Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 17/125,849

HYBRID AUTOMATIC REPEAT REQUEST FEEDBACK RESOURCE CONFIGURATION FOR SIDELINK WITH CARRIER AGGREGATION

Final Rejection §102§103
Filed
Dec 17, 2020
Examiner
TRAN, THINH D
Art Unit
2466
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Qualcomm Incorporated
OA Round
8 (Final)
62%
Grant Probability
Moderate
9-10
OA Rounds
4y 5m
To Grant
82%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 62% of resolved cases
62%
Career Allow Rate
330 granted / 532 resolved
+4.0% vs TC avg
Strong +20% interview lift
Without
With
+20.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
4y 5m
Avg Prosecution
39 currently pending
Career history
571
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.8%
-34.2% vs TC avg
§103
55.9%
+15.9% vs TC avg
§102
18.9%
-21.1% vs TC avg
§112
11.5%
-28.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 532 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 . Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed 11/19/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. In response to applicant’s argument in pages 14-15, the applicant asserts that “Applicant respectfully submits that PARK does not disclose each and every feature recited in amended claim 1.” Examiner respectively disagrees. The applicant further asserts in pages 14, 15 that “the Office Action has not shown that PARK discloses "receive an indication of a mapping between a set of physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) resources and a set of physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) resources," as recited in amended claim 1.” Examiner respectively disagrees since as indicated by par. 165, 192, 200, 218, 226, 357 of PARK, “The start PRB index of PSSCH transmitted in slot n−K by the V2X transmission UE may have a correlation with the start PRB index of PSFCH transmitted in slot n by the V2X reception UE…the base station may transfer a set of start PRB indexes of PSFCH to the V2X transmission UE;par. 115, 222, 349, 351, in resource pool 1, N=N1 and K=K1 and, in resource pool 2, values of N=N2 and K=K2. In this case, N1 and N2 may be the same or different. K1 and K2 may be the same or different. When the sidelink UE is in the in the coverage of the base station, the sidelink UE may be configured with the corresponding information from the base station through system information and RRC”, which the start PRB index of PSSCH have a correlation with the start PRB index of PSFCH, then the start PRB index of PSFCH would indicating the indication of mapping between PSSCH and PSFCH of different sets and the receiving of the start PRB index of PSFCH would indicating the receiving of the indication of a mapping between a set of physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) resources and a set of physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) resources. Therefore, PARK teaches "receive an indication of a mapping between a set of physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) resources and a set of physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) resources". Also as indicated by par. 165, 192, 200, 218, 226, 357 of PARK, receiving of the N and K for different set of PSFCH resources, the N and K indicating the mapping of PSSCH to PSFCH, which would indicating "receive an indication of a mapping between a set of physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) resources and a set of physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) resources". Therefore, PARK teaches "receive an indication of a mapping between a set of physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) resources and a set of physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) resources" and the claim as a whole. In response to applicant’s argument in pages 16-17, the applicant asserts that “HONG does not disclose or suggest piggybacking HARQ feedback on PSSCH, nor "transmit the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications using a set of PSSCH resources. piggyback the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications on the set of PSSCH resources," as recited in claim 13 (emphasis added).” Examiner respectively disagrees. As indicated by par. 139 of HONG, “…Current, in the NR Uu system, when HARQ feedback information piggybacks on the PSSCH…”, and further in par. 140, 142 of HONG, “…the rest may be a value related to the modulation order of the PSSCH on which the HARQ feedback is transmitted… The HARQ feedback information, the RE number setting for CSI and the physical layer mapping method used when UCI piggybacks on the PSSCH in the NR Uu system…” which would indicate HARQ-ACK feedback indication on the PSSCH and in par. 139 of HONG, “…the number of REs per layer for HARQ feedback information (the number of symbols for transmission of HARQ feedback information)…” and further in par. 112, “…the maximum number of HARQ (re)transmissions may be up to 32…” would indicating the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications using the set of PSSCH resources. Therefore, HONG teaches "transmit the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications using a set of PSSCH resources. piggyback the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications on the set of PSSCH resources,". Therefore, the combination of the references would teach the claim. The rejection is maintained. 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1, 3-12, 18, 20-28, 32, 33 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by PARK et al. (US 20230262660 with foreign priority, KR 10-2020-0085510 filed on 07/10/2020). Regarding claims 1, 18, PARK et al. (US 20230262660 with foreign priority, KR 10-2020-0085510 filed on 07/10/2020) teaches a user equipment (UE) for wireless communication (fig. 32, 33, UE), comprising: one or more memories (fig. 32, 33, UE); and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories (fig. 32, 33, UE), the one or more processors configured to: receive an indication of a mapping between a set of physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) resources and a set of physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) resources (par. 165, 192, 200, 218, 226, 357, The start PRB index of PSSCH transmitted in slot n−K by the V2X transmission UE may have a correlation with the start PRB index of PSFCH transmitted in slot n by the V2X reception UE…the base station may transfer a set of start PRB indexes of PSFCH to the V2X transmission UE;par. 115, 222, 349, 351, in resource pool 1, N=N1 and K=K1 and, in resource pool 2, values of N=N2 and K=K2. In this case, N1 and N2 may be the same or different. K1 and K2 may be the same or different. When the sidelink UE is in the in the coverage of the base station, the sidelink UE may be configured with the corresponding information from the base station through system information and RRC); receive a plurality of PSSCH communications on a plurality of sidelink component carriers of a sidelink network having sidelink carrier aggregation (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 443, 444, 445, 447, 455, determining PSFCH transmission resources for PSSCH signals received through a plurality of carriers by a UE supporting sidelink carrier aggregation (CA)); and transmit, using a set of PSFCH resources on a single sidelink component carrier of the plurality of sidelink component carriers (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 443, 449, 455, the UE may transmit PSFCH signal including HARQ-ACK information in symbol #x in response to the PSSCH signal received on CC #1, transmit PSFCH signal including HARQ-ACK information in symbol #y in response to the PSSCH signal received on CC #2, and transmit PSFCH signal including HARQ-ACK information in symbol #z in response to the PSSCH signal received on CC #3) and using one or more format types (par. 202, 203, the set of PSFCH resources in the CC are based on different format types of being format 1 being 1 or 2 bits using PRB and format 2 being 2 bits or more using 4 PRB), a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback indications based at least in part on the mapping (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 443, 449, 455, the UE may transmit PSFCH signal including HARQ-ACK information in symbol #x in response to the PSSCH signal received on CC #1, transmit PSFCH signal including HARQ-ACK information in symbol #y in response to the PSSCH signal received on CC #2, and transmit PSFCH signal including HARQ-ACK information in symbol #z in response to the PSSCH signal received on CC #3), wherein the set of PSFCH resources on the single sidelink component carrier comprises a first PSFCH resource pool corresponding to a first format type, corresponding to a first quantity of HARQ bits (par. 122, 202, 163, When the PSFCH uses two or more formats (e.g., one PSFCH format is used to transmit sidelink feedback information of 2 bits or less, and another PSFCH format is used to transmit sidelink feedback information including more than 2 bits), at least one PSFCH format may use a fixed value for at least one of K3 and M), of the one or more format types (par. 151, the sidelink resource pool of FIG. 6 may be constituted of K slots on the time axis and M resource blocks (RBs) on the frequency axis…in the K slots constituting the sidelink resource pool, each slot may be composed of the same number of OFDM symbols (that is, each slot is composed of L symbols in K slots); par. 162, the resource pool may include at least one of K3 and M; par. 163, at least one PSFCH format may use a fixed value for at least one of K3 and M; fig. 24, 25, 26, 28, par. 202, 203, 440, 449, 455, the UE may transmit PSFCH signal including HARQ-ACK information in symbol #x in response to the PSSCH signal received on CC #1…The position of the slot or symbol in which the PSFCH signal corresponding to each carrier k is transmitted/received may be previously configured by control information (or configuration information)), and a second PSFCH resource pool corresponding to a second format type, corresponding to a second quantity of HARQ bits (par. 122, 202, 163, When the PSFCH uses two or more formats (e.g., one PSFCH format is used to transmit sidelink feedback information of 2 bits or less, and another PSFCH format is used to transmit sidelink feedback information including more than 2 bits), at least one PSFCH format may use a fixed value for at least one of K3 and M), of the one or more format types (par. 151, the sidelink resource pool of FIG. 6 may be constituted of K slots on the time axis and M resource blocks (RBs) on the frequency axis; par. 162, the resource pool may include at least one of K3 and M; par. 163, at least one PSFCH format may use a fixed value for at least one of K3 and M; fig. 24, 25, 26, 28, par. 202, 203, 440, 449, 455, transmit PSFCH signal including HARQ-ACK information in symbol #y in response to the PSSCH signal received on CC #2…The position of the slot or symbol in which the PSFCH signal corresponding to each carrier k is transmitted/received may be previously configured by control information (or configuration information)). Regarding claims 3, 20, PARK et al. (US 20230262660 with foreign priority, KR 10-2020-0085510 filed on 07/10/2020) teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein a first HARQ-ACK feedback indication of the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications corresponds to a first PSSCH communication of the plurality of PSSCH communications (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 443, 449, 455, determining PSFCH transmission resources for PSSCH signals received through a plurality of carriers…when PSFCH signals including HARQ-ACK information for the PSSCH signals transmitted/received through the plurality of carriers, respectively, are transmitted/received through one carrier, the PSFCH transmission resource determination method according to the disclosure may be applied in the same or similar manner), and wherein a second HARQ-ACK feedback indication of the plurality of HARQ- ACK feedback indications corresponds to a second PSSCH communication of the plurality of PSSCH communications (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 443, 449, 455, determining PSFCH transmission resources for PSSCH signals received through a plurality of carriers…when PSFCH signals including HARQ-ACK information for the PSSCH signals transmitted/received through the plurality of carriers, respectively, are transmitted/received through one carrier, the PSFCH transmission resource determination method according to the disclosure may be applied in the same or similar manner), wherein the one or more processors (fig. 32, 33, UE), when receiving the plurality of PSSCH communications (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 443, 449, 455), are configured to: receive the first PSSCH communication on a first component carrier of the plurality of sidelink component carriers (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 443, 449, 455, PSSCH in CC#1, PSSCH in CC#2, PSSCH in CC#3); and receive the second PSSCH communication on a second component carrier of the plurality of sidelink component carriers (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 443, 449, 455, PSSCH in CC#1, PSSCH in CC#2, PSSCH in CC#3), wherein the second component carrier is different than the first component carrier (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 443, 449, 455, PSSCH in CC#1, PSSCH in CC#2, PSSCH in CC#3). Regarding claims 4, 21, PARK et al. (US 20230262660 with foreign priority, KR 10-2020-0085510 filed on 07/10/2020) teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein a first set of PSFCH resources is associated with a first component carrier of the plurality of sidelink component carriers (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 443, 449, 455, determining PSFCH transmission resources for PSSCH signals received through a plurality of carriers…when PSFCH signals including HARQ-ACK information for the PSSCH signals transmitted/received through the plurality of carriers, respectively, are transmitted/received through one carrier, the PSFCH transmission resource determination method according to the disclosure may be applied in the same or similar manner), and wherein a second set of PSFCH resources is associated with a second component carrier of the plurality of sidelink component carriers (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 443, 449, 455, determining PSFCH transmission resources for PSSCH signals received through a plurality of carriers…when PSFCH signals including HARQ-ACK information for the PSSCH signals transmitted/received through the plurality of carriers, respectively, are transmitted/received through one carrier, the PSFCH transmission resource determination method according to the disclosure may be applied in the same or similar manner). Regarding claims 5, 22, PARK et al. (US 20230262660 with foreign priority, KR 10-2020-0085510 filed on 07/10/2020) teaches the UE of claim 4, wherein the first set of PSFCH resources is associated with a first set of subchannels (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 443, 449, 455; par. 381, he PSFCH frequency resource set used for groupcast option 2 HARQ feedback transmission may be constituted of n1 RBs or n1 PSFCH subchannels (indexes 0 to n1−1)), and wherein the second set of PSFCH resources is associated with a second set of subchannels (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 443, 449, 455; par. 381, he PSFCH frequency resource set used for groupcast option 2 HARQ feedback transmission may be constituted of n1 RBs or n1 PSFCH subchannels (indexes 0 to n1−1)). Regarding claim 6, 23, PARK et al. (US 20230262660 with foreign priority, KR 10-2020-0085510 filed on 07/10/2020) teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors (fig. 32, 33, UE), when transmitting the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 443, 449, 455) are configured to: transmit a first HARQ-ACK feedback indication using a second format type of the one or more format types, wherein the second format type comprises a first PSFCH Format 2 transmission (par. 122, PSFCH format may be used to transmit HARQ-ACK/NACK information constituted of 3 bits or more; par. 202, 203, more PSFCH formats depending on the type of sidelink feedback information transmitted through PSFCH and the bit size of sidelink feedback information transmitted through PSFCH; the set of PSFCH resources in the CC are based on different format types of being format 1 being 1 or 2 bits using PRB and format 2 being 2 bits or more using 4 PRB); and transmit a second HARQ-ACK feedback indication using a second PSFCH Format 2 transmission (par. 122, PSFCH format may be used to transmit HARQ-ACK/NACK information constituted of 3 bits or more; par. 202, 203). Regarding claim 7, 24, PARK et al. (US 20230262660 with foreign priority, KR 10-2020-0085510 filed on 07/10/2020) teaches the UE of claim 6, wherein the one or more processors (fig. 32, 33, UE), when transmitting the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 443, 449, 455), are configured to: transmit the first HARQ-ACK feedback indication using less than or equal to two symbols corresponding to a first slot (fig. 28, par. 352, 455, When the number of symbol(s) constituting the PSFCH is explicitly configured in the resource pool information, such as 1, 2 or 3, the structure of the PSFCH transmitted by one reception UE); and transmit the first HARQ-ACK feedback indication using less than or equal to two symbols corresponding to a second slot (fig. 28, par. 352, 455, When the number of symbol(s) constituting the PSFCH is explicitly configured in the resource pool information, such as 1, 2 or 3, the structure of the PSFCH transmitted by one reception UE). Regarding claim 8, 25, PARK et al. (US 20230262660 with foreign priority, KR 10-2020-0085510 filed on 07/10/2020) teaches the UE of claim 6, wherein the one or more processors (fig. 32, 33, UE), when transmitting the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 443, 449, 455), are configured to: transmit the first HARQ-ACK feedback indication using a first set of symbols corresponding to a slot (fig. 28, par. 352, 455, When the number of symbol(s) constituting the PSFCH is explicitly configured in the resource pool information, such as 1, 2 or 3, the structure of the PSFCH transmitted by one reception UE); and transmit the first HARQ-ACK feedback indication using a second set of symbols corresponding to the slot (fig. 28, par. 352, 455, When the number of symbol(s) constituting the PSFCH is explicitly configured in the resource pool information, such as 1, 2 or 3, the structure of the PSFCH transmitted by one reception UE). Regarding claim 9, 26, PARK et al. (US 20230262660 with foreign priority, KR 10-2020-0085510 filed on 07/10/2020) teaches the UE of claim 6, wherein a PSFCH resource pool comprises a set of slots configured for HARQ-ACK transmission (fig. 28, par. 352, 455, When the number of symbol(s) constituting the PSFCH is explicitly configured in the resource pool information, such as 1, 2 or 3, the structure of the PSFCH transmitted by one reception UE), and wherein transmitting the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications comprises: transmit the first HARQ-ACK feedback indication using a first format type of the one or more format types (Par. 122, one PSFCH format may be used to transmit HARQ-ACK/NACK information constituted of 1 bit or 2 bits, which consider as format 0; par. 202, 203, the set of PSFCH resources in the CC are based on different format types of being format 1 being 1 or 2 bits using PRB and format 2 being 2 bits or more using 4 PRB), wherein the first format type comprises a PSFCH Format 0 transmission (Par. 122, one PSFCH format may be used to transmit HARQ-ACK/NACK information constituted of 1 bit or 2 bits, which consider as format 0; par. 202, 203); and transmit the second HARQ-ACK feedback indication using a second format type of the one or more format types (Par. 122, Another PSFCH format may be used to transmit HARQ-ACK/NACK information constituted of 3 bits or more, which consider as format 2; par. 202, 203, the set of PSFCH resources in the CC are based on different format types of being format 1 being 1 or 2 bits using PRB and format 2 being 2 bits or more using 4 PRB), wherein the second format type comprises a PSFCH Format 2 transmission (Par. 122, Another PSFCH format may be used to transmit HARQ-ACK/NACK information constituted of 3 bits or more, which consider as format 2; par. 202, 203). Regarding claim 10, 27, PARK et al. (US 20230262660 with foreign priority, KR 10-2020-0085510 filed on 07/10/2020) teaches the UE of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors (fig. 32, 33, UE), when transmitting the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 443, 449, 455,), are configured to: transmit the first HARQ-ACK feedback indication using a first set of resources of a slot of the set of slots (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 122, 443, 449, 455, the PSFCH resources 2811, 2813, and 2815, symbols in slot); and transmit the second HARQ-ACK feedback indication using a second set of resources of the slot (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 122, 443, 449, 455, the PSFCH resources 2811, 2813, and 2815, symbols in slot). Regarding claim 11, PARK et al. (US 20230262660 with foreign priority, KR 10-2020-0085510 filed on 07/10/2020) teaches the UE of claim 10, wherein the one or more processors (fig. 32, 33, UE), when transmitting the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 443, 449, 455,), are configured to: transmit the first HARQ-ACK feedback indication using a first set of resources of a first subset of slots of the set of slots (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 122, 443, 449, 455, the PSFCH resources 2811, 2813, and 2815, symbols in slot); and transmit the second HARQ-ACK feedback indication using a second set of resources of a second subset of slots of the set of slots (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 122, 443, 449, 455, the PSFCH resources 2811, 2813, and 2815, symbols in slot). Regarding claim 12, 28, PARK et al. (US 20230262660 with foreign priority, KR 10-2020-0085510 filed on 07/10/2020) teaches the UE of claim 6, wherein the first format type comprises a PSFCH Format 0 HARQ-ACK transmissions having at least one of a first slot offset or a first periodicity (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 122, 123, 205, 206, 207, 224,443, 449, 450, 455, the PSFCH resources 2811, 2813, and 2815, offset or period of the PSFCH), and wherein the second format type comprises a PSFCH Format 2 HARQ-ACK transmissions having at least one of a second slot offset or a second periodicity (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 122, 123, 205, 206, 207, 443, 449, 450, 455, the PSFCH resources 2811, 2813, and 2815, offset or period of the PSFCH). Regarding claim 32, 33, PARK et al. (US 20230262660 with foreign priority, KR 10-2020-0085510 filed on 07/10/2020) teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein the mapping is based at least in part on an indexing of a set of subchannels associated with the plurality of sidelink component carriers (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 122, 123, 205, 206, 207, 443, 449, 450, 455, the number of subchannels belonging to the resource pool configured for carrier k is N.sub.subch,k, M.sub.PRB,set.sup.PSFCH is an integer multiple of N.sub.subch,k.Math.N.sub.PSSCH,k.sup.PSFCH, and the number M.sub.PRB,set.sup.PSFCH of PRB resources allocated for PSFCH remains the same regardless of carrier index k). 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. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. Claim(s) 13, 14, 15, 29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PARK et al. (US 20230262660 with foreign priority, KR 10-2020-0085510 filed on 07/10/2020) in view of HONG et al. (US 20220232527) and SHIN et al. (US 20220201528). Regarding claim 13, 29, PARK et al. (US 20230262660 with foreign priority, KR 10-2020-0085510 filed on 07/10/2020) teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors (fig. 32, 33, UE), when transmitting the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 443, 449, 455,), are configured to transmit the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications using a set of PSFCH resources (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 443, 449, 455,), and wherein the one or more processors(fig. 32, 33, UE). But, PARK does not teach using PSSCH resources; when transmitting the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications using the set of PSSCH resources, are configured to: report the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications as a dedicated medium access control (MAC) control element, piggyback the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications on the set of PSSCH resources, report the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications using a dedicated sidelink control information (SCI) format 2, or report the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications using a dedicated SCI format 1. But, HONG et al. (US 20220232527) in similar or same field of endeavor teaches when transmitting the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications, are configured to transmit the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications using a set of PSSCH resources (par. 115, 117, 138, 139, piggyback HARQ in PSSCH), and wherein the memory and the one or more processors (fig. 9, UE), when transmitting the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications using the set of PSSCH resources (par. 115, 117, 138, 139, piggyback HARQ in PSSCH), are configured to: report the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications, piggyback the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications on the set of PSSCH resources (par. 115, 117, 138, 139, piggyback HARQ in PSSCH), report the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications using a dedicated sidelink control information (SCI) format 2, or report the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications using a dedicated SCI format 1 (par. 115, 117, 138, 139, 1st stage SCI or 2nd stage SCI). Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effectively filing date of the claimed invention to implement the method or system as taught by HONG in the system of PARK to implement the SCI. The motivation would have been to optimize control data transmission. However, PARK does not teach report the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications as a dedicated medium access control (MAC) control element. But, SHIN et al. (US 20220201528) in a similar or same field of endeavor teaches report the plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback indications as a dedicated medium access control (MAC) control element (par. 167, 168, MAC-CE trigger CSI reporting when HARQ-ACK report is enabled). Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effectively filing date of the claimed invention to implement the method or system as taught by SHIN in the system of PARK and HONG to implement HARQ-ACK feedback indications as a dedicated medium access control (MAC) control element. The motivation would have been to improve transmission efficiency of the sidelink. Regarding claim 14, PARK et al. (US 20230262660 with foreign priority, KR 10-2020-0085510 filed on 07/10/2020) teaches teaches the UE of claim 13, wherein the one or more processors (fig. 32, 33, UE); However, PARK does not teach are further configured to: receive, from a base station, an indication of the set of PSSCH resources; receive an allocation of reporting resources; and report, to an additional UE and using the reporting resources, the indication of the set of PSSCH resources. But, HONG et al. (US 20220232527) in similar or same field of endeavor teaches wherein the memory and the one or more processors are further configured to: receive, from a base station, an indication of the set of PSSCH resources (par. 101, the BS may provide the UE with resources for transmission of a PSCCH and/or a PSSCH by the dynamic grant); receive an allocation of reporting resources (par. 118, 119, the transmitting UE may transmit all or part of the following information to the receiving UE by SCI); and report, to an additional UE and using the reporting resources, the indication of the set of PSSCH resources (par. 118, 119, the transmitting UE may transmit all or part of the following information to the receiving UE by SCI… PSSCH-related and/or PSCCH-related resource allocation information, for example, the positions/number of time/frequency resources, resource reservation information (e.g. a periodicity)). Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effectively filing date of the claimed invention to implement the method or system as taught by HONG in the system of PARK and SHIN to implement the SCI. The motivation would have been to optimize control data transmission. Regarding claim 15, PARK does not teach the UE of claim 14, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive, from another UE, an indication of a selection of the set of PSSCH resources, and wherein the set of PSSCH resources comprises a set of PSSCH resources reserved for the plurality of PSSCH communications or a set of resources reserved for HARQ-ACK reporting. But, HONG et al. (US 20220232527) in similar or same field of endeavor teaches wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive, from another UE, an indication of a selection of the set of PSSCH resources (par. 138), and wherein the set of PSSCH resources comprises a set of PSSCH resources reserved for the plurality of PSSCH communications or a set of resources reserved for HARQ-ACK reporting (par. 138, the number of REs related to the 2nd stage SCI may be obtained by excluding the number of REs related to the PSCCH from the number of REs related to the PSSCH). Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effectively filing date of the claimed invention to implement the method or system as taught by HONG in the system of PARK and SHIN to implement the SCI. The motivation would have been to optimize control data transmission. Claim(s) 17, 31 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PARK et al. (US 20230262660 with foreign priority, KR 10-2020-0085510 filed on 07/10/2020) in view of CHAE et al. (US 20200383094). Regarding claim 17, 31, PARK teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein UE communicating using the single sidelink component carrier (fig. 25, 26, 28, par. 443, 449, 455,). However, PARK does not teach the single sidelink component carrier comprises a UE-specific sidelink component carrier. But, CHAE et al. (US 20200383094) in a similar or same field of endeavor teaches the single sidelink component carrier comprises one or more UE-specific sidelink component carriers (par. 107, To perform sidelink communication on the plural CCs, the UE may select a specific resource pool of a specific CC). Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effectively filing date of the claimed invention to implement the method or system as taught by CHAE in the system of PARK to implement one or more UE-specific sidelink component carriers. The motivation would have been to link the resource to UE to provide dedicate resource to provide transmission guarantee. Claim(s) 30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PARK et al. (US 20230262660 with foreign priority, KR 10-2020-0085510 filed on 07/10/2020) in view of HONG et al. (US 20220232527). Regarding claim 30, PARK does not teach the method of claim 18, further comprising receiving, from another UE, an indication of a selection of the set of PSSCH resources, wherein the set of PSSCH resources comprises a set of PSSCH resources reserved for the plurality of PSSCH communications or a set of resources reserved for HARQ-ACK reporting. But, HONG et al. (US 20220232527)in a similar or same field of endeavor teaches further comprising receiving, from another UE, an indication of a selection of the set of PSSCH resources (par. 138), wherein the set of PSSCH resources comprises a set of PSSCH resources reserved for the plurality of PSSCH communications or a set of resources reserved for HARQ-ACK reporting (par. 138, the number of REs related to the 2nd stage SCI may be obtained by excluding the number of REs related to the PSCCH from the number of REs related to the PSSCH). Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effectively filing date of the claimed invention to implement the method or system as taught by HONG in the system of PARK to implement the SCI. The motivation would have been to optimize control data transmission. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. NIMBALKER et al. (US 20190141647) in a similar or same field of endeavor teaches a sidelink network having sidelink carrier aggregation (par. 206). PARK (US 20210050953) teaches sidelink HARQ codebook may be determined by considering the SCS ratio between the sidelink BWP and the downlink BWP…if sidelink communication is performed based on SL V2X carrier aggregation (CA) or dual-connectivity (DC), the sidelink BWP and the uplink BWP may have different SCS values… if the sidelink BWP and the uplink BWP have different SCS values, a ratio of the number of PSFCH/PSSCH occasions associated with a single PUCCH (UL) transmission slot may vary (par. 164). RYU et al. (US 20200313825) teaches when it is assumed that two PSFCH formats are supported, PSFCH format 1 may be used for transmitting SFCI information of two bits or smaller, and PSFCH format 2 may be used for transmitting SFCI information of 3 bits or larger (par. 187). RYU et al. (US 20200351033) teaches When PSFCH uses two or more formats (for example, when one PSFCH format is used to transmit SL feedback information less than or equal to 2 bits and another PSFCH format is used to transmit SL feedback information including more than 2 bits), at least one PSFCH format may use a fixed value for at least one of K3 or M (par. 175); a resource pool, an unused PSFCH frequency resource may be used by another UE in the corresponding resource pool to transmit SL control information or data information or may be used for FDM of different PSFCH formats (par. 404). WU (US 20230094711) teaches SCI format 1, 2, 3, 4 for feedback HARQ (par. 144, 147, 160, 161). HWANG et al. (20220116974) teaches he transmitting UE may allocate/use a specific 2nd SCI format candidate for groupcast in which HARQ feedback option 1 (i.e., a method of transmitting only NACK) is used (table 5, par. 135). Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THINH D TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-3934. The examiner can normally be reached mon-fri 9-6. 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, FARUK HAMZA can be reached at 5712727969. 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. /THINH D TRAN/for /Thinh Tran/, Patent Examiner of Art Unit 2466 03/02/2026
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Prosecution Timeline

Dec 17, 2020
Application Filed
Aug 27, 2022
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103
Nov 02, 2022
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Nov 03, 2022
Examiner Interview Summary
Nov 17, 2022
Response Filed
Feb 24, 2023
Final Rejection — §102, §103
Mar 17, 2023
Interview Requested
Mar 22, 2023
Interview Requested
Apr 12, 2023
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Apr 12, 2023
Examiner Interview Summary
Apr 21, 2023
Response after Non-Final Action
May 18, 2023
Response after Non-Final Action
May 18, 2023
Examiner Interview (Telephonic)
May 31, 2023
Request for Continued Examination
Jun 06, 2023
Response after Non-Final Action
Oct 07, 2023
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103
Dec 04, 2023
Interview Requested
Dec 12, 2023
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Dec 13, 2023
Examiner Interview Summary
Dec 27, 2023
Response Filed
Apr 05, 2024
Final Rejection — §102, §103
May 01, 2024
Interview Requested
May 24, 2024
Examiner Interview Summary
May 24, 2024
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Jun 03, 2024
Response after Non-Final Action
Jul 02, 2024
Examiner Interview (Telephonic)
Jul 02, 2024
Response after Non-Final Action
Jul 09, 2024
Request for Continued Examination
Jul 15, 2024
Response after Non-Final Action
Aug 24, 2024
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103
Oct 09, 2024
Interview Requested
Nov 15, 2024
Response Filed
Feb 11, 2025
Final Rejection — §102, §103
Feb 26, 2025
Interview Requested
Mar 19, 2025
Examiner Interview Summary
Mar 19, 2025
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Apr 03, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
May 13, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
May 16, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Aug 20, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103
Oct 21, 2025
Interview Requested
Nov 19, 2025
Response Filed
Mar 02, 2026
Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

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Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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

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Prosecution Projections

9-10
Expected OA Rounds
62%
Grant Probability
82%
With Interview (+20.0%)
4y 5m
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 532 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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