Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 17/849,146

COMMUNICATION METHOD AND APPARATUS

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Jun 24, 2022
Examiner
PHAM, BRENDA H
Art Unit
2412
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
OA Round
5 (Non-Final)
91%
Grant Probability
Favorable
5-6
OA Rounds
2y 10m
To Grant
93%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 91% — above average
91%
Career Allow Rate
1055 granted / 1164 resolved
+32.6% vs TC avg
Minimal +2% lift
Without
With
+2.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
1189
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.9%
-31.1% vs TC avg
§103
33.2%
-6.8% vs TC avg
§102
28.7%
-11.3% vs TC avg
§112
15.2%
-24.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1164 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed 30 December 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argued in Remark that “All rejections are respectfully traversed, Because Abdoli is not prior art applicable against the claims of the instant application...The Abdoli reference is neither available as prior art under 35 USC 102(a)(2), because the reference is disqualified under 35 USC 102(b)(2)(C). The Examiner agrees with applicant argument. Therefore the rejection in view of Abdoli is canceled. A newly rejection under 35 USC 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hosseini et al. (US 2018/0213532 A1) below. The indicated allowability of claims 4,8,12 and 16 is withdrawn in view of the newly discovered reference(s) to Chen et al. (US 2011/0194511 A1). Rejections based on the newly cited reference(s) follow. The Office action is made non-final. Claims 1, 3-5, 7-9, 11-13, 15-16, 21-28 are pending. Claims 21-28 are newly added. 4. Figures 3 and 4 of the application illustrates the claimed invention. PNG media_image1.png 254 594 media_image1.png Greyscale PNG media_image2.png 512 330 media_image2.png Greyscale Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 5. 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. 6. Claim(s) 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 and 21-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipate by Hosseini et al. (US 2018/0213532 A1). Regarding claims 1, 5, 9 and 13, Hosseini et al. discloses a communication method executed by a first terminal device or a chip in a first terminal device, comprising: receiving first downlink control information from a network device, wherein the first downlink control information indicates a first resource for the first terminal device and a second terminal device to receive first downlink data from the network device ([0076]: “Base station 105-a may transmit resource allocation and other control information in one or more sPDCCH transmissions to UEs 115.”), and the first resource is comprised in an overlapping part of a bandwidth part of the first terminal device and a bandwidth part of the second terminal device ([0079]: “In some cases, an sPDCCH may allocate an sPDSCH for a low latency user to a resource block that has already been allocated to a PDSCH for some other users (e.g., legacy users) in a TTI. The TTI may overlap in whole or in part with at least one sTTI. That is, a PDSCH allocation of a TTI may overlap in whole or in part with a resource block of an sTTI.”), see figure 2; and PNG media_image3.png 510 852 media_image3.png Greyscale PNG media_image4.png 668 528 media_image4.png Greyscale receiving the first downlink data (scheduling information) sent on the first resource (primary CC) from the network device to the first terminal device and the second terminal device ([0105]: “In some examples, one or both of the UE 115 may be configured with two or more CCs with a primary CC being a scheduling CC that is used to transmit some or all of the scheduling information to the UEs for one or more sTTIs on each CC.”). PNG media_image5.png 784 585 media_image5.png Greyscale Regarding claims 3, 7, 11 and 15, Hosseini et al. teach the method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving second configuration information from the network device, wherein the second configuration information indicates a resource for downlink control information of the first terminal device, and the resource for the downlink control information of the first terminal device overlaps with a resource for downlink control information of the second terminal device, (figure 3 shows (sPDCCH 340, sPDCCH 36) a first and second configuration information), wherein receiving the first downlink control information from the network device comprises: receiving the first downlink control information from the network device on an overlapping part of the resource for the downlink control information of the second terminal device and the resource for the downlink control information of the first terminal device. ([0079]: “an sPDCCH may allocate an sPDSCH for a low latency user to a resource block that has already been allocated to a PDSCH for some other users (e.g., legacy users) in a TTI. The TTI may overlap in whole or in part with at least one sTTI.”). PNG media_image6.png 772 500 media_image6.png Greyscale Regarding claims 21, 23, 25 and 27, Hosseini et al. teach wherein the first downlink data comprises downlink data of the second terminal device. (figure 3 shows a first downlink data (sPDSCH for UE1). PNG media_image7.png 860 542 media_image7.png Greyscale Regarding claims 22, 24, 26 and 28, Hosseini et al. teach wherein the first downlink control information comprises downlink control information of the second terminal device. Figure 3 shows a first downlink control information sPDCCH 340 comprises downlink control information of the second terminal device UE A 350). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 7. 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. 8. Claim(s) 4, 8, 12 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hosseini et al. (US 2018/0213532 A1) in view of Chen et al. (US 2011/0194511 A1). Regarding claims 4, 8, 12 and 16, Hosseini et al. fails to teach receiving a group identifier from the network device; and descrambling, based on the group identifier, the first downlink control information received by the first terminal device. Chen et al. in the same field of invention, teaches this feature. Chen et al. teaches ([0071]: “To identify which group the control message is directed to, in block 806, the process scrambles at least a portion of the control message with a group identifier such as the G-RNTI, in this way, a UE that is a member of the group corresponding to the group identifier may be capable of applying the group identifier to descramble the portion of the control message.”), ([0072]: “a UE may be a member of one group, or a plurality of groups corresponding to a plurality of group identifiers. Here, if any one of the group identifiers corresponding to one of the groups of which the UE is a member is utilized to scramble the portion of the control message, the UE may be capable of checking each of its group identifier, to descramble the control message.”). The wireless communication is provided in which a resource assignment utilizing the PDCCH may be addressed to a group of UEs, rather than an individual UE, by utilizing a group identifier for indicating to the group that there may be information for any UE in the group in the PDSCH. In this way, the capacity of the PDCCH, which is limited, is multiplied and a potential bottleneck at PDCCH scheduling can be relieved. Therefore, it would have been obvious to those having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Chen et al. with Hosseini et al. so to decoding the control message by descrambling a portion of the control message with the group identifier. 9. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to application disclosure. KIMURA et al. (US 2021/0058219 A1) discloses method of a resource allocation unit that allocates, to another communication apparatus. See figure 19. PNG media_image8.png 586 916 media_image8.png Greyscale Conclusion 10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRENDA H PHAM whose telephone number is (571)272-3135. The examiner can normally be reached 571-272-3135. 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, Charles Jiang can be reached on 571-270-7191. 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. BRENDA H. PHAM Primary Examiner Art Unit 2412 /BRENDA H PHAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2412
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 24, 2022
Application Filed
Jul 12, 2022
Response after Non-Final Action
Jul 18, 2024
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103
Oct 16, 2024
Response Filed
Dec 19, 2024
Final Rejection — §102, §103
Mar 31, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Apr 07, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Apr 17, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103
Jul 17, 2025
Response Filed
Sep 25, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103
Dec 30, 2025
Response Filed
Jan 29, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

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

5-6
Expected OA Rounds
91%
Grant Probability
93%
With Interview (+2.0%)
2y 10m
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 1164 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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