DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the application 18/785,003 filed on July 26th, 2024.
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis 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.
Claims 1-19 are pending and herein considered.
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 Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS), submitted on 10/11/2024, is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CRR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Acknowledgement is made of Applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) to Application No. 202341050979, the signed copy having been filed on July 28th, 2023.
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 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) 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.
(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 1-6, 8-14, 16-17 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kuravangi-Thammaiah et al. (Kuravangi-Thammaiah), U.S. Pub. Number 2024/0236080.
Regarding claim 1; Kuravangi-Thammaiah discloses a method of a network repository function of a communication network, the method comprising:
receiving, from a network function service consumer, a request for an access token that authorizes access to a service provided by a network exposure function (par. 0096; fig. 6; receiving, from a first network function device, a service request associated with a second network function device; for instance, the SCP network function device may receive, from a first network function device, a service request associated with a second network function device.), wherein the service provides data obtained from an untrusted application function connected to the network exposure function (par. 0096; fig. 6; receiving the service request comprises receiving, from the first network function device, an indication of the CCA token in the service request.), wherein the request comprises an identifier associated with the network exposure function, an identifier associated with the network function service consumer and an identifier associated with the untrusted application function (par. 0097; fig. 6; receiving the service request includes receiving an indication that service authorization for the first network function device is delegated to the SCP network function device, and transmitting access token request comprises transmitting, in the access token request, the indication that service authorization for the first network function device is delegated to the SCP network function device.);
determining to provide an access token to the network function service consumer based on the identifier associated with the network exposure function, the identifier associated with the network function service consumer (par. 0099; fig. 6; transmitting an access token request to an NRF network function device based on consumer identifier indicated in the service request; for instance, the SCP network function device may transmit an access token request to a NRF network function device; the NFR network function device may receive the access token request; ), the identifier associated with the untrusted application function and attributes associated with the untrusted application function included in a profile of the network exposure function stored at a network repository function (par. 0078; an NRF 104 includes one or more devices that provide a single record of all network function available in the core network 406, together with a profile of each network function and services supported by each network function; an NRF 104 may allow other network functions to subscribe to, and get notified about, registration in the NRF 104 of new network function instances.); and
providing to the network function service consumer, the access token comprising the identifier associated with the untrusted application function comprised in the request (par. 0042; the NRF 104 transmits the access token to the SCP 202 in an access token response; the SCP 202 receives the access token response, including the access token associated with the consumer 102, from the NRF 104; the NRF 104 transmits the access token response to the SCP 202 on an Nscp 5G network function interface and another type of network function interface; the access token response includes an AccessTokenRep message or another type of access token response message.).
Regarding claim 2; Kuravangi-Thammaiah discloses the method as claimed in claim 1, comprising: receiving, from the network exposure function, a registration request to register the profile of the network exposure function, the profile of the network exposure function including the attributes associated with the untrusted application function (par. 0079; the SCP 202 may register with the NRF(s) 104-1 through 104-n in the core network 406; the SCP 202 discovers (e.g., using an NFDiscover message) the topology of the core network 406 from the NRF(s) 104-1 through 104-n and store the topology in cache at the SCP 202; the SCP 202 may create routing rules for network function in the core network 106; the SCP 202 may subscribe to the NRF(s) 104-1 through 104-n in the core network 406 to receive network function change notifications.).
Regarding claim 3; Kuravangi-Thammaiah discloses the method as claimed claim 1, wherein the attributes associated with the untrusted application function comprise: an identifier associated with the untrusted application function; and an identifier associated with a network function that is allowed to access the service corresponding to the identifier associated with the untrusted application function (par. 0058; authorization access message may include an “nudr-dr subscription-data:authentication-subscription:read” authorization access message; the producer 204 may provide the “nudr-dr:subscription-data:authentication-subscription:read” authorization access message to the SCP 202 to indicate that a consumer 202 is granted access to read an AuthenticationSubcription resource of the SubscriptionData data set (e.g., stored in a UDR network function device).).
Regarding claim 4; Kuravangi-Thammaiah discloses the method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the identifier associated with the network function that is allowed to access the service comprises: an identifier of a network function type of the network function that is allowed to access the service; an identifier of a network function instance of the network function that is allowed to access the service; an identifier of a network function domain of the network function that is allowed to access the service; or an identifier of single network slice selection assistance information that identifies a network slice of network functions that are allowed to access the service (par. 0098; the service request includes an indication of a CCA token associated with the first network function device that is based on the SCP network function device; the CCA token includes a SCP identifier associated with the SCP network function device; the SCP identifier includes an SCP FQDN associated with the SCP network function device; the CCA token includes in combination with the SCP identifier, at least one of a network function instance identifier associated with the first network function device, a timestamp, an expiration time, or a network function target associated with the service request.).
Regarding claim 5; Kuravangi-Thammaiah discloses the method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the identifier associated with the untrusted application function comprises: an identifier of the untrusted application function; an identifier of an application supported by the untrusted application function; or an identifier of an event relating to the untrusted application function (par. 0104; validate the access token request, the NRF network function device may determine that the access token request is from the SCP network function device, may determine that the CCA token includes an SCP identifier associated with the SCP network function device, and may validate the access token request based on determining that the access token request is from the SCP network function device and based on determining that the CCA token includes the SCP identifier associated with the SCP network function device.).
Regarding claim 6; Kuravangi-Thammaiah discloses the method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the identifier associated with the network exposure function comprises: an identifier of a network function instance of the network exposure function (par. 0105; determining that the access token request includes the indication that service authorization for the first network function device is delegated to the SCP network function device, that the CCA token includes an SCP identifier associated with the SCP network function device.).
Regarding claim 8; Kuravangi-Thammaiah discloses the method as claimed in claim 1, comprising: generating, by the network repository function, the access token comprising the identifier associated with the untrusted application function comprised in the request (par. 0043; the NRF 104 generates the access token based on receiving the access token request and based on validating the CCA token indicated in the access token request.).
Regarding claim 9; Claim 9 is directed to an apparatus which has similar scope as claim 1. Therefore, claim 9 remains un-patentable for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 10-14 & 16; Claims 10-14 & 16 are directed to the apparatus as claimed in claim 9 which have similar scope as claims 2-6 & 8. Therefore, claims 10-14 & 16 remain un-patentable for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 17; Claim 17 is directed to an apparatus which has similar scope as claim 1. Therefore, claim 17 remains un-patentable for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 19; Claim 19 is directed to the apparatus as claimed in claim 17 which has similar scope as claim 2. Therefore, claim 19 remains un-patentable for the same reasons.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 7, 15, or 18 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/KHOI V LE/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2436