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 .
Remarks
The present Office Action is in response to Applicant’s amendment filed on 11/26/2025. Claims 1-3, 18, 21, and 25-27 remain pending in the present application. This Action is made FINAL.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-3, 18, 21, and 25-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claims 1 and 18, the limitations, "in case that the first message includes second information on a UE paging list, transmitting a paging message for the multicast group paging of an MBS session corresponding to the MBS session ID in paging occasions identified based on the second information; and in case that the first message does not include the second information, transmitting the paging message in all paging occasions for the multicast group paging", introduce new matter because the specification of the present application fails to disclose, suggest, or otherwise support this limitation. The cited portions of Applicant’s specification specifically do not disclose or provide support for a choice between which paging occasions are used depending on a case that the first message includes second information on a UE paging list or a case that the first message does not include the second information. Furthermore, although paragraphs 0144 and 0145 discloses an approach where paging for the MBS multicast session activation notification uses in relevant POs for the UEs, the specification does not disclose the relevant UEs being determined from information received in a message. Therefore, Applicant’s specification also does not disclose or provide support for the paging occasions for the transmission of the paging message being based on the second information.
Claims 2, 3, 21, and 25-27 are also rejected by virtue of their dependency on claims 1 and 18.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-3, 18, 21, and 25-27 would be allowable if the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and (b) are overcome.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Considering claims 1 and 18, the best prior art found during the prosecution of the present application, Gan et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2024/0314523 A1) and Kim et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0104225 A1), fails to disclose, teach, or suggest the limitations of in case that the first message includes second information on a UE paging list, transmitting a paging message for the multicast group paging of an MBS session corresponding to the MBS session ID in paging occasions identified based on the second information; and in case that the first message does not include the second information, transmitting the paging message in all paging occasions for the multicast group paging in combination with and in the context of all of the other limitations in claims 1 and 18.
Claims 2, 3, 21, and 25-27 are also allowed by virtue of their dependency on claims 1 and 18.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/26/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On pages 5-7 in the Remarks, Applicants maps wording of claim 1 to portions of Applicant’s specification.
The cited portions of Applicant’s specification do not disclose or provide support for a choice between which paging occasions are used depending on a case that the first message includes second information on a UE paging list or a case that the first message does not include the second information. Furthermore, although paragraphs 0144 and 0145 discloses an approach where paging for the MBS multicast session activation notification uses in relevant POs for the UEs, the specification does not disclose the relevant UEs being determined from information received in a message. Therefore, Applicant’s specification also does not disclose or provide support for the paging occasions for the transmission of the paging message being based on the second information.
Consequently, in view of the above reasons and having addressed each of Applicant’s arguments, the previous rejection is maintained and made FINAL by the Examiner.
Conclusion
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 MARK G. PANNELL whose telephone number is (303) 297-4245. The Examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 3:00 pm (Mountain Time).
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, Rafael Perez-Gutierrez can be reached on (571) 272-7915. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/Mark G. Pannell/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2642