Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 14, 2026
Application No. 18/923,496

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DATA STORAGE AND PROCESSING

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Oct 22, 2024
Priority
Jul 19, 2018 — provisional 62/700,373 +2 more
Examiner
ROBINSON, GRETA LEE
Art Unit
2163
Tech Center
2100 — Computer Architecture & Software
Assignee
Bank of Montreal
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
81%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
1y 2m
Est. Remaining
97%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 81% — above average
81%
Career Allowance Rate
798 granted / 989 resolved
+25.7% vs TC avg
Strong +17% interview lift
Without
With
+16.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 0m
Avg Prosecution
18 currently pending
Career history
1005
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
6.6%
-33.4% vs TC avg
§103
39.0%
-1.0% vs TC avg
§102
12.4%
-27.6% vs TC avg
§112
32.4%
-7.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 989 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
DETAILED ACTION Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114 A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 07 July 2026 has been entered. Claims 1-20 are pending in the present application. Claims 1, 7-8, 10-11, 17-18, and 20 were amended. 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 07 July 2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a): (a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112: The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Regarding claim 1, the following limitation does not appear to be described as claimed. “receiving, by a processor, a request from a machine learning model for retrieval of data.” [see claim 1 lines 2-3]. Although various embodiments are described, the disclosure does not appear to describe that the request is from a machine learning model. Note support for requesting or requests can be found in the disclosure at paragraph 0177 and figure 52. The limitations of independent claims 11 and 20 parallel claim 1; therefore, they are rejected under the same rationale. Claims 2-10, 12-19 are rejected based on dependency. 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 1-20 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. Regarding claim 1, the following limitation is vague and/or not clear: “”a request from a machine learning model” [see claim 1, lines 2-3]. Although the disclosure teaches various embodiments, it does not appear to teach a request is from a machine learning model. Support for this feature can be found in the disclosure at figure 52 and paragraph 0177. Also, see paragraphs 0157-0158. The limitations of independent claims 11 and 20 parallel claim 1; therefore, they are rejected under the same rationale. Claims 2-10, 12-19 are rejected based on dependency. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed 07 July 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. ARGUMENT: Claims were rejected under 35 USC 112 for the limitation “data model”; the claim has been amended to read “data map”. RESPONSE: Applicant’s amendment overcomes the rejection the rejection has been withdrawn; however a new rejection is cited, see Office Action above. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GRETA ROBINSON whose telephone number is (571)272-4118. The examiner can normally be reached Mon.-Fri. 9:30AM-6:00PM. 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, Hassan Mahmoudi can be reached at 571-272-4078. 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. /GRETA L ROBINSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2163
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 2 earlier events
Jan 02, 2026
Response Filed
Apr 24, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112
Jun 18, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Jun 18, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Jun 24, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Jul 07, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Jul 09, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Jul 24, 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

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
81%
Grant Probability
97%
With Interview (+16.7%)
3y 0m (~1y 2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 989 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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