Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 19/040,643

ASSERTING AND ESTABLISHING PROVENANCE OF MEDIA CONTENT DURING LIVE STREAMING

Non-Final OA §DP
Filed
Jan 29, 2025
Examiner
HUERTA, ALEXANDER Q
Art Unit
2425
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
68%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 6m
To Grant
80%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 68% — above average
68%
Career Allow Rate
351 granted / 520 resolved
+9.5% vs TC avg
Moderate +13% lift
Without
With
+12.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
16 currently pending
Career history
536
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
6.0%
-34.0% vs TC avg
§103
54.3%
+14.3% vs TC avg
§102
15.5%
-24.5% vs TC avg
§112
11.1%
-28.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 520 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 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,244,875. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other. For instance, note the following similarities between instant application claim 1 and US Pat. 12,244,875 claims 1 and 7. Instant Application Claim 1 US Pat. 12,244,875 Claims 1, 7 A computer system comprising a processing system and memory, the computer system being configured to perform operations to assert provenance of media content, the operations comprising: determining a key pair comprising a private key and a public key, the key pair being associated with a validity period; In a computer system, a method of asserting provenance of media content during live streaming, the method comprising: determining a key pair comprising a live-stream private key and a live-stream public key; (Claim 1) setting an indicator of a validity period, wherein the manifest metadata further includes the indicator of the validity period... (Claim 7) signing, with a long-term key, manifest metadata comprising the public key, thereby producing a manifest signature, the long-term key being associated with a sender; outputting, as part of a bitstream, the manifest metadata and the manifest signature; and signing, with a long-term key, manifest metadata comprising the live-stream public key, thereby producing a manifest signature; outputting, as part of a bitstream, the manifest metadata and the manifest signature; and (Claim 1) for each of multiple portions of media content: signing, with the private key, the portion of the media content, thereby producing a portion signature for the portion of the media content, the portion signature providing a provenance claim for the portion of the media content; and for each of multiple portions of media content during live streaming of the media content: signing, with the live-stream private key, the portion of the media content, thereby producing a portion signature for the portion of the media content, the portion signature providing a provenance claim for the portion of the media content; and (Claim 1) outputting, as part of the bitstream, the portion signature for the portion of the media content. outputting, as part of the bitstream, the portion signature for the portion of the media content. (Claim 1) Since claim 1 in the instant application is a broader recitation of claim 1 in Pat. 12,244,875 it would have been obvious to modify claim 1 in Pat. 12,244,875 to get claim 1 in the instant application. Claim 2 of the instant application corresponds to patent claim 2. Claim 3 of the instant application corresponds to patent claim 3. Claim 4 of the instant application corresponds to patent claim 4. Claim 5 of the instant application corresponds to patent claim 5. Claim 6 of the instant application corresponds to patent claim 6. Claim 7 of the instant application corresponds to patent claim 7. Claim 8 of the instant application corresponds to patent claim 8. Claim 9 of the instant application corresponds to patent claim 9. Claim 10 of the instant application corresponds to patent claim 10. Claim 11 of the instant application corresponds to patent claim 11 Claim 12 of the instant application corresponds to patent claim 12. Claim 13 of the instant application corresponds to patent claim 13. Claim 14 of the instant application corresponds to patent claim 14. Claim 15 of the instant application corresponds to patent claim 15. Claim 16 of the instant application corresponds to patent claim 16. Claim 17 of the instant application corresponds to patent claim 17. Claim 18 of the instant application corresponds to patent claim 18. Claim 19 of the instant application corresponds to patent claim 19. Claim 20 of the instant application corresponds to patent claim 20. Citation of Pertinent Art The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Wang et al. (US Pub. 2014/0096271) discloses segment authentication for dynamic adaptive streaming. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Alexander Q Huerta whose telephone number is (571)270-3582. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 AM-5:00 PM. 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, Brian Pendleton can be reached at (571)272-7527. 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. /ALEXANDER Q HUERTA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2425 February 20, 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jan 29, 2025
Application Filed
Feb 20, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §DP (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12604061
CLOSED CAPTIONING SUMMARIZATION
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12593088
METHODS AND APPARATUS TO DETERMINE MEDIA EXPOSURE OF A PANELIST
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12587717
FACILITATING VIDEO GENERATION
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12587694
METHOD, APPARATUS, DEVICE AND STORAGE MEDIUM FOR VIDEO GENERATION
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12563266
USER-BASED CONTENT FILTERING
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 24, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

AI Strategy Recommendation

Get an AI-powered prosecution strategy using examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Powered by AI — typically takes 5-10 seconds

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
68%
Grant Probability
80%
With Interview (+12.8%)
2y 6m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 520 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow 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