Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 30, 2026
Application No. 18/722,611

USER EQUIPMENT (UE) AND COMMUNICATION CONTROL METHOD PERFORMED BY UE

Non-Final OA §102§DOUBLEPATENT
Filed
Jun 21, 2024
Priority
Dec 27, 2021 — JP 2021-212055 +1 more
Examiner
TRAN, CONGVAN
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Sharp Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
89%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2m
Est. Remaining
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 89% — above average
89%
Career Allowance Rate
1055 granted / 1181 resolved
+29.3% vs TC avg
Minimal +5% lift
Without
With
+4.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
32 currently pending
Career history
1197
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.3%
-35.7% vs TC avg
§103
25.7%
-14.3% vs TC avg
§102
58.9%
+18.9% vs TC avg
§112
5.9%
-34.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1181 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §DOUBLEPATENT
CTNF 18/722,611 CTNF 73926 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. This office action is in response to Pre-amendment filed on Jun. 21, 2024. Claims 1, 3 and 6 have been amended. Double Patenting 08-33 AIA The nonstatutory 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 nonstatutory 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 nonstatutory 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 §§ 706.02(l)(1) - 706.02(l)(3) 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 USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The 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/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp. Claims 1 and 6 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 and 3 of copending Application No. 18/732,489. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the patent claims include all the limitations of the instant application claims, respectively ( see table below ). The patent claims also include additional limitations. Hence, the instant application claims are generic to the species of invention covered by the respective patent claims. As such, the instant application claims are anticipated by the patent claims and are therefore not patentably distinct therefrom (See Eli Lilly and Co. v. Barr Laboratories Inc., 58 USPQ2D 1869, " a later genus claim limitation is anticipated by, and therefore not patentably distinct from, an earlier species claim", In re Goodman, 29 USPQ2d 2010, "Thus, the generic invention is 'anticipated' by the species of the patented invention" and the instant “application claims are generic to species of invention covered by the patent claim, and since without terminal disclaimer, extant species claim preclude issuance of generic application claims”). This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented Claims 2-5 are rejected as being dependent on independent claim 1 . Application 18/722,611 Application 18/723,480 Claim 1 A User Equipment (UE) comprising: a controller; and a storage, wherein in a case that the UE enters a 5GMM-DEREGISTERED state following an unsuccessful registration for 5GMM causes other than #62 “No network slices available” for a current Stand-alone Non-Public Network (SNPN), the controller deletes rejected Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) from the storage. Claim 1 A User Equipment (UE) comprising: a controller; and a storage unit, wherein in a case that the UE deregisters with a current Stand-alone Non-Public Network (SNPN) using explicit signaling or enters a 5GMM-DEREGISTERED state for the SNPN, and in a case that the UE is not registered with the SNPN over another access type, the controller deletes pending Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) for the SNPN from the storage unit . Claim 6 A communication control method performed by a User Equipment (UE), the communication control method comprising: in a case that the UE enters a 5GMM-DEREGISTERED state following an unsuccessful registration for 5GMM causes other than #62 “No network slices available” for a current Stand-alone Non-Public Network (SNPN), deleting rejected Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) from a storage in the UE . Claim 3 A communication control method performed by a User Equipment (UE), the communication control method comprising: in a case that the UE deregisters with a current Stand-alone Non-Public Network (SNPN) using explicit signaling or enters a 5GMM-DEREGISTERED state for the SNPN, and in a case that the UE is not registered with the SNPN over another access type, deleting pending Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) for the SNPN from the UE. 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 – 07-12-aia AIA (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 07-15-03-aia AIA Claim s 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Mysore Viswanath et al. (2023/0138108) . Regarding claims 1 and 6 , Mysore Viswanath discloses a 1.A User Equipment (UE) (see abstract, fig.1, element 110, paragraphs [0033-0034] and its description), comprising: a controller (see abstract, fig.3, element 305 paragraphs [0043-0044] and its description); and a storage (see abstract, fig.3, element 310 (see abstract, fig.3, element 305 paragraphs [0043-0044] and its description), wherein in a case that the UE enters a 5GMM-DEREGISTERED state following an unsuccessful registration for 5GMM causes other than #62 “No network slices available” for a current Stand-alone Non-Public Network (SNPN), the controller deletes rejected Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) from the storage (see fig.1, paragraphs [0099-0102], [0106] and its description). Regarding claim 2 , Mysore Viswanath further discloses wherein the rejected NSSAI is rejected NSSAI for the current SNPN (see abstract, paragraphs [0003], [0014], [0106]). Regarding claim 3 , Mysore Viswanath further discloses wherein the controller further deletes one or multiple pieces of mapped S-NSSAIs for the rejected NSSAI from the storage (see abstract, paragraphs [0014], [0031]). Regarding claim 4 , Mysore Viswanath further discloses wherein the rejected NSSAI is rejected NSSAI for which Network Slice-Specific Authentication and Authorization (NSSAA) is failed or revoked (see abstract, paragraph [0101-0102]). Regarding claim 5 , Mysore Viswanath further discloses wherein the rejected NSSAI is associated with the SNPN (see abstract, paragraph [0101-0102]). Examiner's Note : Examiner has cited particular columns and line numbers in the references applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well . It is respectfully requested from the applicant in preparing responses, to 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. When responding to this Office Action , Applicant is advised to clearly point out the patentable novelty which he or she thinks the claims present, in view of the state of the art disclosed by the references cited or the objections made. He or she must also show how the amendments avoid such references or objections See 37 CFR 1.111(c) . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US-20210368339-A1 US-20230015471-A1 US-20240187968-A1 US-12120625-B2 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CongVan Tran whose telephone number is (571) 272-7871. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Th . 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, Alison Slater can be reached on (571) 270-0375 . 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. PNG media_image1.png 100 100 media_image1.png Greyscale UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE /CONGVAN TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/722,611 Page 2 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/722,611 Page 3 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/722,611 Page 4 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/722,611 Page 5 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/722,611 Page 6 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/722,611 Page 7 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/722,611 Page 8 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/722,611 Page 9 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/722,611 Page 10 Art Unit: 2647
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 21, 2024
Application Filed
May 05, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §DOUBLEPATENT (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12720591
USER EQUIPMENT, BASE STATION, AND METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING USER EQUIPMENT
3y 4m to grant Granted Aug 25, 2026
Patent 12720411
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2y 8m to grant Granted Aug 25, 2026
Patent 12720624
COMMUNICATION METHOD, COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE
2y 4m to grant Granted Aug 25, 2026
Patent 12713219
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SUBSRIPTION MANAGEMENT
3y 9m to grant Granted Aug 18, 2026
Patent 12707256
UE CAPABILITY SIGNALING DESIGN FOR ONE OR MORE FUNCTIONALITIES WITH DIFFERENT APPLICATION RESTRICTIONS IN DIFFERENT RELEASES OF A CELLULAR COMMUNICATION SPECIFICATION
2y 1m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
89%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+4.9%)
2y 5m (~2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1181 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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