CTNF 18/698,845 CTNF 72319 DETAILED ACTION 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. Election/Restrictions 08-25-01 AIA Applicant’s election without traverse of Group IV, claims 8, 25 and 20, 26 in the reply filed on 03/25/2026 is acknowledged. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – 07-08-aia AIA (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 07-15 AIA Claim s 8, 25 and 20, 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by LIU (US 20240314845 A) . LIU discloses a UE including one or more memories and one or more processors configured to execute instructions for slice-based registration and mobility operations ( [0007], [0139]-[0146], [0226] ). LIU further discloses sending a registration request message including slice-related information, where the UE transmits a NAS registration request including a requested NSSAI, and Msg5 / RRC setup complete may include the NAS registration request, UE capability, and AS-requested NSSAI ( [0103], [0115] ), which broadly indicates the UE supports priority related to S-NSSAI in view of LIU’s disclosure that slice priority is used for network slice selection and may be configured via NAS ( [0119], [0131], [0154]-[0159] ). LIU also discloses receiving a registration accept message including the priority , in that the AMF responds with a NAS registration accept including allowed S-NSSAIs ( [0004], [0104] ), the message is forwarded to the UE ( [0105] ), and LIU teaches that the UE receives slice priority via a NAS message ( [0119], [0200], [0205], [0212], [0217] ). LIU additionally discloses using the priority for at least one of cell selection or cell reselection , including selecting an intended network slice based on respective slice priority and performing cell reselection based on the intended network slice, including selecting a cell supporting the intended network slice ( [0006], [0041], [0131], [0155], [0167]-[0168], [0197]-[0201] ) . 07-15 AIA Claim s 8, 25 and 20, 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Hedman et al. (US 20240196316 A1) . HEDMAN discloses a wireless device/UE having processing circuitry and memory configured to perform the recited functions ( [0323], [0325], [014]-[015], [0278]-[0286] ). HEDMAN further discloses sending a registration request message including information indicating that the UE supports priority related to S-NSSAI , because the UE signals, upon NAS registration, an indication that it supports non-uniform slice availability ( [0017]-[0019] ), where the indication may comprise UE capability to support slice/group-of-slice information and non-uniform slice availability ( [0018] ), and specifically the UE sends a Registration Request indicating that the UE supports RRSG functionality ( [0024], [0077]-[0078], [0105], [0198], [0304]-[0309] ), RRSG being a grouping of S-NSSAIs used for slice-specific radio-resource handling and reselection ( [0101], [0189]-[0191], [0245]-[0251] ). HEDMAN also discloses receiving a registration accept message including the priority , because the AMF sends a Registration Accept including Allowed NSSAI ( [0028], [0083], [0109], [0204], [0213] ), and may include a list of RRSG per S-NSSAI ( [0028]-[0030], [0109]-[0111], [0204]-[0205], [0213]-[0214], [0248]-[0249] ), with CN/RAN signaling further including preferred or prioritized frequency layer information for slice access ( [0031], [0084] ). HEDMAN additionally discloses using the priority for at least one of cell selection or cell reselection , because the UE uses the received slice-group / RRSG information and corresponding cell reselection priority per RRSG to select or reselect a cell supporting the desired slice ( [0031], [0072], [0113]-[0120], [0126]-[0148], [0184]-[0193], [0206]-[0208], [0214], [0218]-[0221], [0228]-[0230] ). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RICKY QUOC NGO whose telephone number is (571)272-3139. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. 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. 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. /RICKY Q NGO/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/698,845 Page 2 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/698,845 Page 3 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/698,845 Page 4 Art Unit: 2464
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