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 Amendment/Remarks
This communication is considered fully responsive to the amendment filed on 07/17/2026 .
Claims 1-14, 16-22 are pending and are examined in this office action.
Claims 1-14, 16- 20 have been amended.
New claim 22 has been added and claims 15, 21 has been canceled.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed on 07/17/2026 , with respect to claims have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any of the references being used in the current rejection. The Examiner found features modified to claims, i.e claim 1 as
“
(Currently Amended) A first user equipment (UE)for wireless communication, comprising:
at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and operable to cause the first UE to:
establish a Uu radio resource control (RRC) connection between the first UE and a base station (BS);
establish a PC5 RRC connection between the first UE and a second UE, wherein the first UE is a relay UE, and wherein the second UE is outside of a coverage area of a serving cell of the BS; and
transmit, to the second UE, a notification associated with a radio link failure (RLF) of the Uu RRC connection between the first UE and the BS,
wherein the notification indicates that the second UE is to suspend a data radio bearer (DRB) terminated in the BS.”
that have changed the scope of the invention, Therefore, Applicant’s remarks regarding rejection under 35 U.S.C 103 for the claims are moot. Applicant's remarks are considered as forward looking statement for the newly reconstructed claims.
In view of the applicant’s amendment to the claims, the examiner has clarified and remapped the rejection to the argued claim limitations in details, using the prior art of record in the current prosecution of the claims. See below with new mapping.
Regarding all dependent claims: the applicant alleges that all dependent claims are allowable since they depend from all the independent claims above. The examiner respectfully disagrees in view of the above explanation of independent claims. Thus the rejection is deemed proper.
Examiner’s NOTE: there are lots of “OR” option or “at least one of” options throughout the claims. The examiner will only address one of those options in the rejection below unless otherwise mention.
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.
Claims 1-14, 16-20, 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over 3GPP TSG-RAN WG2 Meeting #111e; R2-2007101 (Online, August 17th – 28th 2020; Agenda Item: 8.7.3; Source: Apple; Title: Discussion on Control Plane mechanisms for Layer 2 Relay ; Document for: Decision ; hereinafter as “3GppR22007101”;Provided in Prior Art Listing dated 11/26/2024 ) in view of HU et al. (US 20230113249 A1; hereinafter as “HU”).
Examiner’s note: in what follows, references are drawn to 3GPPR22007101 unless otherwise mentioned.
With respect to independence claim:
Regarding claim 1, 3GPPR22007101 teaches,
A first user equipment (UE) (see figure 1.Fig. 2: Relay UE which in connects with UE and gNB in wireless communication ) for wireless communication, comprising:
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at least one memory (Relay UE must have memory); and
at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and operable to cause the first UE to (relay UE(==First UE in claim ) must have a processor; (processor and memory must be connected together):
establish a Uu radio resource control (RRC) connection between the first UE (==Relay UE in Fig. 1-2) and a base station (BS) (==gNB in Fig. 1-2) (see fig. 1-2 where Relay UE established UU-RRC connection to gNB (==Base Station in Claim); Aforesaid Relay UE has UU-RRC connection with gNB in Fig. 1-2; “relay UE has ….. a Uu RRC connection to the gNB.”: Section 2.1 );
establish a PC5 RRC connection between the first UE and a second UE (==Remote UE in Fig. 1-2) (aforesaid Relay UE has PC5-RRC connection with Remote UE; “relay UE has a PC5-RRC connection with Remote UE …. ”: Section 2.1 ) ;
wherein the first UE is a relay UE (==Relay UE in Fig. 1-2) and wherein the second UE is of a coverage area of a serving cell of the BS (see fig. 1 and Fig. 2: Relay UE and gNB are connected and Relay UE and Remote UE are connected. “ Remote UE connects to the Relay UE; ”: “Relay UE only conducts “paging via relay” operation for the remote UE which is currently connected to the relay UE. ” : Remote UE connects to gNB through Relay UE: Section 2.2; NOTE : Crossed/Missed limitation will be addressed by another reference below. )
and
transmit, to the second UE (==Remote UE in Fig. 1-2), a associated with a radio link failure (RLF) of the Uu RRC connection between the first UE (==Relay UE in Fig. 1-2) and the BS (==gNB in Fig. 1-2) , wherein the indicates that the second UE (==Remote UE in Fig. 1-2) is to suspend a data radio bearer (DRB) terminated in the BS (When Relay UE detects a radio link failure (RLF) between Relay UE and gNB; aforesaid Relay UE “ inform all its connected remote UE(s) about Uu link RLF, so that remote UE can take necessary actions to continue its connection to NW, e.g., relay reselection” Section 2.1: “ in case of Uu link RLF, relay UE informs all its serving remote UEs about the link failure and pause any relay discovery procedure. ”: “in case of PC5 link RLF, relay UE disconnects the remote UE and informs gNB. ”: Proposal 1-3; NOTE: Crossed/Missed limitation will be addressed by another reference below).
While 3GPPR22007101 teaches, “establish a PC5 RRC connection between the first UE and a second UE, wherein the first UE is a relay UE,” ;
3GPPR22007101 does not expressively disclose:
wherein the second UE is outside of a coverage area of a serving cell of the BS; and
transmit, to the second UE , a notification associated with a radio link failure (RLF) of the Uu RRC connection between the first UE and the BS , wherein the notification indicates that the second UE is to suspend a data radio bearer (DRB) terminated in the BS
HU, in the same field of endeavor, discloses:
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wherein the second UE (==remote UE or UE 501 in Fig 5, also fig. 6: UE 601 remote UE ) is outside of a coverage area of a serving cell of the BS (==Base Station 312A in Fig. 5, Fig. 6, BS 312a) (remote UE 501 and Relay UE 392 or Relay 502 are in PC5 RRC connection and Relay UE 392 (or 502) and Base Station 312a is in Uu RRC connection as shown in Fig. 5 Fig. 1 : Relay UE connect with BS, “ The connection to be established with the network node might be an RRC connection. It might be a Uu RRC connection—i.e., a connection over the Uu interface—for example an NR Uu RRC connection.”: [0089], D2D link are in PC5 RRC connection : [0110]; Remote UE 501 is outside the coverage of serving Base Station 312a in Fig. 5 : “the multi-hop sidelink network is partially within the cellular network coverage 313a provided by network node 312a. More specifically, UEs 392 and 502 are within the coverage area of the network node 312a, i.e. are within communication range of the network node 312a. UE 501 is outside the coverage area of network node 312a, and thus cannot communicate with the network node over the Uu interface.”: [0063]; Radio Link Failure (RLF) can happen between Remote UE 501 and Relay 502/392 in Fig. 5 or between Relay UE 502 and BS : [0140]);
transmit, to the second UE (==remote UE or UE 501 in Fig 5, also fig. 6: UE 601 remote UE ), a notification associated with a radio link failure (RLF) of the Uu RRC connection between the first UE (==Relay UE ) and the BS , wherein the notification indicates that the second UE (==remote UE or UE 501 in Fig 5, also fig. 6: UE 601 remote UE ) is to suspend a data radio bearer (DRB) terminated in the BS ((==Base Station 312A in Fig. 5, Fig. 6, BS 312a) ( Relay UE 502 in Fig. 12 detects a RLF with Network Node 312a in Its Uu interface toward the network node, aforesaid Relay UE 502 sends a “RLF failure notification message to Remote UE 501 . Aforesaid Remote UE 501 releases/or end traffic from remote UE 501 and the network Node [0138]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of 3GPPR22007101 to include the above recited limitations as taught by HU. The suggestion/motivation would be to provide public safety communications, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, the internet-of-things (IoT), and wearable devices without support from serving base station. (HU; [0002]-[0005]).
Regarding claim 6, 3GPPR22007101 teaches, A second user equipment (UE) for wireless communication (see fig. 1, Fig. 2: remote UE is in communication with Relay UE and through Relay UE to gNB in Fig. 1, Fig. 2 ), comprising:
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at least one memory (Remote UE must have memory ); and
at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and operable to cause the second UE (see fig. 1, Fig. 2: remote UE is in communication with Relay UE and through Relay UE to gNB in Fig. 1, Fig. 2 ), to:
establish a PC5 radio resource control (RRC) connection betweenthe second UE and a first UE (Relay UE in Fig. 1-2) (aforesaid Remote UE has PC5-RRC connection with RELAY UE; “relay UE has a PC5-RRC connection with Remote UE …. ”: Section 2.1 ),
wherein a Uu RRC connection between the first UE and a base station (BS) (==gNB in Fig. 1) has been established (see fig. 1 where Relay UE (==first UE ) established UU-RRC connection to gNB (==Base Station in Claim); Aforesaid Relay UE (==first UE in claim ) has UU-RRC connection with gNB in Fig. 1; “ relay UE has ….. a Uu RRC connection to the gNB.”: Section 2.1 );
wherein the first UE is a relay UE (==Relay UE in Fig. 1-2) , and wherein the second UE is of a coverage area of a serving cell of the BS (see fig. 1 and Fig. 2: Relay UE and gNB are connected and Relay UE and Remote UE are connected. “ Remote UE connects to the Relay UE; ”: “Relay UE only conducts “paging via relay” operation for the remote UE which is currently connected to the relay UE. ” : Remote UE connects to gNB through Relay UE: Section 2.2; NOTE : Crossed/Missed limitation will be addressed by another reference below);
receive, from the first UE(==Relay UE in Fig. 1-2) , a associated with a radio link failure (RLF) of the Uu RRC connection between the first UE (==RELAY UE ) and the BS (==eNB); and in response to receiving the notification, suspend a data radio bearer (DRB) terminated in the BS (When Relay UE detects a radio link failure (RLF) between Relay UE and gNB; aforesaid Relay UE “ inform all its connected remote UE(s) about Uu link RLF, so that remote UE can take necessary actions to continue its connection to NW, e.g., relay reselection” Section 2.1: “ in case of Uu link RLF, relay UE informs all its serving remote UEs about the link failure and pause any relay discovery procedure. ”: “in case of PC5 link RLF, relay UE disconnects the remote UE and informs gNB. ”: Proposal 1-3; NOTE: Crossed/Missed limitation will be addressed by another reference below).
While 3GPPR22007101 teaches, “establish a PC5 radio resource control (RRC) connection betweenthe second UE and a first UE”,
3GPPR22007101 does not expressively disclose
wherein the second UE is outsideof a coverage area of a serving cell of the BS
receive, from the first UE , a notification associated with a radio link failure (RLF) of the Uu RRC connection between the first UE and the BS; and in response to receiving the notification, suspend a data radio bearer (DRB) terminated in the BS.
HU, in the same field of endeavor, discloses:
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wherein the second UE (==remote UE or UE 501 in Fig 5) is outsideof a coverage area of a serving cell of the BS (==Base Station 312A in Fig. 5, Fig. 6, BS 312a) (remote UE 501 and Relay UE 392 or Relay 502 are in PC5 RRC connection and Relay UE 392 (or 502) and Base Station 312a is in Uu RRC connection as shown in Fig. 5 Fig. 1 : Relay UE connect with BS, “ The connection to be established with the network node might be an RRC connection. It might be a Uu RRC connection—i.e., a connection over the Uu interface—for example an NR Uu RRC connection.”: [0089], D2D link are in PC5 RRC connection : [0110]; Remote UE 501 is outside the coverage of serving Base Station 312a in Fig. 5 : “the multi-hop sidelink network is partially within the cellular network coverage 313a provided by network node 312a. More specifically, UEs 392 and 502 are within the coverage area of the network node 312a, i.e. are within communication range of the network node 312a. UE 501 is outside the coverage area of network node 312a, and thus cannot communicate with the network node over the Uu interface.”: [0063]; Radio Link Failure (RLF) can happen between Remote UE 501 and Relay 502/392 in Fig. 5 or between Relay UE 502 and BS : [0140]);
receive, from the first UE (==Relay UE ), a notification associated with a radio link failure (RLF) of the Uu RRC connection between the first UE and the BS; and in response to receiving the notification, suspend a data radio bearer (DRB) terminated in the BS (==Base Station 312A in Fig. 5, Fig. 6, BS 312a) (==Base Station 312A in Fig. 5, Fig. 6, BS 312a) ( Relay UE 502 in Fig. 12 detects a RLF with Network Node 312a in Its Uu interface toward the network node, aforesaid Relay UE 502 sends a “RLF failure notification message to Remote UE 501 . Aforesaid Remote UE 501 releases/or end traffic from remote UE 501 and the network Node [0138]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of 3GPPR22007101 to include the above recited limitations as taught by HU. The suggestion/motivation would be to provide public safety communications, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, the internet-of-things (IoT), and wearable devices without support from serving base station. (HU; [0002]-[0005]).
Regarding claim 17, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 1.
Regarding claim 22, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 6.
With respect to dependence claim:
Regarding claim 2, 3GPPR22007101 in view of HU teaches The first UE of claim 1, wherein the notification comprises an RLF notification, and wherein the RLF notification is transmitted in response to at least one of:
detecting the RLF of the Uu RRC connection between the first UE and the BS;
performing a fast master cell group (MCG) link recovery procedurebased at least in part on the Uu RRC connection between the first UE and the BS; or performing an RRC re-establishment procedure based at least in part on the Uu RRC connection between the first UE and the BS. ( “, the Relay UE detecting RLF need immediately inform all its connected remote UE(s) about Uu link RLF, so that remote UE can take necessary actions to continue its connection to NW, e.g., relay reselection.”; Section 2.1 Proposal 1).
Regarding claim 3, 3GPPR22007101 in view of HU teaches the invention of claim 1 as set forth above. Further, HU teaches, The first UE of claim 1, wherein the notification comprises a successful recovery notification, and wherein the successful recovery notification is transmitted in response
to at least one of:
successfully completing a fast master cell group (MCG) link recovery procedure based at least in part on the Uu RRC connection between the first UE and the BS; or successfully completing an RRC re-establishment procedure based at least in part on the Uu RRC connection between the first UE and the BS (see fig. 12: recovery procedure after link failure : “ In this example, the radio link failure (RLF) happens between UE 502 and network node 312a (indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 12). The radio link recovery procedures are similar to those described above with respect to FIG. 11. When UE 502 detects RLF only on the communication link towards the network node 312a (e.g. on the Uu interface towards the network node 312a), it may first try to recover the Uu link. If that is not successful, the UE 502 enters an idle/inactive/low powered mode and may send a RLF failure notification message to the UE 501. This is shown at step 1. Both UE 501 and UE 502 may then release the link of that hop (i.e., release the D2D link between UE 501 and UE 502), or just release the per-hop LCH(s)/bearer(s) between the two UEs where the LCH(s)/bearer(s) are used to carry the end to end traffic in communications between UE 501 and the network node 312a. This explicit RLF info may also trigger UE 501 to start the end to end communication resume procedure (step 2). The rest of steps are similar to those described above for FIG. 11. In other words, steps 2 to 7 in FIG. 12 are similar to steps 3 to 8 respectively in FIG. 11.”: [01380; recovery process : [0151]-[0152]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of 3GPPR22007101 to include the above recited limitations as taught by HU. The suggestion/motivation would be to provide public safety communications, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, the internet-of-things (IoT), and wearable devices without support from serving base station. (HU; [0002]-[0005]).
Regarding claim 4, 3GPPR22007101 in view of HU teaches the invention of claim 1 as set forth above. Further, HU teaches The first UE of claim 1, wherein the notification comprises a recovery failure notification, and wherein the recovery failure notification is transmitted in response to at least one of:
a failure to complete an RRC re-establishment procedure based at least in part on the Uu RRC connection between the first UE and the BS; or an expiry of a timer for a transmission of an RRC re-establishment request message ( an indication of failure recovery : [1029]; “ FIG. 11 illustrates an example process for communication connection recovery between wireless devices of a multi-hop sidelink network. In this example, the sidelink network is the network 500 illustrated in FIG. 5. The process illustrated is for the re-establishment of unicast connections between UE 501 and network node 312a for the wireless device to network node sidelink relay. UE 501 might therefore be referred to as a source device, or remote device. UEs 392 and 502 might be referred to as relay devices.
[0124] Initially, there is an end-to-end communication connection between UE 501 and network node 312a over a multi-hop wireless device to network node relay via UE 502.
[0125] UE 501 detects radio link failure (RLF) on the D2D link towards UE 502 during the radio link management (RLM) process. In response, UE 501 releases the access stratum (AS) and non-access stratum (NAS) configurations of the hop between UE 501 and UE 502, but it keeps the end-to-end NAS and AS configuration between UE 501 and the network node 312a. UE 501 then initializes the radio link recovery procedure by sending a communication resume message (over SL), described in step 3 below. ”: [0123]-[-0125] ).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of 3GPPR22007101 to include the above recited limitations as taught by HU. The suggestion/motivation would be to provide public safety communications, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, the internet-of-things (IoT), and wearable devices without support from serving base station. (HU; [0002]-[0005]).
Regarding claim 5, 3GPPR22007101 in view of HU teaches the invention of claim 1 as set forth above. Further, HU teaches,
The first UE of claim 1, wherein the notification is further associated with at least one of an RLF recovery failure of the Uu RRC connection between the first UE and the BS or a successful RLF recovery of the Uu RRC connection between the first UE and the BS, and wherein the notification by comprises at least one of:
a medium access control control element (MAC CE);
RRC signaling; or a control packet data unit (PDU) in an adaptation layer of the first UE ([0122]-[0125]; [0132]; [1037]-[0139).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of 3GPPR22007101 to include the above recited limitations as taught by HU. The suggestion/motivation would be to provide public safety communications, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, the internet-of-things (IoT), and wearable devices without support from serving base station. (HU; [0002]-[0005]).
Regarding claim 11, 3GPPR22007101 in view of HU teaches the invention of claim 6 as set forth above. Further, 3GPPR22007101 teaches , wherein the at least processor is configured to cause the apparatus to:
perform a relay reselection procedure after receiving a notification associated with at least one of:
a radio link failure (RLF) of the link between the relay UE and the BS; or a RLF recovery failure of the link between the relay UE and the BS (reselect a new Relay UE after UU Link fails with RLF : Section 1 Proposal 1).
Regarding claim 12, 3GPPR22007101 in view of HU teaches the invention of claim 6 as set forth above. Further, HU teaches,
The second UE of claim 6, wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the second UE to: perform a relay reselection procedure after receiving the notification (see fig. 5: where OLD RELAY 502 is replace with new RELAY UE 392: [0063]-[00650; [0089]-[0090]]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of 3GPPR22007101 to include the above recited limitations as taught by HU. The suggestion/motivation would be to provide public safety communications, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, the internet-of-things (IoT), and wearable devices without support from serving base station. (HU; [0002]-[0005]).
Regarding claim 13, 3GPPR22007101 in view of HU teaches the invention of claim 6 as set forth above. Further, HU teaches, The second UE of claim 6, wherein in response to receiving the notification, the at least one processor is further operable to cause the second UE to one or more of: initiate a relay discovery procedure; or initiate a relay reselection procedure (see fig. 5: where OLD RELAY 502 is replace with new RELAY UE 392: [0063]-[00650; [0089]-[0090]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of 3GPPR22007101 to include the above recited limitations as taught by HU. The suggestion/motivation would be to provide public safety communications, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, the internet-of-things (IoT), and wearable devices without support from serving base station. (HU; [0002]-[0005]).
Regarding claim 14, 3GPPR22007101 in view of HU teaches the invention of claim 6 as set forth above. Further, HU teaches,
The second UE of claim 6, wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the second UE to: transmit, by an access stratum (AS) layer of the second UE, an indication to a PC5-S layer of the second UE, wherein the indication indicates an occurrence of a failure corresponding to the Uu RRC connection between the first UE and the BS; and transmit, by the PC5-S layer of the second UE, a discovery message to the AS layer of the second UE ( “ UE 501 detects radio link failure (RLF) on the D2D link towards UE 502 during the radio link management (RLM) process. In response, UE 501 releases the access stratum (AS) and non-access stratum (NAS) configurations of the hop between UE 501 and UE 502, but it keeps the end-to-end NAS and AS configuration between UE 501 and the network node 312a. UE 501 then initializes the radio link recovery procedure by sending a communication resume message (over SL), described in step 3 below.”: [0125] ).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of 3GPPR22007101 to include the above recited limitations as taught by HU. The suggestion/motivation would be to provide public safety communications, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, the internet-of-things (IoT), and wearable devices without support from serving base station. (HU; [0002]-[0005]).
Regarding claim 16, 3GPPR22007101 in view of HU teaches the invention of claim 6 as set forth above. Further, HU teaches, The second UE of claim 6, wherein in response to receiving the notification, the at least one processor is further operable to cause the second UE to:
continue to transmit, to the first UE, first data terminated at the first UE; and continue to receive second data from the first UE (see fig. 5-6:[0063]-[0065]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of 3GPPR22007101 to include the above recited limitations as taught by HU. The suggestion/motivation would be to provide public safety communications, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, the internet-of-things (IoT), and wearable devices without support from serving base station. (HU; [0002]-[0005]).
Regarding claim 7, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 2.
Regarding claim 8, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 3.
Regarding claim 9, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 4
Regarding claim 10, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 5.
Regarding claim 18, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 2.
Regarding claim 19, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 3.
Regarding claim 20, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 4.
Regarding claim 21, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 5.
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 M MOSTAZIR RAHMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-4785. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30am-5:00pm PST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Derrick Ferris can be reached at 571-272-3123. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/M Mostazir Rahman/Examiner, Art Unit 2411
/DERRICK W FERRIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2411
Prosecution Insights