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 action is in response to application filed 05/08/2026.
Claims 21-40 are pending in this application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pg. 12-13, filed 05/08/2026, with respect to claims 21, 29, 36 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The prior art rejection of claims 21-40 has been withdrawn.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the "right to exclude" granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937,214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); and In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the conflicting application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement.
Effective January 1, 1994, a registered attorney or agent of record may sign a terminal disclaimer. A terminal disclaimer signed by the assignee must fully comply with 37 CFR 3.73(b).
Claims 21-40 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-21 of U.S. Patented Case No. 10,469,324 B2. Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 21-40 of the current application perform the same steps or limitations recited by claims 1-21 of U.S. Patented Case No. 10,469,324 B2 as detailed below by the examiner.
Claim 21-40
Current Application
Claim 1-21
Patent Case No. 10,469,324 B2
Claim 21: A system, comprising: one or more computing devices comprising one or more processors and memory configured to implement a service to:
receive a query from a client about a virtual network;
obtain a specification for networking primitives for the virtual network;
obtain an encoded description of the virtual network and one or more encoded virtual networking rules for the virtual network that are distinct from the query,
wherein: said obtain an encoded description of the virtual network comprises generate, according to a declarative logic programming language, the encoded description of the virtual network based at least in part on the specified networking primitives, or said obtain one or more encoded virtual networking rules comprises generate, according to the declarative logic programming language, the one or more encoded virtual networking rules for the virtual network based at least in part on the specified networking primitives;
resolve the query, for the encoded description of the virtual network according to the encoded virtual networking rules for the virtual network, using a constraint solver; and
send results of the query resolution for the virtual network to the client.
Claim 1. A computer system including a processor coupled to a memory, the memory including instructions for a virtual network verification service that upon execution causes the system to:
receive a query about a virtual network of a plurality of virtual networks from a particular client of a plurality of clients via a client device, wherein the query is expressed as a constraint problem, wherein the virtual network is instantiated for the particular client in a provider network and includes virtual machines, and wherein the provider network hosts the plurality of virtual networks for respective clients of the plurality of clients on a substrate network of the provider network;
obtain rules for the particular client's virtual network, wherein one or more different rules apply to different individual ones of the plurality of virtual networks;
encode the rules for the particular client's virtual network according to a declarative logic programming language to generate encoded virtual networking rules for the particular client's virtual network; and
in response to the query:
obtain descriptive information for the particular client's virtual network;
encode the descriptive information for the particular client's virtual network according to the declarative logic programming language to generate an encoded description of the particular client's virtual network;
resolve the query for the encoded description of the particular client's virtual network according to the encoded virtual networking rules using a constraint solver program, wherein the constraint solver program is configured to resolve constraint problems according to the declarative logic programming language and according to the encoded virtual networking rules; and
provide results of the query resolution about the particular client's virtual network to the client device
Claim 4: The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the descriptive information comprises one or more of information identifying instances of networking primitives that are implemented in the particular client's virtual network, descriptions of the virtual machines in the particular client's virtual network, descriptions of relationships among the virtual machines in the particular client's virtual network, or descriptions of interfaces to entities external to the particular client's virtual network.
Claims 21-40 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 11,095,523 B2 in view of Monahan et al. (US 2007/0136788 A1).
Regarding claim 21, US Patent ‘523 discloses a system, comprising: one or more computing devices comprising one or more processors and memory (claim 1, lines 1-4) configured to implement a service to:
receive a query from a client about a virtual network (claim 1, 11-14);
obtain a specification for networking primitives for the virtual network (claim 1, 5-6);
obtain an encoded description of the virtual network and one or more encoded virtual networking rules for the virtual network that are distinct from the query (claim 1, 11-14),
wherein: said obtain an encoded description of the virtual network comprises generate, according to a declarative logic programming language, the encoded description of the virtual network based at least in part on the specified networking primitives, or said obtain one or more encoded virtual networking rules comprises generate, according to the declarative logic programming language, the one or more encoded virtual networking rules for the virtual network based at least in part on the specified networking primitives (claim 1, 7-14);
resolve the query, for the encoded description of the virtual network according to the encoded virtual networking rules for the virtual network, using a constraint solver (claim 1, 19-24).
However, ‘523 does not disclose send results of the query resolution for the virtual network to the client.
In an analogous art, Monahan discloses send results of the query resolution for the virtual network to the client ([0249]: an overall process for compiling and solving path queries. Any solutions found are to be displayed graphically in this example. Infrastructure Path Queries 510 are formulated as structured textual objects from a text file description or potentially via some Graphical User Interface).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill at the time the invention was made to modify ‘523 to comprise of “send results of the query resolution for the virtual network to the client” taught by Monahan.
One of ordinary skilled in the art would have been motivated because it would have enabled to determine what parts of the network are reachable from a given point or part of the network if the configuration is altered and what security controls exist in new paths created between given points or regions of the network if the configuration is altered (Monahan, [0022]).
Claims 21-40 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patented Case No. 12,126,495 B2. Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 21-40 of the current application perform the same steps or limitations recited by claims 1-20 of U.S. Patented Case No. 12,126,495 B2. as detailed below by the examiner.
Claim 21-40
Current Application
Claim 1-20
Patent Case No. 12,126,495 B2
Claim 21: A system, comprising: one or more computing devices comprising one or more processors and memory configured to implement a service to:
receive a query from a client about a virtual network;
obtain a specification for networking primitives for the virtual network;
obtain an encoded description of the virtual network and one or more encoded virtual networking rules for the virtual network that are distinct from the query,
wherein: said obtain an encoded description of the virtual network comprises generate, according to a declarative logic programming language, the encoded description of the virtual network based at least in part on the specified networking primitives, or said obtain one or more encoded virtual networking rules comprises generate, according to the declarative logic programming language, the one or more encoded virtual networking rules for the virtual network based at least in part on the specified networking primitives;
resolve the query, for the encoded description of the virtual network according to the encoded virtual networking rules for the virtual network, using a constraint solver; and
send results of the query resolution for the virtual network to the client.
Claim 1: A system, comprising:
one or more computing devices comprising one or more processors and memory configured to implement virtual network verification service configured to:
receive a query for a virtual network from a client, wherein the query is expressed as one or more constraint problems regarding the virtual network;
obtain encoded virtual networking rules for the virtual network, wherein the virtual networking rules are encoded according to a declarative logic programming language, the encoded virtual networking rules distinct from the query expressed as one or more constraint problems;
obtain an encoded description of the virtual network;
resolve the query, expressed as one or more constraint problems, for the encoded description of the virtual network according to the declarative-logic-encoded virtual networking rules for the virtual network using a constraint solver engine; and
provide results of the query resolution for the virtual network to the client.
Claim 7: The system as recited claim 1, wherein the virtual network verification service is further configured to:
obtain a specification for networking primitives for the virtual network;
wherein to obtain the encoded virtual networking rules for the virtual network, the virtual network verification service is further configured to:
generate, according to a declarative logic programming language, the encoded virtual networking rules for the virtual network based at least in part on the specified networking primitives;
wherein to obtain the encoded description of the virtual network, the virtual network verification service is further configured to:
generate, according to the declarative logic programming language, the encoded description of the virtual network based at least in part on the specified networking primitives.
Additional References
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicants disclosure.
Becker et al., US 2008/0066160 A1: Security Language Expressions for Logic Resolution.
Tan et al., US 2020/0067962 A1: Model Based Methology for Translating High Level Cyber Treat Descriptions Into System Specific Actionable Defense Tactics.
Amies et al., US 2014/0189125 A1.: Querying and Managing Computing Resources in a Networked Computing Environment.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/J.C.T/Examiner, Art Unit 2446
/BRIAN J. GILLIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2446
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