Last updated: July 17, 2026

Application No. 18/996,748

INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, AND INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM

Non-Final OA

Filed

Jan 17, 2025

Priority

Jul 29, 2022 — JP 2022-121961 +1 more

Examiner

HERRERA, MICHAEL J

Art Unit

3668

Tech Center

3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce

Assignee

Sony Group Corporation

OA Round

1 (Non-Final)

This examiner grants 63% of cases after interview

— +32.3% interview lift. A telephonic interview to clarify the technical implementation could significantly improve the outcome.

Based on 86 resolved cases, 2023–2026

Examiner Intelligence

HERRERA, MICHAEL J View full profile →

Grants 63% of resolved cases

Career Allowance Rate

54 granted / 86 resolved

+10.8% vs TC avg

Strong +32% interview lift

Without

With

+32.3%

Interview Lift

resolved cases with interview

Typical timeline

3y 2m

Avg Prosecution

16 currently pending

Career history

106

Total Applications

across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101

2.0%

-38.0% vs TC avg

§103

94.8%

+54.8% vs TC avg

§102

3.2%

-36.8% vs TC avg

Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 86 resolved cases

Prosecution Timeline

Jan 17, 2025

Application Filed

May 14, 2026

Non-Final Rejection mailed (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

18/296,756

Patent 12679372

POSITIONING METHOD AND RELATED APPARATUS

3y 3m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026

18/398,658

Patent 12630186

DRIVING SUPPORT DEVICE AND DRIVING SUPPORT METHOD

2y 4m to grant Granted May 19, 2026

18/514,653

Patent 12630180

DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING AUTONOMOUS DRIVING

2y 6m to grant Granted May 19, 2026

17/223,325

Patent 12626538

Asset and Vehicle Coupling

5y 1m to grant Granted May 12, 2026

17/054,866

Patent 12614416

Method and Apparatus for Diagnosing and Monitoring Vehicles, Vehicle Components and Routes

5y 5m to grant Granted Apr 28, 2026

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

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2

Expected OA Rounds

63%

Grant Probability

95%

With Interview (+32.3%)

3y 2m (~1y 9m remaining)

Median Time to Grant

Low

PTA Risk

Based on 86 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.