DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is in response to the original application filed on 10/10/2024. Claims 1-20 are pending.
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 .
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 1-20 are rejected 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.
Regarding claim 1 (and similarly claims 16 and 20), the claim recites “recall mode”, which renders the claim indefinite. It is unclear whether the term “recall” is related to taking back messages (e.g., deleting sent message, undo option) or remembering past messages (e.g., auto-complete, auto-correct, phrase suggestion). Moreover, it is indefinite as to whether “the target message recall mode comprises: a batch recall mode, a partial recall mode, or a partial user recall mode” is intended to show that the updating is based on a selection of various recall modes or simply state what the name of the recall mode is (due to alternative language), which makes the metes and bounds of the claim unclear. Examiner recommends Applicant to consider providing further context and details by clarifying the term “recall”, the distinctions between the listed recall modes, and the exact function of the recall mode, to show exactly what the updating entails in relation to the recall mode in order to clearly overcome the current rejection and advance prosecution without ambiguity.
Regarding claims 2-15 and 17-19, which claim dependency from claims 1 and 16, they are rejected for the same reasons as set forth in the rejection of claims 1 and 16 above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure: Donohue et al. (US 2017/0034106 A1: Automated Message Recall From a Sender’s Device), Sivaraman et al. (US 2014/0189532 A1: Editing Text-Based Communications), VanderBaan et al. (US 2006/0229883 A1: Methods and Apparatus for Providing Push to Talk Text Data), and Eren et al. (US 2012/0272161 A1: Caching Message Fragments During Real-Time Messaging Conversations).
In the case of amendments, applicant is respectfully requested to indicate the portion(s) of the specification which dictate(s) the structure relied on for proper interpretation and support, for ascertaining the metes and bounds of the claimed invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GIL H. LEE whose telephone number is 571-272-3408. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri: 9am-6pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Brian J. Gillis can be reached on 571-272-7952. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GIL H. LEE/
Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2446