognized text and tokens representing the one or more document layout features; process the sequence of tokens using a task extraction subsystem that operates on tokens representing both the recognized text and the one or more document layout features of the target writing region, the task extraction subsystem being configured to segment the target writing region into one or more sentence segments and classify each of the one or more sentence segments as a task sentence or a non-task sentence; and extract one or more sentence segments that have been classified as task sentences. Claim 1. A computer system comprising: one or more processors configured to: receive user input for inked content to a digital canvas; process the inked content to determine one or more writing regions, each writing region including recognized text and one or more document layout features associated with that writing region; tokenize a target writing region of the one or more writing regions into a sequence of tokens, the sequence of tokens including tokens representing recognized text and tokens representing the one or more document layout features; process the sequence of tokens of the target writing region using a task extraction subsystem that operates on tokens representing both the recognized text and the one or more document layout features of the target writing region, the task extraction subsystem being configured to segment the target writing region into one or more sentence segments and classify each of the one or more sentence segments as a task sentence or a non-task sentence; and extract one or more sentence segments that have been classified as task sentences. Claim 11 A method comprising: at one or more processors of a computer system: tokenizing a target writing region into a sequence of tokens, the sequence of tokens including tokens representing recognized text and tokens representing one or more document layout features; processing the sequence of tokens using a task extraction subsystem that operates on tokens representing both the recognized text and the one or more document layout features of the target writing region, the task extraction subsystem being configured to segment the target writing region into one or more sentence segments and classify each of the one or more sentence segments as a task sentence or a non-task sentence; and extracting one or more sentence segments that have been classified as task sentences. Claim 11 A method comprising: at one or more processors of a computer system: receiving user input for inked content to a digital canvas; processing the inked content to determine one or more writing regions, each writing region including recognized text and one or more document layout features associated with that writing region; tokenizing a target writing region of the one or more writing regions into a sequence of tokens, the sequence of tokens including tokens representing recognized text and tokens representing the one or more document layout features; processing the sequence of tokens of the target writing region using a task extraction subsystem that operates on tokens representing both the recognized text and the one or more document layout features of the target writing region, the task extraction subsystem being configured to segment the target writing region into one or more sentence segments and classify each of the one or more sentence segments as a task sentence or a non-task sentence; and extracting one or more sentence segments that have been classified as task sentences. Claim 18 A computer system comprising: one or more processors configured to: execute a conference application that includes a graphical user interface that is presented to one or more users; tokenize a target writing region into a sequence of tokens, the sequence of tokens including tokens representing recognized text and tokens representing the one or more document layout features; process the sequence of tokens using a task extraction subsystem that operates on both the recognized text and the one or more document layout features of the target writing region, the task extraction subsystem being configured to segment the target writing region into one or more sentence segments and classify each of the one or more sentence segments as a task sentence or a non-task sentence; extract one or more sentence segments that have been classified as task sentences; and 10resent the one or more sentence segments that have been classified as task sentences. Claim 18 A computer system comprising: one or more processors configured to: execute a conference application that includes a graphical user interface that is presented to one or more users, wherein the graphical user interface includes a digital canvas that is configured to receive user input for inked content and present the inked content to the one or more users; process the inked content to determine one or more writing regions, each writing region including recognized text and one or more document layout features associated with that writing region; tokenize a target writing region of the one or more writing regions into a sequence of tokens, the sequence of tokens including tokens representing recognized text and tokens representing the one or more document layout features process the sequence of tokens of the target writing region using a task extraction subsystem that operates on both the recognized text and the one or more document layout features of the target writing region, the task extraction subsystem being configured to segment the target writing region into one or more sentence segments and classify each of the one or more sentence segments as a task sentence or a non-task sentence; extract one or more sentence segments that have been classified as task sentences; and present the one or more sentence segments that have been classified as task sentences. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CongVan Tran whose telephone number is (571)272-7871. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Th. 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, Alison Slater can be reached on (571) 270-0375. 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. PNG media_image1.png 75 75 media_image1.png Greyscale UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE /CONGVAN TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2647
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Prosecution Timeline

Jul 25, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 02, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §DP (current)

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
89%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+4.9%)
2y 5m (~5m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1178 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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