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 .
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 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.
DETAILED ACTION
This is an AIA application filed October 12, 2023.
The earliest effective filing date of this AIA application is seen as March 31, 2020, the date of the earliest priority application (United States provisional patent application serial number 63/002,981) for any claims which are fully supported under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) by the provisional application.
The same is similarly true for the following United States provisional or non-provisional patent application(s):
United States patent application serial number 17/962,831 filed October 10, 2022, now U.S. Patent No. 11,789,209; and
United States patent application serial number 17/190,488 filed March 3, 2021, now U.S. Patent No. 11,487,063*.
(*) Data provided by applicant is not consistent with PTO record.
The effective filing date of this AIA application is seen as October 12, 2023, the actual filing date, for any claims that are not fully supported by the foregoing provisional or non-provisional application(s).
The present application is also related to the applications giving rise to the following patent publication(s) (please note that redundancies are generally present and no guarantees are given regarding completeness):
Office
Application
App. Date
Pub. #
Pub. Date
US
17190488
03/03/2021
US 20210302660 A1
US 11487063 B2
09/30/2021
11/01/2022
JP
2021050156
03/24/2021
JP 2021164162 A
JP 7703346 B2
10/11/2021
07/07/2025
EP
21166069
03/30/2021
EP 3890219 A1
EP 3890219 B1
10/06/2021
07/05/2023
CN
202110352099
03/31/2021
CN 113473269 A
10/01/2021
US
17962831
10/10/2022
US 20230034669 A1
US 11789209 B2
02/02/2023
10/17/2023
JP
2025106029
06/23/2025
JP 2025134922 A
09/17/2025
The claims filed September 24, 2025 are entered, currently outstanding, and subject to examination.
This action is in response to the filing of the same date.
The current status and history of the claims is summarized below:
Last Amendment/Response
Previously
Amended:
1-4, 10, 11, 13-16, 19, & 20
1, 7, 13, 18, & 20
Cancelled:
none
none
Withdrawn:
none
none
Added:
none
none
Claims 1-20 are currently pending and outstanding.
Regarding the last reply:
Claims 1-4, 10, 11, 13-16, 19, and 20 were amended.
No claims were cancelled.
No claims were withdrawn.
No claims were added.
Claims 1-20 are currently outstanding and subject to examination.
This is a final action and is the fourth action on the merits.
Allowable subject matter is not indicated below.
Often, in the substance of the action below, formal matters are addressed first, claim rejections second, and any response to arguments third.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
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 September 24, 2025 has been entered.
Specification
The specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o).
Applicant must provide the same terminology/vocabulary/phrasing in the specification that is present in the claims. At least one term or phrase is missing from the specification present in the claim(s).
Correction is required as the following amendment(s)/text in the claims find(s) no antecedent in the specification.
Claim(s)
Antecedent Missing For
1, 2, 10, 11, 13, 14, 19, 20
"plurality of cables"
1, 13, 20
"plurality of cables connecting one or more transmission sites"
As set forth in MPEP § 608.01(o):
The meaning of every term used in any of the claims should be apparent from the descriptive portion of the specification with clear disclosure as to its import; and in mechanical cases, it should be identified in the descriptive portion of the specification by reference to the drawing, designating the part or parts therein to which the term applies. A term used in the claims may be given a special meaning in the description. See MPEP § 2111.01 and § 2173.05(a).
Usually the terminology of the original claims follows the nomenclature of the specification, but sometimes in amending the claims or in adding new claims, new terms are introduced that do not appear in the specification. The use of a confusing variety of terms for the same thing should not be permitted.
. . . While an applicant is not limited to the nomenclature used in the application as filed, he or she should make appropriate amendment of the specification whenever this nomenclature is departed from by amendment of the claims so as to have clear support or antecedent basis in the specification for the new terms appearing in the claims. This is necessary in order to insure [sic, ensure] certainty in construing the claims in the light of the specification, Ex parte Kotler, 1901 C.D. 62, 95 O.G. 2684 (Comm’r Pat. 1901). See 37 CFR 1.75 and MPEP §§ 608.01(i), § 1302.01.
Consequently, identity between terms and phrases in the specification and claims is preferred and is seen as mandatory to ensure “certainty in construing the claims in the light of the specification”.
Further, under 37 C.F.R. § 1.121(e) regarding disclosure consistency in making amendments:
The disclosure must be amended, when required by the Office, to correct inaccuracies of description and definition, and to secure substantial correspondence between the claims, the remainder of the specification, and the drawings.
Examiner considers direct correspondence between the specification and the claims to be important with respect to determining the scope of the claims.
Examiner strongly urges Applicant to review its claims with a fine-toothed comb and scrutinize them for any discrepancies between claim language and language that is used in the written description/specification as originally filed. Applicant is responsible for what it drafts. Discrepancies may be interpreted to Applicant’s detriment.
Special Definitions for Claim Language - MPEP § 2111.01(IV)
No special definitions are seen as present in the specification regarding the language used in the claims. Consequently, the words and phrases of the claims are given their plain meaning. MPEP §§ 2173.01, 2173.05(a), and 2111.01.
If special definitions are present, Applicant should bring those to the attention of the examiner and the prosecution history with its next response in a manner both specific and particular. In doing so, there will be no mistake, confusion, and/or ambiguity as to what constitutes the special definition(s).
To date, Applicant has provided no indication of special definitions.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20200052788 of Grubb et al. (Grubb).
With respect to claim 1, Grubb discloses a computer implemented method (Figs. 1, 2; ¶ 12, “The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a process; an apparatus; a system; a composition of matter; a computer program product embodied on a computer readable storage medium; and/or a processor, such as a processor configured to execute instructions stored on and/or provided by a memory coupled to the processor."), comprising:
selecting,
using at least one processor (“processor”, above),
a plurality of fiber pairs (¶ 22, "In various embodiments, network connections between CLSs 121, 123, 125, and/or 127 may be fiber connections including multiple fiber pairs.") from a plurality of cables for routing of at least one transmission ("Additionally, feeder submarine cables 135 and 137 connect offshore switching unit 101 to CLSs 125 and 127, respectively."),
the plurality of cables connecting one or more transmission sites ("Additionally, feeder submarine cables 135 and 137 connect offshore switching unit 101 to CLSs 125 and 127, respectively."),
the plurality of fiber pairs being selected from different cables in the plurality of cables (¶ 23, "In addition, conventional optical fiber switches may also be used in conjunction with WSS ROADMs for fiber reconfiguration between the fiber pairs of the submarine cables.” N.B., Applicant should please note the use of the plural in “cables”.), and forming a selection group having the plurality of fiber pairs selected from the plurality of cables in accordance with at least one transmission site in the one or more transmission sites (This step actually occurs before the selecting step as the candidate step has to occur before the final selection. Abstract, Fig. 4, ¶¶ 17, 18, "The offshore switching unit is configured to dynamically connect data communication channels of a selected feeder submarine cable among the plurality of feeder submarine cables with data communication channels of the trunk submarine cable.” ¶ 22, "In various embodiments, network connections between CLSs 121, 123, 125, and/or 127 may be fiber connections including multiple fiber pairs.");
assigning,
using the at least one processor (“processor”, above),
using the selection group (per above re the "fiber connections including multiple fiber pairs"),
at least one optical transmission path in one or more optical transmission paths to the selected plurality of fiber pairs (¶ 23, "In the event of an optical connection failure, an offshore switch unit is able to re-route the connection including performing wavelength routing using a new data communication channel.");
forming,
using the at least one processor (“processor”, above),
an optical pathway using the selected plurality of fiber pairs and the assigned at least one optical transmission path (¶ 23, "In the event of an optical connection failure, an offshore switch unit is able to re-route the connection including performing wavelength routing using a new data communication channel."); and
transmitting,
using the at least one processor (“processor”, above),
the at least one transmission using the optical pathway between the one or more transmission sites (¶ 23, "In the event of an optical connection failure, an offshore switch unit is able to re-route the connection including performing wavelength routing using a new data communication channel.").
With respect to claim 2, Grubb as set forth above discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of cables include at least one of the following:
one or more undersea cables,
one or more land cables, and
any combination thereof.
Figs. 1 and 2.
With respect to claim 3, Grubb as set forth above discloses the method of claim 1, including one wherein
the at least one optical transmission path includes one or more optical switches configured to be connected to each fiber pair in the selected plurality of fiber pairs.
¶ 23, "In addition, conventional optical fiber switches may also be used in conjunction with WSS ROADMs for fiber reconfiguration between the fiber pairs of the submarine cables.” Also, "For example, offshore switching unit 101 may utilize one or more reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexers (ROADMs) that utilize wavelength selective switching (WSS) components."
With respect to claim 4, Grubb as set forth above discloses the method of claim 1, including one further comprising
receiving a remote command identifying the plurality of fiber pairs for routing of the at least one transmission,
wherein the at least one optical transmission path is selected based on the remote command.
This is seen as arising naturally in the execution of the process as remote elements much coordinate with one another to achieve new signal and power paths.
With respect to claim 5, Grubb as set forth above discloses the method of claim 4, including one further comprising
transferring,
in response to the remote command,
one or more optical signals associated with the at least one transmission from at least one transmission site in the one or more transmission sites to at least another transmission site in the one or more transmission sites along the at least one optical transmission path; and
maintaining,
in response to the remote command,
at least another optical transmission path in the one or more optical transmission paths in an inactive state.
This is seen as arising naturally in the execution of the process as remote elements much coordinate with one another to achieve new signal and power paths.
With respect to claim 6, Grubb as set forth above discloses the method of claim 5, including one wherein
the one or more optical signals are transferred from at least one optical switch communicatively coupled to the at least one optical transmission path and associated with the at least one transmission site to at least another optical switch communicatively coupled to the at least another optical transmission path and associated with the at least another transmission site.
¶ 14, "In the event of an optical connectivity fault, the branching unit can re-route an optical signal using wavelength routing around the fault."
With respect to claim 7, Grubb as set forth above discloses the method of claim 4, including one further comprising
transferring, in response to the remote command,
one or more optical signals associated with the at least one transmission between the one or more transmission sites using all optical transmission paths in the one or more optical transmission paths.
¶ 14, "In the event of an optical connectivity fault, the branching unit can re-route an optical signal using wavelength routing around the fault.” As all paths are seen as considered, all paths are seen as used.
With respect to claim 8, Grubb as set forth above discloses the method of claim 1, including one wherein the one or more transmission sites include
a first transmission site, a second transmission site and a third transmission site.
Fig. 2 shows several such sites.
With respect to claim 9, Grubb as set forth above discloses the method of claim 8, including one wherein
a branching unit (e.g., offshore switching unit/OSU 201) is configured to be communicatively coupled to the first transmission site, the second transmission site and the third transmission site,
the branching unit includes the one or more optical transmission paths (per Fig. 2).
With respect to claim 10, Grubb as set forth above discloses the method of claim 9, including one wherein
the plurality of cables include one or more first cables communicatively coupled to the first transmission site (landing site/LS 205) and the branching unit (the cables connected to OSU 201, for example), and
include one or more first fiber pairs in the plurality of fiber pairs communicatively coupled to the one or more optical transmission paths of the branching unit (¶ 22, "In various embodiments, network connections between CLSs 121, 123, 125, and/or 127 may be fiber connections including multiple fiber pairs.” ¶ 34, "In various embodiments, offshore switching units 201, 211, 221, 231, and 241 are offshore switching units capable of subsea optical switching and power switching as described with respect to offshore switching unit 101 of FIG. 1.");
one or more second cables communicatively coupled to the second transmission site (LS 207) and the branching unit (Fig. 2), and
include one or more second fiber pairs in the plurality of fiber pairs communicatively coupled to the one or more optical transmission paths of the branching unit (fiber pairs are used throughout Grubb per above), and
one or more third cables communicatively coupled to the third transmission site and the branching unit (LS 203 and the connection thereto), and
include one or more third fiber pairs in the plurality of fiber pairs communicatively coupled to the one or more optical transmission paths of the branching unit (fiber pairs are used throughout Grubb per above).
With respect to claim 11, Grubb as set forth above discloses the method of claim 10, including one wherein
the selecting includes selecting at least two fiber pairs in each cable in the plurality of cables for routing of the at least one transmission.
Fiber pairs are used throughout Grubb per above.
With respect to claim 12, Grubb as set forth above discloses the method of claim 1, including one wherein
the transmitting including communicatively coupling at least two transmission sites in the one or more transmission sites using the optical pathway (per Fig. 2),
while at least one transmission site in the one or more transmission sites is disconnected (¶ 14, "In the event of an optical connectivity fault, the branching unit can re-route an optical signal using wavelength routing around the fault.” ¶ 33, "Using the disclosed architecture, failed or faulty optical and power connections can be detected and new optical channels and/or powering schemes can be established to resolve the detected failures.").
With respect to claim 13, Grubb as set forth above discloses a system, comprising:
a branching unit (Fig. 2, OSU 201) configured to be communicatively coupled to one or more transmission sites (all connections thereto are seen as providing both transmission to and reception from OSU 201),
the branching unit including one or more optical transmission paths (per the connections to/from OSU 201, Fig. 2);
at least one controller communicatively coupled to the branching unit and including at least one processor (Figs. 1, 2; ¶ 12, “The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a process; … a computer program product embodied on a computer readable storage medium; and/or a processor, such as a processor configured to execute instructions stored on and/or provided by a memory coupled to the processor."); and
at least one memory storing instructions ("computer readable storage medium", above), that when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to
select a plurality of fiber pairs from a plurality of cables for routing of at least one transmission,
the plurality of cables connecting one or more transmission sites, the plurality of fiber pairs being selected from different cables in the plurality of cables, and form a selection group having the plurality of fiber pairs selected from the plurality of cables in accordance with at least one transmission site in the one or more transmission sites;
assign,
using the selection group,
at least one optical transmission path in the one or more optical transmission paths to the selected plurality of fiber pairs;
form an optical pathway using the selected plurality of fiber pairs and the assigned at least one optical transmission path;
and transmit the at least one transmission using the optical pathway between the one or more transmission sites.
The remainder per claim 1, above.
With respect to claim 14, Grubb as set forth above discloses the system of claim 13, including one wherein
the plurality of cables include at least one of the following:
one or more undersea cables,
one or more land cables, and
any combination thereof.
Per claim 2, above.
With respect to claim 15, Grubb as set forth above discloses the system of claim 13, including one wherein
the at least one optical transmission path includes one or more optical switches configured to be connected to each fiber pair in the selected plurality of fiber pairs.
Per claim 3, above.
With respect to claim 16, Grubb as set forth above discloses the system of claim 13, including one wherein
the at least one processor is configured to receive a remote command identifying the plurality of fiber pairs for routing of the at least one transmission,
wherein the at least one optical transmission path is selected based on the remote command.
Per claim 4, above.
With respect to claim 17, Grubb as set forth above discloses the system of claim 16, including one wherein the at least one processor is configured to transfer,
in response to the remote command,
one or more optical signals associated with the at least one transmission from at least one transmission site in the one or more transmission sites to at least another transmission site in the one or more transmission sites along the at least one optical transmission path; and
maintain, in response to the remote command,
at least another optical transmission path in the one or more optical transmission paths in an inactive state;
wherein the one or more optical signals are transferred from at least one optical switch communicatively coupled to the at least one optical transmission path and associated with the at least one transmission site to at least another optical switch communicatively coupled to the at least another optical transmission path and associated with the at least another transmission site.
Per claim 5, above.
With respect to claim 18, Grubb as set forth above discloses the system of claim 16, including one wherein the at least one processor is configured to transfer,
in response to the remote command,
one or more optical signals associated with the at least one transmission between the one or more transmission sites using all optical transmission paths in the one or more optical transmission paths.
Per claim 7, above.
With respect to claim 19, Grubb as set forth above discloses the system of claim 13, wherein
the one or more transmission sites include a first transmission site, a second transmission site and a third transmission site (per claim 8, above);
wherein the branching unit is configured to be communicatively coupled to the first transmission site, the second transmission site and the third transmission site (per claim 9, above),
the branching unit includes the one or more optical transmission paths (per claim 9, above);
wherein the plurality of cables include one or more first cables communicatively coupled to the first transmission site and the branching unit (per claim 10, above), and
include one or more first fiber pairs in the plurality of fiber pairs communicatively coupled to the one or more optical transmission paths of the branching unit (per claim 10, above);
one or more second cables communicatively coupled to the second transmission site and the branching unit (per claim 10, above), and
include one or more second fiber pairs in the plurality of fiber pairs communicatively coupled to the one or more optical transmission paths of the branching unit (per claim 10, above), and
one or more third cables communicatively coupled to the third transmission site and the branching unit (per claim 10, above), and
include one or more third fiber pairs in the plurality of fiber pairs communicatively coupled to the one or more optical transmission paths of the branching unit (per claim 10, above);
wherein at least two fiber pairs in each cable in the plurality of cables are selected for routing of the at least one transmission (per the operation of Grubb).
With respect to claim 20, Grubb as set forth above discloses a computer program product comprising a non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one programmable processor, cause the at least one programmable processor to:
select a plurality of fiber pairs from a plurality of cables for routing of at least one transmission,
the plurality of cables connecting one or more transmission sites, the plurality of fiber pairs being selected from different cables in the plurality of cables, and form a selection group having the plurality of fiber pairs selected from the plurality of cables in accordance with at least one transmission site in the one or more transmission sites;
assign using the selection group,
at least one optical transmission path in one or more optical transmission paths to the selected plurality of fiber pairs;
form an optical pathway using the selected plurality of fiber pairs and the assigned at least one optical transmission path; and
transmit the at least one transmission using the optical pathway between the one or more transmission sites.
Per claim 1, above.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed September 24, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive and the claim rejections are not rebutted.
Applicant argues that:
However, Grubb fails to disclose that "selecting, using at least one processor, a plurality of fiber pairs from a plurality of cables for routing of at least one transmission, the plurality of cables connecting one or more transmission sites, the plurality of fiber pairs being selected from different cables in the plurality of cables, and forming a selection group having the plurality of fiber pairs selected from the plurality of cables in accordance with at least one transmission site in the one or more transmission sites," "assigning, using the at least one processor, using the selection group, at least one optical transmission path in one or more optical transmission paths to the selected plurality of fiber pairs," "forming, using the at least one processor, an optical pathway using the selected plurality of fiber pairs and the assigned at least one optical transmission path," and "transmitting, using the at least one processor, the at least one transmission using the optical pathway between the one or more transmission sites," as recited in claim 1. (Emphasis supplied).
Examiner response: Grubb, ¶ 23 states that "In addition, conventional optical fiber switches may also be used in conjunction with WSS ROADMs for fiber reconfiguration between the fiber pairs of the submarine cables.” The rejection to claim 3 cited this text directly.
While Applicant cites to ¶ 23 in its arguments, somehow it overlooked this specific reference to reconfiguration not just between fiber pairs of a single submarine cable, but to "reconfiguration between the fiber pairs of the submarine cables". Applicant should please note the use of the plural in “cables” and not the singular “cable”. As such, Grubb does not “inherently” disclose the use of fiber pairs in different cables, but explicitly discloses such use.
As such, Grubb is seen to routing through selection of fiber pairs from different cables and not just cable-based routing. As such, the Applicant’s assertions that the rejection based on Grubb is flawed are not seen to withstand scrutiny in light of the actual description in Grubb. Grubb describes routing (and therefore re-routing) based on fiber pairs in different cables.
As such, the rejection is not seen as rebutted and the rejection is maintained.
Applicant's arguments with regards to the remaining claims all rely upon the arguments set forth above. Consequently, these remaining arguments as seen as being addressed by the examiner's corresponding remarks.
Applicant’s remaining arguments fail to comply with 37 CFR 1.111(b) because they amount to a general allegation that the claims define a patentable invention without specifically pointing out how the language of the claims patentably distinguishes them from the references. As such, the examiner makes no remarks regarding them.
Conclusion
Applicant’s publication US 20240045148 A1 published October 12, 2023 was previously cited.
No new art is cited.
This is a request for continued examination/RCE of the current application. All claims are drawn to the same invention claimed in the earlier application and could have been finally rejected on the grounds and art of record in the next Office action if they had been entered in the earlier application. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL even though it is a first action in this case. See MPEP § 706.07(b). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
If the claims are not drawn to the same invention, they would be subject to restriction and the claims would then not be entered due to restriction by original presentation.
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 extension fee 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 ANDREW JORDAN whose telephone number is (571) 270-1571. The examiner can normally be reached most days 1000-1800 PACIFIC TIME ZONE (messages are returned).
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, Thomas (Tom) HOLLWEG can be reached at (571) 270-1739. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Andrew Jordan/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874
V: (571) 270-1571 (Pacific time)
F: (571) 270-2571
September 30, 2025