Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 19/036,665

INFERRED SHADING MECHANISM

Non-Final OA §DP
Filed
Jan 24, 2025
Priority
Sep 25, 2020 — continuation of 11/978,155 +1 more
Examiner
HOANG, PHI
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Intel Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 0m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allowance Rate
773 granted / 945 resolved
+21.8% vs TC avg
Strong +17% interview lift
Without
With
+16.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
22 currently pending
Career history
965
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
11.3%
-28.7% vs TC avg
§103
55.7%
+15.7% vs TC avg
§102
11.6%
-28.4% vs TC avg
§112
11.7%
-28.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 945 resolved cases

Office Action

§DP
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 . Double Patenting The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969). A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b). The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13. The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer. Claims 1, 2, 5, 7, 8 and 21-30 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 13, 15-17, 19, and 20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,243,157. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the pending claims are a variation of the patented claims. Claims 1, 2, 5, 7, 8 and 21-30 of the instant application are anticipated by patent claims 1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10-13, 15-17, 19, and 20, in that claims 1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10-13, 15-17, 19, and 20 of the patent contains all the limitations of claims 1, 2, 5, 7, 8 and 21-30. Claims 1, 2, 5, 7, 8 and 21-30 of the instant application therefore are not patently distinct from the earlier patent claims and as such are unpatentable for anticipatory-type double patenting. Instant Application 19/036,665 U.S. Patent 12,243,157 1. An apparatus comprising: processing circuitry coupled to a memory, the processing circuitry to: receive rasterized pixel data identifying pixels and hierarchical data associated with one or more objects; and 16. At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by one or more processors, cause the processors to: receive rasterized pixel data associated with one or more objects; receive hierarchical data associated with the one or more objects; and perform an inferred shading operation on the rasterized pixel data, wherein to perform includes to use one or more neural networks to perform texture and lighting on the rasterized pixel data to generate a pixel output, wherein the one or more neural networks to use the hierarchical data to learn a three-dimensional (3D) geometry and latent space associated with the one or more objects. 16. (continued) generate an inferred shading of the one or more objects based on the hierarchical data. 19. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein generating the inferred shading comprises the one or more neural networks performing texturing and shading to generate an output for each of the one or more objects. 17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the one or more neural networks uses the hierarchical data to learn a three-dimensional (3D) geometry and latent space of the one or more objects. The above table illustrates a comparative mapping between the limitations of claim 1 of the instant application and the limitations of claim 16, 17, and 19 of U.S. Patent 12,243,157. The following is a complete listing of the correspondence between the claims of the instant application to U.S. Patent 12,243,157. Claims of Instant Application 1 2 5 7 8 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Claims of U.S. Patent 12,243,157 16, 17, 19 16, 1, 4 16, 19 16, 1, 5, 7 16, 20, 1, 9 10, 11, 13 12, 1, 4 10, 13 10, 1, 5, 7 10, 13, 15 16, 17, 19 16, 1, 4 16, 19 16, 1, 5, 7 16, 20, 1, 9 Claims 1, 2, 5, 7, 8 and 21-30 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 7-12, 15-18, and 20 of U.S. Patent No. 11,978,155. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the pending claims are a variation of the patented claims. Claims 1, 2, 5, 7, 8 and 21-30 of the instant application are anticipated by patent claims 1, 7-12, 15-18, and 20, in that claims 1, 7-12, 15-18, and 20 of the patent contains all the limitations of claims 1, 2, 5, 7, 8 and 21-30. Claims 1, 2, 5, 7, 8 and 21-30 of the instant application therefore are not patently distinct from the earlier patent claims and as such are unpatentable for anticipatory-type double patenting. Instant Application 19/036,665 U.S. Patent 11,978,155 1. An apparatus comprising: processing circuitry coupled to a memory, the processing circuitry to: receive rasterized pixel data identifying pixels and hierarchical data associated with one or more objects; and 16. At least one non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by one or more processors, cause the processors to: receive rasterized pixel data associated with one or more objects; receive hierarchical data associated with the one or more objects; perform an inferred shading operation on the rasterized pixel data, wherein to perform includes to use one or more neural networks to perform texture and lighting on the rasterized pixel data to generate a pixel output, wherein the one or more neural networks to use the hierarchical data to learn a three-dimensional (3D) geometry and latent space associated with the one or more objects. and perform an inferred shading operation on the rasterized pixel data, including using one or more trained neural networks to perform texture and lighting on the rasterized pixel data to generate a pixel output, wherein the one or more trained neural networks uses the hierarchical data to learn a three-dimensional (3D) geometry and latent space of the one or more objects. 20. The computer readable medium of claim 19, having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by one or more processors, cause the processors to: receive weight attributes associated with the one or more objects, wherein the one or more neural networks perform the texture and the lighting on the rasterized pixel data using the hierarchical data and the weight attributes. The above table illustrates a comparative mapping between the limitations of claim 1 of the instant application and the limitations of claim 16 and 20 of U.S. Patent 11,978,155. The following is a complete listing of the correspondence between the claims of the instant application to U.S. Patent 11,978,155. Claims of Instant Application 1 2 5 7 8 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Claims of U.S. Patent 11,978,155 16, 20 17, 18 20 16, 1, 9 16, 1, 7, 8 10, 15 11, 12 15 10, 1, 9 16, 1, 7, 8 16, 20 17, 18 20 16, 1, 9 16, 1, 7, 8 Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Martin Brualla et al. (US 2022/0051485 A1) discloses learning a joint latent space using category-level appearance and geometry interpolation Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHI HOANG whose telephone number is (571)270-3417. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:00-5:00. 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, JASON CHAN can be reached at (571)272-3022. 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. /PHI HOANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2619
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jan 24, 2025
Application Filed
Jul 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §DP (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12705836
METHOD, APPARATUS, ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND STORAGE MEDIUM FOR RECONSTRUCTING 3D IMAGES
2y 7m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12705822
DYNAMIC MULTI-DIMENSIONAL MEDIA CONTENT PROJECTION
2y 5m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12705926
FACIAL IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND DEVICE AND MEDIUM
2y 4m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12707113
PICTURE-IN-PICTURE DISPLAY METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM
2y 3m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12700144
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR FACILITATING AUGMENTED REALITY ENVIRONMENTS THROUGH FACIAL RECOGNITION
3y 7m to grant Granted Aug 04, 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.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
82%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+16.7%)
2y 7m (~1y 0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 945 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month