Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 27, 2026
Application No. 18/410,867

SHARED BANDS FOR MULTIPLE NETWORKS

Non-Final OA §101§103
Filed
Jan 11, 2024
Examiner
ZAIDI, IQBAL
Art Unit
2472
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Qualcomm Incorporated
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
90%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
97%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 90% — above average
90%
Career Allowance Rate
1119 granted / 1238 resolved
+32.4% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+6.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
27 currently pending
Career history
1279
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
6.9%
-33.1% vs TC avg
§103
49.8%
+9.8% vs TC avg
§102
14.1%
-25.9% vs TC avg
§112
15.7%
-24.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1238 resolved cases

Office Action

§101 §103
DETAILED ACTION The instant application having application No 18/410,867 filed on 04/29/2026 is presented for examination by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: (a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made. Claims 1-20 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable LIU et al. (U.S 20220216906, Jul. 7, 2022) in view of XUE et al. (US 20230164804, May 25, 2023). Regarding Claim 1, LIU discloses a user equipment (UE), comprising one or more memories storing processor-executable code; and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to transmit, to a first network, a measurement of a signal received from a second network(page 8, par(0113), line 1-10, the first connection between the first network node and the terminal device used for a first cell of the terminal device, and the second connection between the second network node and the terminal device used for a second cell of the terminal device); receive, from the first network, information for sharing a frequency band between the first network and the second network, wherein the information for sharing the frequency band is based at least in part on the measurement of the signal received from the second network(page 8, par(0113), line 1-10, the first cell and the second cell may share radio resource such as a specific frequency band, so that measurements on the specific frequency band reported by the terminal device over one of the first connection and the second connection utilized by both the first network node and the second network node, the first cell and the second cell of the terminal device based on the same RAT or different RATs). LIU discloses all aspects of the claimed invention, except transmit, to the second network, the information for sharing the frequency band between the first network and the second network. XUE is the same field of invention teaches transmit, to the second network, the information for sharing the frequency band between the first network and the second network (page 1, par(0009), line 1-10, a first base station (BS) receiving second network information of a second BS from the second BS in the wireless communication system, wherein the first BS supports a wireless access scheme that is different from a wireless access scheme of the second BS and shares a same frequency band with the second BS; determining a resource allocation ratio between the first BS and the second BS according to a predefined resource allocation scheme based on first network information of the first BS and the second network information of the second BS; and transmitting information on the resource allocation ratio to the second BS). LIU and XUE l analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor of access to a service device. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the based information for sharing the frequency band between the first network and the second network the teaching of LIU to include the a first base station (BS) receiving second network information of a second BS from the second BS in the wireless communication system the teaching of XUE because it is providing a multi-wireless access function using a frequency spectrum re-farming scheme, the multi-wireless communication system of referred to as a spectrum re-farming system. Regarding Claim 2, LIU discloses the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to: receive, from the first network, a configuration for the UE to use to measure the signal from the second network; and receive, from the second network, the signal to generate the measurement of the signal from the second network using the configuration received from the first network (page 7, par(0095), line 1-10, the terminal device may be capable of communicating with the first network node over a first connection, the first network node transmit first measurement information based at least in part on the first measurement report to a second network node, the terminal device capable of communicating with the second network node over a second connection). Regarding Claim 3, LIU discloses to transmit the information for sharing the frequency band, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to transmit the information in an enhanced broadcast service (EBCS) uplink frame (page 6, par (0081), line 1-10, the inter-RAT channel information and measurement information sharing between 4G/LTE and 5G/NR make the LTE and NR nodes benefit from each other and enhance the network performance of the two RATs efficiently). Regarding Claim 4, LIU discloses to receive the information for sharing the frequency band, the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to receive the information from a broadcast via a system information block (SIB) (page 8, par(0113), line 1-10, the first cell and the second cell may share radio resource such as a specific frequency band, so that measurements on the specific frequency band reported by the terminal device over one of the first connection and the second connection utilized by both the first network node and the second network node, the first cell and the second cell of the terminal device based on the same RAT or different RATs). Regarding Claim 5, LIU discloses all aspects of the claimed invention, except the information for sharing the frequency band comprises a certificate associated with the first network, a control indication to vacate a channel of the frequency band, a control indication to reduce transmit power in a channel of the frequency band, an indication of a time period for one or more control indications, an indication of time, an identifier of the first network, or any combination thereof. XUE is the same field of invention teaches the information for sharing the frequency band comprises a certificate associated with the first network, a control indication to vacate a channel of the frequency band, a control indication to reduce transmit power in a channel of the frequency band, an indication of a time period for one or more control indications, an indication of time, an identifier of the first network, or any combination thereof (page 1, par(0009), line 1-10, a first base station (BS) receiving second network information of a second BS from the second BS in the wireless communication system, wherein the first BS supports a wireless access scheme that is different from a wireless access scheme of the second BS and shares a same frequency band with the second BS; determining a resource allocation ratio between the first BS and the second BS according to a predefined resource allocation scheme based on first network information of the first BS and the second network information of the second BS; and transmitting information on the resource allocation ratio to the second BS). Regarding Claim 6, LIU discloses the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to: perform licensed communication with the first network based at least in part on the information for sharing the frequency band or unlicensed communication with the second network based at least in part on the information for sharing the frequency band(page 8, par(0113), line 1-10, the first cell and the second cell may share radio resource such as a specific frequency band, so that measurements on the specific frequency band reported by the terminal device over one of the first connection and the second connection utilized by both the first network node and the second network node, the first cell and the second cell of the terminal device based on the same RAT or different RATs). Regarding Claim 7, LIU discloses one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to: receive one or more parameters from the second network, the one or more parameters associated with one or more signaling criteria for the first network to accommodate the second network in the frequency band; and transmit the one or more parameters to the first network (page 7, par (0091), line 1-10, the measurement information from the gNB used to adjust or correct other measurements on the LTE band, eNB adjust resource allocation and transmission configuration such as channel parameters (e.g., the channel rank), control information, modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and/or the like for communication with the UE). Regarding Claim 8, LIU discloses network entity, comprising one or more memories storing processor-executable code; and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to obtain, at a first network from a user equipment (UE), a measurement of a signal received at the UE from a second network(page 8, par(0113), line 1-10, the first connection between the first network node and the terminal device may be used for a first cell of the terminal device, and the second connection between the second network node and the terminal device may be used for a second cell of the terminal device); and output, to the UE from the first network, information for sharing a frequency band between the first network and the second network(page 8, par(0113), line 1-10, the first cell and the second cell may share radio resource such as a specific frequency band, so that measurements on the specific frequency band reported by the terminal device over one of the first connection and the second connection utilized by both the first network node and the second network node, the first cell and the second cell of the terminal device based on the same RAT or different RATs). LIU discloses all aspects of the claimed invention, except the information for sharing the frequency band is based at least in part on the measurement of the signal received from the second network. XUE is the same field of invention teaches the information for sharing the frequency band is based at least in part on the measurement of the signal received from the second network (page 1, par(0009), line 1-10, a first base station (BS) receiving second network information of a second BS from the second BS in the wireless communication system, wherein the first BS supports a wireless access scheme that is different from a wireless access scheme of the second BS and shares a same frequency band with the second BS; determining a resource allocation ratio between the first BS and the second BS according to a predefined resource allocation scheme based on first network information of the first BS and the second network information of the second BS; and transmitting information on the resource allocation ratio to the second BS). LIU and XUE l analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor of access to a service device. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the based information for sharing the frequency band between the first network and the second network the teaching of LIU to include the a first base station (BS) receiving second network information of a second BS from the second BS in the wireless communication system the teaching of XUE because it is providing a multi-wireless access function using a frequency spectrum re-farming scheme, the multi-wireless communication system of referred to as a spectrum re-farming system. Regarding Claim 9, LIU discloses the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to output, to the UE from the first network, a configuration for the UE to use to measure the signal from the second network, wherein the measurement of the signal is based at least in part on the configuration of the UE(page 7, par(0095), line 1-10, the terminal device may be capable of communicating with the first network node over a first connection, the first network node transmit first measurement information based at least in part on the first measurement report to a second network node, the terminal device capable of communicating with the second network node over a second connection). Regarding Claim 10, LIU discloses to output the information for sharing the frequency band, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to broadcast the information via a system information block (SIB) (page 8, par(0113), line 1-10, the first cell and the second cell may share radio resource such as a specific frequency band, so that measurements on the specific frequency band reported by the terminal device over one of the first connection and the second connection utilized by both the first network node and the second network node, the first cell and the second cell of the terminal device based on the same RAT or different RATs). Regarding Claim 11, LIU discloses all aspects of the claimed invention, except the information for sharing the frequency band comprises a certificate associated with the first network, a control indication to vacate a channel of the frequency band, a control indication to reduce transmit power in a channel of the frequency band, an indication of a time period for one or more control indications, an indication of time, an identifier of the first network, or any combination thereof. XUE is the same field of invention teaches the information for sharing the frequency band comprises a certificate associated with the first network, a control indication to vacate a channel of the frequency band, a control indication to reduce transmit power in a channel of the frequency band, an indication of a time period for one or more control indications, an indication of time, an identifier of the first network, or any combination thereof (page 1, par(0009), line 1-10, a first base station (BS) receiving second network information of a second BS from the second BS in the wireless communication system, wherein the first BS supports a wireless access scheme that is different from a wireless access scheme of the second BS and shares a same frequency band with the second BS; determining a resource allocation ratio between the first BS and the second BS according to a predefined resource allocation scheme based on first network information of the first BS and the second network information of the second BS; and transmitting information on the resource allocation ratio to the second BS). Regarding Claim 12, LIU discloses the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to obtain a measurement report from the UE indicating that a channel of the frequency band is vacated; and discontinue outputting the information for sharing the frequency band based at least in part on the measurement report(page 8, par(0113), line 1-10, the first cell and the second cell may share radio resource such as a specific frequency band, so that measurements on the specific frequency band reported by the terminal device over one of the first connection and the second connection utilized by both the first network node and the second network node, the first cell and the second cell of the terminal device based on the same RAT or different RATs). Regarding Claim 13, LIU discloses the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to obtain one or more parameters from the UE, the one or more parameters associated with one or more signaling criteria for the first network to accommodate the second network in the frequency band; and communicate via the frequency band based at least in part on the one or more parameters(page 7, par (0091), line 1-10, the measurement information from the gNB used to adjust or correct other measurements on the LTE band, eNB adjust resource allocation and transmission configuration such as channel parameters (e.g., the channel rank), control information, modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and/or the like for the communication with the UE). Regarding Claim 14, LIU discloses an access point (AP), comprising one or more memories storing processor-executable code; and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the AP to receive, from a user equipment (UE), information for sharing a frequency band between a first network and a second network that includes the AP(page 8, par(0113), line 1-10, the first connection between the first network node and the terminal device may be used for a first cell of the terminal device, and the second connection between the second network node and the terminal device may be used for a second cell of the terminal device); transmit, via the second network, the information for sharing the frequency band between the first network and the second network(page 8, par(0113), line 1-10, the first cell and the second cell may share radio resource such as a specific frequency band, so that measurements on the specific frequency band reported by the terminal device over one of the first connection and the second connection utilized by both the first network node and the second network node, the first cell and the second cell of the terminal device based on the same RAT or different RATs). LIU discloses all aspects of the claimed invention, except receive, via the second network, a configuration of signaling for the frequency band, the configuration of signaling based at least in part on the information for sharing the frequency band. XUE is the same field of invention teaches receive, via the second network, a configuration of signaling for the frequency band, the configuration of signaling based at least in part on the information for sharing the frequency band (page 1, par(0009), line 1-10, a first base station (BS) receiving second network information of a second BS from the second BS in the wireless communication system, wherein the first BS supports a wireless access scheme that is different from a wireless access scheme of the second BS and shares a same frequency band with the second BS; determining a resource allocation ratio between the first BS and the second BS according to a predefined resource allocation scheme based on first network information of the first BS and the second network information of the second BS; and transmitting information on the resource allocation ratio to the second BS). LIU and XUE l analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor of access to a service device. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the based information for sharing the frequency band between the first network and the second network the teaching of LIU to include the a first base station (BS) receiving second network information of a second BS from the second BS in the wireless communication system the teaching of XUE because it is providing a multi-wireless access function using a frequency spectrum re-farming scheme, the multi-wireless communication system of referred to as a spectrum re-farming system. Regarding Claim 15, LIU discloses the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the AP to: refrain from signaling in a channel of the frequency band based at least in part on the configuration of signaling for the frequency band(page 8, par(0113), line 1-10, the first cell and the second cell may share radio resource such as a specific frequency band, so that measurements on the specific frequency band reported by the terminal device over one of the first connection and the second connection utilized by both the first network node and the second network node, the first cell and the second cell of the terminal device based on the same RAT or different RATs). Regarding Claim 16, LIU discloses all aspects of the claimed invention, except the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the AP to reduce a transmit power for signaling in a channel of the frequency band based at least in part on the configuration of signaling for the frequency band. XUE is the same field of invention teaches the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the AP to reduce a transmit power for signaling in a channel of the frequency band based at least in part on the configuration of signaling for the frequency band (page 1, par(0009), line 1-10, a first base station (BS) receiving second network information of a second BS from the second BS in the wireless communication system, wherein the first BS supports a wireless access scheme that is different from a wireless access scheme of the second BS and shares a same frequency band with the second BS; determining a resource allocation ratio between the first BS and the second BS according to a predefined resource allocation scheme based on first network information of the first BS and the second network information of the second BS; and transmitting information on the resource allocation ratio to the second BS). Regarding Claim 17, LIU discloses to receive the information for sharing the frequency band, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to receive the information in an enhanced broadcast service (EBCS) uplink frame(page 6, par (0081), line 1-10, the inter-RAT channel information and measurement information sharing between 4G/LTE and 5G/NR make the LTE and NR nodes benefit from each other and enhance the network performance of the two RATs efficiently). Regarding Claim 18, LIU discloses all aspects of the claimed invention, except the information for sharing the frequency band comprises a certificate associated with the first network, a control indication to vacate a channel of the frequency band, a control indication to reduce transmit power in a channel of the frequency band, an indication of a time period for one or more control indications, an indication of time, an identifier of the first network, or any combination thereof. XUE is the same field of invention teaches the information for sharing the frequency band comprises a certificate associated with the first network, a control indication to vacate a channel of the frequency band, a control indication to reduce transmit power in a channel of the frequency band, an indication of a time period for one or more control indications, an indication of time, an identifier of the first network, or any combination thereof (page 1, par(0009), line 1-10, a first base station (BS) receiving second network information of a second BS from the second BS in the wireless communication system, wherein the first BS supports a wireless access scheme that is different from a wireless access scheme of the second BS and shares a same frequency band with the second BS; determining a resource allocation ratio between the first BS and the second BS according to a predefined resource allocation scheme based on first network information of the first BS and the second network information of the second BS; and transmitting information on the resource allocation ratio to the second BS). Regarding Claim 19, LIU discloses the configuration of signaling for the frequency band is formatted in accordance with transport layer security(page 8, par(0113), line 1-10, the first cell and the second cell may share radio resource such as a specific frequency band, so that measurements on the specific frequency band reported by the terminal device over one of the first connection and the second connection utilized by both the first network node and the second network node, the first cell and the second cell of the terminal device based on the same RAT or different RATs). Regarding Claim 20, LIU discloses the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the AP to receive one or more parameters via the second network, the one or more parameters associated with one or more signaling criteria for the first network to accommodate the second network in the frequency band; and transmit the one or more parameters to the UE(page 7, par (0091), line 1-10, the measurement information from the gNB used to adjust or correct other measurements on the LTE band, eNB adjust resource allocation and transmission configuration such as channel parameters (e.g., the channel rank), control information, modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and/or the like for the communication with the UE). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows: Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title. Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. In claims 1, 8 and 14, applicant has claimed “execute the code”. When applying the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claims they covers a software operation system per. Therefore, claims 1-20 are directed to non-statutory subject matter as computer program, per se. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure are: Mueck et al. (US 20170188314, Jun. 29, 2017) teaches Uplink Interference Management in Shared Spectrum Networks. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to IQBAL ZAIDI whose telephone number is (571)270-3943. The examiner can normally be reached on M to Thu 8.a.m to 6.p.m.. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, NGO RICKY can be reached on 571-272-3139. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). /IQBAL ZAIDI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2464
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Prosecution Timeline

Jan 11, 2024
Application Filed
Feb 12, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §101, §103
Apr 29, 2026
Response Filed
Oct 05, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §101, §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
90%
Grant Probability
97%
With Interview (+6.8%)
2y 3m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1238 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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