CTFR 18/505,953 CTFR 86380 DETAILED ACTION This communication is response to the amendment filed 02/16/2026. Claims 1-30 are pending and presented for examination. Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Response to Arguments 07-37 AIA Applicant's arguments filed 02/16/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Regarding applicant argument that Wang fails to disclose “transmit second control signaling indicating a second mode of groupcast feedback based on a metric of the one or more retransmissions exceeding a first threshold, wherein the second mode is associated with monitoring for NACK feedback and ACK feedback,” the examiner respectfully disagrees. There is nothing to modifying use of NACK and ACK feedback based on a metric of retransmissions in the claim. Wang discloses in a HARQ mechanism, a piece of data may be sent for a plurality of times, and data sent in the plurality of times may be different RVs of the data, and data rates, spatial domain information, and the like in the plurality of times of sending may also be different. The data sent for the plurality of times can be combined and decoded to obtain original data. In addition, the transmit end may also actively retransmit data without receiving the ACK/NACK sent by the receive end (see Wang, ¶ 0138). Wang discloses the DCI of the DG is applicable to a grant scheduled in this transmission, and is also applicable to a plurality of grants scheduled in DCI in this transmission (if a plurality of DGs are allowed to be scheduled in one piece of DCI), and/or a plurality of repetitions and/or initial transmissions/retransmissions of one grant. Alternatively, the gNB may configure different HARQ feedback solutions for the foregoing cases (see Wang, ¶ 0251). Thus, the number of transmissions/retransmissions will enables configuration of different HARQ feedback solutions. Wang discloses the feedback policy means: When a number of group members of a terminal device (the transmit-end UE or the receive-end UE) meets a first threshold, the first HARQ feedback manner is used. Alternatively, when a number of group members of a terminal device meets a second threshold, the second HARQ feedback manner is used (see Wang, ¶ 0259). Wang further discloses when the number of group members meets a condition {for example, Number<Thr}, the UE performs feedback by using Group ACK/NACK. When the number of group members meets a condition (for example, Number≥Thr), the UE performs feedback by using Group NACK only or HARQ disable. When a CBR of the Tx/Rx/Head UE meets a condition (for example, CBR>Thr), the UE performs feedback by using Group NACK only or HARQ disable. When a CBR of the Tx/Rx/Head UE meets a condition (for example, CBRThr), the UE performs feedback by using Group ACK/NACK. Obviously, the number of group members or CBR which can cause congestion will lead to increase of retransmissions. Thus, the number of group members or CBR is related to number of retransmissions, which is well-known in the art as evidenced by US 2021/0127381 (see ¶ 0112: retransmissions may be triggered based on certain retransmission criteria, such as a number of receiving UEs 115-j…….) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA 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. 07-20-02-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 1, 4, 6, 9, 12, 14, 17, 20, 22, 24, 27, and 29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2022/0173840 to Wang et al. (hereafter Wang) in view of US 2022/0248428 to ZHAO et al. (hereafter Zhao) . Regarding claim 1 , Wang discloses a first user equipment (UE) (see Wang, Fig 6-Fig 8, UE; ¶ 0260: the 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 (see Wang, Fig 10, processor 2010; memory 2030) to cause the first UE to: transmit first control signaling indicating a first mode of groupcast feedback, wherein the first mode is associated with transmission of negative acknowledgment (NACK) feedback and suppression of acknowledgment (ACK) feedback (see Wang, 0184: in SCI or a MAC CE, the transmit-end UE may indicate a feedback manner type (for example, HARQ enabled/disabled, and/or a HARQ feedback manner type (including HARQ ACK/NACK, or HARQ NACK only)) of this groupcast); transmit a plurality of groupcast messages, each of the plurality of groupcast messages comprising a respective transport block (see Wang, ¶ 0153: groupcast transmission); receive one or more NACK feedback messages associated with one or more of the plurality of groupcast messages according to the first mode (see Wang, ¶ 0260: the UE performs feedback by using Group NACK only or HARQ disable), wherein each of the one or more NACK feedback messages indicates that reception of at least a portion of the respective transport block was unsuccessful (see Wang, ¶ 0138: If an error occurs, the receive end sends a negative acknowledgement (NACK) to the transmit end, and after receiving the NACK, the transmit end retransmits the data packet; ¶ 0199: feeds back a NACK only when demodulation fails); perform one or more retransmissions of the one or more of the plurality of groupcast messages based on the one or more NACK feedback messages (see Wang, ¶ 0138: after receiving the NACK, the transmit end retransmits the data packet); and transmit second control signaling indicating a second mode of groupcast feedback (see Wang, ¶ 0291: the Rx UE only needs to read the property information in the SCI to determine how to perform ACK/NACK feedback) based on a metric of the one or more retransmissions exceeding a first threshold, wherein the second mode is associated with monitoring for NACK feedback and ACK feedback (see Wang, ¶ 0260: When a CBR of the Tx/Rx/Head UE meets a condition (for example, CBRThr), the UE performs feedback by using Group ACK/NACK). By disclosing transmitting HARQ NACK only, Wang implicitly disclose suppressing ACK of ACK feedback. However, Zhao discloses wherein the first mode is associated with transmission of negative acknowledgment (NACK) feedback and suppression of acknowledgment (ACK) feedback (see Zhang, ¶ 0102: In the first feedback mode in the groupcast transmission mode: for terminals within a certain distance, if the detection result of the sidelink data sent by the sending terminal is NACK, the terminals need to send sidelink feedback, and if the detection result is ACK, the terminals do not need to send sidelink feedback). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the above teaching as taught by Zhao and incorporate it into the system of Wang to improve the reliability of the communication system (see Zhao, ¶ 0037). Regarding claim 4 , Wang in view of Zhao discloses the first UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the first UE to: transmit a second plurality of groupcast messages; receive, from a second UE, one or more second NACK feedback messages associated with one or more of the second plurality of groupcast messages according to the second mode; and transmit third control signaling indicating the first mode of groupcast feedback (see Wang, ¶ 0291 because the Tx UE carries the property information in the SCI, the Rx UE only needs to read the property information in the SCI to determine how to perform ACK/NACK feedback). Also, Zhao discloses transmit a second plurality of groupcast messages; receive, from a second UE, one or more second NACK feedback messages associated with one or more of the second plurality of groupcast messages according to the second mode (see Zhao, ¶ 0099: If the sidelink feedback is activated, the receiving terminal receives the sidelink data sent by the sending terminal, and feeds back a HARQ positive acknowledgement (ACK) or negative acknowledgement (NACK) to the sending terminal according to a detection result; ¶ 0103: In the second feedback mode in the groupcast transmission mode: for a communication group, all receiving terminals need to send sidelink feedback); and transmit third control signaling indicating the first mode of groupcast feedback (see Zhao, ¶ 0102: In the first feedback mode in the groupcast transmission mode: for terminals within a certain distance, if the detection result of the sidelink data sent by the sending terminal is NACK, the terminals need to send sidelink feedback, and if the detection result is ACK, the terminals do not need to send sidelink feedback). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the above teaching as taught by Zhao and incorporate it into the system of Wang to improve the reliability of the communication system (see Zhao, ¶ 0037). Regarding claim 6 , Wang in view of Zhao discloses the first UE of claim 4, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the first UE to: transmit a third plurality of groupcast messages (see Wang, ¶ 0153: groupcast transmission); receive one or more third NACK feedback messages associated with one or more of the third plurality of groupcast messages according to the first mode (see Wang, ¶ 0184: in SCI or a MAC CE, the transmit-end UE may indicate a feedback manner type (for example, HARQ enabled/disabled, and/or a HARQ feedback manner type (including HARQ ACK/NACK, or HARQ NACK only)) of this groupcast); and perform a fixed quantity of retransmissions of the one or more of the third plurality of groupcast messages based on the one or more third NACK feedback messages (seen Wang, ¶ 0138: If an error occurs, the receive end sends a negative acknowledgement (NACK) to the transmit end, and after receiving the NACK, the transmit end retransmits the data packet. In a HARQ mechanism, a piece of data may be sent for a plurality of times, and data sent in the plurality of times may be different RVs of the data, and data rates, spatial domain information, and the like in the plurality of times of sending may also be different). Regarding claim 9 , it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 1. Although phrased as a method claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 1. Regarding claim 12 , it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 4. Although phrased as a method claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 4. Regarding claim 14 , it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 6. Although phrased as a method claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 6. Regarding claim 17 , it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 1. Regarding claim 20 , it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 4. Regarding claim 22 , it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 6. Regarding claim 24 , it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 1. Although phrased as a non-transitory computer-readable medium claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 1. Regarding claim 27 , it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 4. Although phrased as a non-transitory computer-readable medium claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 4. Regarding claim 29 , it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 6. Although phrased as a non-transitory computer-readable medium claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 6 . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 2, 3, 10, 11, 18, 19, 25, and 26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Zhao and further in view of “FL summary#4 on improving reliability for MBS for RRC_CONNECTED UEs”, 3GPP DRAFT; R1-2102082 to HUAWEI (hereafter Huawei), see IDS dated 02/11/2025 . Regarding claim 2 , Wang in view of Zhao discloses the first UE of claim 1, Wang disclose transmit the second control signaling but does not explicitly disclose wherein, to transmit the second control signaling, the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the first UE to: transmit the second control signaling based at least in part on a block error rate exceeding the first threshold. However, Huawei discloses wherein, to transmit the second control signaling, the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the first UE to: transmit the second control signaling based at least in part on a block error rate exceeding the first threshold (see Huawei, page 16, section b: NACK-only practically requires error free PDCCH receptions (i.e., PDCCH BLER <= 10 5 )). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the teaching of transmit the second control signaling based at least in part on a block error rate exceeding the first threshold as taught by Huawei and incorporate it into the system of Wang to improve communication system reliability (see Huawei, section 1, 1 st paragraph). Regarding claim 3 , Wang in view of Zhao discloses the first UE of claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the metric of the one or more retransmissions comprises a quantity of the one or more NACK feedback messages. However, Huawei discloses wherein the metric of the one or more retransmissions comprises a quantity of the one or more NACK feedback messages (see Huawei, page 16, section b: NACK-only practically requires error free PDCCH receptions (i.e., PDCCH BLER <= 10 5 )). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the teaching of wherein the metric of the one or more retransmissions comprises a quantity of the one or more NACK feedback messages as taught by Huawei and incorporate it into the system of Wang to improve communication system reliability (see Huawei, section 1, 1 st paragraph). Regarding claim 10 , it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 2. Although phrased as a method claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 2. Regarding claim 11 , it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 3. Although phrased as a method claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 3. Regarding claim 18 , it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 2. Regarding claim 19 , it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 3. Regarding claim 25 , it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 2. Although phrased as a non-transitory computer-readable medium claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 2. Regarding claim 26 , it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 3. Although phrased as a non-transitory computer-readable medium claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 3 . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 5, 13, 21, and 28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Zhao and further in view of US Pub. 2022/0304088 to ZHOU et al. (hereafter Zhou) . Regarding claim 5 , Wang in view of Zhao discloses the first UE of claim 4, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the first UE to: transmit a third plurality of groupcast messages (see Wang, ¶ 0153: groupcast transmission); receive one or more third NACK feedback messages associated with one or more of the third plurality of groupcast messages according to the first mode (see Wang, ¶ 0184: in SCI or a MAC CE, the transmit-end UE may indicate a feedback manner type (for example, HARQ enabled/disabled, and/or a HARQ feedback manner type (including HARQ ACK/NACK, or HARQ NACK only)) of this groupcast); and Wang does not explicitly disclose suppress one or more retransmissions of the one or more of the third plurality of groupcast messages based on the one or more third NACK feedback messages. However, Zhou discloses suppress one or more retransmissions of the one or more of the third plurality of groupcast messages based on the one or more third NACK feedback messages (see Zhou, ¶ 0170: the base station 502 may suppress retransmission of the first and nth encoded packets 510a, 510c (e.g., carrying a subset of the dataset 508) on the network communication interface, e.g., even where the base station 502 receives NACK feedback from UE2 504b and UE, for the first and nth encoded packets 510a, 510c, respectively). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the of suppress one or more retransmissions of the one or more of the third plurality of groupcast messages based on the one or more third NACK feedback messages as taught by Zhou and incorporate it into the system of Wang to improve data reliability and throughput in the communication system (see Zhou, ¶ 0007). Regarding claim 13 , it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 5. Although phrased as a method claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 5. Regarding claim 21 , it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 5. Regarding claim 28 , it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 5. Although phrased as a non-transitory computer-readable medium claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 5 . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 7, 15, and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Zhao and further in view of US 2023/0163898 to CHANG et al. (hereafter Chang) . Regarding claim 7 , Wang in view of Zhao discloses the first UE of claim 4, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the first UE to: transmit, to a third UE, to a network entity, to a vehicle-to-everything application server or any combination thereof, signaling indicating a removal of the second UE from groupcast communication. However, Chang discloses the code to cause the first UE to: transmit, to a third UE, to a network entity, to a vehicle-to-everything application server or any combination thereof, signaling indicating a removal of the second UE from groupcast communication (see Chang, ¶ 0049: the receiving UE device 102 is removed from the transmitting UE device’s groupcast list; ¶ 0065: the transmitting UE device 101 removes the receiving UE device from the groupcast list. Accordingly, the transmitting UE device 101 determines that all data associated with the group will be transmitted over the unicast link rather than in groupcast transmissions). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the teaching of the first UE to: transmit, to a third UE, to a network entity, to a vehicle-to-everything application server or any combination thereof, signaling indicating a removal of the second UE from groupcast communication as taught by Chang and incorporate it into the system of Wang to allow efficient transmission of the information (see Chang, ¶ 0016). Regarding claim 15 , it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 7. Although phrased as a method claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 7. Regarding claim 23 , it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 7 . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 8, 16, and 30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Zhao and further in view of US 2022/0399927 to TSAI et al. (hereafter Tsai) . Regarding claim 8 , Wang in view of Zhao discloses the first UE of claim 4, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the first UE to: transmit, to a third UE, to a network entity, to a vehicle-to-everything application server or any combination thereof, signaling indicating the second UE has violated a limit associated with NACK feedback messages. However, Tsai discloses transmit, to a third UE, to a network entity, to a vehicle-to-everything application server or any combination thereof, signaling indicating the second UE has violated a limit associated with NACK feedback messages (see Tsai, ¶ 0274: counting a number of received negative-acknowledgement (NACK) feedbacks or no feedbacks from the RX UE; and based on the number of received NACK feedbacks or no feedbacks exceed a first threshold, sending, by a physical layer, a beam failure indication to higher layer for indicating a link failure). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the teaching of signaling indicating the second UE has violated a limit associated with NACK feedback messages as taught by Tsai and incorporate it into the system of Wang to avoid waste of system resources. Regarding claim 16 , it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 8. Although phrased as a method claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 8. Regarding claim 30 , it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 8. Although phrased as a non-transitory computer-readable medium claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 8 . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 2021/0127381 to Ryu et al. discloses sidelink groupcast beam training. In some cases, if any of the receiving UEs 115-j report a NACK, a retransmission may be triggered. In other cases, retransmissions may be triggered based on certain retransmission criteria, such as a number of receiving UEs 115-j that did not receive the sidelink groupcast transmission being above a threshold value, a priority associated with the sidelink groupcast transmission, a time sensitivity of the data in the sidelink groupcast transmission (e.g., sensor data that is no longer valid after a certain time period), one or more other criteria, or any combinations thereof. US 2016/0212734 to He et al. discloses devices eNB may expect the ACK/NACK feedback after a predetermined number of subframes from the subframe in which the PDSCH data is sent. Upon receiving a NACK from the UE, the eNB may retransmit the transport block or skip the retransmission if the retransmission number exceeds a maximum value. US 2023/0006779 to AHN et al. discloses the base station may transmit data that is configured through the information (for example, ACK feedback, NACK feedback or information indicating that the number of retransmissions exceeds a maximum value) obtained when the additional transmission opportunity is determined at step 1101. For example, when feedback information indicates ACK, the base station may transmit newly configured data. THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 RASHEED GIDADO whose telephone number is (571)270-7645. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8AM-5PM EST. 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, Ricky Ngo can be reached at 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 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. /RASHEED GIDADO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/505,953 Page 2 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/505,953 Page 3 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/505,953 Page 4 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/505,953 Page 5 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/505,953 Page 6 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/505,953 Page 7 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/505,953 Page 8 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/505,953 Page 9 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/505,953 Page 10 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/505,953 Page 11 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/505,953 Page 12 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/505,953 Page 13 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/505,953 Page 15 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/505,953 Page 16 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/505,953 Page 17 Art Unit: 2464
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