Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 19/123,858

METHOD FOR RELEASE FOR USE OF TELEMATICS SERVICES, MOBILE COMMUNICATION DEVICE AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FOR PERFORMING THE METHOD

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Apr 24, 2025
Priority
Oct 25, 2022 — DE 10 2022 003 988.5 +1 more
Examiner
BROWN, VERNAL U
Art Unit
2686
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Mercedes-Benz Group AG
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
70%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 7m
Est. Remaining
83%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 70% — above average
70%
Career Allowance Rate
832 granted / 1195 resolved
+7.6% vs TC avg
Moderate +14% lift
Without
With
+13.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 0m
Avg Prosecution
35 currently pending
Career history
1247
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.9%
-37.1% vs TC avg
§103
57.0%
+17.0% vs TC avg
§102
23.9%
-16.1% vs TC avg
§112
7.8%
-32.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1195 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . DETAILED ACTION The application of Stefan Bohm for Method For Release For Use of Telematics services, Mobile Communication Device And Communication System for Performing the Method filed 4/24/25 has been examined. Claims 12-22 are pending. 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 12-18 and 21-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Auer US Patent Application Publication 20170374550. Regarding claim 12, Auer teaching a method for release for use of telematics services for a vehicle, the method comprising: providing a mobile communication device with a storage medium, wherein at least one digital vehicle key and an executable app for executing telematics services for a vehicle are stored in the storage medium (paragraph 031,033); executing, by the executable app, commands causing selection of a provided vehicle, and authentication of the mobile communication device or the app to be performed using the at least one digital vehicle key with a vehicle backend assigned to the vehicle (paragraph 031-033); and establishing, by the vehicle backend responsive to the authentication being successful, a user session assigned to the selected vehicle for the mobile communication device or the app (paragraph 041-0430,056-057); and using, by a user of the mobile communication device or the app and during the established user session, the telematics services provided for the vehicle, wherein the vehicle backend provides telematics services for the vehicles assigned to the vehicle backend (paragraph 056-058). Regarding claim 13, Auer teaches the at least one digital vehicle key includes right of use features related to the telematics services, wherein, based on the right of use features and when the user session is being established, an extent to which the telematics services can be used during the established user session for the user of the vehicle is set (paragraph 056). Regarding claim 14, Auer teaches specifying, by the user of the vehicle, an owner of the vehicle, a person authorized by the owner of the vehicle, or the vehicle backend before the user session is established, the right of use features (paragraph 057-058). Regarding claim 15, Auer teaches issuing, to a co-user of the vehicle using the digital vehicle key, a digital friend key, which is used to authenticate the mobile communication device or the app (paragraph 063). Regarding claim 16, Auer teaches the digital friend key includes the right of use features (paragraph 064-065). Regarding claim 17, Auer teaches declaring, by the user of the vehicle, an owner of the vehicle, or a person authorized by the owner of the vehicle, the digital friend key issued to the co-user of the vehicle to be invalid; and ending the established user session responsive to the declaring, wherein future user sessions cannot be established anymore with the digital friend key (deleting the key information, paragraph 012,045,074). Regarding claim 18, Auer teaches the user of the vehicle or a co-user, using the app, of the vehicle (paragraph 056): 1) starts the app on the mobile communication device (paragraph 069); 2) in case at least one digital vehicle key is stored in the storage medium of the mobile communication device, performing a user request, during which the user actively decides by selection whether (paragraph 070) a) authentication is to be performed using the stored at least one digital vehicle key (paragraph 070-071), 6) if more than one digital vehicle key is stored in the storage medium of the mobile communication device, a further user request is performed, wherein during the further user request the user actively decides by selection for which vehicle telematics services are to be used (paragraph 051,071,072). Regarding claim 21, Auer teaches a mobile communication device comprising: a computer-readable storage medium storing at least one digital vehicle key and an executable app configured to execute telematics services for a vehicle (paragraph 031,033,055), wherein the mobile communication device is configured to, by executing commands of the executable app, select a provided vehicle, and authenticate the mobile communication device or the app to using the at least one digital vehicle key with a vehicle backend assigned to the vehicle (paragraph 031,033), wherein the vehicle backend establishes a user session responsive to the authentication being successful, wherein the established user session is assigned to the selected vehicle for the mobile communication device or the app (paragraph 041-0430,056-057); and use, during the established user session, the telematics services provided for the vehicle, wherein the vehicle backend provides telematics services for vehicles assigned to the vehicle backend (paragraph 056-058). Regarding claim 22, Auer teaches a communication system comprising: a vehicle configured to execute telematics services (30-32); a mobile communication device comprising a storage medium storing at least one digital vehicle key (paragraph 031,033,039); an executable app stored in the storage medium of the mobile communication device, wherein the executable app is configured to execute telematics services for the vehicle, wherein the app has commands which, when executed by the mobile communication device, cause authentication of the mobile communication device or the app to be performed with a vehicle backend assigned to the vehicle using the at least one digital vehicle key (paragraph 060-063); and a vehicle backend providing telematics services for the vehicle and configured to establish and end a user session assigned to the selected vehicle for the mobile communication device or the app, wherein during the established user session a user of the vehicle can use the telematics services provided for the vehicle using the app (paragraph 041-0430,056-058). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Auer US Patent Application Publication 20170374550 in view of Lavoie et al. US Patent Application Publication 2023/0087202.. Regarding claim 19, Auer is silent on teaching the at least one digital vehicle key is provided according to Car Connectivity Consortium Digital Key standard. Lavoie in an analogous art teaches providing the digital vehicle key is provided according to Car Connectivity Consortium Digital Key standard (paragraph 048). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the system of Auer as disclosed by Lavoie because such modification represents the substitution of one type of interface between the mobile device and the vehicle for another and producing the predictable result of a reliably communication means between the mobile phone and the vehicle. Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Auer US Patent Application Publication 20170374550 in view of Bodin US Patent Application Publication 20040093289.. Regarding claim 20, Auer is silent on teaching the established user session is performed as an anonymous or pseudonymous user session. Bodin in an analogous art teaches the established user session is performed as an anonymous or pseudonymous user session (paragraph 0187). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the system of Auer as disclosed by Lavoie because such modification represents the substitution of one form of communication between the mobile device and vehicle for another and producing the predictable result of providing Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VERNAL U BROWN whose telephone number is (571)272-3060. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8AM-5PM, EST. 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, Steven Lim can be reached at 571 270 1210. 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. /VERNAL U BROWN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2686
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 24, 2025
Application Filed
Aug 11, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12748399
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING AND MANAGING ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS IN A DATA CENTER
1y 10m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12731448
VEHICULAR DIGITAL KEY SYSTEM, VEHICULAR DIGITAL KEY MANAGEMENT METHOD, VEHICULAR DEVICE, AND MOBILE TERMINAL
2y 5m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Patent 12687839
CHEMICAL STORAGE CONTAINER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR SEMICONDUCTOR PROCESS USING SHORT-RANGE WIRELESS COMMUNICATION
2y 7m to grant Granted Jul 21, 2026
Patent 12688743
MULTI-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION FOR PREMISES MONITORING SYSTEMS
2y 1m to grant Granted Jul 21, 2026
Patent 12676035
ACCESS CARD PROVIDING METHOD, ACCESS CARD CHECKING METHOD, AND APPARATUS FOR PERFORMING SAME METHODS
2y 7m to grant Granted Jul 07, 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
70%
Grant Probability
83%
With Interview (+13.5%)
3y 0m (~1y 7m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1195 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