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 .
This action is responsive to the application filed March 12, 2024.
Claims 1-20 are pending and are presenting for examination
Examiner Notes
Examiner cites particular columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims below for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, the applicant fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Claim Objections
Claims 9 and 19 are objected to because of the following informalities:
As per claims 9 and 19, recite to include the limitation “an AI accelerator-based language model” in the claim. As acronym is likely to change its meaning over time, thus, it (AI) needs to be spelled out once in the claims. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claim 11 in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are:
“a prompt generation module configured to generate”, “an inference module coupled to the prompt generation module and configured to generate”, “a profiling module coupled to the inference module and a product and configured to analyze”,” a prompt adjustment module coupled to the inference module and the profiling module and configured to adjust “, and “a testing benchmark generation module coupled to the profiling module and configured to generate” in claim 11.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof. If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 11-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 11, recites limitation, “a prompt generation module configured to generate, an inference module coupled to the prompt generation module and configured to generate, a profiling module coupled to the inference module and a product and configured to analyze, a prompt adjustment module coupled to the inference module and the profiling module and configured to adjust , and a testing benchmark generation module coupled to the profiling module and configured to generate” invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
However, the written description fails to disclose the corresponding structure, material, or acts for performing the entire claimed function and to clearly link the structure, material, or acts to the function. In view of Fig. 1 of instant application including corresponds components: a Prompt Generation Module 10, an Inference Module 11, a Profiling Module 12, a Prompt Adjustment module 13, and a Testing Benchmark Generation Module 14 are merely belong to a testing benchmark generation system 100 for providing different functionalities, but, it does not disclose corresponding hardware structure that provide claims functionalities, especially, the disclosure does not provide clear structural support for performing claims steps such as to generate and check etc., it is further to note that the a Prompt Generation Module 10, an Inference Module 11, a Profiling Module 12, a Prompt Adjustment module 13, and a Testing Benchmark Generation Module 14 appear within the system 100 of Fig. 1 but it is unclear whether the modules ( i.e. Prompt Generation Module 10 etc. is a hardware ?) are used to carry on the functions of the above steps (i.e. generate and check etc.).
Therefore, the claim 11 is indefinite and is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph.
Applicant may:
(a) Amend the claim so that the claim limitation will no longer be interpreted as a limitation under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph;
(b) Amend the written description of the specification such that it expressly recites what structure, material, or acts perform the entire claimed function, without introducing any new matter (35 U.S.C. 132(a)); or
(c) Amend the written description of the specification such that it clearly links the structure, material, or acts disclosed therein to the function recited in the claim, without introducing any new matter (35 U.S.C. 132(a)).
If applicant is of the opinion that the written description of the specification already implicitly or inherently discloses the corresponding structure, material, or acts and clearly links them to the function so that one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize what structure, material, or acts perform the claimed function, applicant should clarify the record by either:
(a) Amending the written description of the specification such that it expressly recites the corresponding structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function and clearly links or associates the structure, material, or acts to the claimed function, without introducing any new matter (35 U.S.C. 132(a)); or
(b) Stating on the record what the corresponding structure, material, or acts, which are implicitly or inherently set forth in the written description of the specification, perform the claimed function. For more information, see 37 CFR 1.75(d) and MPEP §§ 608.01(o) and 2181.
Claims 12-20 recite the limitation that do not cure the deficiency of base claim 11; accordingly, they are also rejected for the same rationale.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-8 and 10 are allowed.
The following is an Examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The prior arts of record or made of record, taken alone or in combination do not disclose and/or suggest, and/or motivation to combine, “generating prompt data of the product by a prompt generation module; generating a code snippet by a large language model (LLM) according to the prompt data; semantically checking the code snippet by an inference module for determining if the code snippet is successfully verified; compiling the code snippet and executing the code snippet to drive the product after the code snippet is successfully verified; analyzing an execution result corresponding to the code snippet after the code snippet is executed under the product; comparing the execution result corresponding to the code snippet with at least one constraint of the product by a profiling module for determining if the code snippet matches the at least one constraint; and adding the code snippet to testing benchmark data of a testing benchmark generation module” as limitations recited in as such manners as in independent claim 1
Claim 9 is objected to as being dependent upon rejected base claims, but would be allowable if further rewritten or amended to overcome the objection(s), set forth in this Office action.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon (cited on 892 form) is considered pertinent to application disclosure.
ENRIGHT et al. (EP-3021224-B1) discloses producing a benchmark application for performance testing.
Makkar et al. (US-20210011696-A1) disclose semantic similarity comparison among code snippets.
Kramer et al. (US-20240086164-A1) discloses semantics of source code snippets
checking during programmatic translation within Large Language model.
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/MARINA LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2192