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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
Acknowledgement is made of the amendment filed on August 20, 2026, in which:
Claims 1, 4, 6, 8, and 12 are currently amended.
Claims 1-13 are currently pending and an Office action on the merits follows.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-13 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 6, 8-10, and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pub No.: US-20160255574-A1 (herein “Takae”), and further in view of Pub No.: US-20160337942-A1 (herein “Catovic”).
Claims 1 and 8
Consider claim 8, Takae teaches an authentication method, wherein a mobile communication terminal (see Takae Fig. 3 note mobile communication terminal 100) executes:
a first step of selecting a communication network to be used for communication with a first network operated by a first operator from among a plurality of communication networks including an untrusted network that is not trusted (see Takae Fig. 3, [0096], [0285] mobile communication terminal 100-1 thereafter acquires information regarding the one or more detected wireless networks (i.e. WLAN), and transmits a switch instructing message including the information to the wireless communication terminal 200-1); and
a second step of receiving authentication from the first network connected via the selected communication network, using first authentication information stored in advance and issued by the business operator that operates the first network (see Takae Fig. 3, [0092], [0115] note authentication server 37 has an authentication function of authenticating subscribers of the mobile communication network 30 at the time of connection and SIM 140 provides authentication information used in authentication to be connected to a network); and
a controller included in the first network executes a third step of authenticating the mobile communication terminal connected via a gateway configured to accommodate access from the untrusted first communication network, using second authentication information corresponding to the first authentication information stored in advance (see Takae Fig. 3, [0088]-[0092] gateway 33 performs relaying between the mobile communication network 30 and another network, authentication server 37 has an authentication function of authenticating subscribers of the mobile communication network 30 at the time of connection, and the subscriber information server 35 also retains information used in authentication for connection, for example, a home subscriber server (HSS)).
Takae fails to teach the untrusted network being operated by a second operator different from the first operator and being independent of the first network and the gateway being configured to establish a secure tunnel with the mobile communication terminal through the untrusted network in a case where the untrusted network is selected. Catovic teaches a UE may connect to a PDN via a PDN-GW by setting up a tunnel 218 that may include a wi-fi connection 214 and an IPsec tunnel 222 with an ePDG of operator B for a UE subscribed to operator A (see Catovic Fig. 2A, Fig. 2B, Fig. 3, [0006], [0026]-[0031])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Takae to include the recited teaching of Catovic. Such a modification would improve Takae by improving ePDG selection (see Catovic [0005]).
Claims 2 and 9
Consider claim 9, Takae as modified by Catovic teaches wherein at the second step, the authentication is received using the same first authentication information no matter which of the plurality of communication networks is selected (see Takae Fig. 4, [0115] SIM 140 executes an authentication process for the authentication to be connected to the network).
Claims 3 and 10
Consider claim 10, Takae as modified by Catovic teaches wherein at the third step, the authentication is performed using the same second authentication information no matter which of the plurality of communication networks the mobile communication terminal selects (see Takae Fig. 4, [0115] SIM 140 executes an authentication process for the authentication to be connected to the network).
Claims 6 and 12
Consider claim 12, Takae as modified by Catovic teaches wherein the SIM profile information is issued by the first operator that operates the first network (see Takae [0083], [0115] note mobile communication service provider).
Claim(s) 4, 5, 7, 11, and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takae as modified by Catovic, and further in view of Pub. No.: US-20170006528-A1 (herein “Bari”).
Claim 4
Consider claim 4, Takae as modified by Catovic fails to teach wherein the mobile communication terminal is configured such that a communication module configured to perform communication via any of communication networks including the untrusted network can be added. Bari teaches an IoT device 500 including a SIM with a UICC where the slot interface is configured to accept multiple subscriber identity cards (see Bari Fig. 5, [0067]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Takae as modified by Catovic to include the recited teaching of Bari. Such a modification would improve Takae as modified by Catovic by improving network efficiency, network capacity, and end user experience (see Bari [0001]).
Claims 5 and 11
Consider claim 5, Takae as modified by Catovic fails to teach wherein the mobile communication terminal includes an eUICC (embedded universal integrated circuit card); and the first authentication information is SIM profile information that the eUICC includes. Bari teaches an IoT device 500 including a SIM with a UICC where the slot interface is configured to accept multiple subscriber identity cards (see Bari Fig. 5, [0025], [0067]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Takae as modified by Catovic to include the recited teaching of Bari. Such a modification would improve Takae as modified by Catovic by improving network efficiency, network capacity, and end user experience (see Bari [0001]).
Claims 7 and 13
Consider claim 7, Takae as modified by Catovic fails to teach wherein the mobile communication terminal is an IoT device. Bari teaches an IoT device 500 including a SIM with a UICC where the slot interface is configured to accept multiple subscriber identity cards (see Bari Fig. 5, [0067]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Takae as modified by Catovic to include the recited teaching of Bari. Such a modification would improve Takae as modified by Catovic by improving network efficiency, network capacity, and end user experience (see Bari [0001]).
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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARCUS C HAMMONDS whose telephone number is (571)270-3193. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:00AM-6:00PM.
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 T. SLATER can be reached at (571)270-0375. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MARCUS HAMMONDS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2647
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