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 .
Priority
This application claims the priority from Chinese Patent Application No. 202410155328.4, filed on Feb. 2, 2024.
Preliminary Amendments
The preliminary Amendments received on 12/9/2024 have been considered and entered.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 6 and 11 are objected to because of the following informalities.
As to claims 1, 6 and 11, the acronym “IP”, in line 9, should be spelt out.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
As to claim 1,
The claim recites the limitation “the network element”, in line 5. However, there are multiple antecedents found in the claim, in the preamble and in line 3. It is not clear which network element the limitation is referring to. Appropriate correction is required.
The claim further recites the limitation “associating at least one availability zone comprised in the service unit with at least one device pool and at least one subnet respectively, wherein the device pool is formed by aggregating at least one virtual network element device”. However, the limitation could be interpreted in two distinct interpretations which renders the claim indefinite, either:
Associating availability zone comprised in the service unit with at least one device pool and at least one subnet respectively. i.e. the device pool and the subnet are also comprised in the service unit, or
The availability zone, comprised in the service unit, is associated with device pool and subnet respectively.
Appropriate correction is required.
As to claims 6 and 11, the claims recite similar limitations to claim 1 and also rejected under 112(b) for all or some of the reasons shown above as applicable.
As to the claim(s) that are dependent on claim(s) 1, 6 or 11, the dependent claim(s) are also rejected under 112(b) for the same reason of their base claim(s).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please see PTO-892.
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/Abdulkader M Alriyashi/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2447 1/10/2026