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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
As required by M.P.E.P. 609(c), the Applicant's submissions of the Information Disclosure Statement is acknowledged by the examiner and the cited references have been considered in the examination of the claims now pending. As required by M.P.E.P. 609 C(2), a copy of the PTOL-1449 initialed and dated by the examiner is attached to the instant office action.
Applicant’s Information Disclosure Statement has been received, entered into the record, and considered. See attached form PTO-1449.
Examiner’s Remarks
Claims 1-6, 24-38, 74-83 and 87-91 are withdrawn as of December 15, 2025, with traverse.
Claims 10-12, and 14-20, are examined.
This application contains 1-6, 24-38, 74-83 and 87-91 are drawn to an invention nonelected with traverse.
Applicant is reminded that upon the cancellation of claims, 1-6, 24-38, 74-83 and 87-91, to a non-elected invention, the inventorship must be amended in compliance with 37 CFR 1.48(b) if one or more of the currently named inventors is no longer an inventor of at least one claim remaining in the application. Any amendment of inventorship must be accompanied by a request under 37 CFR 1.48(b) and by the fee required under 37 CFR 1.17(i).
Applicant is reminded that upon the cancellation of claims to a non-elected invention with Applicant’s amendment and response to this Non-final office action.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claim Objections
Regarding Claim 18, this claim is objected to because the claim(s) recite, "if … determined". Since the limitation of "moving" is recited in the alternative (claim language suggests that the "used" may or may not take place). Any functionality followed by the phrase "if " does not hold patentable weight.
Appropriate corrections are required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claim 18 is 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Examiner is unclear as to what the Applicant means by the claimed, “it” (lines 3 and 5). Examiner cannot determine what “it’ refers to in the claim.
Appropriate clarification, correction and explanation is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 10-12 and 14-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by C. Wu et al., (US Publication No. 2019/0380033 A1 and Wu hereinafter) .
The applied reference has a common assignee with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2). This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B) if the same invention is not being claimed; or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed in the reference and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement.
Regarding Claim 10, Wu teaches a method performed by a User Equipment 'UE', the method comprising:
receiving, from the Non-3GPP access element (i.e., Reference point between the untrusted non-3GPP access and the N3IWF for the transport of UE user plane) Para [0033], a list of networks (i.e., database) Para [0012] , via each of which the Non-3GPP access element at least has the support for the UE identity privacy (i.e., non-3GPP, access network is provided. The ePDG or N3IWF provide access for a wireless device to a core network over untrusted non 3GPP access. A PWAN or TWAG provide access for a wireless device to a core network over trusted non 3GPP access. The method comprises receiving at the gateway from the wireless device a message comprising an anonymous user identity; in response to determining that privacy protection is provided by the gateway, the gateway proceeds with sending a response message comprising a public certificate of the gateway and an authentication code generated by the gateway) Para [0051]; determining, based on the list of networks, whether UE identity privacy should be used for communication (i.e., wireless device 100 comprises a processing module 1301 that sends through a communication module 1303 a message comprising an anonymous user identity. The processing module 1301 receives through the communication module 1303 a request that contains an instruction for obfuscating the user identity and a server certificate. The processing module 1301 stores in the memory/storage module 1302 the server certificate and the corresponding public key and validates the server certificate. If the validation is positive) Para [0213] with a Non-3rd Generation Partnership Project 'Non-3GPP' access network for the UE (i.e., non-3GPP, access network is provided. The ePDG or N3IWF provide access for a wireless device to a core network over untrusted non 3GPP access. A PWAN or TWAG provide access for a wireless device to a core network over trusted non 3GPP access. The method comprises receiving at the gateway from the wireless device a message comprising an anonymous user identity; in response to determining that privacy protection is provided by the gateway, the gateway proceeds with sending a response message comprising a public certificate of the gateway and an authentication code generated by the gateway) Para [0051]; and depending on a result of the determination (i.e., a user plane component, implementing the termination of an Internet Protocol Security, IPSec, secure tunnel between the UE and the N3IWF to provide secure access to the 5GCN over the untrusted non-3GPP access to the UE) Para [0028], transmitting, to a Non-3GPP access element in the Non-3GPP access network, a request message for access authentication that comprises an identity of the UE (i.e., providing identity privacy over a trusted or untrusted non-3GPP access network in a wireless communication system are disclosed. In some embodiments, a method of operation of a wireless device comprises sending a message to a gateway (ePDG, N3IWF or TWAG) where the message comprises an anonymous user identity; receiving a request for obfuscating the user identity wherein the request comprises a server certificate; and validating the server certificate and sending a response message back to the gateway) (Abstract).
Regarding Claim 11, Wu teaches wherein it is determined whether the UE identity privacy should be used for communication with the Non-3GPP access network for the UE further based on at least one of: configuration of the UE; or information about a home network of the UE (i.e., the UE accesses the trusted WLAN as specified in 3GPP TS 33.402 for 3GPP defined trusted WLAN, the UE shall be authenticated via an Extended Authentication Protocol, EAP authentication exchanged between the UE and the Authorization, Authentication and Accounting, AAA ) Para [0005].
Regarding Claim 12, Wu teaches comprising: receiving or preconfiguring the configuration of the UE, which comprises: information indicating whether the UE has support for the UE identity privacy (i.e., the UE accesses the trusted WLAN as specified in 3GPP TS 33.402 for 3GPP defined trusted WLAN, the UE shall be authenticated via an Extended Authentication Protocol, EAP authentication exchanged between the UE and the Authorization, Authentication and Accounting, AAA) Para [0005].
Regarding Claim 14, Wu teaches wherein the Non-3GPP access element, via each network in the list of networks, further has support for connectivity with an entity for Authentication, Authorization and Accounting 'AAA' for access authentication (i.e., ePDG forwards the EAP-Response/AKA-Challenge message to the AAA Server. At step 8a, the AAA checks, if the authentication response is correct) Para [0016] and (i.e., initiate the request of the real user identity through the IKE_AUTH response message without triggering user authentication procedure towards the AAA server) Para [0132].
Regarding Claim 15, Wu teaches further comprising: receiving, from the home network, the information about the home network indicating whether the home network has support for the UE identity privacy (i.e., the UE shall send the configuration payload (CFG_REQUEST) within the IKE_AUTH request message to obtain an IPv4 and/or IPV6 home IP Address and/or a Home Agent Address.) Para [0010].
Regarding Claim 16, Wu teaches wherein the information about the home network indicating whether the home network has support for the UE identity privacy is carried in a UE Parameter Update 'UPU' procedure or a Steering of Roaming 'SoR' procedure (i.e., the UE 100 determines that the certificate is not valid, because the certificate does not belong to the UE's trusted CA list or belongs to UE's trusted CA but it does not contain UE's operator or partner operators, the UE 100 therefore fails to verify the received CERT and treats the ePDG 101 as untrusted gateway. Consequently, the UE 100 may abort the authentication and connection request and does not proceed with providing the real user identity to gateway as it determines that the gateway is untrusted) Para [0140].
Regarding Claim 17, Wu teaches wherein the support for the UE identity privacy comprises support for the UE identity privacy for Non-3GPP access authentication (i.e., providing identity privacy over a trusted or untrusted non-3GPP access network in a wireless communication system are disclosed. In some embodiments, a method of operation of a wireless device comprises sending a message to a gateway (ePDG, N3IWF or TWAG) where the message comprises an anonymous user identity; receiving a request for obfuscating the user identity wherein the request comprises a server certificate; and validating the server certificate and sending a response message back to the gateway ) (Abstract).
Regarding Claim 18, Wu teaches wherein the request message for access authentication comprises a concealed identity of the UE, if it is determined that the UE identity privacy should be used, and the request message for access authentication comprises a first identity of the UE should be used, if it is determined that the UE identity privacy should not be used (i.e., check capabilities of the gateway to provide privacy protection of the user identity; send a response to the message comprising public certificate of the gateway and an authentication code when the capabilities indicate support for privacy protection of the user identity; and forward the message to a trusted entity (102) when the capabilities indicate non-support for privacy protection of the user identity, wherein the message comprises the anonymous user identity) Para [0271] and [0272].
Regarding Claim 19, Wu teaches wherein the concealed identity of the UE comprises a Subscription Concealed Identifier 'SUCI' of the UE, and the first identity of the UE comprises an International Mobile Subscriber Identification 'IMSI' of the UE (i.e., The user identity shall be compliant with Network Access Identifier (NAI) format specified in 3GPP TS 23.003, containing the IMSI or the pseudonym, as defined for EAP-AKA in IETF RFC 4187. The UE shall send the configuration payload (CFG_REQUEST) within the IKE_AUTH request message to obtain an IPv4 and/or IPV6 home IP Address and/or a Home Agent Address) Para [0010] and (i.e., authentication vectors (if these parameters are not available in the AAA Server). The AAA Server shall lookup the IMSI of the authenticated user based on the received user identity (root NAI or pseudonym) and include the EAP-AKA as requested authentication) Para [0012].
Regarding Claim 20, Wu teaches wherein the communication with the Non-3GPP access network comprises Non-Seamless Wireless Local Access Network Offload 'NSWO' from the Non-3GPP access network for the UE (i.e., access network, New RAN (also known as G-UTRAN or NextGen RAN or NG RAN), that supports the Evolved Long Term Evolution, eLTE eNBs and/or the new radio access network technology, NR (also known as G-UTRA) base stations, BS, also referred to as 5G NodeB, 5G NB, or gNB, and/or, other non-3GPP access network such as Wireless Local Area Network, WLAN) Para [0023] and Para [0039].
Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Wu et al., (US Patent Publication No. 20190380033 A1), “User Identity Privacy Protection In Public Wireless Local Access Network, WLAN, Access” (December 12, 2019).
Communication
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DIANE D MIZRAHI whose telephone number is 571- 272-4079. The examiner can normally be reached on 7:30-3:30 PM (7:30 - 4:30 p.m.).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alison T. Slater can be reached on (571) 270-0375. The fax phone numbers for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned are (703) 872-9306 for regular communications and for After Final communication.
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/DIANE D MIZRAHI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2647
Diane.Mizrahi@USPTO.gov