Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 18, 2026
Application No. 18/819,897

Multi-Device Context Store

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Aug 29, 2024
Priority
Jun 09, 2016 — continuation of 11/734,302 +1 more
Examiner
PHAM, MICHAEL
Art Unit
2153
Tech Center
2100 — Computer Architecture & Software
Assignee
Apple Inc.
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
1y 2m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allowance Rate
474 granted / 593 resolved
+24.9% vs TC avg
Strong +22% interview lift
Without
With
+22.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 2m
Avg Prosecution
8 currently pending
Career history
602
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
20.2%
-19.8% vs TC avg
§103
30.4%
-9.6% vs TC avg
§102
25.2%
-14.8% vs TC avg
§112
15.1%
-24.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 593 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114 A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 5/19/2026 has been entered. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1, 4-12, and 15-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication 20130002441 by Khan et. al. (hereafter Khan). Claim 1: Khan discloses: “receiving, by a first user device from a second user device over a wireless connection, battery level information for the second user device;” [receiving, by a first user device (fig. 1, 10b; fig. 11 @mobile device 10b;)from a second user device (fig. 1 10a) over a wireless connection (fig. 1 12, wireless network), battery level information (0063, provides visual indication of a low battery state; 0066 updated to show the low battery state has been rectified or no longer exists; fig. 11 124) for the second user device (fig. 9, @ mobile device 10a user a)] “based on the battery level information:” [based on the battery level information (0063, provides visual indication of a low battery state; 0066 updated to show the low battery state has been rectified or no longer exists)] “determining, by the first user device, that a battery level of the second user device is below a threshold level;” [determining, by the first user device(fig. 1, 10b; fig. 11 @mobile device 10b;), that a battery level of the second user device is below a threshold level(fig. 11 124; 0063 provides visual indication of a low battery state; low battery state is battery level below threshold level )] “determining that the second user device is not plugged in to any external power source;” [determining that the second user device is not plugged in to any external power source (figs. 11-14; 0065, rectify the low battery state by recharging; determined not plugged in view of low battery state (fig. 11/13)] “responsive to determining both that the battery level of the second user device is below the threshold level and the second user device is not plugged in to any external power source:”[ responsive to determining both that the battery level of the second user device is below the threshold level (fig. 11 124; 0063 provides visual indication of a low battery state; low battery state is battery level that is below a threshold level) and the second user device is not plugged in to any external power source(figs. 11-14; 0065, rectify the low battery state by recharging; determined not plugged in view of low battery state (fig. 11/13)] “presenting, by the first user device on a display screen of the first user device, one or more of (a)a prompt to plug in the second user device to an external power source or (b) a low battery notification.” [presenting, by the first user device on a display screen of the first user device (fig. 1 10b), one or more of (a)a prompt to plug in the second user device to an external power source (fig. 25 user a is now recharged) or (b) a low battery notification (fig. 11 124)] Claim 4: Khan discloses: “The method of claim 1, wherein presenting the low battery notification comprises presenting the battery level of the second user device.”[ wherein presenting the low battery notification (fig. 11 124) comprises presenting the battery level of the second user device (0063, low battery state; 0066, updated to show the low battery state has been rectified)] Claim 5: Khan discloses: “The method of claim 1, wherein presenting the low battery notification comprises presenting charging status data for the second user device.”[ wherein presenting the low battery notification(fig. 11 124) comprises presenting charging status data for the second user device (0063, low battery state; 0066, updated to show the low battery state has been rectified)] Claim 6: Khan discloses: “The method of claim 1, wherein the first user device is a cell phone and the second user device is a wearable device.”[ wherein the first user device (fig. 1 10b) is a cell phone (0039, cellular phones) and the second user device (fig. 1 10a) is a wearable device (0039, portable)] Claim 7: Khan discloses: “The method of claim 1, wherein the first user device is a wearable device and the second user device is a cell phone.”[ wherein the first user device (fig. 1 10b) is a wearable device (0039, portable) and the second user device (fig. 1 10a) is a cell phone (0039, cellular phones)] Claim 8: Khan discloses:”The method of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise the first user device periodically receiving the battery level information for the second user device.” [wherein the operations further comprise the first user device (fig. 1 10b) periodically receiving the battery level information (0059, periodically, a current battery level…updating one or more contacts accordingly; 0052, recharge update…low battery update ) for the second user device (0052, mobile device 10a)] Claim 9: Khan discloses: “The method of claim 8, wherein the second user device periodically broadcasts the battery level information and wherein the first user device receives the battery level information for the second user device via the broadcasted battery level information.”[ wherein the second user device (0052, mobile device 10a) periodically broadcasts the battery level information (0059, periodically, a current battery level…updating one or more contacts accordingly; 0052, recharge update…low battery update )and wherein the first user device (fig. 1 10b) receives the battery level information for the second user device(0052, mobile device 10a) via the broadcasted battery level information(0059, periodically, a current battery level…updating one or more contacts accordingly; 0052, recharge update…low battery update] Claim 10: Khan discloses: “The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second user devices correspond to a same user account, wherein the first user device receiving the battery level info for the second user device is based at least in part on the first and second user devices corresponding to the same user account.”[ wherein the first and second user devices (fig. 1 10a/10b) correspond to a same user account (figs. 11-14, user A), wherein the first user device (fig. 11 @mobile device 10b) receiving the battery level info (fig. 11 124; fig. 5) for the second user device (fig. 13, @mobile device 10a) is based at least in part on the first and second user devices (fig. 1 10a/10b) corresponding to the same user account(figs. 11-14, user A)] Claim 11: Khan discloses: ”The method of claim 1, wherein the first user device receives the battery level information for the second user device via a Bluetooth connection with the second user device.”[ wherein the first user device (fig. 11 @mobile device 10b) receives the battery level information (fig. 11 124; fig. 5) for the second user device(fig. 13, @mobile device 10a) via a Bluetooth connection (0094, Bluetooth) with the second user device (0094, communication between mobile device 10 and different systems or devices)] Claim 12: Claims 12 and 15-18 recite similar limitations as that of claims 1 and 4-7 except that claims 12-18 are directed to a non-transitory computer-readable medium instead of a method. Claims 12 and 15-18 are rejected under similar rationale as that of claims 1 and 4-7. Khan further discloses a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising one or more sequence of instructions that, when executed by one or more processes cause the one or more processors to perform operations in at least figure 31 and 0097. Claim 19: Claim 19 recite similar limitations as that of claim 1 except that claim 19 is directed to a system instead of a method. Claim 19 is rejected under similar rationale as that of claim 1. Khan further discloses one or more processors and a non-transitory computer-readable medium including one or more sequence of instructions that, when executed by one or more processes cause the one or more processors to perform operations in at least figure 31 and 0097. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. U.S. 20140228062 by Rubowitz provides relevance in fig. 2 wherein there is power level of an electronic device being monitored, power level is below a threshold, identify contacts to send a notification message. U.S. 10083105 by De la Cropte de chanterac et. al. provides relevance in fig. 7 wherein a first computing system taking charge information of a second computing system, determining that the second system is below a level of remaining charge and taking action. However, U.S. 100083105 is commonly owned disclosure. U.S. 20060089733 by Dickinson provides relevance in fig. 18 and 0114-0016, in particular there is discussion of a battery having a low state of charge 1802 followed by a plug in compliance send alert message. Contact Information . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL PHAM whose telephone number is (571)272-3924. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 11-730pm Eastern. 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, Kavita Stanley can be reached at 571-272-8352. 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. /MICHAEL PHAM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2167
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 1 earlier event
Sep 10, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Dec 08, 2025
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Dec 08, 2025
Examiner Interview Summary
Dec 10, 2025
Response Filed
Feb 19, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102
May 19, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
May 21, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Jun 09, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12699713
VIRTUAL COLUMN CONSTRUCTION METHOD BASED ON DATA LAKE AND DATA QUERY METHOD
1y 11m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
Patent 12675452
AUTOMATED CORRECTION OF ATTRIBUTES USING MACHINE-LEARNED LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS (LLMS)
1y 11m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12657246
Social Media Maintenance System and Method
1y 9m to grant Granted Jun 16, 2026
Patent 12651004
DATA REPLICATION SYSTEM AND DATA REPLICATION METHOD
1y 9m to grant Granted Jun 09, 2026
Patent 12602385
CONTEXT-AWARE RELEVANCE MODELING IN CONVERSATIONAL SYSTEMS
2y 7m to grant Granted Apr 14, 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
80%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+22.1%)
3y 2m (~1y 2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 593 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