Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/832,773

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR LOCATION BASED GROUP FORMATION

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jul 24, 2024
Priority
Jan 28, 2022 — CN PCT/CN2022/074748 +1 more
Examiner
PATEL, DHAVAL V
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allowance Rate
1152 granted / 1341 resolved
+25.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +15% lift
Without
With
+14.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
24 currently pending
Career history
1361
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.1%
-31.9% vs TC avg
§103
59.2%
+19.2% vs TC avg
§102
19.0%
-21.0% vs TC avg
§112
6.1%
-33.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1341 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Response to Arguments Applicant has elected group I, claims 1, 3-10 and 12 directed to group management server without traverse. And claims 13-14, 16-18, 21-22 and 24-26 are withdrawn. Currently, claims 1, 3-10 and 12 are pending. 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. The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1, 3-5 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by 3GPP TS23.434 V17.4.0, 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects; Service Enabler Architecture Layer for Verticals (SEAL); Functional architecture and information flows; (Release 17) (hereafter 3GPP)(see IDS). Regarding claim 1, 3GPP discloses a method performed by a group management server, comprising: receiving a location-based group creation request from a group management client or a vertical application layer (VAL) server (see, 10.3.7, location-based group creation, shows the group management server received location based group creation request from the group management client or VAL server), wherein the location-based group creation request comprises location information and at least one VAL service identity (ID) (see, 10.3.6. 4 group configurations, contain the group configuration data common to all VAL services and group configuration data specific to each VAL service, see, note, VAL service data, and 10.3.7. location based group creation); obtaining information of at least one VAL user and/or at least one VAL user equipment (UE) corresponding to the location information (see, 10.3.7, location-based group creation, the location criteria for determining the identities of the users of UEs); obtaining VAL service data of the at least one VAL user and/or the at least one VAL UE (see, 10.3.6. 4 group configurations, contain the group configuration data common to all VAL services and group configuration data specific to each VAL service, see, note, VAL service data, and 10.3.7. location based group creation); creating a location-based group matching the location-based group creation request based on the VAL service data of the at least one VAL user and/or at least one VAL UE (see, 10.3.7-1 , location-based group creation, see, step 5. Group management server, create and store the location-based group). Regarding claim 3, 3GPP further discloses the method, wherein obtaining information of the at least one VAL user and/or the at least one VAL UE corresponding to the location information comprises: sending a first request for obtaining the at least one VAL user and/or the at least one VAL UE corresponding to the location information to a location management server (see, Fig. 10.3.7-1 discloses obtain UEs list per location request); and receiving a first response comprising the information of the at least one VAL user and/or the at least one VAL UE corresponding to the location information from the location management server (see, Fig. 10.3.7-1 discloses the compose list of the UEs for a location, at location management server and send obtain UEs list per location response to the group management server). Regarding claim 4, 3GPP further discloses the method, wherein the first response further comprises VAL service data of one or more of the at least one VAL user and/or the at least one VAL UE (see, 10.3.6. 4 group configurations, contain the group configuration data common to all VAL services and group configuration data specific to each VAL service, see, note, VAL service data, and 10.3.7. location based group creation). Regarding claim 5, 3GPP further discloses the method wherein obtaining VAL service data of the at least one VAL user and/or the at least one VAL UE comprises at least one of: obtaining VAL service data of one or more of the at least one VAL user and/or the at least one VAL UE from a location management server; or obtaining VAL service data of one or more of the at least one VAL user and/or the at least one VAL UE from a configuration management server (see, Fig. 10.3.7-1 location based group creation discloses step 5 the create and store location based group). Regarding claim 12, 3GPP further discloses the method wherein VAL service data of a VAL user or a VAL UE comprises at least one of: one or more VAL service IDs of one or more VAL services supported by the VAL user or the VAL UE, a VAL user ID, a VAL UE ID, or VAL service specific information (see, page 92, 1. The VAL server determines group information and the identity list to which the group announcement shall be sent. The decision can be based on the list of authorized UEs and other criteria (e.g. user consent, service, or vehicle driving profile). 2. The VAL server configures VAL group for Uu communication defined by VAL Group ID for one or more VAL services with list of VAL Service ID with the group management server.). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 6-10 are 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 The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Pateromichalakis et al. (US 2025/0150783) discloses mapping applications and location service profiles. Tangudu et al. (US 2023/0388748) discloses method and apparatus for monitoring location and problematic event of user equipment. Zhao et al. (US 2022/0329996) discloses location reporting for service enabler architectures layer (SEAL). Pattan et al. (US 2021/0007178) discloses system and method for dynamic group data protection. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DHAVAL V PATEL whose telephone number is (571)270-1818. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday (8:00am-4:30pm). 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, Hannah Wang can be reached at 571-272-9018. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /DHAVAL V PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2631
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 24, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 23, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+14.9%)
2y 5m (~2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1341 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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