DETAILED ACTION
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 the submission filed 2024-07-22 (herein referred to as the Reply) where claim(s) 1-13 are pending for consideration.
Double Patenting
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.
Claim(s) is/are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over various claim(s) of a reference patent/application.
Claim(s) 1-13
The claim(s) is/are unpatentable over the identified claim(s) of the reference patent/application. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because instant claim(s) is/are a broader version of identified claim(s) of the reference patent/application. Hence, the claims are not patentably because the instant claim(s) is/are anticipated by the identified claim(s) of the reference patent/application.
With regards to differences, although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because: the claim(s) at issue only differ by small grammatical nuances, sentence structure arrangement, use of patentably indistinguishable synonyms, and/or a combination thereof. The differences do not change the claim scope such that the claim(s) at issue are patentably distinct.
Reference patent/application:
US Patent No. US11678283
Instant Claim
Claim of Reference patent/application
01
01, 21
02
02, 22
03
03, 23
04
04, 23
05
23
06
05
07a
06
07b
07
08
08
09
09, 26
10
10, 27
11
28
12
29
13
30
Reference patent/application:
US Patent No. US12075375
Instant Claim
Claim of Reference patent/application
01
01, 21
02
02, 22
03
03, 23
04
04, 23
05
23
06
05
07a
06
07b
07
08
08
09
09, 26
10
10, 27
11
28
12
29
13
30
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 7
There are two claim 7’s. Claims number should be consecutively in numerical order. See MPEP § 608.01
35 USC §112(b) – Claim Rejections
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.
Claim(s) is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) for not particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter of the invention.
Claim(s) 1 and 2-13
The claim(s) recite variants of:
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145
970
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Greyscale
It is unclear what the very last phrase (“the first positions”) in the paragraph above means. It is grammatically odds as the phrase seems like a preposition with no ending.
Dependent claims do not cure the deficiencies of the base/intervening claims as discussed herein and are therefore rejected for at least the same reasons.
Relevant Cited References
KO - US20190387485 teaches using a bitmap of which each bit corresponds to a candidate SSB position, and wherein if the first SSB group indicator is collided with information of a second SSB indicator, the at least one transmission SSB is received based on the second SSB indicator.
Examiner’s Notes
Examiner notes the following filings in the instant application’s priority chain/family:
Instant Application; apparatus wireless user device claims
Patent US12075375B2 (Application no. 18309779) apparatus/method wireless user device claims.
Patent US11678283 (Application no. 17836293); apparatus/method wireless user device claims.
Patent US11096130 (Application No. 16304122); method base station claims.
Patent US11711776 (Application NO. 17373170); apparatus base station claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDRE TACDIRAN whose telephone number is 571-272-1717. The examiner can normally be reached on M-TH, 10-5PM EST. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeffrey Rutkowski can be reached on 571-270-1215. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ANDRE TACDIRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2415
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