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 .
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.
Claims 1-20 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.
Claims 1-20 recite “wherein the intermediate node is not designated to parse the IPv6 packet based on existing IPv6 rules” wherein the “parsing” of the “DOH” within a “received” “IPv6 packet” is performed by the “intermediate node” “based on a policy” which is “independent of the existing IPv6 parsing rules”.
Within Applicant’s response, the claim amendments were presented without the showing of support for the amended limitations, rather, a generic statement that “no new matter is introduced herein”. However, after inspecting the disclosure as filed, Examiner is unable to find how an “intermediate node’ is “not designated to parse the IPv6 packet based on existing IPv6 rules” or wherein the “intermediate node” can “parse” the “DOH” of a “IPv6 packet” “based on a policy” which is “independent of the existing IPv6 parsing rules”. The claims require, and have required, the “intermediate node” “parse” the “DOH” presumably by “parsing” or otherwise extracting the “DOH” from the “received” “IPv6 packet” “based on” a generically specified “policy” and then “processing the IPv6 packet”. Without more, Examiner finds that the disclosure does not describe how an “intermediate node” can be “not designated” or otherwise perform the amended limitations in the manner claimed in conjunction with the other limitations required by the claims that the “intermediate node” perform.
Therefore, Examiner finds that claims 1-20, in their amended form, fail to comply the written description requirement by failing to describe the claimed invention in the originally filed disclosure.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 1-20 recite “wherein the DOH is transmitted after the RH”. However, the claims require that “the IPv6 packet” comprises the “DOH” and “further” comprises “a routing header”. Therefore, it is unclear how this limitation is achieved as the “routing header” is already contained within the “receiv[ed]” “IPv6 packet”.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
After further search, the prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. This cited prior art teaches various handling of hop-to-hop and destination option headers within IPv6 packets including policies/rules for handling such.
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 G. C. Neurauter, Jr. whose telephone number is (571)272-3918. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm Eastern Time.
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, Tonia Dollinger, can be reached at 571-272-4170. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/G. C. Neurauter, Jr./Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2459
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