Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 04, 2026
Application No. 18/875,069

COMMUNICATION DEVICES AND METHODS FOR MACHINE LEARNING MODEL TRAINING

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Dec 13, 2024
Priority
Sep 30, 2022 — nonprovisional of PCTCN2022123286
Examiner
ANYAN, BARBARA BURGESS
Art Unit
2457
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Shenzhen TCL New Technology Co., Ltd.
OA Round
2 (Final)
78%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
1y 7m
Est. Remaining
54%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 78% — above average
78%
Career Allowance Rate
575 granted / 738 resolved
+19.9% vs TC avg
Minimal -24% lift
Without
With
+-24.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 5m
Avg Prosecution
10 currently pending
Career history
744
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
17.9%
-22.1% vs TC avg
§103
31.0%
-9.0% vs TC avg
§102
38.1%
-1.9% vs TC avg
§112
9.6%
-30.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 738 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 . Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 7/8/26 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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. Claims 1, 21, 23-24 are rejected under 35 USC 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Liu et al. (hereinafter “Liu”, Publication 2024/0086717 A1). As per claims 1, 21-22, Liu discloses A method and systems for configuring at least one first node training machine learning (ML) model, comprising: being provided with a training assistant information by a second node, wherein the training assistant information is used for the first node to perform joint training with the second node to train a plurality of ML models having a common part (paragraphs [0008-9, 0011], Base station sends a first parameter of a first global model to a first edge device. The first edge device trains the first global model according to a local data set); wherein the training assistant information comprises at least one of the following: an activation/enabling of ML model training, a period of report forward propagation data, period of report backward propagation data, a deactivation/disabling of ML model training, quantization information and an identification information (paragraphs [0039, 0043], The base station starts the training of the model). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-3, 5-8, 10-19, 25 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 Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BARBARA BURGESS ANYAN whose telephone number is (571)272-3996. The examiner can normally be reached IFP M-F 8am-5pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using 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, Ario Etienne can be reached at 571-272-4001. 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. August 22, 2026 /BARBARA B Anyan/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2457
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 13, 2024
Application Filed
May 14, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Aug 13, 2026
Response Filed
Aug 26, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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Patent 12711216
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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
78%
Grant Probability
54%
With Interview (-24.0%)
3y 5m (~1y 7m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 738 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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