DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. 17/487,183, filed on 03 November 2021.
Information Disclosure Statement
The references listed in the Information Disclosure Statement, filed on 09 September 2024, have been considered by the examiner (see attached PTO-1449 form or PTO/SB/08A and 08B forms).
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 § 2146 et seq. 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 filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 1-16, 18, 20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims (1+8+9), 2-8, 10-11, (12+8+9), 13-17, (18+20+9), 19 respectively of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531.
For claim 1, claims 1, 8, 9 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 teaches a route processing method implemented by a first network device.
receiving, from a second network device in a first network domain, a first route comprising a first identifier, wherein the first identifier instructs the first network device to forward a first packet to the second network device, and wherein the first identifier identifies a first service source corresponding to the first route as in the application corresponds to the limitation “receiving, from a second … the first route” (claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 3-8);
allocating, based on the first identifier, a second identifier corresponding to the first route, wherein the first identifier is a first Segment Routing over IPv6 (SRv6) segment identifier (SID) and the second identifier is a second Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) label, or the first identifier is a first MPLS label and the second identifier is a second SRv6 SID as in the application corresponds to the limitation “allocating, based on … the first route” (claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 12-13) and “the first network domain … the MPLS tunnel” (claim 8 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 1-7) and “the first identifier … is an SID” (claim 9 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 1-5); and
sending, to a third network device in a second network domain and without transferring the first route to a virtual routing and forwarding (VRF) instance, a second route comprising the second identifier as in the application corresponds to the limitation “sending, to a third … first network device” (claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 14-16).
However, the claim(s) additionally recite(s) “the service source comprises an outbound interface on the second network device or a virtual machine connected to the second network device” and “the second identifier instructs the third network device to forward the first packet to the first network device”. In removing the additional limitation(s), the scope of the claim(s) is merely broadened by eliminating elements and their functions. It has been held that omission of an element and its function is an obvious expedient if the remaining elements perform the same function as before. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time the invention was made to not recite the additional limitation(s).
For claim 2, claim 2 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 teaches the first route further comprises an address of the second network device, and wherein the route processing method further comprises further allocating, based on the first identifier and the address, the second identifier (claim 2 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 1-5).
For claim 3, claim 3 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 teaches the first service source comprises a virtual private network (VPN) instance connected to the second network device, an outbound interface on the second network device, or a virtual machine connected to the second network device (claim 3 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 1-3).
For claim 4, claim 4 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 teaches receiving, from the second network device, a third route comprising an address of the second network device and a third identifier identifying a second service source; allocating, based on the address and the third identifier, a fourth identifier corresponding to the third route, wherein the third identifier is a third SRv6 SID and the fourth identifier is a fourth MPLS label, or the third identifier is a third MPLS label and the fourth identifier is a fourth SRv6 SID; and sending, to the third network device based on the third route, a fourth route comprising the fourth identifier (claim 4 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 3-13).
For claim 5, claim 5 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 teaches receiving, from a fourth network device in the first network domain, a fifth route comprising the first identifier and an address of the fourth network device, wherein the first route and the fifth route have a same prefix address; allocating, to the fifth route based on the first identifier and the address, a fifth identifier instructing the third network device to forward a second packet to the first network device; and sending, to the third network device based on the fifth route, a sixth route comprising the fifth identifier (claim 5 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 3-14).
For claim 6, claim 6 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 teaches establishing a correspondence between the first identifier and the second identifier; receiving, from the third network device, the first packet, wherein the first packet comprises the second identifier; updating the first packet based on the second identifier and the correspondence to obtain a second packet comprising the first identifier; and sending, to the second network device, the second packet (claim 6 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 3-10).
For claim 7, claim 7 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 teaches the correspondence is among an address of the second network device, the first identifier, and the second identifier, and wherein the route processing method further comprises: determining the address based on the first identifier and the correspondence; and further sending, to the second network device based on the address, the second packet (claim 7 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 1-8).
For claim 8, claim 8 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 teaches the first network domain uses a first MPLS tunnel and the second network domain uses a second SRv6 tunnel, or the first network domain uses a first SRv6 tunnel and the second network domain uses a second MPLS tunnel (claim 8 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 1-7).
For claim 9, claim 10 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 teaches the first network device comprises a gateway device of a data center or an aggregation device of an Internet Protocol (IP) radio access network (RAN) (claim 10 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 1-4).
For claim 10, claim 11 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 teaches the second network device comprises a provider edge (PE) device (claim 11 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 1-3).
For claim 11, claims 12, 8, 9 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 teaches a first network device.
a memory configured to store instructions; and one or more processors coupled to the memory and configured to execute the instructions to cause the first network device to: receive, from a second network device in a first network domain, a first route comprising a first identifier, wherein the first identifier instructs the first network device to forward a first packet to the second network device, wherein the first identifier identifies a service source corresponding to the first route, and wherein the first identifier identifies a first service source corresponding to the first route as in the application corresponds to the limitation “a memory configured … to the first route” (claim 12 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 2-11);
allocate, based on the first identifier, a second identifier corresponding to the first route, wherein the first identifier is a first Segment Routing over IPv6 (SRv6) segment identifier (SID) and the second identifier is a second Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) label, or the first identifier is a first MPLS label and the second identifier is a second SRv6 SID as in the application corresponds to the limitation “allocate, based on the first.. to the first route” (claim 12 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 15-16) and “the first network domain … the MPLS tunnel” (claim 8 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 1-7) and “the first identifier … is an SID” (claim 9 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 1-5); and
send, to a third network device in a second network domain and without transferring the first route to a virtual routing and forwarding (VRF) instance, a second route comprising the second identifier as in the application corresponds to the limitation “send, to a third .. the second identifier” (claim 12 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 17-19).
For claim 12, claim 13 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 teaches the first route further comprises an address of the second network device, and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the instructions to cause the first network device to further allocate, based on the first identifier and the address, the second identifier (claim 13 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 1-5).
For claim 13, claim 14 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 teaches the first service source comprises a virtual private network (VPN) instance connected to the second network device, an outbound interface on the second network device, or a virtual machine connected to the second network device (claim 14 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 1-3).
For claim 14, claim 15 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 teaches receive, from the second network device, a third route comprising an address of the second network device and a third identifier identifying a second service source; allocate, based on the address and the third identifier, a fourth identifier corresponding to the third route, wherein the third identifier is a third SRv6 SID and the fourth identifier is a fourth MPLS label, or the third identifier is a third MPLS label and the fourth identifier is a fourth SRv6 SID; and send, to the third network device based on the third route, a fourth route comprising the fourth identifier (claim 15 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 4-14).
For claim 15, claim 16 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 teaches receive, from a fourth network device in the first network domain, a fifth route comprising the first identifier and an address of the fourth network device, wherein the first route and the fifth route have a same prefix address; allocate, to the fifth route based on the first identifier and the address, a fifth identifier instructing the third network device to forward a second packet to the first network device; and send, to the third network device based on the fifth route, a sixth route comprising the fifth identifier (claim 16 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 4-15).
For claim 16, claim 17 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 teaches establish a correspondence between the first identifier and the second identifier. receive, from the third network device, the first packet, wherein the first packet comprises the second identifier; update the first packet based on the second identifier and the correspondence to obtain a second packet comprising the first identifier; and send, to the second network device, the second packet (claim 17 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 4-11).
For claim 18, claims 18, 20, 9 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 teaches a network system.
a second network device in a first network domain using a first packet forwarding type, wherein the second network device is configured to send a first route comprising a first identifier, wherein the first identifier instructs forwarding a first packet to the second network device, and wherein the first identifier identifies a first service source corresponding to the first route as in the application corresponds to the limitation “a second network .. the first route” (claim 18 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 2-8);
a first network device configured to: receive, from the second network device, the first route as in the application corresponds to the limitation “a first network device .. the first route” (claim 18 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 12-13);
allocate, based on the first identifier, a second identifier corresponding to the first route, wherein the first identifier is a first Segment Routing over IPv6 (SRv6) segment identifier (SID) and the second identifier is a second Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) label, or the first identifier is a first MPLS label and the second identifier is a second SRv6 SID as in the application corresponds to the limitation “allocate, based on the first .. the first route” (claim 18 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 14-15) and “the first network domain … the MPLS tunnel” (claim 8 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 1-7) and “the first identifier … is an SID” (claim 9 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 1-5); and
send, without transferring the first route to a virtual routing and forwarding (VRF) instance, a second route comprising the second identifier; and a third network device in a second network domain using a second packet forwarding type, wherein the third network device is configured to receive, from the first network device, the second route as in the application corresponds to the limitation “send, based on the first .. first network device” (claim 18 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 16-19).
For claim 20, claim 19 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 teaches the first network device is further configured to: determine the address based on the first identifier and the correspondence; and further send, to the second network device based on the address, the second packet (claim 19 of U.S. Patent No. 12,126,531 lines 1-9).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-16, 18, 20 would be allowed if the rejection was mentioned above is addressed. The cited prior art alone or in combination fail to teach or make obvious on the following when considered in combination with other limitations in the claim: “the first identifier identifies a first service source corresponding to the first route; allocating, based on the first identifier, a second identifier corresponding to the first route, wherein the first identifier is a first Segment Routing over IPv6 (SRv6) segment identifier (SID) and the second identifier is a second Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) label, or the first identifier is a first MPLS label and the second identifier is a second SRv6 SID; and sending, to a third network device in a second network domain and without transferring the first route to a virtual routing and forwarding (VRF) instance, a second route comprising the second identifier” as recited in independent claims 1, 11, 18.
Claims 17, 19 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if the base claim rejections are addressed.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Brissette et al. (US Patent No. 11,683,271 B1) discloses By using different SFVs associated with different processing policies within a same processing context, one embodiment performs differential processing of streams of packets (arriving in transport packets) as identified by the particular SFV obtained from each particular transport packet. In other words, the processing policy identifies processing performed on the corresponding decapsulated original packet, not processing of the transport packet. Thus, if the original packet is an Internet Protocol (IP) packet, the SFI identifies Layer 3 processing that is performed on the original IP packet. Additionally, one embodiment uses a route advertising protocol (e.g., Border Gateway Protocol) to distribute associations between different SFVs and different addresses in a processing context (e.g., VRF).
Peng et al. (PG Pub US 2021/0328906 A1) discloses a border node receives a advertisement message which carries VPN route information and is sent by a first node to a second node, wherein the border node supports Internet Protocol Version 6 Segment Routing (SRv6) capability, and the first node and the second node belong to different domains; and the border node assigns VPN identity information to a VPN route corresponding to the VPN route information, adds the VPN identity information into the advertisement message and sends the advertisement message to the second node, wherein the VPN identity information includes at least one of: a VPN Segment ID (SID) and a VPN label.
Conclusion
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CHRISTINE DUONG FUQUA
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2462
/CHRISTINE T DUONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2462 10/02/2026
