Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 01, 2026
Application No. 18/965,798

SKELETAL TRACKING USING PREVIOUS FRAMES

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Dec 02, 2024
Priority
Dec 11, 2019 — continuation of 11/036,989 +2 more
Examiner
LETT, THOMAS J
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Snap Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
84%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
11m
Est. Remaining
49%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 84% — above average
84%
Career Allowance Rate
626 granted / 745 resolved
+24.0% vs TC avg
Minimal -35% lift
Without
With
+-34.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
14 currently pending
Career history
755
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
11.6%
-28.4% vs TC avg
§103
29.7%
-10.3% vs TC avg
§102
47.6%
+7.6% vs TC avg
§112
10.2%
-29.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 745 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 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1-2,5,8,12-13 and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Mehta et al. (“VNect: Real-time 3D Human Pose Estimation with a Single RGB Camera”). Regarding claim 1, Mehta et al. discloses a method comprising: receiving a video comprising a plurality of images that include a depiction of an object in the video (using a single RGB camera as video input, p44:2, col. 1); detecting one or more changes to a pose represented by the object based on tracking the one or more changes across the plurality of images (CNN that predicts both 2D, and root(pelvis) relative 3D joint positions in real-time, sec. 3); and continuously or periodically modifying one or more poses of (real-time 3D human pose estimation, section 4.1) an avatar to match the one or more changes to the pose represented by the object (enables applications such as controlling a game character, embodied VR, sport motion analysis and reconstruction of community video, figure 1). Regarding claim 2, Mehta et al. discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising: tracking the one or more changes in one or more features of the object across the plurality of images (recover the full global 3D skeleton pose in real-time from a single RGB camera, even wireless capture is possible by streaming from a smartphone (left). It enables applications such as controlling a game character, embodied VR, sport motion analysis and reconstruction, figure 1). Regarding claim 5, Mehta et al. discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of images is processed by a first deep neural network (real-time, fully-convolutional 3D body pose formulation using CNNs that yields 2D and 3D joint positions simultaneously and forgoes the need to perform expensive bounding box computations, p44:2, col. 1). Regarding claim 8, Mehta et al. discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising selecting the avatar associated with a rig from a plurality of avatars (see characters shown in figure 1). Claim 12, a system claim, is rejected for the same reason as claim 1. Claim 13, a system claim, is rejected for the same reason as claim 2. Claim 16, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium claim, is rejected for the same reason as claim 1. Claim 17, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium claim, is rejected for the same reason as claim 2. Claim 20, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium claim, is rejected for the same reason as claim 5. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 3, 4, 6, 7, 9-11, 14, 15, 18 and 19 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 THOMAS J LETT whose telephone number is (571)272-7464. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9-6 ET. 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, Tammy Goddard can be reached at (571) 272-7773. 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. /THOMAS J LETT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2611
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Prosecution Timeline

Dec 02, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 31, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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THREE DIMENSIONAL AWARE VIDEO COMPOSITING
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Patent 12731354
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2y 5m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Patent 12718497
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Patent 12718508
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2y 8m to grant Granted Aug 25, 2026
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
84%
Grant Probability
49%
With Interview (-34.9%)
2y 9m (~11m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 745 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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