Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/723,477

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

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Dec 06, 2024
Priority
Dec 27, 2021 — JP 2021-212053 +1 more
Examiner
MADANI, FARIDEH
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Sharp Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
78%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
10m
Est. Remaining
97%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 78% — above average
78%
Career Allowance Rate
304 granted / 391 resolved
+17.7% vs TC avg
Strong +19% interview lift
Without
With
+19.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
23 currently pending
Career history
416
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.5%
-36.5% vs TC avg
§103
65.3%
+25.3% vs TC avg
§102
12.7%
-27.3% vs TC avg
§112
6.4%
-33.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 391 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claim Objections 2. Claims 1-2 are objected to because of the following informalities: a) Claims 1-2 are using “in a case that” statement which is a conditional language and will not be given a patentable weight. Examiner is suggesting to replace “in a case that” with “when”; Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 3. 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 – (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. A) Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (1) as being anticipated by WATFA (US 2021/0368339 A1). As per claim 1, WATFA discloses a User Equipment (UE) (¶165, UE) comprising: a controller (¶165, controller); and a storage unit (¶165, storage device), wherein in a case that the UE successfully registers with a new Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) not included in a list of equivalent PLMNs (¶135 and table 5, UE successfully registers with a new PLMN) different from current PLMN and any equivalent PLMNs (therefore not in the list)), and that the UE is not registered with a current PLMN over another access type (¶135 and table 5, and the UE is not registered with the current PLMN over another access), the controller deletes, from the storage unit, pending Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) for the current PLMN and pending NSSAI for equivalent PLMNs of the current PLMN (¶135 and table 5, the pending NSSAI for the current PLMN and equivalent PLMNs shall be deleted). As per claim 2, WATFA discloses a communication control method performed by a User Equipment (UE), the communication control method (table 5, communication method performed by the UE) comprising: in a case that the UE successfully registers with a new Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) not included in a list of equivalent PLMNs (¶135 and table 5, UE successfully registers with a new PLMN) different from current PLMN and any equivalent PLMNs (therefore not in the list)), and that the UE is not registered with a current PLMN over another access type (¶135 and table 5, and the UE is not registered with the current PLMN over another access), deleting, from the UE, pending Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) for the current PLMN and pending NSSAI for equivalent PLMNs of the current PLMN (¶135 and table 5, the pending NSSAI for the current PLMN and equivalent PLMNs shall be deleted from the UE). B) Claims 1-2 are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (1) as being anticipated by MediaTek Inc., "Removal of pending NSSAI if NSSAA not successfully completed", C1-216641, 3GPP TSG-CT WG1 Meeting #133-e E-meeting, 11-19 November 2021, hereinafter 3GPP. As per claim 1, 3GPP discloses a User Equipment (UE) (page 6, UE) comprising: a controller (page 6, UE has processor or controller); and a storage unit (page 6, UE has memory or storage), wherein in a case that the UE successfully registers with a new Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) not included in a list of equivalent PLMNs (page 6, UE successfully registers with a new PLMN) different from current PLMN and any equivalent PLMNs (therefore not in the list)), and that the UE is not registered with a current PLMN over another access type (page 6, and the UE is not registered with the current PLMN over another access), the controller deletes, from the storage unit, pending Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) for the current PLMN and pending NSSAI for equivalent PLMNs of the current PLMN (page 6, the rejected NSSAI for the current PLMN and the rejected NSSAI for the failed or revoked NSSAA shall be deleted and the UE shall delete the stored pending NSSAI, if any, for this PLMN or SNPN and its equivalent PLMN(s)). As per claim 2, 3GPP discloses a communication control method performed by a User Equipment (UE), the communication control method (page 6, method performed by the UE) comprising: in a case that the UE successfully registers with a new Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) not included in a list of equivalent PLMNs (page 6, UE successfully registers with a new PLMN) different from current PLMN and any equivalent PLMNs (therefore not in the list)), and that the UE is not registered with a current PLMN over another access type (page 6, and the UE is not registered with the current PLMN over another access), deleting, from the UE, pending Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) for the current PLMN and pending NSSAI for equivalent PLMNs of the current PLMN (page 6, the rejected NSSAI for the current PLMN and the rejected NSSAI for the failed or revoked NSSAA shall be deleted and the UE shall delete the stored pending NSSAI, if any, for this PLMN or SNPN and its equivalent PLMN(s)). Conclusion 4. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FARIDEH MADANI whose telephone number is (571)272-1249. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday; 9 AM to 5 PM EST. 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, JINSONG HU can be reached at 5712723965. 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. /FARIDEH MADANI/Examiner, Art Unit 2643 /JINSONG HU/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2643
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 06, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 23, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

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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
78%
Grant Probability
97%
With Interview (+19.4%)
2y 6m (~10m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 391 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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