DETAILED ACTION
Claim(s) 1-5 and 7-12 have been examined and are pending.
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 Remarks/Comments
Status of Application as of the Non-Final Rejection mailed April 7, 2026
The title of the Instant Application was objected to for being not sufficiently descriptive. Claim(s) 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 19 and 20, were rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by OSAWA (US 20210307032 A1). Claim(s) 5 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over OSAWA (US 20210307032 A1) in view of NAM (US 20210022173 A1). Claim(s) 13 was rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over OSAWA (US 20210307032 A1) in view of KIM (US 20170055232 A1). Claim(s) 15, 16, and 17 ,were rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over OSAWA (US 20210307032 A1) in view of CHEN (US 20200107171 A1). Claim(s) 18 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over OSAWA (US 20210307032 A1) in view of CHEN (US 20200107171 A1) in view of KIM (US 20170055232 A1).
Response to the Non-Final Rejection
Responsive to the objection to the title for not being sufficiently descriptive, Applicants have changed the title to Communication Device and Communication Method for Preempting a Sidelink Communication. The changed title is sufficiently descriptive. Accordingly, the objection to the title is withdrawn.
Responsive to the prior art rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-20, Applicants have amended each of independent claim(s) 1, 11, 19, and 20. Further responsive to the prior art rejections, Applicants have also canceled claim 6. The amendments are effective. Accordingly, the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 19 and 20, under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by OSAWA (US 20210307032 A1) are withdrawn. The rejection of claim(s) 5 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over OSAWA (US 20210307032 A1) in view of NAM (US 20210022173 A1) is withdrawn. The rejection of claim(s) 13 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over OSAWA (US 20210307032 A1) in view of KIM (US 20170055232 A1) is withdrawn. The rejection of claim(s) 15, 16, and 17 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over OSAWA (US 20210307032 A1) in view of CHEN (US 20200107171 A1) are withdrawn. The rejection of claim(s) 18 were under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over OSAWA (US 20210307032 A1) in view of CHEN (US 20200107171 A1) in view of KIM (US 20170055232 A1) is withdrawn. Claim(s) 1-5 and 7-20 are pending.
Due to amendments, claim(s) 11-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph see the 112 rejection below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim(s) 11-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 11 has been amended to at least recite the following:
“11. A communication device comprising:
processing circuitry configured to
transmit, based on scheduling information that is transmitted by a base station and relates to a sidelink resource used for sidelink communication with a first communication device, cancellation information for canceling the sidelink communication using the sidelink resource to a second communication device that performs sidelink communication with the first communication device, wherein,
the sidelink communication includes transmission of a physical sidelink control channel (PSSCH), scheduled in the sidelink resource and transmission of a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) scheduled in the sidelink resource,
the cancellation information includes information regarding the scheduling information
in which the sidelink resource is scheduled and a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process
number associated with the PSSCH, and causes the second communication device to cancel the
sidelink communication using the sidelink resource by canceling the transmission of the PSCCH
scheduled in the sidelink resource and the transmission of the PSSCH scheduled in the sidelink
resource.”
Claim 11, recites three communication devices, (1) a claimed apparatus “a communication device”
that transmits the cancellation information to a second communication device, (2) “a first communication device that performs sidelink communication using a sidelink resource, and (3) a “second communication device” that cancels the sidelink communication using the sidelink resource, based upon the cancellation information. The Instant Application as originally filed does not appear to have support for the claimed feature. With respect to the cancellation information being transmitted from a communication device, the embodiments of the Instant Application illustrate two communication devices. See [Instant Application, Fig. 9 – Fig. 10] which show a second communication device (i.e. second UE), transmitting, cancellation information (i.e. PSSCH cancellation) to a first communication device (i.e. first UE), the cancellation information causing the first communication device (i.e. first UE) to cancel the sidelink communication. Thus, the Instant Application as originally filed is not believed to support claim 11. Dependent claim(s) 12-15 are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement due to dependency on claim 11.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 1-5, 7-10, and 16-20 are allowed.
Claim(s) 11-15 would be allowable pending the resolution of the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 1st paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
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 TARELL A HAMPTON whose telephone number is (571)270-7162. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 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.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ayaz Sheikh can be reached at 5712723795. 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.
/TARELL A HAMPTON/Examiner, Art Unit 2476 /AYAZ R SHEIKH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2476
Prosecution Insights