DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
I. 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
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
II. A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on August 28, 2026 has been entered.
Allowable Subject Matter
III. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 1 contains allowable subject matter based on the amendments to the claims (see Amendments to the Claims, pages 2-4) and the reasons given in applicant arguments/remarks (see Remarks, pages 8-13) received in the August 28, 2026 response to the Final Office Action dated May 28, 2026.
Claims 2-9 contain allowable subject matter based on their dependence on independent claim 1.
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 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.
IV. Claims 10, 13-14, 17, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu et al. (US 2021/0037426 A1) in view of Lee et al. (US 2017/0303259 A1) and Prasad et al. (US 2019/0274039 A1).
Regarding claim 10 Zhu teaches a method, performed by a communication apparatus, wherein the communication apparatus is a user equipment or a chip for the user equipment (see paragraph [0112] and Fig. 6, The UE reads on communication apparatus that is a user equipment), comprising: sending, by the communication apparatus, a first request message to a first network device that is a first access and mobility management function, wherein the first request message is for requesting to access a second slice (see paragraphs [0125] – [0127] and Fig. 7, The UE transmits a NAS registration request message to the core network via the BS. The registration request message may include requested NSSAI indicating the slice A and the slice B. The core network includes the AMF. This read on sending, by the communication apparatus, a first request message to a first network device that is a first access and mobility management function, wherein the first request message is for requesting to access a second slice).
Zhu does not specifically teach wherein the first registration request message indicates whether the second slice is able to be simultaneously used with another slice.
Lee teaches wherein the first registration request message indicates whether the second slice is able to be simultaneously used with another slice (see paragraphs [0079] & [0123] and Fig. 2, The UE may simultaneously access the plurality of network slice instances through a single RAN. The plurality of network slices instances is allocated to the same UE. The UE sends a registration request to the AMF including the plurality of network slice instances able to be simultaneously used by the UE (see paragraph [0123]). This reads on wherein the first registration request message indicates whether the second slice is able to be simultaneously used with another slice).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the first registration request message in Zhu adapt to include indicating whether the second slice is able to be simultaneously used with another slice because a plurality of slices able to be simultaneously used would allow for a more efficient mechanism for providing a network service to a user equipment (see paragraphs [0003] & [0004]).
Zhu and Lee do not teach receiving, by the communication apparatus, a first indication message from the first network device, wherein the first indication message indicates the user equipment to obtain a second key; and generating, by the communication apparatus, the second key, wherein the second key is for performing security protection on at least one of information about the second slice or information that is in a process in which the user equipment accesses the second slice.
Prasad teaches receiving, by the communication apparatus, a first indication message from the first network device, wherein the first indication message indicates the user equipment to obtain a second key (see paragraphs [0115] – [0116], The core network system, e.g., AMF, transmits information associated with the NSSAI (slice) and the UE Security Capabilities used to generate the security keys to the communication terminal. The communication terminal generates the security keys regarding the NAS security using the information associated with the NSSAU and the UE Security Capabilities transmitted from the core network system. The security keys generated by the communication terminal are similar to the security keys generated int eh core network system. This reads on receiving, by the communication apparatus, a first indication message from the first network device, wherein the first indication message indicates the user equipment to obtain a second key); and generating, by the communication apparatus, the second key, wherein the second key is for performing security protection on at least one of information about the second slice or information that is in a process in which the user equipment accesses the second slice (see paragraphs [0116] & [0117], The communication terminal generates the security keys regarding the NAS security using the information associated with the NSSAU and the UE Security Capabilities transmitted from the core network system. The security keys generated by the communication terminal are similar to the security keys generated int eh core network system. The communication terminal is able to generate the security keys used for the connection to the core network system that provides a desired service. This reads on generating, by the communication apparatus, the second key, wherein the second key is for performing security protection on at least one of information about the second slice or information that is in a process in which the user equipment accesses the second slice).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the Zhu and Lee combination adapt to include receiving, by the communication apparatus, a first indication message from the first network device, wherein the first indication message indicates the user equipment to obtain a second key; and generating, by the communication apparatus, the second key, wherein the second key is for performing security protection on at least one of information about the second slice or information that is in a process in which the user equipment accesses the second slice because it would allow for an efficient and well-known mechanism for facilitating the connection to the core network which provides the desired service (see paragraph [0117]).
Regarding claim 13 Zhu teaches receiving, by the communication apparatus, a registration accept message from the first network device (see paragraphs [0086] & [0133], The initial UE context setup request message may include a NAS registration accept message including the allowed NSSAI. The core network transmits the NAS registration message to the UE (see paragraph [0133]). This reads on receiving, by the communication apparatus, a registration accept message from the first network device).
Regarding claim 14 Zhu teaches a communication terminal, comprising at least one processor )602, Fig. 6) and at least one memory (604, Fig. 6) coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the communication apparatus is a user equipment or a chip for the suer equipment, and wherein the at least one memory stores programming instructions for execution by the at least one processor to cause the communication apparatus to perform operations (see paragraphs [0112] – [0114] and Fig. 6, The UE reads on communication apparatus that is a user equipment) comprising: sending a first request message to a first network device that is a first access and mobility management function, wherein the first request message is for requesting to access a second slice (see paragraphs [0125] – [0127] and Fig. 7, The UE transmits a NAS registration request message to the core network via the BS. The registration request message may include requested NSSAI indicating the slice A and the slice B. The core network includes the AMF. This read on sending a first request message to a first network device that is a first access and mobility management function, wherein the first request message is for requesting to access a second slice).
Zhu does not specifically teach wherein the first registration request message indicates whether the second slice is able to be simultaneously used with another slice.
Lee teaches wherein the first registration request message indicates whether the second slice is able to be simultaneously used with another slice (see paragraphs [0079] & [0123] and Fig. 2, The UE may simultaneously access the plurality of network slice instances through a single RAN. The plurality of network slices instances is allocated to the same UE. The UE sends a registration request to the AMF including the plurality of network slice instances able to be simultaneously used by the UE (see paragraph [0123]). This reads on wherein the first registration request message indicates whether the second slice is able to be simultaneously used with another slice).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the first registration request message in Zhu adapt to include indicating whether the second slice is able to be simultaneously used with another slice because a plurality of slices able to be simultaneously used would allow for a more efficient mechanism for providing a network service to a user equipment (see paragraphs [0003] & [0004]).
Zhu and Lee do not teach receiving a first indication message from the first network device, wherein the first indication message indicates the user equipment to obtain a second key; and generating the second key, wherein the second key is for performing security protection on at least one of information about the second slice or information that is in a process in which the user equipment accesses the second slice.
Prasad teaches receiving a first indication message from the first network device, wherein the first indication message indicates the user equipment to obtain a second key (see paragraphs [0115] – [0116], The core network system, e.g., AMF, transmits information associated with the NSSAI (slice) and the UE Security Capabilities used to generate the security keys to the communication terminal. The communication terminal generates the security keys regarding the NAS security using the information associated with the NSSAU and the UE Security Capabilities transmitted from the core network system. The security keys generated by the communication terminal are similar to the security keys generated int eh core network system. This reads on receiving a first indication message from the first network device, wherein the first indication message indicates the user equipment to obtain a second key); and generating the second key, wherein the second key is for performing security protection on at least one of information about the second slice or information that is in a process in which the user equipment accesses the second slice (see paragraphs [0116] & [0117], The communication terminal generates the security keys regarding the NAS security using the information associated with the NSSAU and the UE Security Capabilities transmitted from the core network system. The security keys generated by the communication terminal are similar to the security keys generated int eh core network system. The communication terminal is able to generate the security keys used for the connection to the core network system that provides a desired service. This reads on generating the second key, wherein the second key is for performing security protection on at least one of information about the second slice or information that is in a process in which the user equipment accesses the second slice).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the Zhu and Lee combination adapt to include receiving a first indication message from the first network device, wherein the first indication message indicates the user equipment to obtain a second key; and generating the second key, wherein the second key is for performing security protection on at least one of information about the second slice or information that is in a process in which the user equipment accesses the second slice because it would allow for an efficient and well-known mechanism for facilitating the connection to the core network which provides the desired service (see paragraph [0117]).
Regarding claim 17 Zhu, Lee, Prasad, and Wu teach limitations as recited in claim 13 and therefore claim 17 is rejected for the same reasons given above.
Regarding claim 19 Zhu teaches wherein the first request message is a registration request message that includes identification information of the communication apparatus (see paragraph [0125], The UE transmits a NAS registration request message to the core network via the BS A. The registration request message may include requested-NSSAI indicating the slice A and the slice B. The UE identity is included in the Registration Request message. This reads on wherein the first request message is a registration request message that includes identification information of the communication apparatus).
Regarding claim 20 Prasad teaches wherein the first indication message is a non-access stratum security mode command message (see paragraphs [0112] & [0115], The core network system 20_1 generates security keys (Keys) using Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) and User Equipment (UE) Security Capabilities in a NAS Security Procedure (it may be referred to as a NAS Security Mode Command (SMC) procedure. This reads on wherein the first indication message is a non-access stratum security mode command message).
V. Claims 11 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu et al. (US 2021/0037426 A1) in view of Lee et al. (US 2017/0303259 A1), Prasad et al. (US 2019/0274039 A1), and Wu et al. (US 2019/0215903 A1)
Regarding claim 11 Zhu, Lee, and Prasad teach the method according to claim 10 except for obtaining, by the communication apparatus, a first key, wherein the first key is for performing security protection on at least one of information about a first slice or information that is in a process in which the user equipment accesses the first slice; and generating, by the communication apparatus, the second key based on the first key.
Wu teaches obtaining, by the communication apparatus, a first key, wherein the first key is for performing security protection on at least one of information about a first slice or information that is in a process in which the user equipment accesses the first slice; and generating, by the communication apparatus, the second key based on the first key (see paragraph [0121], The first shared key is used by the UE to protect secure data transmission in the source network. Therefore, the UE already has the first shared key, and after receiving the target security policy, the UE may generate the second shared key based on the first shared key and the target security policy. This reads on obtaining, by the communication apparatus, a first key, wherein the first key is for performing security protection on at least one of information about a first slice or information that is in a process in which the user equipment accesses the first slice; and generating, by the communication apparatus, the second key based on the first key).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the Zhu, Lee, and Prasad combination adapt to include obtaining, by the communication apparatus, a first key, wherein the first key is for performing security protection on at least one of information about a first slice or information that is in a process in which the user equipment accesses the first slice; and generating, by the communication apparatus, the second key based on the first key because it is well known that a first key can be used to derive a second key for the purposes of deriving security keys as taught in Wu above.
Regarding claim 15 Zhu, Lee, Prasad, and Wu teach limitations as recited in claim 11 and therefore claim 15 is rejected for the same reasons given above.
VI. Claims 12 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu et al. (US 2021/0037426 A1) in view of Lee et al. (US 2017/0303259 A1), Prasad et al. (US 2019/0274039 A1), and Baskaran et al. (WO 2019/160069 A1).
Regarding claim 12 Zhu, Lee, and Prasad teach the method according to claim 10 except for performing, by the communication apparatus, re-authentication with the first network device, and generating, by the communication apparatus, the second key in response to determining that the re0authetnication performed by the communication apparatus with the first network device succeeds.
Baskaran teaches performing, by the communication apparatus, re-authentication with the first network device, and generating, by the communication apparatus, the second key in response to determining that the re0authetnication performed by the communication apparatus with the first network device succeeds (see paragraph [0154], Proposed parameters and security procedures for re-authentication between UE and the 5G core (5G system). Comprising the steps of, 1) The UE may re-authenticate with the network using the Re-auth ID and Re-auth Token. 2) The UE and the network may derive the re-authentication keys such as K'.sub.AUSF and/or K'.sub.SEAF using the key K.sub.AUSF and/or K.sub.SEAF derived during the initial/primary authentication. This reads on performing, by the communication apparatus, re-authentication with the first network device, and generating, by the communication apparatus, the second key in response to determining that the re0authetnication performed by the communication apparatus with the first network device succeeds).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make performing, by the communication apparatus, re-authentication with the first network device, and generating, by the communication apparatus, the second key in response to determining that the re0authetnication performed by the communication apparatus with the first network device succeeds because it would allow for an efficient and well-known mechanism for generating security keys during re-authentication procedures (see Baskaran above).
Regarding claim 16 Zhu, Lee, Prasad, and Baskaran teach limitations as recited in claim 12 and therefore claim 16 is rejected for the same reasons given above.
Response to Arguments
VII. Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 10-17 and 19-20 have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
VIII. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Henda et al. WO 2020/151798 A1 discloses network slice authentication including a source AMF creating a new security context using the current AMF key, wherein the source AMF derives a second AMF key using the current AMF key (see page 20, lines 15-20).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRANDON J MILLER whose telephone number is (571)272-7869. The examiner can normally be reached M-F.
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/BRANDON J MILLER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2647
September 5, 2026
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