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 .
Priority
Applicant claims the benefit of US Provisional Application No. 63/383,106, filed November 10, 2022. Claims 1-18 have been afforded the benefit of this filing date.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see page 7, Claim Objections, filed 01/19/2026, with respect to claim 11 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The objection of claim 11 has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s interpretation, see page 7, Claim , filed 01/19/2026, with respect to claim 1 have been fully considered. The claim interpretation has been acknowledged.
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 7-8, Claim Rejections 35 USC § 112, filed 01/19/2026, with respect to claims 1 and 10 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of claims 1 and 10 has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-18 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 § 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 7-9, 10-12, and 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over 3GPP'154 (3GPP TSG-SA WG2 Meeting #154, S2-2210612) (IDS, 30 pages) in view of PALANIGOUNDER (US-20210099869-A1).
Regarding Claim 1, 3GPP'154 discloses a method for a user equipment (UE) comprising:
maintaining, by the UE, a set of global unique temporary identities (GUTIs) (page 7, paragraph 1, "If more than one native 5G-GUTIs are available, the UE shall select the 5G-GUTI" (i.e., UE maintains a plurality of 5G-GUTIs.)),
wherein each GUTI is assigned by a corresponding standalone non-public network (SNPN) (page 6, note 2, paragraph under 'v', "If the UE is registering with an SNPN, when the UE is performing an Initial Registration the UE shall indicate its UE identity in the Registration Request message as follows," and page 6, note 2, paragraph i, "a native 5G-GUTI assigned by the same SNPN to which the UE is attempting to register, if available;" (i.e., UE is determining the 5G-GUTI to provide in order to register to SNPN, and one of the presence is showing the 5G-GUTI that corresponds to the same SNPN. There are other listed preference listing each 5G-GUTI corresponds to a SNPN.));
selecting, from the set of GUTIs, a registration GUTI assigned by a prior SNPN to register with a current SNPN based on one or more selection rules (page 7, paragraph 1, "…If more than one native 5G-GUTIs are available, the UE shall select the 5G-GUTI in decreasing order of preference among items (ii)-(iv) in the list above." and page 6, note 2, "If the UE is registering with an SNPN, when the UE is performing an Initial Registration the UE shall indicate its UE identity in the Registration Request message as follows, listed in decreasing order of preference:" and page 6, note 2, ii, "ii) a native 5G-GUTI assigned by an equivalent SNPN to the SNPN to which the UE is attempting to register along with the NID of the SNPN that assigned the 5G-GUTI, if available;" (i.e., UE is prioritizing a 5G-GUTI assigned by an equivalent SNPN in (ii) over a native 5G-GUTI assigned by any other SNPN (iii). Examiner is reading "based on one or more selection rule" as based on one rule, and the examiner choose "prioritizing a GUTI previously assigned by an equivalent SNPN " and because applicant added "or", all the other limitations are optional and are given no patentable weight.))
comprising prioritizing a GUTI previously assigned by a first SNPN (page 6, note 2, ii, equivalent SNPN) (page 6, note 2, iii, any other SNPN) (page 7, paragraph 1, "…If more than one native 5G-GUTIs are available, the UE shall select the 5G-GUTI in decreasing order of preference among items (ii)-(iv) in the list above." and page 6, note 2, "If the UE is registering with an SNPN, when the UE is performing an Initial Registration the UE shall indicate its UE identity in the Registration Request message as follows, listed in decreasing order of preference:" and page 6, note 2, ii, "ii) a native 5G-GUTI assigned by an equivalent SNPN to the SNPN to which the UE is attempting to register along with the NID of the SNPN that assigned the 5G-GUTI, if available;" (i.e., UE is prioritizing a 5G-GUTI assigned by an equivalent SNPN in (ii) over a native 5G-GUTI assigned by any other SNPN (iii). Examiner is reading "based on one or more selection rule" as based on one rule, and the examiner choose "prioritizing a GUTI previously assigned by an equivalent SNPN ".)),
wherein each of the first SNPN and the second SNPN is either an equivalent SNPN (page 6, note 2, ii, "ii) a native 5G-GUTI assigned by an equivalent SNPN to the SNPN to which the UE is attempting to register along with the NID of the SNPN that assigned the 5G-GUTI, if available;" (i.e., examiner reading first SNPN as equivalent SNPN.)) or any other SNPN (page 6, note 2, paragraph iii, "a native 5G-GUTI assigned by any other SNPN along with the NID of the SNPN that assigned the 5G-GUTI, if available;" (i.e., Examiner is reading second SNPNS as any other SNPN.)); and
and sending a registration request message to the current SNPN based on the selected registration GUTI (page 6, note 2, paragraph under 'v', "If the UE is registering with an SNPN, when the UE is performing an Initial Registration the UE shall indicate its UE identity in the Registration Request message as follows, listed in decreasing order of preference:" (i.e., Sending a registration request with the preferred 5G-GUTI to register to SNPN.)).
However, 3GPP'154 does not explicitly disclose a first SNPN with a globally-unique SNPN ID, a second SNPN with a non-global-unique SNPN ID.
PALANIGOUNDER discloses a first SNPN with a globally-unique SNPN ID (paragraph [0037], "Each SNPN may be identified by its SNPN identity. The SNPN identity may be consisting of the public land mobile network (PLMN) ID and the network ID (NID). A SNPN identity may or may not be globally unique." (i.e., PALANIGOUNDER discloses SNPN can be globally unique.)),
a second SNPN with a non-global-unique SNPN ID (paragraph [0037], "Each SNPN may be identified by its SNPN identity. The SNPN identity may be consisting of the public land mobile network (PLMN) ID and the network ID (NID). A SNPN identity may or may not be globally unique." (i.e., PALANIGOUNDER further discloses it can be not globally unique.)).
3GPP’154 and PALANIGOUNDER are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field wireless communication. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the 3GPP’154 SNPN to either be globally unique or non-global unique. 3GPP’154 states there is a priority of choosing a GUTI based on equivalent SNPN over any other SNPN as shown in page 6, note 2. It would then be obvious to try to include PALANIGOUNDER, which teaches a globally unique SNPN and non-globally unique SNPN because such a modification is the result of applying a known technique to a known system for improvement to yield predictable results. More specifically, PALANIGOUNDER teaches a globally unique SNPN and non-globally unique SNPN that permits the user of accessing private networks and non-private networks more easily and PALANIGOUNDER discloses each SNPN to have its own authentication method thus making it more secure (PALANIGOUNDER, paragraph [0034], “With regards to SNPN, each SNPN may have its own subscription and may decide which type of authentication method to use. For example, an SNPN operator may configure device to use a SNPN authentication method, other than authentication and key agreement (AKA) protocol (e.g., 5G AKA or Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP)-AKA′). Support of EAP in 5GS allows the SNPN to use different credentials/authentication methods (e.g., for industrial internet of things (IoT)) without impacting other intermediate 5GS network functions, which may allow the SNPN to plug-in their existing Identity Management (IdM) system, and may only impact the UE and the network authentication infrastructure (e.g., authentication server function (AUSF)/user data management (UDM)).”). These known benefits are applicable to 3GPP’154 as they both share characteristics and capabilities, namely, they are directed to SNPN.
Regarding Claim 2, 3GPP’154 in view of PALANIGOUNDER discloses the method of claim 1.
3GPP'154 further discloses wherein each SNPN is identified by a public land mobile network (PLMN) identifier (ID) and a network ID (NID) (page 6, note 1, paragraph 1, "In the case of NG-RAN, the AN parameters include e.g. 5G-S-TMSI or GUAMI, the Selected PLMN ID (or PLMN ID and NID, see clause 5.30 of TS 23.501 [2])" (i.e., Refers to SNPN is a combination of PLMN ID and NID.)),
and wherein the UE maintains the NID of each SNPN with corresponding GUTI (page 6, note, ii, "…a native 5G-GUTI assigned by an equivalent SNPN to the SNPN to which the UE is attempting to register along with the NID…" (i.e., UE is providing a 5G-GUTI along with the NID therefore showing the UE has maintained the NID with the corresponding GUTI.)).
Examiner further notes PALANIGOUNDER further discloses wherein each SNPN is identified by a public land mobile network (PLMN) identifier (ID) and a network ID (NID) (paragraph [0037], “Each SNPN may be identified by its SNPN identity. The SNPN identity may be consisting of the public land mobile network (PLMN) ID and the network ID (NID)… Each entry in the list may include an SNPN identity (e.g., identifier of the SNPN operator), a subscription identifier (e.g., SUPI) containing either the IMSI or a network-specific identifier (NSI) in network access identifier (NAI) format (e.g., username@realm format),”).
The proposed combination as well as the motivations for combining the references presented in the rejection of the parent claim apply to this claim and are incorporated herein by reference.
Regarding Claim 3, 3GPP’154 in view of PALANIGOUNDER discloses the method of claim 2.
3GPP'154 further discloses wherein the UE indicates the selected registration GUTI in a 5GS mobile identity information element (IE) and includes the NID of the corresponding prior SNPN in an NID IE (page 2, paragraph below "Reason for Rev1:", "The selected NID is required for the T-AMF and SMF…the existing IE can be updated to include the selected NID." (i.e., The 3GPP'154 page 6 to 7 discuss register to SNPN and the cited portion shows the IE is updated to include the selected NID.)).
Regarding Claim 7, 3GPP’154 in view of PALANIGOUNDER discloses the method of claim 1.
3GPP'154 further discloses wherein the UE further maintains one or more UE identifiers comprising:
subscriber concealed identifier (SUCI) and permanent equipment identifier (PEI) (page 7, paragraph 6, "For an Emergency Registration, the SUCI shall be included if the UE does not have a valid 5G-GUTI available; the PEI shall be included when the UE has no SUPI and no valid 5G-GUTI. " (i.e., Describes the priority of UE providing 5G-GUTI, if not then PEI and if not SUPI for emergency registrations.)),
and wherein the one or more selection rules comprising prioritizing a GUTI previously assigned by an equivalent SNPN or any other SNPN (page 7, paragraph 6, "For an Emergency Registration, the SUCI shall be included if the UE does not have a valid 5G-GUTI available; the PEI shall be included when the UE has no SUPI and no valid 5G-GUTI. In other cases, the 5G-GUTI is included and it indicates the last serving AMF." and page 7, paragraph 1, "If more than one native 5G-GUTIs are available, the UE shall select the 5G-GUTI in decreasing order of preference among items (ii)-(iv) in the list above." (i.e., Page 7, par.6 discloses the GUTI is prioritized and if there is no GUTI then SUCI and if no SUCI then PEI. Also end of page 6 note 2 and page 7, par.1, disclosing the GUTI can be from equivalent SNPN or any other SNPN as shown by ii and iii and iv being the last priority for providing identification.)).
PALANIGOUNDER discloses a globally-unique SNPN ID (paragraph [0037], "Each SNPN may be identified by its SNPN identity. The SNPN identity may be consisting of the public land mobile network (PLMN) ID and the network ID (NID). A SNPN identity may or may not be globally unique." (i.e., PALANIGOUNDER discloses SNPN can be globally unique.)).
The proposed combination as well as the motivations for combining the references presented in the rejection of the parent claim apply to this claim and are incorporated herein by reference.
Regarding Claim 8, 3GPP’154 in view of PALANIGOUNDER discloses the method of claim 1.
3GPP'154 further discloses wherein the one or more selection rules further comprising: prioritizing a GUTI previously assigned by an equivalent SNPN over a GUTI previously assigned by any other SNPN when the equivalent SNPN and the any other SNPN are both identified by a globally-unique SNPN identity (page 6, note 2, paragraph ii, "a native 5G-GUTI assigned by an equivalent SNPN to the SNPN to which the UE is attempting to register along with the NID of the SNPN that assigned the 5G-GUTI, if available;" and page 6, note 2, paragraph iii, "a native 5G-GUTI assigned by any other SNPN along with the NID of the SNPN that assigned the 5G-GUTI, if available;" and page 7, paragraph 1, "If more than one native 5G-GUTIs are available, the UE shall select the 5G-GUTI in decreasing order of preference among items (ii)-(iv) in the list above." (i.e., The UE prioritize selecting an equivalent SNPN over any other 5G-GUTI that is any other SNPN as shown in the priority list of "ii" and "iii" and PALANIGOUNDER discloses SNPN can either be globally and non-global SNPN and therefor when SNPN are both globally unique 3GPP'154 will always prioritize SNPN assigned by equivalent SNPN over any other SNPN.)).
Regarding Claim 9, 3GPP’154 in view of PALANIGOUNDER discloses the method of claim 7.
3GPP'154 further discloses the set of GUTIs maintained by the UE includes a first valid 5G-GUTI that was previously assigned by an equivalent SNPN identified by (page 6, note 2, paragraph ii, "a native 5G-GUTI assigned by an equivalent SNPN to the SNPN to which the UE is attempting to register along with the NID of the SNPN that assigned the 5G-GUTI, if available;" (i.e., The "native" is being read as globally-unique SNPN. One of the GUTI that the UE is stored is from an equivalent SNPN.)),
a second valid 5G-GUTI that was previously assigned by any other SNPN identified by (page 6, note 2, paragraph iii, "a native 5G-GUTI assigned by any other SNPN along with the NID of the SNPN that assigned the 5G-GUTI, if available;" (i.e., another native 5G-GUTI that is from any other SNPN.)),
and wherein the UE selects the first valid 5G-GUTI as the registration GUTI (page 7, paragraph 1, "If more than one native 5G-GUTIs are available, the UE shall select the 5G-GUTI in decreasing order of preference among items (ii)-(iv)" and page 6, note 2, paragraph ii, "a native 5G-GUTI assigned by an equivalent SNPN to the SNPN to which the UE is attempting to register along with the NID of the SNPN that assigned the 5G-GUTI, if available;" (i.e., Examiner is reading the claim limitations of claim 9 similar to claim 4 and using the same rationale to reject claim 9.)).
PALANIGOUNDER further discloses the set of GUTIs maintained by the UE includes a first valid 5G-GUTI that was previously assigned by an equivalent SNPN identified by a globally-unique SNPN identity (paragraph [0037], "Each SNPN may be identified by its SNPN identity. The SNPN identity may be consisting of the public land mobile network (PLMN) ID and the network ID (NID). A SNPN identity may or may not be globally unique. Moreover, a UE that supports SNPN access mode may be provisioned with a list of subscriber data stored in the ME. " (i.e., PALANIGOUNDER discloses SNPN can be globally unique.)),
SNPN identified by a globally-unique SNPN identity (paragraph [0037], "Each SNPN may be identified by its SNPN identity. The SNPN identity may be consisting of the public land mobile network (PLMN) ID and the network ID (NID). A SNPN identity may or may not be globally unique." (i.e., PALANIGOUNDER further discloses each SNPN of a plurality of SNPN, and in combination with 3GPP’154 teach the said limitation.)).
The proposed combination as well as the motivations for combining the references presented in the rejection of the parent claim apply to this claim and are incorporated herein by reference.
Regarding Claim 10, which is similar in scope to claim 1, thus rejected under the same rationale. Examiner notes 3GPP’154 discloses UE (page 5, Figure 4.2.2.2.2-1, “UE”). PALANIGOUNDER discloses a processor coupled to a memory (paragraph [0056], Fig.6, “The processing system 602 includes a processor 604 coupled to a computer-readable medium/memory 612 via a bus 606. In certain aspects, the computer-readable medium/memory 612 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code)…”).
3GPP’154 and PALANIGOUNDER are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field wireless communication. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the 3GPP’154 SNPN to either be globally unique or non-global unique. 3GPP’154 states there is a priority of choosing a GUTI based on equivalent SNPN over any other SNPN as shown in page 6, note 2. It would then be obvious to try to include PALANIGOUNDER a globally unique SNPN and non-globally unique SNPN because such a modification is the result of applying a known technique to a known system for improvement to yield predictable results. More specifically, PALANIGOUNDER a globally unique SNPN and non-globally unique SNPN permits the user of accessing private networks and non-private networks more easily and PALANIGOUNDER discloses each SNPN have its own authentication method thus making it more SNPNs (PALANIGOUNDER, paragraph [0034], “With regards to SNPN, each SNPN may have its own subscription and may decide which type of authentication method to use. For example, an SNPN operator may configure device to use a SNPN authentication method, other than authentication and key agreement (AKA) protocol (e.g., 5G AKA or Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP)-AKA′). Support of EAP in 5GS allows the SNPN to use different credentials/authentication methods (e.g., for industrial internet of things (IoT)) without impacting other intermediate 5GS network functions, which may allow the SNPN to plug-in their existing Identity Management (IdM) system, and may only impact the UE and the network authentication infrastructure (e.g., authentication server function (AUSF)/user data management (UDM)).”). These known benefits are applicable to 3GPP’154 as they both share characteristics and capabilities, namely, they are directed to SNPN.
Regarding Claim 11, which is similar in scope to claim 2, thus rejected under the same rationale.
Regarding Claim 12, which is similar in scope to claim 3, thus rejected under the same rationale.
Regarding Claim 16, which is similar in scope to claim 7, thus rejected under the same rationale.
Regarding Claim 17, which is similar in scope to claim 8, thus rejected under the same rationale.
Regarding Claim 18, which is similar in scope to claim 9, thus rejected under the same rationale.
Claim(s) 4-6 and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over 3GPP'154 (3GPP TSG-SA WG2 Meeting #154, S2-2210612) (IDS, 30 pages) in view of in view of PALANIGOUNDER (US-20210099869-A1) in further view of SAWG2'143E (SA WG2 Meeting #143E, S2-2100819) (IDS, 8 pages).
Regarding Claim 4, 3GPP’154 in view of PALANIGOUNDER discloses the method of claim 1.
3GPP'154 further discloses wherein the set of GUTIs maintained by the UE includes a first valid 5G-GUTI that was previously assigned by an equivalent SNPN identified by (page 6, note 2, paragraph ii, "a native 5G-GUTI assigned by an equivalent SNPN to the SNPN to which the UE is attempting to register along with the NID of the SNPN that assigned the 5G-GUTI, if available;" (i.e., One of the GUTI that the UE is stored is from an equivalent SNPN.)),
and one or more other GUTIs comprising a second valid 5G-GUTI that was previously assigned by any other SNPN identified by (page 6, note 2, paragraph iii, "a native 5G-GUTI assigned by any other SNPN along with the NID of the SNPN that assigned the 5G-GUTI, if available;" (i.e., another native 5G-GUTI that is from any other SNPN.)),
and wherein the UE selects the first valid 5G-GUTI as the registration GUTI (page 7, paragraph 1, "If more than one native 5G-GUTIs are available, the UE shall select the 5G-GUTI in decreasing order of preference among items (ii)-(iv)" and page 6, note 2, paragraph ii, "a native 5G-GUTI assigned by an equivalent SNPN to the SNPN to which the UE is attempting to register along with the NID of the SNPN that assigned the 5G-GUTI, if available;" (i.e., UE selects the 5G-GUTI to register to an SNPN, if there are multiple 5G-GUTI there is a preference the UE will pick and the preference is shown in paragraph ii over the others.)).
PALANIGOUNDER further discloses wherein the set of GUTIs maintained by the UE includes a first valid 5G-GUTI that was previously assigned by an equivalent SNPN identified by a globally-unique SNPN identity (paragraph [0037], "Each SNPN may be identified by its SNPN identity. The SNPN identity may be consisting of the public land mobile network (PLMN) ID and the network ID (NID). A SNPN identity may or may not be globally unique. Moreover, a UE that supports SNPN access mode may be provisioned with a list of subscriber data stored in the ME. " (i.e., PALANIGOUNDER discloses SNPN can be globally unique.)),
SNPN identified by a globally-unique SNPN identity (paragraph [0037], "Each SNPN may be identified by its SNPN identity. The SNPN identity may be consisting of the public land mobile network (PLMN) ID and the network ID (NID). A SNPN identity may or may not be globally unique." (i.e., PALANIGOUNDER further discloses each SNPN of a plurality of SNPN, and in combination with 3GPP’154 teach the said limitation.)),
SNPN identified by a non-globally-unique SNPN identity (paragraph [0037], "Each SNPN may be identified by its SNPN identity. The SNPN identity may be consisting of the public land mobile network (PLMN) ID and the network ID (NID). A SNPN identity may or may not be globally unique." (i.e., PALANIGOUNDER further discloses each SNPN of a plurality of SNPN, and in combination with 3GPP’154 teach the said limitation.)).
However, 3GPP’154 in view of PALANIGOUNDER do not explicitly disclose a third valid 5G-GUTI that was previously assigned by an equivalent SNPN identified by a non-globally-unique SNPN identity, and a fourth valid 5G-GUTI that was previously assigned by any other SNPN identified by a non-globally-unique SNPN identity.
SAWG2'143E discloses a third valid 5G-GUTI that was previously assigned by an equivalent SNPN identified by a non-globally-unique SNPN identity (page 3, note 1, "The PLMN ID used for SNPNs is not required to be unique. PLMN IDs reserved for use by private networks can be used for non-public networks, e.g. based on mobile country code (MCC) 999 as assigned by ITU [78]). Alternatively, a PLMN operator can use its own PLMN IDs for SNPN(s) along with NID(s)," (i.e., 3GPP'154 discloses UE holding GUTI that was previously assigned by SNPN either equivalent or any other. This quotation is to show that the GUTI that was previously assigned can be from a non-globally-unique SNPN identity, and in combination with the 3GPP'154 teach UE storing GUTI of a non-globally-unique SNPN identity.)),
and a fourth valid 5G-GUTI that was previously assigned by any other SNPN identified by a non-globally-unique SNPN identity (page 3, note 1, "The PLMN ID used for SNPNs is not required to be unique. PLMN IDs reserved for use by private networks can be used for non-public networks, e.g. based on mobile country code (MCC) 999 as assigned by ITU [78]). Alternatively, a PLMN operator can use its own PLMN IDs for SNPN(s) along with NID(s)," (i.e., 3GPP'154 discloses UE holding GUTI that was previously assigned by SNPN either equivalent or any other. This quotation is to show that the GUTI that was previously assigned can be from a non-globally-unique SNPN identity, and in combination with the 3GPP'154 teach UE storing GUTI of a non-globally-unique SNPN identity.)).
3GPP’154 in view of PALANIGOUNDER and SAWG2'143E are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are both discussing UE and registering to the SNPN and showing possible issues and solutions. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified 3GPP'154 for UE to include 5G-GUTI that correlates to SNPN that was assigned from non-globally-unique SNPN because in 3GPP'154 describes an emergency registration wherein it tries to exhaust the 5G-GUTI but only describes of native 5G-GUTI (3GPP'154, page 6, note 2) and would be beneficial to try to provide 5G-GUTI from non-globally-unique SNPN in order to keep the PEI and SUCI hidden and only use it as a last resort.
Regarding Claim 5, 3GPP’154 in view of PALANIGOUNDER discloses the method of claim 1.
3GPP'154 further discloses wherein the set of GUTIs maintained by the UE includes a second valid 5G-GUTI that was previously assigned by any other SNPN identified by (page 6, note 2, paragraph iii, "a native 5G-GUTI assigned by any other SNPN along with the NID of the SNPN that assigned the 5G-GUTI, if available;" (i.e., another native 5G-GUTI that is from any other SNPN.)),
and wherein the UE selects the second valid 5G-GUTI as the registration GUTI (page 7, paragraph 1, "If more than one native 5G-GUTIs are available, the UE shall select the 5G-GUTI in decreasing order of preference among items (ii)-(iv)" and page 6, note 2, paragraph ii, "a native 5G-GUTI assigned by an equivalent SNPN to the SNPN to which the UE is attempting to register along with the NID of the SNPN that assigned the 5G-GUTI, if available;" (i.e., Examiner is reading the claim limitations of claim 5 similar to claim 4 and using the same rationale to reject claim 5.)).
PALANIGOUNDER further discloses maintained by the UE includes a second valid 5G-GUTI that was previously assigned by any other SNPN identified by a globally-unique SNPN identity (paragraph [0037], "Each SNPN may be identified by its SNPN identity. The SNPN identity may be consisting of the public land mobile network (PLMN) ID and the network ID (NID). A SNPN identity may or may not be globally unique. Moreover, a UE that supports SNPN access mode may be provisioned with a list of subscriber data stored in the ME. " (i.e., PALANIGOUNDER discloses SNPN can be globally unique and stored in the ME which is part of UE.)),
SNPN identified by a globally-unique SNPN identity (paragraph [0037], "Each SNPN may be identified by its SNPN identity. The SNPN identity may be consisting of the public land mobile network (PLMN) ID and the network ID (NID). A SNPN identity may or may not be globally unique." (i.e., PALANIGOUNDER further discloses each SNPN of a plurality of SNPN, and in combination with 3GPP’154 teach the said limitation.)),
SNPN identified by a non-globally-unique SNPN identity (paragraph [0037], "Each SNPN may be identified by its SNPN identity. The SNPN identity may be consisting of the public land mobile network (PLMN) ID and the network ID (NID). A SNPN identity may or may not be globally unique." (i.e., PALANIGOUNDER further discloses each SNPN of a plurality of SNPN, and in combination with 3GPP’154 teach the said limitation.)).
However, 3GPP’154 in view of PALANIGOUNDER do not explicitly disclose and one or more other GUTIs comprising a third valid 5G-GUTI that was previously assigned by an equivalent SNPN identified by a non-globally-unique SNPN identity, and a fourth valid 5G-GUTI that was previously assigned by any other SNPN identified by a non-globally-unique SNPN identity.
SAWG2'143E discloses and one or more other GUTIs comprising a third valid 5G-GUTI that was previously assigned by an equivalent SNPN identified by a non-globally-unique SNPN identity (page 3, note 1, "The PLMN ID used for SNPNs is not required to be unique. PLMN IDs reserved for use by private networks can be used for non-public networks, e.g. based on mobile country code (MCC) 999 as assigned by ITU [78]). Alternatively, a PLMN operator can use its own PLMN IDs for SNPN(s) along with NID(s)," (i.e., 3GPP'154 discloses UE holding GUTI that was previously assigned by SNPN either equivalent or any other. This quotation is to show that the GUTI that was previously assigned can be from a non-globally-unique SNPN identity, and in combination with the 3GPP'154 teach UE storing GUTI of a non-globally-unique SNPN identity.)),
and a fourth valid 5G-GUTI that was previously assigned by any other SNPN identified by a non-globally-unique SNPN identity (page 3, note 1, "The PLMN ID used for SNPNs is not required to be unique. PLMN IDs reserved for use by private networks can be used for non-public networks, e.g. based on mobile country code (MCC) 999 as assigned by ITU [78]). Alternatively, a PLMN operator can use its own PLMN IDs for SNPN(s) along with NID(s)," (i.e., 3GPP'154 discloses UE holding GUTI that was previously assigned by SNPN either equivalent or any other. This quotation is to show that the GUTI that was previously assigned can be from a non-globally-unique SNPN identity, and in combination with the 3GPP'154 teach UE storing GUTI of a non-globally-unique SNPN identity.)).
3GPP’154 in view of PALANIGOUNDER and SAWG2'143E are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are both discussing UE and registering to the SNPN and showing possible issues and solutions. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified 3GPP'154 for UE to include 5G-GUTI that correlates to SNPN that was assigned from non-globally-unique SNPN because in 3GPP'154 describes an emergency registration wherein it tries to exhaust the 5G-GUTI but only describes of native 5G-GUTI (3GPP'154, page 6, note 2) and would be beneficial to try to provide 5G-GUTI from non-globally-unique SNPN in order to keep the PEI and SUCI hidden and only use it as a last resort.
Regarding Claim 6, 3GPP’154 in view of PALANIGOUNDER discloses the method of claim 1.
However, 3GPP’154 in view of PALANIGOUNDER do not disclose wherein the set of GUTIs are assigned by corresponding equivalent SNPN or any other SNPN over 3GPP access or non-3GPP access.
SAWG2'143E discloses wherein the set of GUTIs are assigned by corresponding equivalent SNPN or any other SNPN over 3GPP access or non-3GPP access (page 2, paragraph labeled b, "if the UE holds a valid 5G-GUTI that was previously assigned, over 3GPP access or non-3GPP access," (i.e., 3GPP'154 describes the UE holding GUTIs from either equivalent SNPN or any other SNPN as described in 3GPP'154 page 6-7. 3GPP'143E discloses the 5G-GUTI were assigned either from 3GPP access or non-3GPP access.)).
3GPP’154 in view of PALANIGOUNDER and SAWG2'143E are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are both discussing UE and registering to the SNPN and showing possible issues and solutions. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified 3GPP'154 to obtain 5G-GUTI from 3GPP access or non-3GPP access as it would provide the UE even more 5G-GUTI to register to a SNPN before providing SUKI.
Regarding Claim 13, which is similar in scope to claim 4, thus rejected under the same rationale.
Regarding Claim 14, which is similar in scope to claim 5, thus rejected under the same rationale.
Regarding Claim 15, which is similar in scope to claim 6, thus rejected under the same rationale.
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 Erkin S. Abdullaev whose telephone number is (571)272-4135. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday - 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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ERKIN S. ABDULLAEV
Examiner
Art Unit 2648
/ERKIN ABDULLAEV/Examiner, Art Unit 2648
/WESLEY L KIM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2648