Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/920,768

IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD OF THE SAME, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Oct 18, 2024
Priority
Nov 13, 2019 — JP 2019-205592 +3 more
Examiner
POON, KING Y
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Canon Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
57%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 0m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 57% of resolved cases
57%
Career Allowance Rate
8 granted / 14 resolved
-2.9% vs TC avg
Strong +50% interview lift
Without
With
+50.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
9 currently pending
Career history
27
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§103
91.1%
+51.1% vs TC avg
§102
8.9%
-31.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 14 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Specification The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 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. Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miyashita US 2003/0131062 in view of Hwang US 2016/0050263 and Fisher US 8175388. Regarding claim 1: Miyashita teaches an image processing apparatus (client computer, fig. 1) that communicates with a chat server (chat server 13, fig. 1), based on received information indicating a talk room of the chat server (chat space provided by the chat server 13, paragraph 0069), the chat server controlling displaying of information (the chat room manager also 41 also sends the attachment file…, paragraph 0087, also see paragraph 0205; paragraph 0212, 0213, content of the attachment file is displayed in the attachment file displaying window 622) indicating received image data on the talk room (chat room manager 41…..stores an attachment file, paragraph 0085; also see image data in 622 of fig. 28; note: client computer can only display what the chat server is sending and hence, the server control displaying of information), the image processing apparatus comprising: a designation unit configured to designate a talk room of the chat server (paragraph 0080, a chat room ID for identifying the chat room is assigned to the area, paragraph 0083, the chat room manager 41, upon receiving a chat text from a client computer 15….based on a chat room ID that has been sent along with the chat text; note: this implies that chat room is designated by the client computer 15 by using chat room ID) and a transmission unit configured to transmit the image data (paragraph 0204, chat server 13 receives the chat text and the attachment file sent from the client computer) and information indicating the talk room designated by the designation unit (paragraph 0083, the chat room manager 41, upon receiving a chat text from a client computer 15….based on a chat room ID that has been sent along with the chat text) to the chat server. Miyashita does not teach a scanning unit configured to scan an image of an original document and generate image data based on the image and transmit the image data generated by the scanning unit. Hwang teaches a scanning unit to scan an image of an original document and generate image data based on the image and transmit the image data generated by the scanning unit (paragraph 0361, image forming apparatus 54 generates scan data 3220 by scanning a document 3210 and assigns the display unit 30 to which the scan data 3220 is to be transmitted through a chat room). Fisher, column 4, lines 25-30 teaches some or all aspect of the computer 102 can be an integrated aspect of the optical scanner 116 or another device. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art to have modified the client computer/image processing apparatus and the creation of the document file of Miyashita to include: the client computer of Miyashita is to be integrated a scanner as taught by Fisher and use the scanner to scan an image of an original document and generate image data based on the image to create the document file of Miyashita and transmit the image data/document file generated by the scanning unit to the chat server. The reason of doing so would have provided an easy, well known, reliable, and cheap way of creating the document file of Miyashita; it would also simplify the system and increase portability of the system by integrating a scanner into the client computer. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 2020/0099800 disclosed an image forming apparatus, user terminal and chat server communicates with each other. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KING Y POON whose telephone number is (571)270-0728. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday. 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, Alexander Beck can be reached at 571-272-3750. 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. /KING Y POON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2617
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 18, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12558886
HEAD UNIT AND LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS
2y 1m to grant Granted Feb 24, 2026
Patent 12361640
DYNAMIC METAVERSE ACCOMMODATIONS
1y 9m to grant Granted Jul 15, 2025
Patent 8743389
Methods and systems rendering a print job
7y 6m to grant Granted Jun 03, 2014
Patent null
IDLE COLOR SEPARATION ALGORITHM
Granted
Patent null
IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM
Granted
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
57%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+50.0%)
2y 9m (~1y 0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 14 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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