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 .
Application, submitted on 10/17/2024, has been received, entered, and made of record. Currently, claims 1-20 remain pending in the application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/17/2024 was filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner as indicated. However, Applicant has not provided an explanation of relevance of cited document(s).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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, 2, 4, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C.102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Meirosu et al. (hereinafter referred to as Meirosu, US 2021/0091994 A1).
Referring to claim 1, Meirosu discloses a method comprising:
receiving communication context (fig.1, smart contract 125) from a home distributed ledger node (fig.1, blockchain) in a home network (fig.1, home network 105) and storing the communication context in a visited distributed ledger node (fig.1, blockchain) in a visited network (visited network 103), wherein the home distributed ledger node and the visited distributed ledger node (fig.1, blockchain) comprise a distributed ledger that is shared by the home network and the visited network (fig.1, [0005], and [0038]-[0039]) (Note: the visited network implements smart contract (communication context), accessed from home network, in a blockchain (distributed ledger node) of the visited network; wherein the home network and the visited network share a blockchain (distributed ledger node));
to serve a User Equipment (UE) (fig.1, UE 101) that is visiting from the home network, retrieving the communication context for the home network from the visited distributed ledger node and exchanging network signaling with the home network based on the communication context ([0038]-[0040] and [0046]-[0050]) (Note: to serve UE 101 that is visiting from the home network, the visited network refers to the smart contract associated with the user of the UE 101, in the blockchain, to determine the terms of servicing these transmissions or signaling and exchanges network signaling with the home network); and
delivering a wireless data service to the UE that is visiting from the home network in response to the network signaling (fig.2B and [0051]-[0052]) (Note: the UE 101 begins to utilize the resources of the visited network 103 in the same manner as it would operate in the home network 105 based network signaling with the home network).
Referring to claim 2, Meirosu discloses the method of claim 1 wherein exchanging the network signaling with the home network based on the communication context comprises authenticating the UE that is visiting from the home network ([0042]-[0043] and [0051]) (Note: exchanging the network signaling with the home network based on the communication context comprises identifying (authenticating) the UE that is visiting from the home network).
Referring to claim 4, Meirosu discloses the method of claim 1 wherein delivering the wireless data service comprises: transferring session signaling to a wireless access node (fig.1, RAN 155) based on the network signaling; and wirelessly exchanging user data between the wireless access node and the UE that is visiting from the home network in response to the session signaling to deliver the wireless data service ([0036] and [0051]) (Note: The visited network includes a RAN 155 through which the UE 101 communicates with a visited operator core network (voCN) 159, wherein the UE 101 can utilize 231 the resources of the visited network 103 in the same manner as it would operate in the home network 105).
Referring to claim 19, the same ground of rejection provided for claim 1 is applicable herein. Meirosu further discloses a network control system to exchange session signaling with a wireless access node (fig.1, RAN 155) based on the network signaling; and the wireless access node to exchange the session signaling with the network control system and wirelessly exchange user data with the visiting UE to deliver a wireless data service ([0036] and [0051]) (Note: The visited network includes a RAN 155 through which the UE 101 communicates with a visited operator core network (voCN) 159, wherein the UE 101 can utilize 231 the resources of the visited network 103 in the same manner as it would operate in the home network 105).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Meirosu in view of Cook et al. (hereinafter referred to as Cook, US 2009/0282251 A1).
Referring to claim 3, Meirosu discloses the method of claim 1, except wherein exchanging the network signaling with the home network based on the communication context comprises authorizing the wireless data service for the UE that is visiting from the home network.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Cook discloses a concept wherein exchanging the network signaling with the home network based on the communication context comprises authorizing the wireless data service for the UE that is visiting from the home network ([0079]) (Note: the home network may receive a second service request from the visited network for the mobile station to establish a data service requiring a cryptographic key. The home network determines that a cryptographic key for the mobile station is available at the home network and grants the service request to the mobile station 916).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention by the applicant to modify the method of Meirosu with the concept of Cook to obtain the claimed invention. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to prevent unauthorized access to a service.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C.102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Salkintzis (US 2023/0216852 A1).
Referring to claim 18, Salkintzis discloses a method comprising:
a security function (fig.2, visited AAA function 215) in a visited network (fig.2, visited network 130) receiving communication context from a home network (fig.2, home network 140) over a distributed ledger (fig.2, blockchain network 164) ([0042]-[0045]);
a network function exchanging user signaling with a User Equipment (UE) (fig.2, UE 205) that is visiting from the home network to authenticate and authorize the UE; the network function exchanging network signaling with the security function to authenticate and authorize the UE (fig.2 and [0052]);
the security function using the communication context to exchange the network signaling with the home network to authenticate and authorize the UE ([0095]-[0097]) (Note: the VAF, using the smart contract, to exchange the network signaling with the home network to authenticate and authorize the UE);
in response to the authentication and authorization, the network function exchanging session signaling with the UE and with a wireless access node (fig.1, access network 120) to deliver a wireless data service to the UE; and the wireless access node receiving the session signaling, and in response, wirelessly exchanging user data with the UE to deliver the wireless data service to the UE ([0097]-[0098]) (Note: Upon successful authentication, the HAF 220 sends an AAA Accept message to the VAF 215, which forward the AAA Accept message to the access network 120 (see signaling 565). The access network 120 transmits a success indication (e.g., an EAP-Success message) to the UE 205. After successful authentication, the UE 205 is connected to the access network 120 and gains access to services in the visited network 130).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-17 and 20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/MOUSTAPHA DIABY/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2683
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