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
Claims 1-12, 17-19, 21, and 27-30 are presented for examination.
13-16, 20, 22-26 are cancelled.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
3. Claims 1-12, 17-19, 21, and 27-30 recites the following limitations:
sending ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy information to a terminal;
ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy information indicates a security policy for the terminal to perform a ranging/sidelink positioning protocol procedure.
Each of these limitations would be practical to perform in the mind with the aid of pencil and paper, thus directed towards a mental process (see MPEP §2106.04(a)(2)(III)). Each of these limitations work together to work on a set of data, go through some surety policy process, and indicating a security policy. This is the type of analysis that goes into network planning and can reasonably be done in the human mind. As result, the limitations listed recite an abstract idea.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. Claim 1 further recites “ranging/sidelink positioning protocol” and “security policy information to a terminal”. The claimed ranging/sidelink positioning protocol is a generic computer process that is being claimed as just a tool to perform the claimed mental steps. Performing an abstract idea on a computer tool does not transform the abstract idea into a practical application (see MPEP §2106.05(f)). Claim 1 also recites “security policy information to a terminal”. The security policy information to a terminal is a data gathering step which uses the data from the received data packets to perform the mental process. The claimed data gathering step is insignificant extra solution activity and does not transform the claimed abstract idea into a practical application (see MPEP §2106.05(g)). The additional elements have been considered alone, and in combination with the claimed invention as a whole, but does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. As result, the invention is directed towards an abstract idea.
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional elements of security policy information to a terminal amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component cannot provide an inventive concept. The reception of the claimed data packets is an insignificant extra solution activity, which is additional well understood routine, and conventional. MPEP §2106.05(g) details similar data gather steps that have been found by the courts to be well understood routine, and conventional. As result, the claim is not patent eligible.
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)(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.
Claim 1, 2, 4-7, 9-12, 17-18, 21, 27-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Zhang et al hereafter Zhang (US Pat. App. Pub. 20230164571).
5. As per claims 1, 27, 28, Zhang teaches a method, a communication device, and a non-transitory computer storage medium of security protection based on a ranging/sidelink positioning protocol, performed by a network function, the method comprising: sending ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy information to a terminal (paragraphs: 41-43, wherein it emphasizes a security protocol based on the sidelink positioning protocol that sends a surety rules to a terminal); wherein the ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy information indicates a security policy for the terminal to perform a ranging/sidelink positioning protocol procedure (paragraphs: 76, and 82-83, wherein it elaborates that the sidelink protocol policy indicates a security rules for the terminal to perform sidelink protocol procedure).
6. As per claims 2, and 7, Zhang teaches the method, wherein the ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy information indicates a mapping relation between at least one ranging/sidelink positioning service and a corresponding ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy (paragraphs: 109-110).
7. As per claims 4, and 9, Zhang teaches the method, wherein the network function is a policy control function (PCF), and sending the ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy information to the terminal comprises: sending the ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy information to the terminal during a service authorization and configuration procedure (paragraphs: 102, and 107), .
8. As per claims 5, and 10, Zhang teaches the method, wherein the network function is a 5G proximity service key management function (PKMF) or a 5G proximity service direct discovery name management function (DDNMF), and sending the ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy information to the terminal comprises: sending the ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy information to the terminal during a terminal discovery procedure (paragraphs: 114-115).
9. As per claim 6, and 29-30, Zhang teaches a method, a communication device, and a non-transitory computer storage medium of security protection based on a ranging/sidelink positioning protocol, performed by a terminal, the method comprising: receiving ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy information sent by a network function (paragraphs: 41-43); wherein the ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy information indicates a security policy for the terminal to perform a ranging/sidelink positioning protocol procedure (paragraphs: 76, and 82-83).
10. As per claim 11, Zhang teaches the method, wherein the terminal is a first terminal initiating direct communication; and the method further comprises: determining, by the first terminal, a second terminal, and determining that the direct communication is established for a ranging/sidelink positioning service rather than for a proximity service (ProSe) (paragraphs: 117, and 121).
11. As per claim 12, Zhang teaches the method, further comprising: choosing a ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy of the first terminal to be sent to the second terminal based on the ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy information;[[.]] sending the ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy of the first terminal, or security capability information of the first terminal, or both, to the second terminal; wherein sending the ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy of the first terminal, or the security capability information of the first terminal, or both, to the second terminal comprises: sending the ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy of the first terminal, or the security capability information of the first terminal, or both, to the second terminal through a direct communication request message (paragraphs: 123-125); wherein the method further comprises: receiving at least one of: information of a security algorithm, the ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy of the first terminal, or the security capability information of the terminal sent by the second terminal; wherein receiving at least one of: the information of the security algorithm, the ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy of the first terminal, or the security capability information of the first terminal sent by the second terminal comprises: receiving, through a direct security mode command message, at least one of: the information of the security algorithm, the ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy of the first terminal, or the security capability information of the first terminal sent by the second terminal (paragraphs: 127, and 132).
12. As per claim 17, Zhang teaches the method, wherein the terminal is a discovered second terminal for direct communication; and the method further comprises: receiving a ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy of a first terminal, or security capability information of the first terminal, or both, sent by the first terminal initiating the direction communication (paragraphs: 138, and 140).
13. As per claim 18, Zhang teaches the method, wherein receiving the ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy of the first terminal, or the security capability information of the first terminal, or both, sent by the first terminal initiating the direction communication comprises: receiving, through a direct communication request message, the ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy of the first terminal, or the security capability information of the first terminal, or both, sent by the first terminal (paragraphs: 85-87).
14. As per claim 21, Zhang teaches the method, further comprising: terminal, or the security capability information of the first terminal to the first terminal; wherein sending at least one of: the information of the security algorithm, the ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy of the first terminal, or the security capability information of the first terminal to the first terminal comprises: sending at least one of: the information of the security algorithm, the ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy of the first terminal, or the security capability information of the first terminal to the first terminal through a direct security mode command message; wherein the direct security mode command message is integrity protected with the security algorithm chosen for integrity protection (paragraphs: 129, and 145).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
15. Claims 3, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al hereafter Zhang (US Pat. App. Pub. 20230164571) and in view of EDGE (US pat. App. Pub. 20230328686).
16. As per claims 3, and 8, Zhang discloses the method, wherein the ranging/sidelink positioning protocol security policy information comprises at least one of: signaling integrity protection information, indicating a following ranging/sidelink positioning protocol policy (Zhang, paragraphs: 94-95). He does not expressly discloses the terminal accepts a connection in a case that a PC5 interface is under integrity protection; signaling confidentiality protection information, indicating one of following ranging/sidelink positioning protocol policies: the terminal accepts a connection in a case that a PC5 interface is under confidentiality protection; the terminal establishes a connection without confidentiality protection; the terminal tries to establish confidentiality protection and accepts a connection without confidentiality protection. However, in the same field of endeavor, EDGE discloses the terminal accepts a connection in a case that a PC5 interface is under integrity protection; signaling confidentiality protection information, indicating one of following ranging/sidelink positioning protocol policies: the terminal accepts a connection in a case that a PC5 interface is under confidentiality protection; the terminal establishes a connection without confidentiality protection; the terminal tries to establish confidentiality protection and accepts a connection without confidentiality protection (paragraphs: 9-10, and 43).
Accordingly, it would been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the network security art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated EDGE’s teachings of PC5 interface is under integrity protection; signaling confidentiality protection information, indicating one of following ranging/sidelink positioning protocol policies with the teachings of Zhang, for the purpose of effectively protecting the surety policy of terminal.
Allowable Subject Matter
17. Claim 19 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.
Citation of References
18. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following references are cited but not been replied upon for this office action:
SHIN et al (US pat. app. Pub. 20230042138): discusses transmitting positioning capability information of the terminal to at least one of a base station or another terminal, receiving positioning configuration information from at least one of the base station, the other terminal or a location server connected with at least one of the base station or the other terminal, receiving a sidelink-positioning reference signal (S-PRS) based on the positioning configuration information, and transmitting positioning information based on the S-PRS.
Szebenyei et al (US pat. App. Pub. 20220268875): elaborates that updating a positioning configuration in a positioning system comprising a plurality of anchor nodes for determining positions of tag devices within a localization area using radio technology is disclosed. A method implementation of the technique comprises determining (S202) an updated positioning configuration for at least one of a set of tag devices and a set of anchor nodes of the positioning system based on predefined positioning requirements that depend on a zone of the localization area in which the set of tag devices is currently located, and applying (S204) the updated positioning configuration to the at least one of the set of tag devices and the set of anchor nodes.
Conclusion
19. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMMAD W REZA whose telephone number is (571)272-6590. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8:30-5:30 ET.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Cathy Thiaw can be reached on 571-270-1138. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
/MOHAMMAD W REZA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2407
Prosecution Insights