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 .
Response to Amendment
This office action is in response to amendment/reconsideration filed on 1/13/2026, the amendment/reconsideration has been considered. Claims 1, 11 and 16 are independent claims and are amended. Claims 1-20 are pending for examination as cited below.
Examiner contacted the attorney of record on 03/30/2026, “Nicholas Martin” reg. no.: 60,926 and requested a terminal disclaimer against the parent application which is a U.S. Patent No.: 11,855,859. Mr. Nicholas requested an office action before seeking an approval for T.D. from the applicant.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 1/13/2026 have been fully considered but are note persuasive.
I. Response regarding Dhan (US 2021/0092062 A1)
Applicant argues that Dhan fails to teach (1) ranking-based modification of network parameters, (2) modifying network channels used by applications, (3) automatic configuration of the network based on modified parameters, and (4) enabling applications to operate during a time period based on such configuration.
However, the arguments are not persuasive for the following reasons.
(a) Dhan teaches modifying network parameters based on QoE evaluation:
Dhan repeatedly discloses that the device computes QoE, compares int to a threshold, and adjusts the data flow by applying QoS policies such as packet duplication or forward error corrections. These adjustments constitute modification of network parameters. For example, Dhan teaches, “response to determination that the score does not satisfy a threshold , adjusting the data flow so that execution of the application results in a user experience that is satisfactory” (Dhan, [0004]-[0005]).
Dhan further discloses, that adjusting the data flow includes “determining a second path” and “duplicating the data flow over the second path” (Dhan, [0005], [0018]).
(b) Dhan teaches prioritization and selective path usage
Applicant asserts that Dhan does not disclose ranking-based modification or changing which channels/paths are used. This is not accurate.
Dhan explicitly teaches:
Identifying multiple paths and selecting the path having the greater path quality characteristic (Dhan, [0007], [0028]).
Duplicating traffic over the “better performing path” (Dhan, [0036]).
Selecting a better path based on QoE constitutes “priority-based modification” of network usage. The “priority” in Dhan is based on QoE score a nd path quality metrics (latency, jitter, packet loss), which are expressly disclosed in [0005], and [0054]-[0056].
(c ) Dhan teaches automatic configuration by the device
Application argues that Dhan does not disclose automatic configuration. This is incorrect. Dhan repeatedly states that the device automatically determines QoE, compares it to a threshold, and automatically applies QoS policies:
“responsive to determination that the score does not satisfy a threshold, adjusting the data flow…” (Dhan,[0004].
“applying a QoS Policy…determining a second path…duplicating the data flow….”(Dhan, [0027-[0029]).
These steps are performed by the device, without user intervention, satisfying the “automatically configuring the network” limitation.
(d) Dhan teaches enabling application operation during a time period based on configuration
Applicant argues that Dhan does not disclose enabling applications to operate during a time period based on configuration. Dhan however teaches:
Applying QoS policies only when QoE falls below a threshold, and
Ceasing such policies when QoE again satisfies the threshold (Dhan, [0011], [0030], [0038]).
This inherently time-based enabling/disabling of enhanced network operation for the application.
Thus, Dhan teaches the claimed sequence: QoE evaluation -> modification -> time-based enabling.
II. Response regarding Nguyen (US 2013/0235721 A1)
Applicant argues that Nguyen does not cure the deficiencies of Dhan. However, Nguyen provides explicit teachings of priority-based application, contention-window-based bandwidth allocation and preventing lower-priority application from transmitting, which directly correspond to the claim limitations.
Nguyen explicitly discloses:
(a) Nguyen teaches ranking of applications and modifying network parameters based on ranking
“determine a relative priority of each of at least two applications on the node (Nguyen, fig.6, step-600).
“size the contention window… giving more bandwidth to a first application than a second application”(Nguyen, fig.6, step-608).
“associate contention window sizes…based on the relative priority” (Nguyen, fig.6, step-610).
Contention window size directly controls which application may transmit, and therefore modifies network parameters based on ranking.
(b) Nguyen teaches preventing lower-priority applications from operating
Applicant argues that Nguyen does not disclose preventing operation of lower-ranking applications. This is contradicted by the reference:
“an application having a shortest contention window is able to start transmission first, thereby preventing other applications…from transmitting” (Nguyen, [0018]).
This is an explicit disclosure of preventing usage of lower-ranking application based on priority.
(c ) Nguyen teaches modifying which channels/paths are used
Nguyen’s contention-window based control governs access to RF channels:
“the plurality of channels comprises RF channels…the control channel may be utilized…to transmit information indicating contention window length.” (Nguyen, [0024]).
Thus, modifying contention windows modifies which channels are used and when.
(d) Nguyen discloses time-period-based operation
Contention windows are time-based access control mechanisms. Nguyen teaches:
Measuring channel activity over a “sliding window”(Nguyen, fig.8, [0019]).
Adjusting contention windows based on traffic density and link quality (Nguyen, fig.9).
This results in time-period-based enabling or preventing of application operation.
(E) Nguyen cures any alleged deficiencies in Dhan
Even if Dhan were interpreted narrowly, Nguyen supplies:
Explicit operation ranking
Priority-based bandwidth allocation
Prevention of lower-priority application operation
Channel-access modification
Time-based control
Thus, the combination renders the claims obvious.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dhanabalan et al. (Pub. No.: US 2021/0092062 A1), hereinafter “Dhan” in view of Nguyen et al. (Pub. No.: US 2013/0235721 A1), hereinafter “Nguyen”.
As to claim 1, Dhan discloses, a method (Dhan, Abstract) comprising:
identifying, by a device, a set of applications, the set of applications executing on a network, each of the applications having a corresponding set of patterns related to known network usage (Dhan, [0053], [0054]-[0056], enhancing QoE being provided by an application (also referred to herein more simply as 'QoE of an application' for brevity) executing in a network based on a determined QoE of the application. So, for example, if a determined QoE of an executing application falls below a pre-established QoE threshold, then a QoS policy can be applied lo a data flow associated with the application to enhance the QoE of the application,"). Also see [0004] and [0015]);
collecting, by the device, network activity data for each of the set of applications (Dhan, [0096], select an additional path for duplicating the data flow based on the identified cause of the comprised quality. Such causes may be the characteristics, such as latency, jitter. and packet loss, of the data flow associated with the application. For example, if the application quality being compromised due to packet loss (e.g; current path is experiencing high packet loss), QoS enhancement engine 314 may duplicate the data flow over an additional path total has less packet loss. Also see, [0026], data flow and [0015], latency, jitter and packet loss.);
analyzing, by the device, for each application, the network activity data based on a respective set of patterns (Dhan, [0054], [0055], an application QoE score for an application executing In a network can be determined from a measure of a quality of a particular path or a data flow associated with the application. Also see [0026], [0056], QoE score.);
modifying, by the device, network parameters of the network (Dhan, [0004], responsive to determination that the score does not satisfy a threshold, adjusting the data flow and [0005], [0027]-[0029], determining a second path…duplicating the data flow and [0026], [0028], applying QoS policies);
automatically, by the device, configuring network parameters of the network based on the determined ranking, the automatic configuration comprising modifications to the network parameters so as to prioritize network usage of a higher ranking application over a lower ranking application (Dhan, [0057], the QoS policy includes performing forward error correction for the packets of the data flow. In any such embodiments, the QoS policy applied to enhance the QoE of the application is ceased (e.g., no longer applied) once the application QoE score satisfies the QoE threshold. Numerous configurations and modifications will be apparent in light of this disclosure.);
enabling, by the device, the set of applications to operate at the time period based on the configuration of the network (Dhan, [0056], applying QoS policies only when QoE is below threshold and [0011], [0030],ceasing QoS polices when QoE satisfies threshold).
determining, by the device, a ranking for the set of applications, the ranking corresponding to a priority of execution on the network (Dhan, [0056], an application QoE score for an executing application can be computed (e.g., determined from the measure oi the current quality of the data flow) and compared against a QoE threshold (e.g , a pre• established threshold). If the application QoE score does no! satisfy the QoE threshold (e.g., the application QoE score falls below the QoE threshold). a QoS policy can be applied to the data flow to enhance the QoE of the application.);
and
Dhan however is silent to disclose explicitly, “determining, by the device, a ranking for the set of applications, the ranking corresponding to a priority of execution on the network”, “modifying, based on the determined ranking, the modification causing a priority of network usage for a higher ranking application over network usage of a lower ranking application, the modification corresponding to changes as to which network channels are used for the set of applications, the modification further preventing operation of the lower ranking application from functioning on the network for a time period during an operation of the higher ranking application;”.
Nguyen discloses a similar concept in the same field of endeavor including, determining, by the device, a ranking for the set of applications, the ranking corresponding to a priority of execution on the network (Nguyen, fig.6 step 600, 608 and 610, e.g. determining a relative priority of each of at least two applications, giving more bandwidth to a first application than a second application and associate contention window sizes…based on the relative priority);
modifying, based on the determined ranking, the modification causing a priority of network usage for a higher ranking application over network usage of a lower ranking application, the modification corresponding to changes as to which network channels are used for the set of applications, the modification further preventing operation of the lower ranking application from functioning on the network for a time period during an operation of the higher ranking application (Nguyen, [0018], an application having a shortest contention window is able to start transmission first, thereby preventing other applications…from transmitting and [0024], plurality of channels…RF channels…contention window length communicated on control channel. Contention window control determines which channel an application may access.);
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the instant application it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art to incorporate the teachings of “Nguyen” into those of Dhan to provide a wireless network environment, techniques for traffic load management and transmission retry management assist a node to regulate network bandwidth consumed by one or more applications operating on the node, and assist the node to retransmit failed packets. The retry algorithm may use input including link quality and traffic density to adjust or maintain the contention window and/or retry count.
As to claim 2. The combine system of Dhan and Nguyen discloses the invention as in parent claims above discloses, wherein the network activity data corresponds to current activity of each of the set of applications, wherein the network activity data relates to at least one of network usage at a location, a type of application, type of device associated with each application and user identity associated with the application, wherein the network usage corresponds to at least one of downloads, uploads, and network resources accessed by a respective application, which can be specific to at least one of a location, a device, an application and a user (Dhan, [0054] and [0056]).
As to claim 3. The combine system of Dhan and Nguyen discloses the invention as in parent claims above discloses, wherein the configuration further comprises: allocating specific portions of the network to specific applications based on the ranking, wherein the portion of the network corresponds to at least one of a channel and an antenna of an access point device at a location (Dhan, [0090]).
As to claim 4. The combine system of Dhan and Nguyen discloses the invention as in parent claims above discloses, wherein the specific applications are assigned a minimum portion of bandwidth for a time period based on an associated ranking to each specific application (Dhan, [0090]).
As to claim 5. The combine system of Dhan and Nguyen discloses the invention as in parent claims above discloses, further comprising: analyzing information related to each of the set of applications (Dhan, [0054], [0056], [0090]); and
determining, based on the information analysis, a type of each application (Dhan, [0054], [0056], [0090]).
As to claim 6. The combine system of Dhan and Nguyen discloses the invention as in parent claims above discloses, wherein the ranking of the set of applications is based on the determined type of each application, wherein a respective application is weighted based on its respective type (Dhan, [0118]).
As to claim 7. The combine system of Dhan and Nguyen discloses the invention as in parent claims above discloses, further comprising:
collecting activity data from a plurality of applications operating on the network (Dhan, [0096]);
analyzing the activity data (Dhan, [0090] and [0096]);
determining a plurality of patterns of behavior for the network (Dhan, [0090] and [0096]); and
storing the determined plurality of patterns of behavior, wherein the set of patterns are identified from the stored plurality of patterns of behavior (Dhan, [0090] and [0096]).
As to claim 8. The combine system of Dhan and Nguyen discloses the invention as in parent claims above discloses, wherein the network is a location-specific network, wherein the network is a Wi-Fi network (Dhan, [0060], Remote machines 106A - 106N may be generally referred to as servers 106 or a server farm 106. In some embodiments, a client device 102 may have the capacity to function as both a client node seeking access to resources provided by server 106 and as a server 106 providing access to hosted resources for other client devices 102A-102N Networks 104. 104 may be generally referred to as a network 104. Networks 104 may be configured in any combination of wired and wireless networks.).
As to claim 9. The combine system of Dhan and Nguyen discloses the invention as in parent claims above discloses, wherein the device is a user device (Dhan, [0060]).
As to claim 10. The combine system of Dhan and Nguyen discloses the invention as in parent claims above discloses, wherein the device is an access point for a location (Dhan, [0060]).
As to claim 11. Is rejected for same rationale as applied to claim 1 above.
As to claim 12. Dhan discloses, wherein the network activity data corresponds to current activity of each of the set of applications, wherein the network activity data relates to at least one of network usage at a location, a type of application, type of device associated with each application and user identity associated with the application, wherein the network usage corresponds to at least one of downloads, uploads, and network resources accessed by a respective application, which can be specific to at least one of a location, a device, an application and a user (Dhan, [0054], [0056]).
As to claim 13. Dhan discloses, wherein the processor is further configured to: allocate specific portions of the network to specific applications based on the ranking, wherein the portion of the network corresponds to at least one of a channel and an antenna of an access point device at a location (Dhan, [0090]).
As to claim 14. Dhan discloses, wherein the specific applications are assigned a minimum portion of bandwidth for a time period based on an associated ranking to each specific application (Dhan, [0090]).
As to claim 15. Dhan discloses, wherein the processor is further configured to:
analyze information related to each of the set of applications (Dhan, [0054], [0056]); and
determine, based on the information analysis, a type of each application, wherein the ranking of the set of applications is based on the determined type of each application, wherein a respective application is weighted based on its respective type (Dhan, [0054], [0056] and [0090]).
As to claim 16. Is rejected for same rationale as applied for claims 1 and 11 above.
As to claim 17. Is rejected for same rationale as applied to claim 2 and 12 above.
As to claim 18. Is rejected for same rationale as applied to claims 3 and 13 above.
As to claim 19. Is rejected for same rationale as applied to claims 4 and 14 above.
As to claim 20. Is rejected for same rationale as applied to claim 15 above.
Double Patenting
The non-statutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A non-statutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on non-statutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a non-statutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1, 11 and 16 are rejected on the ground of non-statutory double patenting as being anticipated by claims 1, 10 and 14 of U.S. Patent No. 11855859. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because see the table below:
Instant application No.: 18/509,509 U.S. Patent No.: 11855859
A method comprising:
identifying, by a device, a set of applications, the set of applications executing on a network, each of the applications having a corresponding set of patterns related to known network usage;
collecting, by the device, network activity data for each of the set of applications;
analyzing, by the device, for each application, the network activity data based on a respective set of patterns;
determining, by the device, a ranking for the set of applications, the ranking corresponding to a priority of execution on the network;
modifying, by the device, network parameters of the network based on the determined ranking, the modification causing a priority of network usage for a higher ranking application over network usage of a lower ranking application, the modification corresponding to changes as to which network channels are used for the set of applications, the modification further preventing operation of the lower ranking application from functioning on the network for a time period during an operation of the higher ranking application;
automatically, by the device, configuring the network based on the modified network parameters of the network; and
enabling, by the device, the set of applications to operate at the time via the configured network parameters of the network.
A method comprising:
identifying, by a device, a set of applications, the set of applications executing at a time on a network, each of the applications having a corresponding set of patterns related to known network usage;
collecting, by the device, current network activity data for each of the set of applications;
analyzing, by the device, for each application, the current network activity data based on a respective set of patterns;
determining, by the device, a ranking for the set of applications based on the QoE value for each application in the set of applications, the ranking corresponding to a priority of execution on the network;
determining, by the device, based on the analysis of the current network activity, a Quality of Experience (QoE) value for each application, the QoE value comprising information indicating a required usage of the network by a respective application;
automatically, by the device, configuring network parameters of the network based on the determined ranking, the automatic configuration comprising modifications to the network parameters so as to prioritize network usage of a higher ranking application over a lower ranking application; and
enabling, by the device, the set of applications to operate at the time via the configured network parameters of the network.
11. A device comprising: a processor configured to:
identifying, by a device, a set of applications, the set of applications executing on a network, each of the applications having a corresponding set of patterns related to known network usage;
collecting, by the device, network activity data for each of the set of applications;
analyzing, by the device, for each application, the network activity data based on a respective set of patterns;
determining, by the device, a ranking for the set of applications, the ranking corresponding to a priority of execution on the network;
modifying, by the device, network parameters of the network based on the determined ranking, the modification causing a priority of network usage for a higher ranking application over network usage of a lower ranking application, the modification corresponding to changes as to which network channels are used for the set of applications, the modification further preventing operation of the lower ranking application from functioning on the network for a time period during an operation of the higher ranking application;
automatically, by the device, configuring the network based on the modified network parameters of the network; and
enabling, by the device, the set of applications to operate at the time via the configured network parameters of the network.
10. A device comprising: a processor configured to:
identify a set of applications, the set of applications executing at a time on a network, each of the applications having a corresponding set of patterns related to known network usage;
collect current network activity data for each of the set of applications;
analyze, for each application, the current network activity data based on a respective set of patterns;
determine a ranking for the set of applications based on the QoE value for each application in the set of applications, the ranking corresponding to a priority of execution on the network;
determine, based on the analysis of the current network activity, a Quality of Experience (QoE) value for each application, the QoE value comprising information indicating a required usage of the network by a respective application;
automatically configure network parameters of the network based on the determined ranking, the automatic configuration comprising modifications to the network parameters so as to prioritize network usage of a higher-ranking application over a lower ranking application; and
enable the set of applications to operate at the time via the configured network parameters of the network.
16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium tangibly encoded with computer-executable instructions that when executed by the device, perform a method comprising:
identifying, by a device, a set of applications, the set of applications executing on a network, each of the applications having a corresponding set of patterns related to known network usage;
collecting, by the device, network activity data for each of the set of applications;
analyzing, by the device, for each application, the network activity data based on a respective set of patterns;
determining, by the device, a ranking for the set of applications, the ranking corresponding to a priority of execution on the network;
modifying, by the device, network parameters of the network based on the determined ranking, the modification causing a priority of network usage for a higher ranking application over network usage of a lower ranking application, the modification corresponding to changes as to which network channels are used for the set of applications, the modification further preventing operation of the lower ranking application from functioning on the network for a time period during an operation of the higher ranking application;
automatically, by the device, configuring the network based on the modified network parameters of the network; and
enabling, by the device, the set of applications to operate at the time via the configured network parameters of the network.
14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium tangibly encoded with computer-executable instructions that when executed by the device, perform a method comprising:
identifying, by the device, a set of applications, the set of applications executing at a time on a network, each of the applications having a corresponding set of patterns related to known network usage;
collecting, by the device, current network activity data for each of the set of applications;
analyzing, by the device, for each application, the current network activity data based on a respective set of patterns;
determining, by the device, a ranking for the set of applications based on the QoE value for each application in the set of applications, the ranking corresponding to a priority of execution on the network;
determining, by the device, based on the analysis of the current network activity, a Quality of Experience (QoE) value for each application, the QoE value comprising information indicating a required usage of the network by a respective application;
automatically, by the device, configuring network parameters of the network based on the determined ranking, the automatic configuration comprising modifications to the network parameters so as to prioritize network usage of a higher ranking application over a lower ranking application; and
enabling, by the device, the set of applications to operate at the time via the configured network parameters of the network.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration further comprises: allocating specific portions of the network to specific applications based on the ranking, wherein the portion of the network corresponds to at least one of a channel and an antenna of an access point device at a location.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration further comprises: allocating specific portions of the network to specific applications based on the ranking, wherein the portion of the network corresponds to at least one of a channel and an antenna of an access point device at a location.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the specific applications are assigned a minimum portion of bandwidth for a time period based on an associated ranking to each specific application.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the specific applications are assigned a minimum portion of bandwidth for a time period based on an associated ranking to each specific application.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: analyzing information related to each of the set of applications; and determining, based on the information analysis, a type of each application.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: analyzing information related to each of the set of applications; and determining, based on the information analysis, a type of each application.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the ranking of the set of applications is based on the determined type of each application, wherein a respective application is weighted based on its respective type.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the ranking of the set of applications is further based on the determined type of each application, wherein a respective application is weighted based on its respective type.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: collecting activity data from a plurality of applications operating on the network; analyzing the activity data; determining a plurality of patterns of behavior for the network; and storing the determined plurality of patterns of behavior, wherein the set of patterns are identified from the stored plurality of patterns of behavior.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: collecting activity data from a plurality of applications operating on the network; analyzing the activity data; determining a plurality of patterns of behavior for the network; and storing the determined plurality of patterns of behavior, wherein the set of patterns are identified from the stored plurality of patterns of behavior.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the network is a location-specific network, wherein the network is a Wi-Fi network.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the network is a location-specific network, wherein the network is a Wi-Fi network.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the device is a user device.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the device is a user device.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the device is an access point for a location.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the device is an access point for a location.
Similarly, the dependent claims 12-15 and 17-20 and rejected for the same rationale as applied to claims 3-10 above.
The difference being that the instant claims 1, 11 and 16 are broader than the conflicting claims 1, 10 and 14 because the conflicting claims contain “determining, by the device, based on the analysis of the current network activity, a Quality of Experience (QoE) value for each application, the QoE value comprising information indicating a required usage of the network by a respective application”. Hence the conflicting claims are a species of a genus of the instant claims.
Therefore, this is a non-statutory anticipatory 102 type double patenting rejection.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please see the attached PTO-892.
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.
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.
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/Tauqir Hussain/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2446
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