Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 16, 2026
Application No. 19/197,321

IMAGE PICKUP APPARATUS AND IMAGE PICKUP APPARATUS SYSTEM THAT ENABLE USE OF HANDLE AND ACCESSORY TOGETHER AND ARE CAPABLE OF ENSURING GOOD ATTACHMENT OF THE ACCESSORY

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
May 02, 2025
Priority
May 09, 2024 — JP 2024-076531
Examiner
HSU, AMY R
Art Unit
2638
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Canon Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
87%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
10m
Est. Remaining
86%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 87% — above average
87%
Career Allowance Rate
755 granted / 872 resolved
+24.6% vs TC avg
Minimal -1% lift
Without
With
+-1.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
13 currently pending
Career history
898
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.8%
-34.2% vs TC avg
§103
56.1%
+16.1% vs TC avg
§102
31.4%
-8.6% vs TC avg
§112
1.5%
-38.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 872 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . 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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0373417 to Iritani (“Iritani”). Regarding claim 1, Iritani teaches an image pickup apparatus comprising: a first fixing portion to which at least a handle is capable of being fixed (see Figure 1A, reference number 13); a second fixing portion to which an accessory is capable of being fixed (see reference number 4000); and a display unit that includes a display surface perpendicular to an optical axis direction (see Figure 1C showing the display, perpendicular to the optical axis), and wherein the first fixing portion is located on a subject side in the optical axis direction with respect to the second fixing portion and is located above the second fixing portion, and the second fixing portion is located on the subject side in the optical axis direction with respect to the display unit, and is located above an uppermost position of the display unit (as seen in many figures, for example Figure 23). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-12 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AMY R HSU whose telephone number is (571)270-3012. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm. 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, Lin Ye can be reached at (571)272-7372. 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. AMY R. HSU Examiner Art Unit 2664 /AMY R HSU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2638
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 02, 2025
Application Filed
Sep 29, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12764399
LOW PROFILE IMAGE CAPTURE DEVICE AND MULTI-PART REPLACEABLE COVER LENS
2y 4m to grant Granted Oct 13, 2026
Patent 12764404
CAMERA MODULE
2y 2m to grant Granted Oct 13, 2026
Patent 12754390
DRIVING MECHANISM
1y 10m to grant Granted Oct 06, 2026
Patent 12750601
PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION APPARATUS, PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION SYSTEM, AND MOVING OBJECT
1y 12m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12750609
IMAGE SENSOR AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME
1y 7m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
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
87%
Grant Probability
86%
With Interview (-1.1%)
2y 3m (~10m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 872 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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