Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/839,411

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPROVING SELECTIVE FORWARDING UNITS BANDWIDTH ESTIMATION OF VARIABLE BITRATE-ENCODED STREAMS' SUBSCRIBERS THROUGH PADDING NETWORK BOOSTING

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Aug 16, 2024
Priority
Feb 18, 2022 — provisional 63/311,699 +1 more
Examiner
HOANG, THAI D
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Vonage Business Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
87%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 0m
Est. Remaining
85%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 87% — above average
87%
Career Allowance Rate
567 granted / 655 resolved
+26.6% vs TC avg
Minimal -2% lift
Without
With
+-1.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
23 currently pending
Career history
673
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.2%
-37.8% vs TC avg
§103
53.1%
+13.1% vs TC avg
§102
20.1%
-19.9% vs TC avg
§112
11.9%
-28.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 655 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 . 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 1-21 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 technical features: “bandwidth estimation”, “padding threshold”, and “padding baseline” that are unclear. Applicants are requested to define these technical features to clarify the scope of the claim. Claims 8 and 15 recite similar technical features are rejected for the same reason. All claims depend on rejected claims 1, 8 and 15 are rejected. Further, claim 4 recites the limitation: “comparing a bandwidth estimation determined for a communication path between the data stream forwarding unit and an intended receiver of the data stream having a highest quality of the multi-quality data stream;” It is unclear how to determine the data stream having a highest quality of the multi-quality data stream; or based on what factor(s) to determine the data stream having a highest quality. Claims 11 and 18 recite the similar limitation are rejected for the same reason. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached PTO-892. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THAI D HOANG whose telephone number is (571)272-3184. The examiner can normally be reached 10:30 am-18:30pm. 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, Asad Nawaz can be reached at (571) 272-3988. 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. THAI HOANG D. Primary Examiner Art Unit 2463 /THAI DINH HOANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2463
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 16, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 10, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (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
87%
Grant Probability
85%
With Interview (-1.9%)
2y 11m (~1y 0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 655 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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