Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/853,342

STYLE IMAGE GENERATION METHOD AND APPARATUS, DEVICE AND MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Oct 01, 2024
Priority
Apr 01, 2022 — CN 202210347666.9 +1 more
Examiner
ZHOU, ZHIHAN
Art Unit
2482
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Beijing Zitiao Network Technology Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3m
Est. Remaining
80%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allowance Rate
828 granted / 1033 resolved
+22.2% vs TC avg
Minimal +0% lift
Without
With
+0.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
15 currently pending
Career history
1044
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.7%
-34.3% vs TC avg
§103
60.8%
+20.8% vs TC avg
§102
13.6%
-26.4% vs TC avg
§112
2.4%
-37.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1033 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 This office action is in response to an election filed, without traverse, on 06/01/2026 of a newly filed 371-application in which claims 1-9, 16-17, and 19-27 of the instant application are pending. Claims 1-4, 6-9, 16-17, 19-21, and 23-27 are being examined while claims 5 and 22 are considered withdrawn. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claims 1, 3-4, 6-9, 16-17, 20-21, and 23-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fang (“CN 113160038A Translation”) in view of Zhuge (US 2022/0327726). Fang was also cited in applicant’s IDS filed on 12/30/2024. As to claim 16, Fang teaches an electronic device, wherein the electronic device comprises: a processor; and a memory configured to store executable instructions of the processor, wherein the processor is configured to read the executable instructions from the memory and executing the executable instructions to (Figure 10): acquire an image to be processed comprising a face image region; acquire a target face stylization algorithm from preset face stylization algorithms, and perform a stylization processing on the face image region based on the target face stylization algorithm to obtain a face stylization image; and perform a processing based on the face stylization image and the image to be processed to obtain a target image ([0071]-[0088], [0100]-[0104], and [0108]-[0110]). Fang does not teach switching from displaying the image to be processed to displaying the target image according to a preset rendering parameter. However, Zhuge teaches obtaining a target image from a face image to be processed according to a preset rendering parameter and displaying the target image according to the preset rendering parameter ([0042]-[0052]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Fang’s system with Zhuge’s system to show switching from displaying the image to be processed to displaying the target image according to a preset rendering parameter in order to better showcase various rendering effects on face images while utilizing face stylization techniques. As to claims 1 and 17, the aforementioned claims are rejected similarly as claim 16. As to claims 3 and 20, the combination of Fang and Zhuge teaches wherein the switching from displaying the image to be processed to displaying the target image according to the preset rendering parameter comprises: determining a rendered image based on the rendering parameter; and displaying the target image after switching from displaying the image to be processed to displaying the rendered image (Zhuge; [0042]-[0052]). As to claims 4 and 21, the combination of Fang and Zhuge teaches wherein the acquiring the target face stylization algorithm from preset face stylization algorithms comprises: acquiring the target face stylization algorithm from the preset face stylization algorithms based on a preset selection rule (Fang; [0071]-[0088], [0100]-[0104], and [0108]-[0110]). As to claims 6 and 23, the combination of Fang and Zhuge teaches wherein the acquiring the image to be processed comprising the face image region comprises: in response to a stylization processing request, turning on a target camera; based on a confirmation instruction, acquiring a captured image through the target camera and displaying the captured image; and performing a screenshot processing on a displayed image to obtain the image to be processed (Fang; [0069]-[0088] and [0111]-[0112]; also see Figures 1 and 6). As to claims 7 and 24, the combination of Fang and Zhuge teaches wherein the performing the stylization processing on the face image region based on the target face stylization algorithm to obtain the face stylization image comprises: determining at least one target feature region based on the face image region; acquiring at least one style material corresponding to the at least one target feature region; and processing the at least one target feature region based on the at least one style material to obtain the face stylization image (Fang; [0071]-[0088], [0100]-[0104], and [0108]-[0110]). As to claims 8 and 25, the combination of Fang and Zhuge teaches wherein the performing the processing based on the face stylization image and the image to be processed to obtain the target image comprises: acquiring position information and a mask corresponding to the face stylization image; determining a target region image in the image to be processed based on the position information and the mask; and replacing the target region image with the face stylization image to obtain the target image (Fang; [0071]-[0088], [0100]-[0104], and [0108]-[0110]). As to claims 9, the combination of Fang and Zhuge teaches wherein the at least one target feature region comprises multiple target feature regions, different target feature regions correspond to different style materials, and a number of the face stylization image is multiple (Fang; [0071]-[0088], [0100]-[0104], and [0108]-[0110]). As to claim 26, the combination of Fang and Zhuge teaches wherein in response to the at least one target feature region comprising multiple target feature regions, different target feature regions correspond to different style materials, and a number of the face stylization image is multiple (Fang; [0071]-[0088], [0100]-[0104], and [0108]-[0110]). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2, 19, and 27 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZHIHAN ZHOU whose telephone number is (571)270-7284. The examiner can normally be reached Mondays-Fridays 8:30am-5pm. 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, Christopher Kelley can be reached at 571-272-7331. 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. /ZHIHAN ZHOU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2482
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Prosecution Timeline

Oct 01, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 18, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
80%
Grant Probability
80%
With Interview (+0.1%)
2y 3m (~3m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1033 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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