DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is responsive to the claims filed on: 12/04/2024.
Claims 1-12 and 15-22 are pending for Examination.
Claims 13 and 14 were cancelled by preliminary amendment.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statements
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on: 07/12/2024 is determined to be compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, this IDS is being considered by the Examiner.
Claim Interpretation – Alternative Claim Language
The claims of the instant application are given their Broadest Reasonable Interpretation (BRI) 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. Accordingly, the BRI of an alternative claim limitation or term can be determined to be the least-limiting interpretation, consistent with the specification. In this context, the term “or” by plain meaning can be interpreted to alternatively be: one or the other (i.e., A or B), but not both (i.e., not A and B). The term “and/or” by plain meaning can be interpreted to be: “and” or alternatively “or,” but not both, as this would not make sense. In this context, the forward-slash “/” is equivalent to the alternative “or.” Likewise, the alternative terms “at least one of,” “one or more of,” and the like, followed by multiple alternative claim limitations can be reasonably interpreted to be only “one of” a group of alternative claim limitations.
Prior art disclosing any one of multiple alternative claim limitations discloses matter within the scope of the claimed invention. "When a claim covers several structures or compositions, either generically or as alternatives, the claim is deemed anticipated if any of the structures or compositions within the scope of the claim is known in the prior art." Brown v. 3M, 265 F.3d 1349, 1351, 60 USPQ2d 1375, 1376 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (claim to a system for setting a computer clock to an offset time to address the Year 2000 (Y2K) problem, applicable to records with year date data in "at least one of two-digit, three-digit, or four-digit" representations, was held anticipated by a system that offsets year dates in only two-digit formats). See MPEP 2131.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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)(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.
Claims 1-3, 15, and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being unpatentable in view of US PG Pub. 2024/0365404 A1, Luo et al. (hereinafter “Luo-404”).
With respect to claim 1, Luo-404 teaches:
A communication method, performed by a station (STA) (paras. [0064]-[0068] and [0078] —STA of Fig. 1 and STA 600 of Fig. 35), and the method comprising:
sending a first wireless frame, wherein the first wireless frame comprises first sensing proxy information (paras. [0112]-[0113], [0287]-[0288], and [0421]; and Fig. 8 —a STA can send a sensing by proxy (SBP) request frame to an AP with sensing capabilities information —the STA may send in its request frame, to the AP, SBP role information indicating its own sensing capability information, i.e., whether it supports various proxy roles, measurement without polling, etc.),
the first sensing proxy information indicating whether the STA supports a wireless local area network (WLAN) sensing measurement performed by a proxy device of the STA when the STA serves as a sensing initiator during the WLAN sensing measurement (paras. [0107]-[0108], [0112]-[0113], [0287]-[0288], [0421], and [0693]; and Fig. 8 —a STA may send a SBP setup session request frame with information supporting WLAN proxy measurement —STA supporting capabilities can include indications of whether the STA can serve as the sensing initiator according to its proxy role capabilities, whether the STA can support SBP requestor/responder roles, whether the STA supports triggered/non-triggered sensing responder roles, etc. —The Examiner notes that Applicant’s disclosure teaches: “in the WLAN sensing process, [its] STA can also serve as the sensing initiator and the sensing initiator may be a sensing transmitter, a sensing receiver, or both, or neither,” at para. [0041] of its PG Pub —Therefore, a STA acting as a sensing initiator can be reasonably interpreted to perform almost any sensing role, or none, as taught by Applicant’s disclosure).
With respect to claim 2, Luo-404 teaches:
The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the first wireless frame comprises at least one of a Probe Request frame, a Multi-link (ML) Probe Request frame, an Association Request frame, a Reassociation Request frame, or an Authentication Request frame (paras. [0044], [0171], [0417], [0421]-[0422], [0465], and [0693] —a STA can send a sensing Probe Request frame to an AP comprising SBP information, etc. —the alternative terms “at least one of” and “or” only require examination on-the-merits of a single claimed alternative, for the reasons explained above in the Claim Interpretation — Alternative Claim Language section).
With respect to claim 3, Luo-404 teaches:
The communication method according to claim 2, wherein the first sensing proxy information is carried in an extended capability information element of the first wireless frame (paras. [0287]-[0288], [0421], and [0693]; and Fig. 8 —STA sensing SBP capabilities information may be included within an extended capabilities element of a first request frame, where the STA can include indications of whether the STA can serve as the sensing initiator according to its SBP role(s), whether the STA supports SBP requestor/responder role(s), whether the STA supports triggered/non-triggered sensing responder role(s), etc., at para. [0421]).
With respect to claim 15, this claim recites similar features to independent claim 1, except claim 15 is directed to a communication device, applied at a STA, having a processor and memory (paras. [0064]-[0068] and [0078] —STA of Fig. 1 and STA 600 w/processing unit 610 and memory of Fig. 35). As such, claim 15 is likewise rejected under §102(a)(2) based on Luo-404, for the same reasons explained above for independent claim 1.
With respect to claim 17, this claim recites similar features to independent claim 1, except claim 17 is directed to an electronic device, having a processor and memory (paras. [0064]-[0068] and [0078] —STA of Fig. 1 and STA 600 w/processing unit 610 and memory of Fig. 35 —a STA is an electronic device). As such, claim 17 is likewise rejected under §102(a)(2) based on Luo-404, for the same reasons explained above for independent claim 1.
With respect to claim 18, this claim recites similar features to independent claim 1, except claim 18 is directed to a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (paras. [0770]-[0784]; and Fig. 37—memory 820 of communication device/STA 800 of Fig. 37). As such, claim 18 is likewise rejected under §102(a)(2) based on Luo-404, for the same reasons explained above for independent claim 1.
With respect to claim 19, this claim recites similar features to dependent claim 2. As such, claim 19 is likewise rejected under §102(a)(2) based on Luo-404, for the same reasons explained above for dependent claim 2.
With respect to claim 20, this claim recites similar features to dependent claim 3. As such, claim 20 is likewise rejected under §102(a)(2) based on Luo-404, for the same reasons explained above for dependent claim 3.
Claims 7, 10 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being unpatentable in view of US PG Pub. 2024/0349024 A1, Luo et al. (hereinafter “Luo-024”).
With respect to claim 7, Luo-024 teaches:
A communication method, performed by an access point (AP) (AP 110 of Fig. 1), and the method comprising:
sending a second wireless frame (paras. [0122]-[0125], [0167]-[0170], [0176]-[0183], [0186]-[0188], and [0233]-[0238]; S202 of Fig. 8 and S235 of Fig. 9 —an AP can respond to a received SBP request frame by sending a STA an SBP response frame),
wherein the second wireless frame comprises second sensing proxy information, the second sensing proxy information indicating whether the AP supports to perform a wireless local area network (WLAN) sensing measurement as a proxy device of a station (STA) during the WLAN sensing measurement (paras. [0122]-[0125], [0167]-[0170], [0176]-[0183], [0233]-[0238], and [0239]-[0245]; S235 of Fig. 9 and Fig.12 —an AP can send its SBP response frame with an action field and a status code that contains information about a particular measurement process associated with the SBP request and/or about whether a sensing setup is established or fails —the Examiner interprets information indicating whether an AP sensing measurement procedure succeeds/fails to be equivalent to indicating whether the AP can support a sensing measurement as the proxy device of a requesting STA —for instance, if a proxy AP has insufficient sensing resources available, the AP can report failed establishment because it cannot support a sensing requirement of the STA’s SBP request —in one example, an AP can also indicate whether it supports a STA as a participant in a secure/non-secure sensing function, i.e., which can be indicated in an SBP probe response frame, at paras. [0391]-[0393] and [0396]-[0397]).
With respect to claim 10, Luo-024 teaches:
The communication method according to claim 7, wherein sending the second wireless frame comprises: sending the second wireless frame during an initial association process with the STA (paras. [0107], [0167]-[0169], [0186]-[0188], and [0233]-[0234]; and S231/241 of Figs. 9-10 —an AP may be SBP proxy device that can send a SBP response frame to a requesting STA, to setup/establish its measurement/reporting capability with the STA, which the Examiner interprets to be part of an “initial process”).
With respect to claim 16, this claim recites similar features to independent claim 7, except claim 16 is directed to a communication device, applied at an AP, having a processor and memory (AP 110 of Fig. 1, and AP 600 w/processor 610 and memory 620 of Fig. 24). As such, claim 16 is likewise rejected under §102(a)(2) based on Luo-024, for the same reasons explained above for independent claim 7.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 4-5 and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable under Luo-404 in view of Luo-024.
With respect to claim 4, Luo-404 teaches the communication method according to claim 1.
However, Luo-404 does not explicitly teach:
wherein the proxy device is an access point (AP), and sending the first wireless frame comprises: sending the first wireless frame during an initial association process with the access point (AP).
Luo-024 does teach:
wherein a proxy device is an a AP, and sending a first wireless frame comprises: sending the first wireless frame during an initial association process with the access point (AP) (paras. [0107], [0167]-[0169], [0186]-[0188], and [0233]-[0234]; and S231/241 of Figs. 9-10 —a STA may be SBP process initiator/requestor that can send a SBP request frame to an AP, which selectively assumes the role of a proxy device, to establish a measurement setup with the AP, which the Examiner interprets to be part of an “initial process”).
It would have been prima-facie obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo-404’s proxy device to be an AP, and for the SBP request frame to be sent during and initial association process, as taught by Luo-024.
The motivation for doing so would have been to allow the AP to act as a proxy device for a requesting STA, as recognized by Luo-024 (paras. [0107], [0167]-[0169], [0186]-[0188], and [0233]-[0234]; and S231/241 of Figs. 9-10).
With respect to claim 5, Luo-404 teaches the communication method according to claim 1.
However, Luo-404 does not explicitly teach:
receiving a second wireless frame sent by an AP; and
obtaining second sensing proxy information in the second wireless frame, wherein the second sensing proxy information indicates whether the AP supports to perform the WLAN sensing measurement as the proxy device of the STA during the WLAN sensing measurement.
Luo-024 does teach:
receiving a second wireless frame sent by an AP (paras. [0122]-[0125], [0167]-[0170], [0176]-[0183], [0186]-[0188], and [0233]-[0238]; S202 of Fig. 8 and S235 of Fig. 9 —an AP can respond to a received SBP request frame with an SBP response frame); and
obtaining second sensing proxy information in the second wireless frame, wherein the second sensing proxy information indicates whether the AP supports to perform the WLAN sensing measurement as the proxy device of the STA during the WLAN sensing measurement (paras. [0122]-[0125], [0167]-[0170], [0176]-[0183], [0233]-[0238], and [0239]-[0245]; S235 of Fig. 9 and Fig.12 —an AP can send its SBP response frame with an action field and a status code that contains information about a particular measurement process associated with the SBP request and/or about whether a sensing setup is established or fails —the Examiner interprets information indicating whether an AP sensing measurement procedure succeeds/fails to be equivalent to indicating whether the AP can support a sensing measurement as the proxy device of a requesting STA —for instance, if a proxy AP has insufficient sensing resources available, the AP can report failed establishment because it cannot support a sensing requirement of the STA’s SBP request —in one example, an AP can also indicate whether it supports a STA as a participant in a secure/non-secure sensing function, i.e., which can be indicated in an SBP probe response frame, at paras. [0391]-[0393] and [0396]-[0397]).
It would have been prima-facie obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo-404’s proxy device to be an AP, and for the AP SBP proxy to be able to indicate, i.e., via a SBP response frame, whether it can support a STA SBP request, as taught by Luo-024.
The motivation for doing so would have been to allow the AP to act as a proxy device for a requesting STA, and to indicate whether it can support an SBP request requirement, as recognized by Luo-024 (paras. [0122]-[0125], [0167]-[0170], [0176]-[0183], [0233]-[0238], and [0239]-[0245]; S235 of Fig. 9 and Fig. 12).
With respect to claim 21, this claim recites similar features to dependent claim 4. As such, claim 19 is likewise rejected under §103 based on Luo-404 in view of Luo-024, for the same reasons explained above for dependent claim 4.
With respect to claim 22, this claim recites similar features to dependent claim 5. As such, claim 22 is likewise rejected under §103 based on Luo-404 in view of Luo-024, for the same reasons explained above for dependent claim 5.
Claims 8-9 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable under Luo-024 in view of Luo-404.
With respect to claim 8, Luo-024 teaches the communication method according to claim 7, where the second wireless frame comprises an SBP response frame.
However, Luo-024 does not explicitly teach:
wherein the second wireless frame comprises at least one of a Beacon frame, a Probe Response frame, a ML Probe Response frame, an Association response frame, a Reassociation response frame, or an Authentication response frame.
Luo-404 does teach:
a wireless frame comprising at least one of a Beacon frame, a Probe Response frame, a ML Probe Response frame, an Association response frame, a Reassociation response frame, or an Authentication response frame (paras. [0045], [0143], [0171]-[0172], [0401], [0424]-[0425], and [0432]; and Fig. 10 —an AP can send a sensing Probe Response frame to an AP comprising SBP information of the AP, etc. —the alternative terms “at least one of” and “or” only require examination on-the-merits of a single claimed alternative, for the reasons explained above in the Claim Interpretation — Alternative Claim Language section)
It would have been prima-facie obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo-024’s proxy device to be an AP, and for the AP SBP proxy response frame to be a sensing Probe Response frame, as taught by Luo-404.
The motivation for doing so would have been to allow the AP to act as a proxy device for a requesting STA, and to send a Probe Response frame to a requesting STA to indicate supported capabilities relating to a received Probe Request frame, as recognized by Luo-404 (paras. [0045], [0143], [0171]-[0172], [0401], [0424]-[0425], and [0432]; and Fig. 10).
With respect to claim 9, Luo-024 in view of Luo-404 teaches the communication method according to claim 8.
However, Luo-024 does not explicitly teach:
wherein the second sensing proxy information is carried in an extended capability information element of the second wireless frame.
Luo-404 does teach:
wherein second sensing proxy information is carried in an extended capability information element of a second wireless frame (paras. [0287]-[0288], [0421], and [0693]; and Fig. 10 —AP sensing SBP capabilities information may be included within an extended capabilities element of a second response frame).
It would have been prima-facie obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo-024’s proxy device to be an AP, and for the AP SBP proxy response frame to include an extended capabilities IE with sensing proxy information, as taught by Luo-404.
The motivation for doing so would have been to reduce consolidate AP SBP communication overhead by including sensing proxy information of the AP within an extended capabilities IE of the SBP response frame, as recognized by Luo-404 (paras. [0287]-[0288], [0421], and [0693]; and Fig. 10).
With respect to claim 11, Luo-024 teaches the communication method according to claim 7, including receiving a first wireless frame sent by the STA (paras. [0005]-[0006], [0112], [0125]-[0126], [0076] and [0233] —an AP, assuming the role of proxy device, can receive a sensing proxy request frame from a STA, which includes sensing requirement information, i.e., sensing capability information);
However, Luo-024 does not explicitly teach:
obtaining first sensing proxy information in the first wireless frame, wherein the first sensing proxy information indicates whether the STA supports being represented by the proxy device to perform the WLAN sensing measurement during the WLAN sensing measurement as a sensing initiator.
Luo-404 does teach:
obtaining first sensing proxy information in the first wireless frame, wherein the first sensing proxy information indicates whether the STA supports being represented by the proxy device to perform the WLAN sensing measurement during the WLAN sensing measurement as a sensing initiator (paras. [0107]-[0108], [0112]-[0113], [0287]-[0288], [0421], and [0693]; and Fig. 8 —a STA may send a SBP setup session request frame with information supporting WLAN proxy measurement —STA supporting capabilities can include indications of whether the STA can serve as the sensing initiator according to its proxy role capabilities, whether the STA can support SBP requestor/responder roles, whether the STA supports triggered/non-triggered sensing responder roles, etc. —The Examiner notes that Applicant’s disclosure teaches: “in the WLAN sensing process, [its] STA can also serve as the sensing initiator and the sensing initiator may be a sensing transmitter, a sensing receiver, or both, or neither,” at para. [0041] of its PG Pub —Therefore, a STA acting as a sensing initiator can be reasonably interpreted to perform almost any sensing role, or none, as taught by Applicant’s disclosure).
It would have been prima-facie obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo-024’s proxy device to be an AP, and for the AP to receive a SBP request frame with STA sensing proxy support information, as taught by Luo-404.
The motivation for doing so would have been to allow the AP to act as a proxy device for a requesting STA, where a requesting STA can indicate its support/capability requirements to the AP via a SBP request frame, as recognized by Luo-404 (paras. [0107]-[0108], [0112]-[0113], [0287]-[0288], [0421], and [0693]; and Fig. 8).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable under Luo-404 in view of Luo-024, in further view of US PG Pub. 2023/0009140 A1, Trainin et al. (hereinafter “Trainin”).
With respect to claim 6, Luo-404 in view of Luo-024 teaches the communication method according to claim 5, wherein the second sensing proxy information indicates that the AP supports to perform the WLAN sensing measurement as the proxy device of the STA during the WLAN sensing measurement (paras. [0122]-[0125], [0167]-[0170], [0176]-[0183], [0233]-[0238], and [0239]-[0245]; S235 of Fig. 9 and Fig.12 —an AP can send its SBP response frame with an action field and a status code that contains information about a particular measurement process associated with the SBP request and/or about whether a sensing setup is established or fails —the Examiner interprets information indicating that an AP sensing measurement procedure succeeds to be equivalent to indicating that the AP can support a sensing measurement as the proxy device of a requesting STA —in one example, an AP can indicate that it supports a STA as a participant in a secure/non-secure sensing function, i.e., which can be indicated in an SBP probe response frame, at paras. [0391]-[0393] and [0396]-[0397]).
However, Luo-404 in view of Luo-024 does not explicitly teach:
after the first wireless frame is sent, the method further comprises:
sending a third wireless frame to the AP, wherein the third wireless frame indicates that the AP performs the WLAN sensing measurement as the proxy device of the STA.
Trainin does teach:
after a first wireless frame is sent, sending a third wireless frame to the AP, wherein the third wireless frame indicates that the AP performs the WLAN sensing measurement as the proxy device of the STA, (paras. [0092]-[0094] and [0111]-[0113]; and Fig. 8 —a STA acting as an initiator can instruct/delegate a SBP AP to perform WLAN sensing measurement functions as a proxy device of other STAs, as well as to perform other polling, sounding and measurement, and/or reporting duties/roles to the AP 820, after initial capabilities exchange 810 (including capabilities request-response frames), as depicted in Fig. 8 —the SBP AP can perform corresponding measurement/reporting thereafter 870).
It would have been prima-facie obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo-404 in view of Luo-024’s proxy setup where after an AP SBP proxy indicates it performs WLAN sensing measurement (capability exchange), a the requesting STA instructs/delegates the SBP AP to perform WLAN sensing measurement as the proxy device, as taught by Trainin.
The motivation for doing so would have been to allow the STA to explicitly delegate using a AP SBP proxy to perform WLAN sensing measurement as the proxy device, as recognized by Trainin (paras. [0092]-[0094] and [0111]-[0113]; and Fig. 8).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable under Luo-024 in view of Luo-404, in further view of Trainin.
With respect to claim 12, Luo-024 in view of Luo-404 teaches the communication method according to claim 11,
However, Luo-024 in view of Luo-404 does not explicitly teach:
wherein after the second wireless frame is sent,
the method further comprises: receiving a third wireless frame sent by the STA; in response to the third wireless frame, performing the WLAN sensing measurement as the proxy device of STA.
Trainin does teach:
wherein after a second wireless frame is sent, the method further comprises: receiving a third wireless frame sent by the STA; in response to the third wireless frame, performing the WLAN sensing measurement as the proxy device of STA (paras. [0092]-[0094] and [0111]-[0113]; and Fig. 8 —a STA acting as an initiator can instruct/delegate a SBP AP to perform WLAN sensing measurement functions as a proxy device of other STAs, as well as to perform other polling, sounding and measurement, and/or reporting duties/roles to the AP 820, after initial capabilities exchange 810 (including capabilities request-response frames), as depicted in Fig. 8 —the SBP AP can perform corresponding measurement/reporting thereafter 870).
It would have been prima-facie obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo-024 in view of Luo-404’s proxy setup where after an AP SBP proxy indicates it performs WLAN sensing measurement (capability exchange), a the requesting STA instructs/delegates the SBP AP to perform WLAN sensing measurement as the proxy device, as taught by Trainin.
The motivation for doing so would have been to allow the STA to explicitly delegate using a AP SBP proxy to perform WLAN sensing measurement as the proxy device, as recognized by Trainin (paras. [0092]-[0094] and [0111]-[0113]; and Fig. 8).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure is as follows:
US PG Pub 2024/0314590 A1, Zhou et al.: teaches sensing by proxy (SBP) measurement establishment solutions related to the instant application.
US PG Pub 2023/0073352 A1, Wei et al.: teaches sensing by proxy (SBP) WLAN sensing establishment solutions related to the instant application.
US PG Pub 2024/0248167 A1, Huang et al.: teaches WLAN sensing configuration and measurement establishment solutions related to the instant application.
US PG Pub 2024/0306020 A1, Gao et al.: teaches WLAN sensing configuration and measurement establishment solutions related to the instant application.
US PG Pub 2024/0357653 A1, Luo et al.: teaches sensing by proxy (SBP) configuration and measurement establishment solutions related to the instant application.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to Scott Schlack whose telephone number is (571)272-2332. The Examiner can normally be reached Mon. through Fri., from 11am-6pm 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, Moo Jeong can be reached at (571)272-9617. 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.
/Scott A. Schlack/Examiner, Art Unit 2418
/Moo Jeong/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2418
Prosecution Insights