DETAILED ACTION
This office action is responsive to communications filed on April 21, 2026. Claims 1 and 12 have been amended. Claims 1, 2, 5, 8, 10-13, and 16-19 are pending in the application.
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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant’s submission filed on April 21, 2026 has been entered.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 5, 8, 12, 13, 16, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu et al. (US 2021/0250958) in view of Yu et al. (CN 101998249 A, see attached translation).
Regarding Claim 1, Liu teaches a method for multicast/broadcast services (MBS) performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:
receiving, from a base station (BS), a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message that indicates a search space dedicated for the MBS (“communicating component 242 can receive one or more CORESET configurations indicating a set of resources (e.g., RBs) for monitoring for control data communications. In an example, communicating component 242 can receive the one or more CORESET configurations in system information broadcast from the base station 102 (e.g., in one or more SIBs), in RRC signaling, etc. For example, the CORESET can indicate resources over which the search space(s) in the search space configuration are defined. In an example, a specific CORESET can be configured for MBS and/or the CSS/USS associated with the CORESET can be used for monitoring DL grant for MBS with priority” – See [0069]; “For example, scheduling component 342 can transmit the search space configurations and/or other configurations in SIB signals, RRC, MAC CE, etc., as described above. Moreover, as described, the other configurations can include CORESET configurations (which may indicate search spaces), time window configurations, BWP configurations, etc.” – See [0089]; The UE receives RRC signaling from the base station, wherein the signaling indicates a CORESET/search space for MBS); and
monitoring MBS Downlink Control Information (DCI) for MBS-related control information in a control resource set (CORESET) in the search space dedicated for the MBS (“For devices receiving NR MBS, DL grant (e.g., DCI format 1_0 or 1_1 or MBS formats based on these DCI formats)” – See [0025]; “the CSS/USS associated with the CORESET can be used for monitoring DL grant for MBS with priority” – See [0069]; “prioritizing component 254 can determine to monitor for downlink grants for MBS, or to prioritize search spaces and/or corresponding DCI formats, based on determining that the time window is configured for MBS communications and/or for MBS search spaces” – See [0072]; The UE monitors the CSS/USS (search space) in the MBS CORESET for a DL grant (DCI for MBS-related control information)),
wherein
the RRC message further indicates common frequency resources for the MBS shared by a plurality of UEs, the common frequency resources being used for receiving the MBS DCI and MBS data (“communicating component 242 can receive the indication in RRC signaling, media access control (MAC) control element (CE), etc. received from the base station 102 … In another example, the base station 102 can configure, and/or communicating component 242 can receive an indication of a specific BWP for MBS and/or the CORESET” – See [0074]; “CSS/USS for MBS can be introduced in Pdcch_Config or Pdcch_ConfigMulticast including CSS/USS configuration in a dedicated BWP or a MBS BWP” – See [0068]; The RRC message indicates a BWP (common frequency resources), wherein the BWP includes common resources for receiving the MBS DCI (i.e., common search space) and the MBS data), and
the MBS DCI comprises a DCI format with cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled by a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) related to the MBS (“scheduling component 342 can scramble the MBS DCI with a RNTI (e.g., scramble a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) with an RNTI) before transmitting the MBS DCI in the MBS search space” – See [0090]; “The DCI for MBS communications can be of an existing DCI format (e.g., a DCI format defined for unicast communications), which may be modified for MBS communications, and/or may be indicated as related to MBS based on a RNTI used to scramble the DCI, an indicator in the DCI, etc. In an example, communicating component 242 can receive the DCI and can determine that the DCI is for MBS communications based on the RNTI used to scramble the DCI, an indicator in the DCI, etc.” – See [0041]; The CRC of the MBS DCI is scrambled with a RNTI related to the MBS such that the UE can determine that the DCI is for MBS based on the RNTI that was used to scramble the CRC/DCI).
Liu does not explicitly teach that the MBS DCI includes a single MBS change notification field for jointly indicating whether a new MBS session is started and whether an ongoing MBS session is stopped.
However, Yu teaches that the MBS DCI includes a single MBS change notification field for jointly indicating whether a new MBS session is started and whether an ongoing MBS session is stopped (“the PDCCH in the embodiment of the present invention may be a PDCCH format 1C, or a PDCCH format 1A, the signalling change information is change information of downlink control information (Downlink Control Information (DCI)” – See [0033]; “MCCH change service reason indication information may be an MBMS start, MBMS stop, reconfiguration and other business reason, supposing the M-RNTI scrambled PDCCH is format IC (format 1C) control channel type, if UE format IC type of PDCCH, obtaining the signalling indication bit of 3 bits, when of MCCH change service reason indication information is changed, in accordance with the 3 bit of the signalling indication bit indicates a plurality of MBSFN overlapped area or change service reason of the MCCH corresponding to the MBSFN area which the indication information is changed; the signalling indication bit service indicating the MCCH change reason specifically” – See [0045]; The MBS DCI includes a reason indication (single field) for jointly indicating whether an MBS session starts or an MBS session stops).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Liu such that the MBS DCI includes a single MBS change notification field for jointly indicating whether a new MBS session is started and whether an ongoing MBS session is stopped. Motivation for doing so would be to reduce the complexity of detecting MBS change information by the UE (See Yu, [0005]).
Regarding Claim 2, Liu in view of Yu teaches the method of Claim 1. Liu teaches that the RRC message further indicates the CORESET in the search space dedicated for the MBS (“the indication may specify that the search space is for a specific BWP that is dedicated for MBS communications” – See [0065]; The search space is dedicated for MBS communications).
Regarding Claim 5, Liu in view of Yu teaches the method of Claim 1. Liu further teaches that the common frequency resources are associated with a bandwidth part (BWP) (“CORESET for MBS can be introduced in Pdcch_Config or Pdcch_ConfigMulticast including CORESET configuration in a dedicated BWP or a MBS BWP” – See [0071]; The resources comprise a BWP).
Regarding Claim 8, Liu in view of Yu teaches the method of Claim 1. Yu further teaches that the RNTI related to the MBS is a group-common RNTI or a cell-RNTI (C-RNTI) (“the M-RNTI scrambled PDCCH) indicating whether the MCCH is changed. if the UE receives a PDCCH scrambled by the M-RNTI, the UE can obtain the special format by descrambling M-RNTI PDCCH so as to obtain the MCCH is changed, and then receives the corresponding MCCH control information” – See [0003]; The RNTI for the MBS data is an M-RNTI that is common to the group of UEs that are receiving the multicast/broadcast content).
Claim 12 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 1.
Claim 13 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 2.
Claim 16 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 5.
Claim 17 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 8.
Claims 10 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu et al. (US 2021/0250958) in view of Yu et al. (CN 101998249 A, see attached translation) and further in view of Lei et al. (US 2021/0105808).
Regarding Claim 10, Liu in view of Yu teaches the method of Claim 8. Liu and Yu do not explicitly teach receiving a group-common Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) scheduled by the MBS DCI, wherein the group-common PDSCH is scrambled by the group-common RNTI associated with the MBS DCI.
However, Lei teaches receiving a group-common Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) scheduled by the MBS DCI, wherein the group-common PDSCH is scrambled by the group-common RNTI associated with the MBS DCI (“the base station 105 may multicast the KM PDSCHs 210 to KM subsets of UEs 115 (for example, including UE 115-a, UE 115-b, and UE 115-c). Each PDSCH may be scrambled with a unique G-RNTI, which, as described above, is broadcast or multicast (for example, in the group-common DCI) to a subset of UEs expecting the same downlink or uplink resource configurations” – See [0080]; A set of UEs receives a group-common PDSCH, wherein the PDSCH is scrambled by a G-RNTI (group-common RNTI) associated with a multicast (MBS) DCI).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Liu to include receiving a group-common Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) scheduled by the MBS DCI, wherein the group-common PDSCH is scrambled by the group-common RNTI associated with the MBS DCI. Motivation for doing so would be to enable the base station to target a specific subset of UEs expecting the same resource configurations (See Lei, [0080] and [0091]).
Claim 18 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 10.
Claims 11 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu et al. (US 2021/0250958) in view of Yu et al. (CN 101998249 A, see attached translation) and further in view of Liu et al. (US 2021/0250918, hereinafter Liu ‘918).
Regarding Claim 11, Liu in view of Yu teaches the method of Claim 1. Liu and Yu do not explicitly teach that the MBS DCI includes at least one of the following fields: a bandwidth part (BWP) ID related to the MBS; an MBS repetition period; a frequency bitmap associated with resource allocation for different MBS IDs in frequency domain; and a timing bitmap associated with resource allocation for different MBS IDs in time domain.
However, Liu ‘918 teaches that the MBS DCI includes a bandwidth part (BWP) ID related to the MBS; an MBS repetition period; a frequency bitmap associated with resource allocation for different MBS IDs in frequency domain; and a timing bitmap associated with resource allocation for different MBS IDs in time domain (“In DCI, a reserved bit can be used, or repurposed, as a new field for MB communications, such as a flag to differentiate paging and MB data for an early indication of MB data. The UEs supporting MB can accordingly determine that the DCI is for MB earlier before detecting the paging message in PDSCH. In one example, reserved bits of this format can be used to convey MB information, such as one or more new fields for MB communications that may include a MB indication to indicate whether the DCI is of the MB format, a repetition number, as MB communications can be transmitted multiple times to reach cell edge UEs, etc. In other examples, without necessarily modifying the bit structure, fields in the existing DCI format can be used to indicate MB information, such as frequency domain resource assignment and time domain resource assignment fields used to indicate resource blocks (RBs) or other resource information in BWP for MB (only” – See [0080]; The DCI includes an indication of a BWP for MBS, a bitmap with frequency domain resource assignments for the MBS, a bitmap with time domain resource assignments for the MBS, and an MBS repetition period).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Liu such that the MBS DCI includes at least one of the following fields: a bandwidth part (BWP) ID related to the MBS; an MBS repetition period; a frequency bitmap associated with resource allocation for different MBS IDs in frequency domain; and a timing bitmap associated with resource allocation for different MBS IDs in time domain. Motivation for doing so would be to provide the UE with updated MBS service information using a modified version of preexisting DCI formats, which can reduce the complexity of determining possible DCI formats by the UE. Furthermore, unnecessary fields can be removed to reduce the size of the DCI (See Liu ‘918, [0027] and [0087]).
Claim 19 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 11.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on April 21, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On pages 7-8 of the remarks, Applicant argues in substance that Liu does not teach “a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message that indicates a search space dedicated for the MBS.”
The Examiner respectfully disagrees. Liu discloses “the CSS/USS for MBS can be introduced in a control channel configuration in a dedicated BWP or MBS BWP independent of unicast” (See [0084]). Liu further discloses “search spaces corresponding to MBS only” (See [0074]). Liu also discloses the concept of “MBS search spaces” versus “non-MBS search spaces” (See [0086]). Thus, the search space is dedicated to MBS/only corresponds to MBS, in contrast to other search spaces used for non-MBS services.
On pages 8-9 of the remarks, Applicant argues in substance that Liu does not teach “the RRC message further indicates common frequency resources for the MBS shared by a plurality of UEs, the common frequency resources being used for receiving the MBS DCI and MBS data.”
The Examiner respectfully disagrees. Liu discloses “communicating component 242 can receive one or more CORESET configurations indicating a set of resources (e.g., RBs) for monitoring for control data communications. In an example, communicating component 242 can receive the one or more CORESET configurations in system information broadcast from the base station 102 (e.g., in one or more SIBs), in RRC signaling, etc. For example, the CORESET can indicate resources over which the search space(s) in the search space configuration are defined. In an example, a specific CORESET can be configured for MBS and/or the CSS/USS associated with the CORESET can be used for monitoring DL grant for MBS with priority” (See [0069]). Liu further discloses “a symbol can correspond to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol including a portion of frequency resources (e.g., resource blocks) over a period of time” (See [0023]). Thus, the RRC message indicates a common search space which indicates common resources shared by a plurality of UEs for receiving the MBS DCI, wherein the RBs that define the search space are defined in time and frequency.
Additionally, Liu discloses “communicating component 242 can receive the indication in RRC signaling, media access control (MAC) control element (CE), etc. received from the base station 102 … In another example, the base station 102 can configure, and/or communicating component 242 can receive an indication of a specific BWP for MBS and/or the CORESET” (See [0074]). Thus, the RRC message configures a specific BWP/bandwidth part (frequency resources) for MBS, wherein MBS resources by nature are shared among multiple UEs for receiving multicast/broadcast communications.
On pages 10-12 of the remarks, Applicant argues in substance that Zhang and Fujishiro do not teach “the MBS DCI includes a single MBS change notification field for jointly indicating whether a new MBS session is started and whether an ongoing MBS session is stopped.” Applicant’s arguments have been considered but are moot based on the new grounds of rejection. In response to the amended limitations, the Examiner relies upon the newly-cited Yu reference.
Conclusion
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/SCOTT M SCIACCA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
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