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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 5/5/26 has been entered.
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 1-28 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, regarding the first two steps of the method claim, the examiner is unclear how the first device transmits a session description protocol (SDP) message that includes data indicative of a time at which a first RTP packet is transmitted and then subsequently transmits the first RTP packet. In other words, it seems to be the case that header extensions, which include information indicating when the first RTP packet was transmitted by the first device, are generated and only then is the first RTP packet actually transmitted by the first device. This interpretation is supported by the order of the method steps, as well as Figure 8 and paragraphs [0101] and [0102] of the specification as filed.
Further regarding claim 1, the term “indicative” is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “indicative” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. For example, one user or system may consider a log of the day a packet was transmitted to be indicative of a time at which the packet was transmitted, while another user or system may not consider this to be indicative of the time at which the packet was transmitted, and may rather require more specific information such as the specific time the packet was transmitted.
Other embodiments may be similar vague, for example, one user or system may consider a timestamp of when a packet was received by a second device to be indicative of when the packet was transmitted by a first device, while another user or system may consider this not to be indicative of such, and may require a more explicit timestamp of when the packet was transmitted by the first device.
As to claims 2-8, the claims are rejected due to their dependency on, and therefore inclusion of, the rejected subject matter of claim 1 discussed above.
Further regarding claim 2, the examiner is unclear if the phrase “a binding of the first RTP header extension and the second RTP header extension” is a new limitation or referring back to the phrase “binding information that associates a first RTP header extension and a second RTP header extension” of lines 3-4 of claim 1.
As to claims 5 and 6, they similarly contain the relative term “indicative”, which is discussed above for claim 1.
As to claims 9, 17, and 23, the claims are rejected for reasons similar to those given for claim 1 above.
As to claims 10-16, 18-22, and 24-28, the claims are rejected due to their dependency on, and therefore inclusion of, the rejected subject matter of claims 9, 17, and 23, respectively, discussed above.
Further regarding claims 10, 18, and 24, the claims are rejected for reasons similar to those given for claim 2 above.
As to claims 12 and 13, they similarly contain the relative term “indicative”, which is discussed above for claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-28 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Brian Whipple whose telephone number is 571-270-1244. The examiner can normally be reached Mondays-Fridays from 9:50 AM to 3:50 PM ET and Saturdays from 9:50 AM to 7:50 PM ET.
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, Joon Hwang can be reached at 571-272-4036. 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.
/Brian Whipple/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2447
5/14/26
Prosecution Insights