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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This is a reply to the application filed on 10/11/2024, in which, claims 1-12 and 22-27 are pending. Claims 1, 5, and 8 are independent.
When making claim amendments, the applicant is encouraged to consider the references in their entireties, including those portions that have not been cited by the examiner and their equivalents as they may most broadly and appropriately apply to any particular anticipated claim amendments.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings filed on 10/18/2024 are accepted.
Specification
The disclosure filed on 10/11/2024 is accepted.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 22-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claims 22-27 do not further limit any of the limitations of the claims upon which they depend. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
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) 1-12 and 22-27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 20200344606 A1 (hereinafter ‘Zaus’).
As regards claim 1, Zaus (US 20200344606 A1) discloses: An authentication method, performed by a unified data management (UDM) network element (Zaus: Figs. 13-14), comprising: receiving authentication procedure trigger information from an authentication server function (AUSF) network element, wherein the authentication procedure trigger information comprises an identifier of a user equipment (UE) corresponding to the AUSF network element (Zaus: Fig. 13, ¶201-¶203, i.e., the SUPI information (unique UE id) and msg for authentication), and the authentication procedure trigger information indicates the UDM network element to trigger an authentication procedure for the UE; and (Zaus: Fig. 13, msg 1312c from AUSF 1306 to UDM 1306)
sending an authentication notification message to an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, wherein the authentication notification message comprises the identifier of the UE, and (Zaus: Figs. 13-14, msg 1418 to AMF, ¶215-¶216) the authentication notification message notifies the AMF network element to perform the authentication procedure for the UE. (Zaus: Figs. 13-14, step 1420, ¶216, i.e., AMF performs the authentication)
Claim 5 and 22-25 recite substantially the same features recited in claim 1 above and are rejected based on the rationale discussed in the rejection.
As regards claim 2, Zaus discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the authentication notification message further comprises access type information, and the access type information indicates an access type applicable for the authentication procedure initiated, the access types comprise 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) access and/or non-3GPP access. (Zaus: Fig. 1, ¶32)
As regards claim 3, Zaus discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the authentication procedure trigger information indication and the authentication notification message further comprise an authentication cause for which the AUSF network element requests to trigger the network authentication procedure, and the authentication cause comprises at least one of: a steering of roaming (SoR) counter reaching an upper limit; and a UE parameter update (UPU) counter reaching an upper limit. (Zaus: ¶4-¶5, ¶8-¶9, i.e., the SOR counter for triggering authentication/re-authentication of the UE)
Claim 6 recites substantially the same features recited in claim 3 above and is rejected based on the rationale discussed in the rejection.
As regards claim 4, Zaus discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the authentication notification message further comprises a confirmation indication for requesting an authentication notification acknowledgement message from the AMF networkelement, and (Zaus: Figs. 13-14, ¶191) the authentication notification acknowledgement message indicates that the AMF network element has requested the UE to perform the authentication procedure. (Zaus: Figs. 13-14, msg 1418 to AMF, ¶215-¶216)
As regards claim 7, Zaus discloses the method according to claim 6, further comprising: after confirming that the network authentication procedure is completed, generating a new AUSF network element key, and resetting values of the steering of roaming counter and the UE parameter update counter. (Zaus: ¶205)
As regards claim 8, Zaus (US 20200344606 A1) discloses: An authentication method, performed by an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element (Zaus: Figs. 13-14), comprising: receiving an authentication notification message from a unified data management (UDM) network element, wherein the authentication notification message comprises an identity of a user equipment (UE), and the authentication notification message notifies the AMF network element to perform an authentication procedure for the UE; (Zaus: Figs. 13-14, msg 1418 to AMF, ¶215-¶216)
sending an authentication request to the UE via an Non-Access Stratum (NAS) connection between the AMF network element and the UE, wherein the authentication request requests the UE to perform the authentication procedure; and (Zaus: Figs. 13-14, ¶8-¶13, ¶69, i.e., the authentication of UE by AMF using NAS signaling)
receiving an authentication response from the UE, wherein the authentication response comprises information required to perform the authentication procedure. (Zaus: Figs. 3, 13-14, ¶67-¶69)
Claim 26-27 recite substantially the same features recited in claim 8 above and are rejected based on the rationale discussed in the rejection.
As regards claim 9, Zaus discloses the method according to claim 8, further comprising: sending a paging message to the UE to create the NAS connection. (Zaus: ¶159)
As regards claim 10, Zaus discloses the method according to claim 8, wherein the authentication notification message further comprises a confirmation request indication for requesting an authentication notification acknowledgement message from the AMF network element, and the method further comprises: sending the authentication notification acknowledgement message to the UDM network element, wherein the authentication notification acknowledgement message indicates that the AMF network element has requested the UE to perform the network authentication procedure. (Zaus: Figs. 13-14, step 1420, ¶189, ¶216)
As regards claim 11, Zaus discloses the method according to claim 8, further comprising: performing security protection on the authentication request based on an NAS security context locally stored. (Zaus: ¶68)
As regards claim 12, Zaus discloses the method according to claim 11, further comprising: updating the NAS security context locally stored after the network authentication procedure is completed. (Zaus: ¶31, ¶198-¶199)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SYED A ZAIDI whose telephone number is (571)270-5995. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday: 5:30AM-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, Jeffrey Nickerson can be reached at (469) 295-9235. 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.
/SYED A ZAIDI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2432
Prosecution Insights