Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 19/323,715

APPARATUSES FOR ENCODING AND DECODING A SEQUENCE OF INTEGER VALUES, METHODS FOR ENCODING AND DECODING A SEQUENCE OF INTEGER VALUES AND COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR IMPLEMENTING THESE METHODS

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Sep 09, 2025
Priority
Jun 23, 2020 — EU 20181776.4 +2 more
Examiner
JEANGLAUDE, JEAN BRUNER
Art Unit
2845
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
94%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
6m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 94% — above average
94%
Career Allowance Rate
1109 granted / 1184 resolved
+25.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+5.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
1y 7m
Avg Prosecution
22 currently pending
Career history
1187
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.4%
-31.6% vs TC avg
§103
29.3%
-10.7% vs TC avg
§102
35.9%
-4.1% vs TC avg
§112
9.5%
-30.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1184 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
Detailed office 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. Claims 21 – 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tech et al. (US Patent Number 12,719,503). Regarding claim 21, Tech et al. disclose an apparatus (figs. 9 – 13) for decoding neural network, NN, parameters, which define a neural network, from a data stream, configured for obtaining, from the data stream, a mapping scheme for mapping quantization indices onto reconstruction levels, checking whether the mapping scheme fulfills a predetermined criterion, and reconstructing one of the NN parameters by if the mapping scheme fulfills the predetermined criterion, inferring a state of a predetermined syntax element from the mapping scheme, and if the mapping scheme does not fulfill the predetermined criterion, deriving the predetermined syntax element from the data stream, and subjecting a quantization index derived using the predetermined syntax element to the mapping scheme so as to obtain a reconstruction level of the NN parameter (Col. 3, lines 19 - 64; col. 36, line 48). Regarding claim 22, Tech et al. disclose an apparatus (figs. 9 – 13), wherein the mapping scheme associates each of a finite set of quantization indices with one of a set of reconstruction levels (Col. 3, lines 19 - 64; col. 36, line 48). Regarding claim 23, Tech et al. disclose an apparatus (figs. 9 – 13), wherein the quantization indices are integer numbers (Col. 3, lines 19 - 64; col. 36, line 48). Regarding claim 24, Tech et al. disclose an apparatus (figs. 9 – 13) wherein the quantization indices included in the mapping scheme form a monotonic sequence of integer numbers, and wherein the apparatus is configured for obtaining, from the data stream, information about one or more of - a size of the sequence of quantization indices,- a position within the sequence of integer numbers, at which position a quantization index having a predetermined value is located (Col. 3, lines 19 - 64; col. 36, line 48). Regarding claim 25, Tech et al. disclose an apparatus (figs. 9 – 13), wherein the apparatus is further configured for obtaining, from the data stream, information about one or more of - a predetermined reconstruction level which is associated with the quantization index having the predetermined value, and- a distance between two levels, which are associated with neighboring quantization indices of the sequence (Col. 3, lines 19 - 64; col. 36, line 48). Regarding claim 26, Tech et al. disclose an apparatus (figs. 9 – 13), wherein the apparatus is configured for inferring that the quantization index is zero, if the mapping scheme comprises exactly one quantization index, which has the value zero (Col. 3, lines 19 - 64; col. 36, line 48). Regarding claim 26, Tech et al. disclose an apparatus (figs. 9 – 13), wherein the predetermined criterion is fulfilled, if the mapping scheme comprises exactly one quantization index, which has the value zero, wherein the predetermined syntax element is a significance flag, which indicates, whether or not the quantization index has the value zero, and wherein the apparatus is configured for inferring that the quantization index is zero, if the mapping scheme fulfills the predetermined criterion (Col. 3, lines 19 - 64; col. 36, line 48). Regarding claim 28, Tech et al. disclose an apparatus (figs. 9 – 13),, configured for deriving the quantization index independent of a syntax element of the data stream, which syntax element is dedicated for signaling the quantization index, if the mapping scheme comprises exactly one quantization index, which has the value zero (Col. 3, lines 19 - 64; col. 36, line 48). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1 – 10, 18, 20 are allowable. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEAN BRUNER JEANGLAUDE whose telephone number is (571)272-1804. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7:00 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, Dameon Levi can be reached at 571-272-2105. 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. /JEAN B JEANGLAUDE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 09, 2025
Application Filed
Jan 02, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Apr 30, 2026
Response Filed
Aug 17, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Aug 19, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Sep 01, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

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

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Prosecution Projections

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
94%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+5.6%)
1y 7m (~6m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1184 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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