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
Following response to arguments is based on Applicant’s arguments filed on 04 November 2025.
Regarding Previous Claim Objections
Previous rejection to claims 3, 5, 8, 11, 13, 16, 18 has been withdrawn in view of the amendment to the objected claims.
Regarding Previous Rejection Under 35 USC § 102
Applicant’s arguments [Pages 17-23] with respect to rejection of claims 1 and 9 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments [Pages 23-26] with respect to rejection of claim 17 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of newly found prior art reference(s).
Regarding claim 17, on pages 23-26, Applicant argues that prior art of record fails to teach the incorporated limitations.
Newly found reference Yang discloses a system (Fig. 1), where a UE receives from a first network information about a target network, where the received information comprises indicators about registration of the UE into the target network, identifiers for the UE to access the target network, PLMN indicators, SNPN indicators, SNPN granularity, and/or indicators granularity [Paragraphs 152, 248-249, 253, 266, 268-270, 302].
Therefore, in view of the above reasons, the Examiner maintains the rejections.
Claim Status
Claims 1, 3, 5, 8-9, 11, 13, 16-17, 20 have been amended. Claims 2, 4, 10, 12, 18-19 have been canceled. Claims 21-26 have been added. Thus, claims 1, 3, 5-9, 11, 13-17, 20-26 are presented for examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 – Second Paragraph
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(B) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1, 3, 5-9, 11, 13-16, 21-23, 24-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
For claim 1:
At line 9, it is unclear whether it should be “target cell in the case where”.
At line 11, it is unclear whether it should be “target cell in the case where”.
At line 15, it is unclear whether it should be “and that the at least one item in the first”.
At line 16, it is unclear whether it should be “the at least one item in the second”.
For claim 3:
At line 12, it is unclear whether it should be “with the network identity of the”.
At line 13, it is unclear whether it should be “or the SNPN registered… or the”.
For claim 9:
This claim is rejected as applied to claim 1.
For claim 11:
This claim is rejected as applied to claim 3.
For claims 3, 5-8, 11, 13-16, 21-26:
These claims are also rejected as they depend upon a rejected claim.
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 of this title, 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 17 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chami (US Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0111759) in view of Yang et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0174575).
Regarding claim 17, Chami teaches a network device (Fig. 3), comprising:
a processor ([Paragraphs 8, 67]);
a transceiver coupled to the processor ([Paragraph 67]); and
a memory for storing program codes executable by the processor ([Paragraph 75]);
wherein the processor is configured to send first configuration information to a terminal device (UE 1 receives commands to search and reselect a cell [Paragraphs 12-13, 85]);
[
.
However, Chami does not explicitly mention:
wherein the first configuration information comprises configuration information corresponding to a third-party network, and the third-party network is a network other than a subscribed network of the terminal device, wherein the first configuration information comprises at least one of the following: Stand-alone Non-public Network (SNPN) configuration information; or first indication information indicating whether authentication of the terminal device is allowed to be performed through a third-party network; or first group identity information that allows the authentication of the terminal device to be performed through the third-party network, wherein the group identity information comprises multiple network identities; or second indication information indicating whether the terminal device is allowed to initiate a request for authentication by the third-party network in a case where at least one item in first configuration information broadcast by the cell does not match at least one item in second configuration information maintained by the terminal device; or third indication information indicating whether the terminal device is allowed to access a cell of a third-party network and obtain subscription information; or second group identity information that allows the terminal device to access the cell of the third-party network and obtain the subscription information; or fourth indication information indicating whether a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), a SNPN, access control configuration information, a Closed Access Group (CAG) or a temporary network identity allows emergency communication, and wherein granularity of the SNPN configuration information in the first configuration information is cell granularity, and the granularity of the first indication information, the first group identity information, the second indication information, the third indication information, the second group identity information and the fourth indication information is SNPN granularity.
Yang teaches, in a similar field of endeavor of communication systems, the following:
wherein the first configuration information comprises configuration information corresponding to a third-party network, and the third-party network is a network other than a subscribed network of the terminal device, wherein the first configuration information comprises at least one of the following: Stand-alone Non-public Network (SNPN) configuration information; or first indication information indicating whether authentication of the terminal device is allowed to be performed through a third-party network; or first group identity information that allows the authentication of the terminal device to be performed through the third-party network, wherein the group identity information comprises multiple network identities; or second indication information indicating whether the terminal device is allowed to initiate a request for authentication by the third-party network in a case where at least one item in first configuration information broadcast by the cell does not match at least one item in second configuration information maintained by the terminal device; or third indication information indicating whether the terminal device is allowed to access a cell of a third-party network and obtain subscription information; or second group identity information that allows the terminal device to access the cell of the third-party network and obtain the subscription information; or fourth indication information indicating whether a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), a SNPN, access control configuration information, a Closed Access Group (CAG) or a temporary network identity allows emergency communication, and wherein granularity of the SNPN configuration information in the first configuration information is cell granularity, and the granularity of the first indication information, the first group identity information, the second indication information, the third indication information, the second group identity information and the fourth indication information is SNPN granularity (Yang discloses a system (Fig. 1), where a UE receives from a first network information about a target network, where the received information comprises indicators about registration of the UE into the target network, identifiers for the UE to access the target network, PLMN indicators, SNPN indicators, SNPN granularity, and/or indicators granularity [Paragraphs 152, 248-249, 253, 266, 268-270, 302]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communication system (as taught by Chami) by implementing granularity (as taught by Yang) for the purpose of processing network sessions (Yang – Paragraph 7).
Regarding claim 20, Yang further teaches the network device according to claim 17, wherein the first configuration information comprises an SNPN network identity ([Paragraphs 152, 248-249, 253, 266, 268-270, 302]).
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 FABRICIO R MURILLO GARCIA whose telephone number is (571)270-5708. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5pm.
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February 10, 2026
/FABRICIO R MURILLO GARCIA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2633