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 .
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 Amendment
This Action is responsive to the Applicant’s Amendment/Remarks filed on 12/23/2025. In the Amendment, applicant amended claims 1, 7, 28 and 34. Claims 16-27, 29-30 and 35-36 are cancelled.
As to Arguments and Remarks filed in the Amendment, please see Examiner’s responses shown after Rejections - 35 U.S.C § 103.
Please note claims 1-15, 28, 31-34 and 37-49 are pending.
Examiner Note: In efforts of compact prosecution and based on allowable subject matter, the examiner initiated an interview with applicant’s representative attorney Mr. Jeff Liao on 02/18/2026 regarding to the claim’s formality and suggested the applicants to clarify the independent claims in order to move the case into better position. However, the suggestion was declined by the attorney of records.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) filed on 12/23/2025 has been considered (see form-1449, MPEP 609).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
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.
Claims 1-15 and 28, 31-34 and 37-49 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gursha et al. (US PGPUB 2023/0325353, hereinafter Gursha), in view of Chalakov et al. (US PGPUB 2019/0392053, hereinafter Chalakov) and further in view of Griffin Dorman (US PGPUB 2014/0195485, hereinafter Dorman) .
As per as claim 1, Gursha discloses:
(Original) At least one non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with instructions which, when executed, cause a system to:
receive metadata from a file system (Gursha, e.g., [0009], [0025-0026], [0129], “...receive a plurality of assets from the client system, analyze the plurality of assets, organize the plurality of assets into a file system based on metadata of each of the plurality of assets...”);
store metadata received from a file system in a datastore, the metadata including an object ID for each of a plurality of objects in the file system and a parent object ID for each of the plurality of objects in the file system (Gursha, e.g., [0025-0026], “…metadata stored on files and folders…trees and graphs…file types including sub-folders, document file types, image file types, video file types, music file types, PDFs, PNGs, JPGs, TXTs, spreadsheet file types, and the like…” and [0035-0036], “…storing and processing data…assign a unique identifier to tag each node…each node is assigned a parent node using the parent's unique identifier…a node is assigned to a parent node, the node becomes a child node. Sibling nodes are child nodes that have the same parent node…”);
query the datastore to identify a first level object of the plurality of objects, the first level object of the plurality of objects having an object ID equal to a parent object ID (Gursha, e.g., [0025-0028], “… query any type of file or digital information, such as graphics, design file, filed paperwork, etc.…file types may be interpreted as various data structures (i.e., trees and graphs)… folder/sub-folder hierarchy where any number of content folders and sub-folders are organized in the file structure….) and see [00035-0037], “…parent's unique identifier…are reflected in the tree structure...” and [0050-0051], “…generate the path to the file using the folder structure…collecting those nodes along the path from the node's position in the tree until the root is reached);
construct a first level path including a name of the first level object (Gursha, e.g., [0035-0037], “…parent's unique identifier…are reflected in the tree structure...”, [0046-007], “...the folder-based URL tool may integrate the name of the folder, the path of the folder, and the depth of the folder in the folder structure as the URL...” and further see [0088-0090], “… in the hierarchical database, a parent folder, labeled “Animals”, includes three sub-folders, including an “Amphibians” sub-folder, a “Birds” sub-folder, and a “Fish” sub-folder …” (path levels in hierarchical (tree) structure),
query the datastore to identify a next level objects of the plurality of objects, the next level object of the plurality of objects having a parent object ID equal to the object ID of the first level (Gursha, e.g., [0025-0028], “… query any type of file or digital information, such as graphics, design file, filed paperwork, etc.…file types may be interpreted as various data structures (i.e., trees and graphs)… folder/sub-folder hierarchy where any number of content folders and sub-folders are organized in the file structure….) and see [00035-0037], “…parent's unique identifier…are reflected in the tree structure...”) and [0046], “...using a tree data structure to represent the file system, the folder-based URL tool may generate the URL for a particular node using its parent node...” and further see [0095], “… analyzing nodes recursively on a sub-directory at a subsequent, e.g., next, level of the tree structure…continue looping through the nodes of the tree structure…”) (the examiner asserts query files/objects in hierarchy of content folders and sub-folders in organization tree structure that corresponds to a next level object of the plurality of objects where the parent object ID is equal to an object ID of the first level object (such as parent, child, children (directory, folder and subfolder)); and
construct a next level, wherein the next level path includes a name of the next level object appended to the first level path (Gursha, e.g., [0035-0037], “…parent's unique identifier…are reflected in the tree structure...”, [0046], “...a tree data structure to represent the file system, the folder-based URL tool may generate the URL for a particular node using its parent node...”, and [0088-0090], “… in the hierarchical database, a parent folder, labeled “Animals”, includes three sub-folders, including an “Amphibians” sub-folder, a “Birds” sub-folder, and a “Fish” sub-folder …” and [0095], [0107-108] “…service may be constructed via the templating engine, data may be saved and relationships may be rendered. A file system having a tree structure…downloading, syncing, and relocating content of the file system when organized according to the tree structure…loading one or more folders, one or more files, and one or more templates…”) (unless applicant provide the detailing how to construct a next level that appended to the first level path, otherwise the examiner asserts building/creating a sub-folder/child which is equivalent to construct the next level path includes name of next level object appended to the first level path, for example: Parent/folder of classic music may including the sub-folder/child (Baroque, Romantic, 20th century and so on).
generate a path table for the plurality of objects in the file system, wherein the path table comprises: the complete path for the next level object. (Gursha, e.g., [0007] and [0028-0028], “…generating a data structure based on the content folder, the data structure including each of the plurality of folder assets and metadata corresponding to the plurality of folder assets arranged according to relationships between the plurality of folder assets, and assigning a unique identifier to each of the plurality of folder assets in the data structure…” and [0045-0047], “...automatic hyperlinking of resources (documents, images, PDFs, etc.) within a document can also be achieved by looking at sibling nodes within the same folder or other folders and files within a same folder path... “/soccer/” may be a custom page. In contrast, a “/soccer/cleats/the/soccer/” page may be displayed as a folder showing all pages inside of it...”) (search through the path table in folder/directory/tree/categories/hierarchy).
To make records clearer regarding to the languages of “level path including name of level objects” (although as stated above, Gursha functional discloses the features of path level corresponds/associate to level file object (Gursha, e.g., [0035-0037], “…parent's unique identifier…are reflected in the tree structure...”, [0046-007], “...the folder-based URL tool may integrate the name of the folder, the path of the folder, and the depth of the folder in the folder structure as the URL...” and further see [0088-0090]).
However Chalakov, in an analogous art, discloses “path level corresponds to level object of the plurality of objects” (Chalakov, e.g., figs. 3 and 5, association with texts description, [0037-0039], “…mapping between the hierarchical namespace identifiers (or paths) and the flat namespace identifiers of the file system objects stored in flat namespace storage system…” and [0059-0062], [0095-0097], [0106], “…directory paths and files in a hierarchical directory structure … hierarchical namespace topology is a tree… formed of nodes and relationship of the nodes…) . Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art BEFORE the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Chalakov and Gursha to maintains a directory block map and the directory block map maps file system object names in a hierarchical namespace to entity block identifiers in the flat namespace for entity blocks (files and folders) stored in directories corresponding to the managed set of directory blocks (Chalakov, e.g., [0003-0005]).
To make records clearer regarding to the language of “identify a next level objects of the plurality of objects, the next level object of the plurality of objects having a parent object ID equal to the object ID of the first level” (although as stated above Chalakov and Gursha functional discloses features of identify a next level objects of the plurality of objects, the next level object of the plurality of objects having a parent object ID equal to the object ID of the first level (Gursha, e.g., [00235-0028], [00035-0037], “…parent's unique identifier…are reflected in the tree structure...”) and [0046], “...using a tree data structure to represent the file system, the folder-based URL tool may generate the URL for a particular node using its parent node...” and further see [0095], “… analyzing nodes recursively on a sub-directory at a subsequent, e.g., next, level of the tree structure…continue looping through the nodes of the tree structure…”).
However Dorman, in an analogous art, discloses “query the datastore for a next path level, wherein the next path level corresponds to a next level object of the plurality of objects where the parent object ID is equal to an object ID of the first level object” (Dorman, e.g., figs. 3A and B, associating with texts description, [0061], “... levels of hierarchy including, for example, parent/ascendant folder(s), child/descendant folder(s) or subfolder(s), and/or sibling folder(s)... a parent folder can be a child folder of a grandparent folder, a particular child folder can be a parent folder of a grandchild folder, and so on....”) and , [0082-0087], “...the Sequence_ID can be incremented every time the file or folder's name, parent folder... Sequence_ID for an item (e.g., a folder/file) ... each individual property or field of the object) (the examiner asserts directory and subdirectory including parent object ID (object ID of the first level object)). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art BEFORE the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Dorman, Chalakov and Gursha to settings or other organizations as the preferred mechanism for project, task, and work flow management, as has the need for streamlined collaboration and sharing of digital content and documents in order to archiving in tracking of other types of organizations may also be accessing, viewing, or editing the same file or content or content in the same work group. Among others, the different types of clients and the number of devices which can be used to access a single account or work item or cloud content in the cloud-based environment create problems of maintaining consistency and correct ordering in how changes are reflected at the clients that are used by users/collaborators (Dorman, e.g., [004-005]).
As per as claim 2, the combination of Dorman, Chalakov and Gursha discloses:
(Original) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the system to:
store the first level path and the next level path in a path table (Gursha, e.g., [0025-0026], “…metadata stored on files and folders…trees and graphs…file types including sub-folders, document file types, image file types, video file types, music file types, PDFs, PNGs, JPGs, TXTs, spreadsheet file types, and the like…” and [0035-0036], “…storing and processing data…assign a unique identifier to tag each node…each node is assigned a parent node using the parent's unique identifier…a node is assigned to a parent node, the node becomes a child node. Sibling nodes are child nodes that have the same parent node…”) and see (Chalakov, e.g., figs. 3 and 5, association with texts description, [0037-0039], “…mapping between the hierarchical namespace identifiers (or paths) and the flat namespace identifiers of the file system objects stored in flat namespace storage system…”) and further see (Fujisaki, e.g., figs. 2 and 9, associating with texts description, [0028-0031], [0076-0078]).
As per as claim 3, the combination of Dorman, Chalakov and Gursha discloses: (Original) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 2, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the system to:
update the path table based on event data received from the file system (Gursha, e.g., [0037-0042], “… updates the data structure as items are added, updated, or removed from the folder-based content management system. The changes are reflected in the tree structure… updating daily, or by file type, by folder, by depth…”).
As per as claim 4, the combination of Dorman, Chalakov and Gursha discloses:
(Original) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the system to:
repeatedly query the datastore for increasing next path levels until no objects are returned (Gursha, e.g., [0025-0028], “… query any type of file or digital information, such as graphics, design file, filed paperwork, etc.…file types may be interpreted as various data structures (i.e., trees and graphs)… folder/sub-folder hierarchy where any number of content folders and sub-folders are organized in the file structure….) and see [00035-0037], “…parent's unique identifier…are reflected in the tree structure...”) and further see [0095], “… analyzing nodes recursively on a sub-directory at a subsequent, e.g., next, level of the tree structure…continue looping through the nodes of the tree structure…”) (repeatedly query to next path levels until no objects are returned = continue looping through the nodes of the tree structure) and (Dorman, e.g., [0157-0158], “...this can generate an inconsistency at handoff time so that the full scan can be repeated...”).
As per as claim 5, the combination of Dorman, Chalakov and Gursha discloses:
(Original) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the metadata is received from a file system hosted by a distributed file server, the distributed file server having a plurality of file server virtual machines (FSVM), each configured to present a single namespace of files (Gursha, e.g., [0062], [0067], [0077]) and see (Chalakov, e.g., [0055-0057], and [0066], [0089]).
As per as claim 6, the combination of Dorman, Chalakov and Gursha discloses:
(Original) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 5, wherein the plurality of FSVMs are hosted by a plurality of computing nodes, and wherein the single namespace of files is stored in a storage pool including local storage of the plurality of computing nodes (Gursha, e.g., [0062], [0067], [0077]) and see (Chalakov, e.g., [0055-0057], and [0066], [0089]) and further see (Dorman, e.g., figs. 3A-B, associating with texts description, [0061], “... parent/ascendant folder(s), child/descendant folder(s) or subfolder(s), and/or sibling folder(s)”)).
As per as claim 7, the combination of Dorman, Chalakov and Gursha discloses:
(Currently Amended) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the system to determine a metadata scan of the file system is complete prior to said query the data-store for the first path level (Gursha, e.g., [0007] and [0028-0028], “…generating a data structure based on the content folder, the data structure including each of the plurality of folder assets and metadata corresponding to the plurality of folder assets arranged according to relationships between the plurality of folder assets, and assigning a unique identifier to each of the plurality of folder assets in the data structure…” and [0045-0047], “...automatic hyperlinking of resources (documents, images, PDFs, etc.) within a document can also be achieved by looking at sibling nodes within the same folder or other folders and files within a same folder path... “/soccer/” may be a custom page. In contrast, a “/soccer/cleats/the/soccer/” page may be displayed as a folder showing all pages inside of it...”) (search through the path table in folder/directory/tree/categories/hierarchy) and see (Dorman, e.g., [0094-0095] and [0102-0104], “...perform a scan of a tree structure of synchronized folders on the synchronization client…”).
As per as claim 8, the combination of Dorman, Chalakov and Gursha discloses:
(Previously presented) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the system to:
wherein said generate the path table comprises constructing paths for top level objects of the plurality of objects, then constructing paths for each consecutive level of the file system (Gursha, e.g., [00035-0037], “…parent's unique identifier…are reflected in the tree structure...” and [0046], [0050-0051], “…generate the path to the file using the folder structure…collecting those nodes along the path from the node's position in the tree until the root is reached...) and (Dorman, e.g., [0110-0111], synchronized folder in a given path when the last fully synchronized folder, which is a descendant folder in the path, is moved out from the path to a new path...”).
As per as claim 9, the combination of Dorman, Chalakov and Gursha discloses:
(Previously presented) The method non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, further comprising cause the system to:
update the path table based on event data received from the file system (Gursha, e.g., [0037-0042], “… updates the data structure as items are added, updated, or removed from the folder-based content management system. The changes are reflected in the tree structure… updating daily, or by file type, by folder, by depth…”) and (Dorman, e.g., [0110-0111]).
As per as claim 10, the combination of Dorman, Chalakov and Gursha discloses: (previously presented) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein said update comprises, responsive to an indication of a moved directory in the file system: query the path table for a prefix equal to an initial path of the moved directory (Gursha, e.g., [0025-0028], “… query any type of file or digital information, such as graphics, design file, filed paperwork, etc.…file types may be interpreted as various data structures (i.e., trees and graphs)… folder/sub-folder hierarchy where any number of content folders and sub-folders are organized in the file structure….) and see [00035-0037], “…parent's unique identifier…are reflected in the tree structure...”) and [0046], “...using a tree data structure to represent the file system, the folder-based URL tool may generate the URL for a particular node using its parent node...” and [0050-0051], “…generate the path to the file using the folder structure…collecting those nodes along the path from the node's position in the tree until the root is reached) and further see [0095], “… analyzing nodes recursively on a sub-directory at a subsequent, e.g., next, level of the tree structure…continue looping through the nodes of the tree structure…”); and
replace the prefix in the path table with a new path of the moved directory (Gursha, e.g., [0025-0028], “… query any type of file or digital information, such as graphics, design file, filed paperwork, etc.…file types may be interpreted as various data structures (i.e., trees and graphs)… folder/sub-folder hierarchy where any number of content folders and sub-folders are organized in the file structure….) and see [00035-0037], “…parent's unique identifier…are reflected in the tree structure...” and [0046], [0050-0051], “…generate the path to the file using the folder structure…collecting those nodes along the path from the node's position in the tree until the root is reached);
As per as claim 11, the combination of Dorman, Chalakov and Gursha discloses:
(Previously presented) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the file system is hosted by a distributed file server, and wherein the distributed file server includes a plurality of file server virtual machines (FSVMs) hosted on a respective plurality of computing nodes, wherein each of the FSVMs is configured to present a single name space of storage items (Gursha, e.g., [0062], [0067], [0077]) and see (Chalakov, e.g., [0055-0057], and [0066], [0089]).
As per as claim 12, the combination of Dorman, Chalakov and Gursha discloses:
(Previously presented) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the storage items are stored in a storage pool, and wherein the storage pool includes local storage of the plurality of computing nodes (Gursha, e.g., [0062], [0067], [0077]) and see (Chalakov, e.g., [0055-0057], and [0066], [0089]).
As per as claim 13, the combination of Dorman, Chalakov and Gursha discloses:
(Previously presented) The method non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, further comprising cause the system to:
receiving receive user input requesting analytics about the file system (Gursha, e.g., [0044] and [0049]); and
displaying the analytics about the file system, including a path for a file in the file system, wherein the path is retrieved from the path table (Gursha, e.g., [0044-0048]) and further see (Dorman, e.g., [0110-0111]).
As per as claim 14, the combination of Dorman, Chalakov and Gursha discloses: (Previously presented) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the metadata from the file system does not include a complete path for each object ID in the file system (Gursha, e.g., [0007] and [0028-0028], “…generating a data structure based on the content folder, the data structure including each of the plurality of folder assets and metadata corresponding to the plurality of folder assets arranged according to relationships between the plurality of folder assets, and assigning a unique identifier to each of the plurality of folder assets in the data structure…” and [0045-0047], “...automatic hyperlinking of resources (documents, images, PDFs, etc.) within a document can also be achieved by looking at sibling nodes within the same folder or other folders and files within a same folder path... “/soccer/” may be a custom page. In contrast, a “/soccer/cleats/the/soccer/” page may be displayed as a folder showing all pages inside of it...”) (search through the path table in folder/directory/tree/categories/hierarchy).
As per as claim 15, the combination of Dorman, Chalakov and Gursha discloses:
(Previously presented) The method non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the system to determine comprising determining the metadata receiving process is complete prior to generating the path table (Gursha, e.g., [00035-0037], “…parent's unique identifier…are reflected in the tree structure...” and [0045-0047], [0050-0051], “…generate the path to the file using the folder structure…collecting those nodes along the path from the node's position in the tree until the root is reached).
As per as claim 40, the combination of Dorman, Chalakov and Gursha discloses:
(previously presented) The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the system to perform operations comprising the processor to generate paths for objects in the file system (Dorman, e.g., figs. 3A and B, associating with texts description, [0061], “... levels of hierarchy including, for example, parent/ascendant folder(s), child/descendant folder(s) or subfolder(s), and/or sibling folder(s)... a parent folder can be a child folder of a grandparent folder, a particular child folder can be a parent folder of a grandchild folder, and so on....”) and , [0082-0087], “...the Sequence_ID can be incremented every time the file or folder's name, parent folder... Sequence_ID for an item (e.g., a folder/file) ... each individual property or field of the object) (the examiner asserts directory and subdirectory including parent object ID (object ID of the first level object)) and see (Gursha, e.g., [00035-0037], “…parent's unique identifier…are reflected in the tree structure...” and [0050-0051], “…generate the path to the file using the folder structure…collecting those nodes along the path from the node's position in the tree until the root is reached).
As per as claim 41, the combination of Dorman, Chalakov and Gursha discloses:
(previously presented) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 40, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the system to perform operations comprising store constructed paths in the path table (Gursha, e.g., [00035-0037], “…parent's unique identifier…are reflected in the tree structure...” and [0049-0051], “…generate the path to the file using the folder structure…collecting those nodes along the path from the node's position in the tree until the root is reached).
As per as claim 42, the combination of Dorman, Chalakov and Gursha discloses:
(previously presented) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 41, wherein the constructed next level path stored in the path table is different from a complete path of the next level object (Gursha, e.g., [00035-0037], “…parent's unique identifier…are reflected in the tree structure...” and [0050-0051], “…generate the path to the file using the folder structure…collecting those nodes along the path from the node's position in the tree until the root is reached) and further see (Dorman, e.g., figs. 3A and B, associating with texts description, [0061], “... levels of hierarchy including, for example, parent/ascendant folder(s), child/descendant folder(s) or subfolder(s), and/or sibling folder(s)... a parent folder can be a child folder of a grandparent folder, a particular child folder can be a parent folder of a grandchild folder, and so on....”) and , [0082-0087], “...the Sequence_ID can be incremented every time the file or folder's name, parent folder... Sequence_ID for an item (e.g., a folder/file) ... each individual property or field of the object) (the examiner asserts directory and subdirectory including parent object ID (object ID of the first level object)).
As per as claim 43, the combination of Dorman, Chalakov and Gursha discloses:
(previously presented) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the system to select all object IDs and paths in the path table having a maximum path depth to provide a group of maximum existing path records using the maximum path depth that has been recorded in the path table (Gursha, e.g., [00035-0037], “…parent's unique identifier…are reflected in the tree structure...” and [0049-0051], “…depth setting at a maximum of level…generate the path to the file using the folder structure…collecting those nodes along the path from the node's position in the tree until the root is reached...) and further see (Dorman, e.g., figs. 3A and B, associating with texts description, [0061], “... levels of hierarchy including, for example, parent/ascendant folder(s), child/descendant folder(s) or subfolder(s), and/or sibling folder(s)... a parent folder can be a child folder of a grandparent folder, a particular child folder can be a parent folder of a grandchild folder, and so on....”) and , [0082-0087], “...the Sequence_ID can be incremented every time the file or folder's name, parent folder... Sequence_ID for an item (e.g., a folder/file) ... each individual property or field of the object) (the examiner asserts directory and subdirectory including parent object ID (object ID of the first level object)).
Claims 28, 32-33 and 44-47 are essentially the same as claims 1-15 and 40-43 except that they set forth the claimed invention as a method rather a non-transitory computer readable medium, respectively and correspondingly, therefore is rejected under the same reasons set forth in rejections of claims 1-15 and 40-43.
Claims 34, 37-39 and 48-49 are essentially the same as claims 1-15 and 40-43 except that they set forth the claimed invention as a system rather a non-transitory computer readable medium, respectively and correspondingly, therefore is rejected under the same reasons set forth in rejections of claims 1-15 and 40-43.
Response to Arguments
The Examiner respectfully reminds applicant of the broadest reasonable interpretation standard (See MPEP 2111), "During examination, the claims must be interpreted as broadly as their terms reasonably allow." In re American Academy of Science Tech Center, 367 F.3d 1359, 1369, 70 USPQ2d 1827, 1834 (Fed. Cir. 2004) (The USPTO uses a different standard for construing claims than that used by district courts; during examination the USPTO must give claims their broadest reasonable interpretation.) In Phillips v. AWH Corp., 415 F.3d 1303, 75 USPQ2d 1321 (Fed. Cir. 2005), the court further elaborated on the “broadest reasonable interpretation" standard and recognized that “The Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO") determines the scope of claims in patent applications not solely on the basis of the claim language, but upon giving claims their broadest reasonable construction." Thus, when interpreting claims, the courts have held that Examiners should (1) interpret claim terms as broadly as their terms reasonably allows and (2) interpret claim phrases as broadly as their construction reasonably allows.
Applicant’s arguments filed 12/23/2025 with respect to claims 1-15 and 28, 31-34, 37-49 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection necessitated by applicant's amendment to the claims. Applicant's newly amended features are taught implicitly, expressly, or impliedly by the prior art of record (See the new ground(s) of rejection set forth herein above).
The Examiner respectfully submits that, with respect to the totally newly amended subject matter, the Examiner respectfully cited proper paragraphs from cited reference to reject the claim in responsive to the newly amended, please refer to the corresponding section of the office action.
Additional Art Considered
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to the Applicants’ disclosure.
The following patents and papers are cited to further show the state of the art at the time of Applicants’ invention with respect to data analytics systems for file systems, including distributed file servers hosting file systems, wherein analytics systems construct paths for directories in the file system based on the metadata and/or event data and store a path table including a complete path name for each directory.
a. Jarvis et al. (US PGPUB 2019/0034453, hereafter Jarvis); “Flexible Synchronous File System Replication” discloses “replicating a file system (FS) that stores a file in a first location in a first data storage device, the apparatus comprising a query circuit configured to generate a spatial query that identifies a primary directory tree in the FS, and to receive a response to the query from the FS, where the response identifies a range of the primary directory tree in which a changed file may be found; a scan filter circuit configured to generate a scan filter based on the response, where the scan filter defines a portion of the primary directory tree that is smaller than the primary directory tree to search for a changed file; and a replication circuit configured to scan the portion of the primary directory tree, and upon detecting a changed file, replicate the changed file from the first location to a different location”.
Jarvis also discloses object level in file system and Scanning a portion of the primary directory tree defined by the scan filter does not include tree walking the entire directory tree [0054-0056].
Jarvis further teaches querying inodes and btrees which have TID ranges bracketing the TID of interest [0081-0082].
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TUAN A PHAM whose telephone number is (571)270-3173. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:45 AM - 6:30 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, Tony Mahmoudi can be reached on 571-272-4078. 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.
/TUAN A PHAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2163