Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/977,461

COMMUNICATION METHOD AND COMMUNICATION APPARATUS

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Dec 11, 2024
Examiner
MALEK, LEILA
Art Unit
2632
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
79%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 9m
To Grant
86%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 79% — above average
79%
Career Allow Rate
542 granted / 684 resolved
+17.2% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+6.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
709
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.7%
-31.3% vs TC avg
§103
45.5%
+5.5% vs TC avg
§102
16.5%
-23.5% vs TC avg
§112
20.3%
-19.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 684 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 . Priority Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged. Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statements submitted on 01/09/2025, 10/01/2025, and 12/08/2025 have been considered and made of record by the examiner. Specification The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 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 21-40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being incomplete for omitting essential steps, such omission amounting to a gap between the steps. See MPEP § 2172.01. The omitted steps are: obtaining a first frequency domain signal based on the second frequency domain signal (see Fig. 6b). As to claims 21 and 31, it is not clear where the second frequency domain signal is coming from and no clear relationship has been established in the claims between the system (apparatus) as a whole and the second frequency domain signal. Based on the language of the claims it appears that the method steps of the claims and the structures of the claims are only related to generating the first signal and transmitting it. Claims 22-25 depend on claim 21, therefore they are rejected as well. Claims 32-35 depend on claim 31, therefore they are rejected as well. As to claims 26 and 36, it is not clear where the second frequency domain signal is coming from and no clear relationship has been established in the claims between the system (apparatus) as a whole and the second frequency domain signal. Based on the language of the claims it appears that the method steps of the claims and the structures of the claims are only related to receiving the first signal and determining the M amplitude shift keying modulation symbols based on the first signal. Claims 27-30, depend on claim 26, therefore they are rejected as well. Claims 37-40 depend on claim 36, therefore they are rejected as well. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure (US 2019/0288901, this reference teaches generating a signal that carriers amplitude shift keying modulation symbols and that the signal comprises one OFDM symbol in a time domain (see Fig. 4)). Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LEILA MALEK whose telephone number is (571)272-8731. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30am-4:30pm. 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, Chieh Fan can be reached at 571-272-3042. 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. LEILA . MALEK Examiner Art Unit 2632 /LEILA MALEK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2632
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Prosecution Timeline

Dec 11, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 06, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §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

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
79%
Grant Probability
86%
With Interview (+6.9%)
2y 9m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 684 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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