Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/836,966

TECHNIQUES FOR OBTAINING NETWORK SERVICE INFORMATION

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Aug 08, 2024
Priority
May 06, 2022 — GR 20220100375 +1 more
Examiner
COBY, FRANTZ
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Qualcomm Incorporated
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
90%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
4m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 90% — above average
90%
Career Allowance Rate
680 granted / 751 resolved
+30.5% vs TC avg
Moderate +5% lift
Without
With
+5.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
13 currently pending
Career history
758
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
9.0%
-31.0% vs TC avg
§103
40.8%
+0.8% vs TC avg
§102
23.7%
-16.3% vs TC avg
§112
11.9%
-28.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 751 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 . This Office Action is in response to Application filed on August 08, 2024 in which claims 1-30 are presented for examination. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on August 08, 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. 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) 1-30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2021/189236 A1 (QUALCOMM INC [US]; DU ZHIMIN [CN] ET AL.) September 2021. Regarding claim 1, WO 2021/189236 A1 (QUALCOMM INC [US]; DU ZHIMIN [CN] ET AL.) 30 September 2021 disclose “A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment, UE” (see figure 5 and paragraph [0050]: Figure 5 is a flow diagram illustrating and example process 500 for wireless communication, in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. The process 500 may be performed, for example, by a UE (for example, such as a UE 120a in the wireless communication network 100)), comprising: “receiving broadcast information associated with one or more services provided by a network” (see figure 5 and paragraph [0052]: "The process 500 may begin, in block 505, by the UE receiving a PWS message, the PWS message including information associated with at least one program provided via a multimedia service (for example, an eMBMS service or an EnTV service)", for which paragraph [0054] discloses that the PWS message is provided to the UE by a network entity via broadcast); “obtaining a location for accessing service information that describes the one or more services based at least in part on the broadcast information” (see paragraph [0052], disclosing a number of options for the type of information provided in the PWS message, which each represent a different type of location for accessing the service information: "In some aspects, the information may be a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) associated with the at least one program. In some aspects, the information associated with the at least one program may be any indicator signaling to the UE an existence of the at least one program. In some aspects, the information may be service announcement information for the UE to discover and retrieve the at least one program via the multimedia service"); and “accessing the service information based at least in part on the location” (see paragraph [0052]: "In block 510, the UE may retrieve the at least one program via the multimedia service based on the information indicated in the PWS message”). Regarding claim 17, WO 2021/189236 A1 (QUALCOMM INC [US]; DU ZHIMIN [CN] ET AL.) 30 September 2021 disclose “A method of wireless communication performed by a network entity” (see figure 5 and paragraph [0050]: Figure 5 is a flow diagram illustrating and example process 500 for wireless communication, in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. The process 500 may be performed, for example, by a UE (for example, such as a UE 120a in the wireless communication network 100)), comprising: “obtaining a configuration for transmitting broadcast information that is associated with one or more services provided by a network” (see figure 5 and paragraph [0052]: "The process 500 may begin, in block 505, by the UE receiving a PWS message, the PWS message including information associated with at least one program provided via a multimedia service (for example, an eMBMS service or an EnTV service)", for which paragraph [0054] discloses that the PWS message is provided to the UE by a network entity via broadcast); “enables a user equipment (UE) to obtain a location for accessing service information that describes the one or more services” (see paragraph [0052], disclosing a number of options for the type of information provided in the PWS message, which each represent a different type of location for accessing the service information: "In some aspects, the information may be a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) associated with the at least one program. In some aspects, the information associated with the at least one program may be any indicator signaling to the UE an existence of the at least one program. In some aspects, the information may be service announcement information for the UE to discover and retrieve the at least one program via the multimedia service"); and “transmitting a broadcast communication that includes the broadcast information” (see paragraph [0052]: "In block 510, the UE may retrieve the at least one program via the multimedia service based on the information indicated in the PWS message”). Regarding claim 22, WO 2021/189236 A1 (QUALCOMM INC [US]; DU ZHIMIN [CN] ET AL.) 30 September 2021 disclose “An apparatus for wireless communication” (see figure 5 and paragraph [0050]: Figure 5 is a flow diagram illustrating and example process 500 for wireless communication, in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. The process 500 may be performed, for example, by a UE (for example, such as a UE 120a in the wireless communication network 100)), comprising: “means for receiving broadcast information associated with one or more services provided by a network” (see figure 5 and paragraph [0052]: "The process 500 may begin, in block 505, by the UE receiving a PWS message, the PWS message including information associated with at least one program provided via a multimedia service (for example, an eMBMS service or an EnTV service)", for which paragraph [0054] discloses that the PWS message is provided to the UE by a network entity via broadcast); “means for obtaining a location for accessing service information that describes the one or more services based at least in part on the broadcast information” (see paragraph [0052], disclosing a number of options for the type of information provided in the PWS message, which each represent a different type of location for accessing the service information: "In some aspects, the information may be a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) associated with the at least one program. In some aspects, the information associated with the at least one program may be any indicator signaling to the UE an existence of the at least one program. In some aspects, the information may be service announcement information for the UE to discover and retrieve the at least one program via the multimedia service"); and “means for accessing the service information based at least in part on the location” (see paragraph [0052]: "In block 510, the UE may retrieve the at least one program via the multimedia service based on the information indicated in the PWS message”). 3. Claim(s) 1-30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2016/073101 A1 (QUALCOMM INC [US]) 12 May 2016. Regarding claim 1, WO 2016/073101 A1 (QUALCOMM INC [US]) 12 May 2016 disclose “A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment, UE (see figure 8 and paragraphs [0067]-[0069]), comprising: receiving broadcast information associated with one or more services provided by a network (see figure 8 and paragraph [0067]: "At block 800, a UE receivers a system information broadcast message including a multimedia alert. For example the multimedia alert may be a cell broadcast with the multimedia PWS alert contained within a SIB message, such as SIBs 10/11/12”); “enables a user equipment (UE) to obtain a location for accessing service information that describes the one or more services” (see figure 8 and paragraph [0068]: "At block 801, in response to the multimedia alert, the UE automatically initiates a multimedia broadcast application which uses broadcast system information provided in the multimedia alert to automatically tune the UE into streaming multimedia content associated with the alert. For example, the cell broadcast with the multimedia PWS alert may include a TMGI that the eMBMS application on the UE can use to tune the UE into the eMBMS channel that is transmitting the emergency multimedia content”). Regarding claim 17, WO 2016/073101 A1 (QUALCOMM INC [US]) 12 May 2016 disclose “A method of wireless communication performed by a network entity” (see figure 8 and paragraphs [0067]-[0069]), comprising: obtaining a configuration for transmitting broadcast information that is associated with one or more services provided by a network” (see figure 8 and paragraph [0067]: "At block 800, a UE receivers a system information broadcast message including a multimedia alert. For example the multimedia alert may be a cell broadcast with the multimedia PWS alert contained within a SIB message, such as SIBs 10/11/12”); “enables a user equipment (UE) to obtain a location for accessing service information that describes the one or more services; and “transmitting a broadcast communication that includes the broadcast information” (see figure 8 and paragraph [0068]: "At block 801, in response to the multimedia alert, the UE automatically initiates a multimedia broadcast application which uses broadcast system information provided in the multimedia alert to automatically tune the UE into streaming multimedia content associated with the alert. For example, the cell broadcast with the multimedia PWS alert may include a TMGI that the eMBMS application on the UE can use to tune the UE into the eMBMS channel that is transmitting the emergency multimedia content”). Regarding claim 22, WO 2016/073101 A1 (QUALCOMM INC [US]) 12 May 2016 disclose “An apparatus for wireless communication (see figure 8 and paragraphs [0067]-[0069]), comprising: means for receiving broadcast information associated with one or more services provided by a network; (see figure 8 and paragraph [0067]: "At block 800, a UE receivers a system information broadcast message including a multimedia alert. For example the multimedia alert may be a cell broadcast with the multimedia PWS alert contained within a SIB message, such as SIBs 10/11/12”); “means for obtaining a location for accessing service information that describes the one or more services based at least in part on the broadcast information and means for accessing the service information based at least in part on the location” (see figure 8 and paragraph [0068]: "At block 801, in response to the multimedia alert, the UE automatically initiates a multimedia broadcast application which uses broadcast system information provided in the multimedia alert to automatically tune the UE into streaming multimedia content associated with the alert. For example, the cell broadcast with the multimedia PWS alert may include a TMGI that the eMBMS application on the UE can use to tune the UE into the eMBMS channel that is transmitting the emergency multimedia content”). The subject-matter of dependent claims 2, 4, 18, 19, 23 and 25 adds use of a key or a flag indication, received in the broadcast information, to generate a URL to access the service information, which is considered a common alternative to the one of the options of WO 2021/189236 A1 (QUALCOMM INC [US]; DU ZHIMIN [CN] ET AL.) September 2021, in which the URL itself is provided in the broadcast information (see rejection of claim 1 above). The subject-matter of dependent claims 3 and 24 further adds the use of a tracking area code next to the key, for generating the URL, in which the service is a eMBMS service (see WO 2021/189236 A1 paragraph [0052]), in which case the use of a TAC is considered a common design choice. The subject-matter of dependent claims 5, 20 and 26 is disclosed in WO 2021/189236 A1 (QUALCOMM INC [US]; DU ZHIMIN [CN] ET AL.) September 2021, (see paragraph [0060]: "In some aspects of the present disclosure, the information included in the PWS message may be or include service announcement information", in combination with paragraph [0061]: "In some aspects, the service announcement information may carry a Temporary Mobile Group Identity (TMGI). The TMGI may indicate resources for the retrieval of the emergency broadcast program") and in WO 2016/073101 A1 (QUALCOMM INC [US]) 12 May 2016 ((see figure 8 and paragraph [0067]: "At block 800, a UE receivers a system information broadcast message including a multimedia alert. For example the multimedia alert may be a cell broadcast with the multimedia PWS alert contained within a SIB message, such as SIBs 10/11/12”); and (see figure 8 and paragraph [0068]: "At block 801, in response to the multimedia alert, the UEautomatically initiates a multimedia broadcast application which uses broadcast system information provided in the multimedia alert to automatically tune the UE into streaming multimedia content associated with the alert. For example, the cell broadcast with the multimedia PWS alert may include a TMGI that the eMBMS application on the UE can use to tune the UE into the eMBMS channel that is transmitting the emergency multimedia content”). The subject-matter of dependent claims 6 and 27 is disclosed in WO 2016/073101 A1 (QUALCOMM INC [US]) 12 May 2016 (see paragraphs 0065-0066). The subject-matter of dependent claims 7, 21 and 28 is disclosed in WO 2021/189236 A1 (QUALCOMM INC [US]; DU ZHIMIN [CN] ET AL.) September 2021 (see rejection of claim 1 above). The subject-matter of dependent claims 8-11, 29 and 30 is disclosed in WO 2021/189236 A1 (QUALCOMM INC [US]; DU ZHIMIN [CN] ET AL.) September 2021 (see paragraph [0062]: "For example, the UE may alert the user of the emergent situation as carried in or indicated by the PWS message. The UE may also prompt the user to the availability of additional information over eMBMS/ EnTV. For instance, the UE may display to the user "Tsunami Alert! Additional information available on EnTV, Click Yes to watch? Upon user confirmation (for example, by clicking "Yes"), the UE may automatically (for example, without any further user input) start receiving the emergency broadcast program over eMBMS/EnTV"). The subject-matter of dependent claim 12 adds another network for receiving the broadcast information. In the teaching of WO 2021/189236 A1 (QUALCOMM INC [US]; DU ZHIMIN [CN] ET AL.) September 2021, the service is a eMBMS service (see paragraph [0052]); use of a dedicated network for the eMBMS service is considered a basic design choice. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FRANTZ COBY whose telephone number is (571)272-4017. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7AM-5:30PM. 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, 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. 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. /FRANTZ COBY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2459 August 5, 2026
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Prosecution Timeline

Aug 08, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
90%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+5.2%)
2y 4m (~4m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 751 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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