Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/833,752

UE DISCOVERY MESSAGE PROTECTION METHOD AND APPARATUS, COMMUNICATION DEVICE, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Mar 24, 2025
Priority
Jan 29, 2022 — nonprovisional of PCTCN2022075127
Examiner
SONG, HOSUK
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
95%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
8m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 95% — above average
95%
Career Allowance Rate
1463 granted / 1547 resolved
+34.6% vs TC avg
Minimal +3% lift
Without
With
+3.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 2m
Avg Prosecution
17 currently pending
Career history
1564
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
16.3%
-23.7% vs TC avg
§103
7.2%
-32.8% vs TC avg
§102
39.1%
-0.9% vs TC avg
§112
11.2%
-28.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1547 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 . Status of Claims Claims 1-2,4,8-9,12-13,15,17-18,20-21,24-27 are pending in this application. Claims 3,5-7,10-11,14,16,19,22-23,28-30 canceled. Information Disclosure Statement The Information Disclosure Statement(s) submitted by applicant on 7/26/2024 have been considered. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Form PTO-1449 signed and attached hereto. 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. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claims 1-2,4,8-9,12-13,15,17-18,20-21,24-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 1 recites the limitation “a key request to request the discovery key” is unclear as to whether key request itself requests the discovery key or second UE determines another request using the key request. Claim 12 recites the limitation “the key request is used for requesting the discovery key” is unclear as to whether key request itself requests the discovery key or second UE determines another request using the key request. Thus, the scope of this limitation cannot be determined with reasonable certainty by one of ordinary skill in the art”. Claims 1,12 recites the limitation “request to generate an intermediate key(KD) of the discovery key” is indefinite. It is unclear which entity generates the intermediate key and the relationship between KD and discovery is unclear and lacks specificity. Thus, the scope of this limitation cannot be determined with reasonable certainty by one of ordinary skill in the art”. Claim 24 recites the limitation “determining within the network coverage range” is indefinite and lacks specificity. It is unclear what entity performs the determining, what is being determined and whether the determining relates to first UE or second UE. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the metes and bounds of the claim limitation”. Claims 2,4,8,9,13,15,17,18,20-21,25-27 dependent on one of claims 16,21,26, and are therefore rejected under the same rationale. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-2,4,8-9,12-13,15,17-18,20-21,24-27 would be allowable, should Applicant overcome the claim rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112 set forth herein, supra. USPTO Contact Information Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HOSUK SONG whose telephone number is (571)272-3857. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 7:30AM-5:00PM. 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, Amir Mehrmanesh can be reached 571-270-3351. 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. /HOSUK SONG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2435
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Mar 24, 2025
Application Filed
Aug 10, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

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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
95%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+3.0%)
2y 2m (~8m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1547 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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