DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 1-17 are presented for examination.
Double Patenting
The non-statutory 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 non-statutory 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 Orne, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); 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 non-statutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a non-statutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-17 is rejected on the ground of non-statutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-17 of U.S. Patent No. 12,107,823. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the subject matter claimed in the instant application is fully disclosed in the patent and is covered by the patent since the patent and the application are claiming common subject matter.
With respect to claims 1 and 9:
U.S. Patent No. 12,107,823
Instant Application: 18/897,689
A method, comprising:
A method, comprising:
causing at least a first server set in a first Anycast region to advertise a first Anycast address for a first service, wherein the first server set comprises at least a first server;
causing at least a first server set in a first Anycast region to advertise a first Anycast address for a first service, wherein the first server set comprises at least a first server;
causing at least a second server set in a second Anycast region to advertise a second Anycast address for a second service, wherein the second server set comprises at least a second server;
causing at least a second server set in a second Anycast region to advertise a second Anycast address for a second service, wherein the second server set comprises at least a second server;
determining that a first Anycast region requires additional server capacity;
determining that a first Anycast region requires additional server capacity;
determining a period of time to provide the additional server capacity;
determining a period of time to provide the additional server capacity;
in response to determining that the first Anycast region requires additional server capacity, causing the second server in the second Anycast region to advertise the first Anycast address;
in response to determining that the first Anycast region requires additional server capacity, causing the second server in the second Anycast region to advertise the first Anycast address;
after the period of time, causing the second server in the second Anycast region to cease advertising the first Anycast address;
and after the period of time, causing the second server in the second Anycast region to cease advertising the first Anycast address.
causing a container to be sent to the second server, wherein the container comprises a server for the first service and a pointer to a database hosted on a device in the first Anycast region;
and causing the device in the first Anycast region to permit access to the database by the second server in the second Anycast region, wherein the database contains data for the first service that is specific to the first Anycast region.
With respect to claim 17:
U.S. Patent No. 12,107,823
Instant Application: 18/897,689
A system, comprising:
A system, comprising:
at least one processor;
at least one processor;
and memory, operatively connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to perform a method, the method comprising:
and memory, operatively connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to perform a method, the method comprising:
causing at least a first server set in a first Anycast region to advertise a first Anycast address for a first service, wherein the first server set comprises at least a first server;
causing at least a first server set in a first Anycast region to advertise a first Anycast address for a first service, wherein the first server set comprises at least a first server;
causing at least a second server set in a second Anycast region to advertise a second Anycast address for a second service, wherein the second server set comprises at least a second server;
causing at least a second server set in a second Anycast region to advertise a second Anycast address for a second service, wherein the second server set comprises at least a second server;
determining that a first Anycast region requires additional server capacity;
determining that a first Anycast region requires additional server capacity;
in response to determining that the first Anycast region requires additional server capacity, causing the second server in the second Anycast region to advertise the first Anycast address;
in response to determining that the first Anycast region requires additional server capacity, causing the second server in the second Anycast region to advertise the first Anycast address;
dynamically determining whether the first Anycast region continues to require additional server capacity;
dynamically determining whether the first Anycast region continues to require additional server capacity;
based on dynamically determining that the first Anycast region no longer requires additional server capacity, causing the second server in the second Anycast region to cease advertising the first Anycast address;
and based on dynamically determining that the first Anycast region no longer requires additional server capacity, causing the second server in the second Anycast region to cease advertising the first Anycast address.
causing a container to be sent to the second server, wherein the container comprises a server for the first service and a pointer to a database hosted on a device in the first Anycast region;
and causing the device in the first Anycast region to permit access to the database by the second server in the second Anycast region, wherein the database contains data for the first service that is specific to the first Anycast region.
Claim Objections
Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities: Applicant writes, “a prediction of when the first Anycast region will no longer requires additional server capacity." It is thought that Applicants meant to write, “a prediction of when the first Anycast region will no longer require additional server capacity." Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 14 is objected to because of the following informalities: Applicant writes, “a prediction of when the first Anycast region will no longer requires additional server capacity." It is thought that Applicants meant to write, “a prediction of when the first Anycast region will no longer require additional server capacity." Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-5, 7-13, and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipation by Sawyer et al. (U.S. 10,567,333).
Sawyer was cited on the IDS filed 28 September 2024.
With respect to claim 1, Sawyer teaches a method, comprising: causing at least a first server set (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 720; col. 3, lines 41-43) in a first Anycast region (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 720; col. 8, line 16) to advertise a first Anycast address (Sawyer, col. 7, line 18) for a first service (Sawyer, col. 3, lines 43-45), wherein the first server set comprises at least a first server (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 720; col. 3, lines 41-43); causing at least a second server set (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 710; col. 3, lines 41-43) in a second Anycast region (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 710; col. 8, line 16) to advertise a second Anycast address (Sawyer, col. 8, lines 41-42) for a second service (Sawyer, col. 3, lines 43-45), wherein the second server set comprises at least a second server (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 710; col. 3, lines 41-43); determining that a first Anycast region requires additional server capacity; determining a period of time to provide the additional server capacity; in response to determining that the first Anycast region requires additional server capacity (Sawyer, Fig. 6, elements 610-640; col. 7, lines 33-44), causing the second server (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 710; col. 3, lines 41-43) in the second Anycast region (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 710; col. 8, line 16) to advertise the first Anycast address (Sawyer, Fig, 7B, elements 710, 770, and 750; col. 8, lines 40-43); and after the period of time, causing the second server in the second Anycast region to cease advertising the first Anycast address (Sawyer, Fig. 6, element 680; col. 8, lines 9-12).
With respect to claim 2, Sawyer teaches the invention described in claim 1, including the method wherein determining that the first Anycast region requires additional server capacity comprises determining that a capacity metric has exceeded a threshold (Sawyer, col. 5, lines 2-4).
With respect to claim 3, Sawyer teaches the invention described in claim 2, including the method wherein the capacity metric comprises at least one of: processor usage, latency (Sawyer, col. 4, lines 31-36), and memory usage.
With respect to claim 4, Sawyer teaches the invention described in claim 1, including the method wherein determining that the first Anycast region requires additional server capacity comprises determining that a capacity metric is predicted to exceed a threshold within a prediction period (Sawyer, col. 5, lines 2-5).
With respect to claim 5, Sawyer teaches the invention described in claim 5, including the method wherein the period of time is dynamically determined (Sawyer, Fig. 6, elements 610-640 and 680; col. 7, lines 33-44 and col. 8, lines 9-12).
With respect to claim 7, Sawyer teaches the invention described in claim 1, including the method wherein causing the second server in the second Anycast region to advertise the first Anycast address comprises causing the second server (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 710; col. 3, lines 41-43) in the second Anycast region (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 710; col. 8, line 16) to advertise the first Anycast address (Sawyer, col. 7, line 18) in addition to the second Anycast address (Sawyer, col. 8, lines 41-42).
With respect to claim 8, Sawyer teaches the invention described in claim 1, including the method further comprising causing routers in the first Anycast region to favor the second server during the period of time while the second server advertises the first Anycast address (Sawyer, Fig, 7B, elements 710, 770, and 750; col. 8, lines 40-43).
With respect to claim 9, Sawyer teaches a system, comprising: at least one processor; and memory, operatively connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to perform a method, the method comprising: causing at least a first server set (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 720; col. 3, lines 41-43) in a first Anycast region (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 720; col. 8, line 16) to advertise a first Anycast address (Sawyer, col. 7, line 18) for a first service (Sawyer, col. 3, lines 43-45), wherein the first server set comprises at least a first server (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 720; col. 3, lines 41-43); causing at least a second server set (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 710; col. 3, lines 41-43) in a second Anycast region (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 710; col. 8, line 16) to advertise a second Anycast address (Sawyer, col. 8, lines 41-42) for a second service (Sawyer, col. 3, lines 43-45), wherein the second server set comprises at least a second server (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 710; col. 3, lines 41-43); determining that a first Anycast region requires additional server capacity; determining a period of time to provide the additional server capacity; in response to determining that the first Anycast region requires additional server capacity (Sawyer, Fig. 6, elements 610-640; col. 7, lines 33-44), causing the second server (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 710; col. 3, lines 41-43) in the second Anycast region (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 710; col. 8, line 16) to advertise the first Anycast address (Sawyer, Fig, 7B, elements 710, 770, and 750; col. 8, lines 40-43); and after the period of time, causing the second server in the second Anycast region to cease advertising the first Anycast address (Sawyer, Fig. 6, element 680; col. 8, lines 9-12).
With respect to claim 17, Sawyer teaches a system, comprising: at least one processor; and memory, operatively connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to perform a method, the method comprising: causing at least a first server set (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 720; col. 3, lines 41-43) in a first Anycast region (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 720; col. 8, line 16) to advertise a first Anycast address (Sawyer, col. 7, line 18) for a first service (Sawyer, col. 3, lines 43-45), wherein the first server set comprises at least a first server (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 720; col. 3, lines 41-43); causing at least a second server set (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 710; col. 3, lines 41-43) in a second Anycast region (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 710; col. 8, line 16) to advertise a second Anycast address (Sawyer, col. 8, lines 41-42) for a second service (Sawyer, col. 3, lines 43-45), wherein the second server set comprises at least a second server (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 710; col. 3, lines 41-43); determining that a first Anycast region requires additional server capacity; in response to determining that the first Anycast region requires additional server capacity (Sawyer, Fig. 6, elements 610-640; col. 7, lines 33-44), causing the second server (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 710; col. 3, lines 41-43) in the second Anycast region (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 710; col. 8, line 16) to advertise the first Anycast address (Sawyer, Fig, 7B, elements 710, 770, and 750; col. 8, lines 40-43); dynamically determining (Sawyer, Fig. 6, elements 610-640 and 680; col. 7, lines 33-44 and col. 8, lines 9-12) whether the first Anycast region continues to require additional server capacity (Sawyer, Fig. 6, element 680; col. 8, lines 9-12); and based on dynamically determining (Sawyer, Fig. 6, elements 610-640 and 680; col. 7, lines 33-44 and col. 8, lines 9-12) that the first Anycast region no longer requires additional server capacity, causing the second server in the second Anycast region to cease advertising the first Anycast address (Sawyer, Fig. 6, element 680; col. 8, lines 9-12).
Claims 10-13, 15, 16 do not teach or define any new limitations above claims 2-5, 7, 8 and therefore are rejected for similar reasons.
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 (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 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.
Claims 6 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sawyer and further in view of Rolia et al. (U.S. 8,543,711).
Rolia was cited on the IDS filed 28 September 2024.
With respect to claim 6, Sawyer teaches the invention described in claim 5, including a method, comprising: causing at least a first server set (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 720; col. 3, lines 41-43) in a first Anycast region (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 720; col. 8, line 16) to advertise a first Anycast address (Sawyer, col. 7, line 18) for a first service (Sawyer, col. 3, lines 43-45), wherein the first server set comprises at least a first server (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 720; col. 3, lines 41-43); causing at least a second server set (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 710; col. 3, lines 41-43) in a second Anycast region (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 710; col. 8, line 16) to advertise a second Anycast address (Sawyer, col. 8, lines 41-42) for a second service (Sawyer, col. 3, lines 43-45), wherein the second server set comprises at least a second server (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 710; col. 3, lines 41-43); determining that a first Anycast region requires additional server capacity; determining a period of time to provide the additional server capacity; in response to determining that the first Anycast region requires additional server capacity (Sawyer, Fig. 6, elements 610-640; col. 7, lines 33-44), causing the second server (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 710; col. 3, lines 41-43) in the second Anycast region (Sawyer, Fig. 7B, element 710; col. 8, line 16) to advertise the first Anycast address (Sawyer, Fig, 7B, elements 710, 770, and 750; col. 8, lines 40-43); and after the period of time, causing the second server in the second Anycast region to cease advertising the first Anycast address (Sawyer, Fig. 6, element 680; col. 8, lines 9-12); the method wherein the period of time is dynamically determined (Sawyer, Fig. 6, elements 610-640 and 680; col. 7, lines 33-44 and col. 8, lines 9-12); and the first Anycast region will no longer require additional server capacity (Sawyer, Fig. 6, element 680; col. 8, lines 9-12).
Sawyer does not explicitly teach based on a prediction of when.
However, Rolia teaches based on a prediction of when (Rolia, col. 1, lines 1-54).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Sawyer in view of Rolia in order to based on a prediction of when. One would be motivated to do so in order to increased flexibility, the ability to quickly repurpose server capacity to better meet the needs of application workload owners, and to reduce overall costs of ownership (Rolia, col. 3, lines 2-4).
Claim 14 does not teach or define any new limitations above claim 6 and therefore is rejected for similar reasons.
Conclusion
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/Alicia Baturay/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2441
February 12, 2026