Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/891,696

AUTHORIZATION METHOD AND APPARATUS

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Sep 20, 2024
Priority
Mar 21, 2022 — CN 202210276517.8 +1 more
Examiner
TROST IV, WILLIAM GEORGE
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
70%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
11m
Est. Remaining
58%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 70% — above average
70%
Career Allowance Rate
26 granted / 37 resolved
+10.3% vs TC avg
Minimal -13% lift
Without
With
+-12.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
67
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.8%
-39.2% vs TC avg
§103
83.6%
+43.6% vs TC avg
§102
15.6%
-24.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 37 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
CTNF 18/891,696 CTNF 72330 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-12-aia AIA (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. 07-15-03-aia AIA Claim(s) 1-4, 6, 10-11, 13-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yerrabommanahalli (2016/0183085) hereinafter Yerra . Regarding claim 1, Yerra discloses a method comprising: obtaining by an access management network element (ePDG 212), operation allowed indication information and an authorization condition (Figure 6, 610, authorization based on authentication and a geographic location which is also a further authorization condition), wherein the operation allowed indication indicates that a terminal device (UE 102) is allowed to provide a connection service, and the authorization condition comprises an authorized location range of the connection service (para 30, selective location specific service access); and sending by the access management network element, based on the authorized location range, an authorization result to an access network element (wireless access 206/208) accessed by the terminal device (Figure 2, connection between UE and the access network elements) wherein the authorization result indicates that the terminal device is allowed or not allowed to provide connection service (para 45). Regarding claim 11, Yerra discloses a method comprising: receiving by a terminal device (user equipment 102), a first authorization result sent by an access management element (evolved packet gateway ePDG 212), wherein the first authorization result indicates that a terminal device is not allowed to provide a connection service (Figure 6, 610, indication to disallow access to connection services based in part of authentication and geographic location). Yerra discloses releasing, by the terminal device based on the first authorization result, a resource for providing the connection service (para 34, the UE can be allowed to establish a secure tunnel, or another mechanism, such as not allowing registration, or forcing deregistration as well as UE support flow mobility) disclose that the resource for providing the service is released. Regarding claim 14, Yerra discloses an apparatus comprising: a receiver, configured to obtain by an access management network element (ePDG 212), operation allowed indication information and an authorization condition (Figure 6, 610, authorization based on authentication and a geographic location which is also a further authorization condition), wherein the operation allowed indication indicates that a terminal device (UE 102) is allowed to provide a connection service, and the authorization condition comprises an authorized location range of the connection service (para 30, selective location specific service access); and a transmitter, configured to send by the access management network element, based on the authorized location range, an authorization result to an access network element (wireless access 206/208) accessed by the terminal device (Figure 2, connection between UE and the access network elements) wherein the authorization result indicates that the terminal device is allowed or not allowed to provide connection service (para 45). Note para 18-21 and para 28 discuss capabilities of the ePDG which would include a transmitter and receiver as gateway or a service call control function. Regarding claims 2, 13, 15, Yerra further discloses sending by the access management network element, the authorization result to the terminal device (para 34 – the ePDG can provide notification to the UE 102). Regarding claims 3, and 16, Yerra further discloses wherein sending by the access management network element, when the authorization result indicates the terminal device is not allowed to provide the connection service, sending by the access management network element, a deregistration request message, where the message comprises indication information that the terminal device is not allowed to provide the connection service (para 34, When control of access to services also corresponds to particular APNs, e.g., access to an IMS APN for a VoIP service versus access to VVM or MMS through an Application APN, the wireless service provider can allow or disallow establishing a connection to the APN; such as allowing or not allowing registration (or forcing a deregistration after initially allowing a registration) for particular services provided by the APN). Regarding claim 4, Yerra discloses wherein sending by the access management network element based on the authorized location range comprises: determining by the access management network element, the result based on at least one of the authorized location range, and sending the result to the access network element (para 34, In some embodiments, the notification message can indicate that access to a particular APN is not allowed at the current geographic location of the UE 102 . In some embodiments, the notification message can indicate that a particular service is not allowed at the current geographic location of the UE 102 . In some embodiments, the notification message can indicate that a particular set of services is not allowed at the current geographic location of the UE 102 . In some embodiments, the notification message can indicate that a particular set of services offered by a particular APN is not allowed at the current geographic location of the UE 102 . The notification messages can also, in some embodiments, provide for indicating that access at the current geographic location is not allowed through a non- cellular , untrusted, WLAN, and/or Wi-Fi connection) Regarding claim 6, Yerra discloses that the authorization result indicates it is allowed when the terminal is in the authorized location range and that terminal device is not allowed when the location is outside the authorized location range (para 34, 36 authorization being allowed/not allowed based on location data, also para 45) Regarding claim 10, Yerra discloses wherein the authorized location range comprises an area in which connection service is allowed to be provided ( para 30, selective location specific access) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 5, 17-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yerra in view of Wu (12526627) . Regarding claim 17, Yerra disclose an ePDG gateway which implies a processor. Yerra fails to explicitly disclose at least one processor configured to determine the authorization result based on the authorization condition. However, Wu teaches a network element (Figure 12) in which a processor is used (1210) in an authentication verification system. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include a processor as taught by Wu in order to provide computerized control of the authorization process. Regarding claims 5 and 18, Yerra discloses all the particulars of the claim except for the authorization result indicating whether a terminal is allowed/not allowed when a current time is compared to an authorized time range. However, Wu teaches in an analogous art, the use of time ranges for authorization determination (Col 22;44-55). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include a time range for authorization to allow for flexible types of authorization in a wireless network. Regarding claim 19, Yerra further discloses the authorization result indicates that the terminal is allowed/not allowed based on the device being in or outside and authorized location range. (para 34, In some embodiments, the notification message can indicate that access to a particular APN is not allowed at the current geographic location of the UE 102 . In some embodiments, the notification message can indicate that a particular service is not allowed at the current geographic location of the UE 102 . In some embodiments, the notification message can indicate that a particular set of services is not allowed at the current geographic location of the UE 102 . In some embodiments, the notification message can indicate that a particular set of services offered by a particular APN is not allowed at the current geographic location of the UE 102 . The notification messages can also, in some embodiments, provide for indicating that access at the current geographic location is not allowed through a non- cellular , untrusted, WLAN, and/or Wi-Fi connection) 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yerra in view of Clerc (2005/0010756) . Regarding claim 7, Yerra discloses all the particulars of the claim except for receiving by the access management network element, notification information sent by a location management network element. Yerra discloses making the authorization determination based on the data being withing an authorize location range by the ePDG. However, Clerc teaches an authorization system in which a location management network element (access management center) is used to verify location within an authorized range (para 74-79). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include a location management network element in order to provide distributed processing of the authorization decision . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yerra in view of Makuta (2004/0009778) . Regarding claim 8, Yerra discloses all the particulars of the claim regarding a terminal device’s location being within an authorized location range. Yerra does not explicitly disclose the use of a tracking area range within the authorized location range. However, Makuta teaches in an analogous art, the use of tracking area ranges (para 35-38) in determining whether a terminal is within an authorized location range. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include tracking ranges in order to provide a buffer around the authorized location to determine whether the terminal is correctly authorized . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 9 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yerra in view of Fehrenbach (2020/0092685) . Regarding claims 9 and 20, Yerra discloses all the particulars of the claim except for the connection service comprising a relay service and the terminal is a relay device. However, Fehrenbach teaches a communications service in which a terminal operates as a relay device (sidelink communications between terminals in a group, Figure 2) and is also a vehicle mounted relay service. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention in order to provide relay service in a wireless network . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yerra in view of Xu (CN 115643562B) .. Regarding claim 12, Yerra discloses all the particulars of the claim except for the use of an F1 or user plane interface between the terminal device and access network element. However, Xu teaches that in an authentication/authorization process, if the terminal fails the authorization check, then the user plane resources are released by the system. Note, the user plane is the equivalent of an F1 interface. (S1211, the access network device can according to the third information, executing the user plane connection management process. Wherein, the user plane management flow comprises at least one of the following operations: reserving user plane resource, establishing user plane resource, modifying user plane resource or releasing user plane resource. The authentication information of the first terminal device indicates that it passes through the authentication of the AAA server, the access network device can according to the subscription data information of the first terminal device, executing one or more of the following operations: keeping the user plane resource, establishing user plane resource, modifying the user plane resource. when the authentication information of the first terminal device indicates that it does not pass the authentication of the AAA server, the access network device can execute the operation of releasing the user plane resource . Exemplary, about the reserved user plane resource: the access network device can according to the first terminal device corresponding to the subscription data information, reserving the S1202 temporary user plane resource, not to adjust it. For the establishment of user plane resources: the access network device can according to the subscription data information corresponding to the first terminal device, adding user plane resource on the basis of the temporary user plane resource in the S1202. Regarding the modification of user plane resources: the access network device can according to the subscription data information corresponding to the first terminal device, modifying the user plane resource on the basis of the temporary user plane resource. On the release of user plane resources : the access network device can determine the first terminal device does not pass the authentication of the AAA server, releasing the temporary user plane resource ) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include a release of user plane resources in order to reduce the overall time of control signaling between the network and user device . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Allasia (11838825) discloses authorization based on location information. West (2014/0031011) discloses authentication based on policy and location information. Siddiqui (9350717) discloses proximity of multiple devices taken into account for an authentication process. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM GEORGE TROST IV whose telephone number is (571)272-7872. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7a-4p, Fridays 7a-2p. 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, Charles Appiah can be reached at 571-272-7904. 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. WILLIAM GEORGE TROST IV Primary Patent Examiner Art Unit 2641 /WILLIAM G TROST IV/Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/891,696 Page 2 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/891,696 Page 3 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/891,696 Page 4 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/891,696 Page 5 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/891,696 Page 6 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/891,696 Page 7 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/891,696 Page 8 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/891,696 Page 9 Art Unit: 2641
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Prosecution Timeline

Sep 20, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 16, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
70%
Grant Probability
58%
With Interview (-12.8%)
2y 8m (~11m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 37 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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