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
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 and 2 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention.
Regarding claims 1 and 2, the newly added limitation “select a Stand-alone Non-Public Network (SNPN) as an Onboarding Network based on the Default UE credentials” was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. The specification states that the UE holds default credential before an actual onboarding procedure. The specification as a whole fail to describe the specific limitation of “select a Stand-alone Non-Public Network (SNPN) as an Onboarding Network based on the Default UE credentials” as claimed and, therefore, the claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Applicant is welcomed to point out where in the specification the Examiner can find support for this limitation if Applicant believes otherwise.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kedalagudde et al. (2021/0058784; Cited in IDS).
Regarding claim 1 and 2, Kedalagudde discloses a User Equipment (UE) and a communication control method performed by the UE, the method comprising:
in a case that the UE is configured with Default UE credentials (paragraphs [0007], [0071]; e.g., the UE 502 only has credentials provided by a device manufacturer (MFG), which may be referred to as “manufacturer credentials” or “MFG credentials. The MFG credentials may be “default UE credentials,” which is/are information that the UE 502 has before the actual onboarding procedure to make it uniquely identifiable and verifiably secure), selecting a Stand-alone Non-Public Network (SNPN) as an Onboarding Network based on the Default UE credentials (paragraphs [0028]-[0029]; e.g., the UE 502 selects and attempts to register with the available SNPN identified by a PLMN ID and NID for which the UE 502 has SUPI and credentials) and (paragraph [0081]; e.g., the onboarding process the UE 502 gets access granted to an O-SNPN 210 based on, for example, the default UE credentials); and
performing a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session establishment procedure with the SNPN (paragraphs [0092]-[0093], [0099]; e.g., The UE 502 establishes a Configuration PDU session. This PDU Session may be established either to a well-known or pre-configured S-NSSAI or DNN, or a combination of S-NSSAI and DNN sent by the UE 502).
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 TIMOTHY X PHAM whose telephone number is (571)270-7115. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 8:30-5:00.
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, Resha Desai can be reached at 571-270-7792. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TIMOTHY X PHAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3648