Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 25, 2026
Application No. 18/950,690

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT FOR REPORTING SIGNAL-TO-INTERFERENCE-PLUS-NOISE RATIO

Non-Final OA §102§DOUBLEPATENT
Filed
Nov 18, 2024
Priority
Jul 16, 2019 — continuation of PCTCN2019096130 +1 more
Examiner
CERLANEK, RACHEL ELIZABETH
Art Unit
2412
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
ZTE Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
96%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
11m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 96% — above average
96%
Career Allowance Rate
69 granted / 72 resolved
+37.8% vs TC avg
Minimal +0% lift
Without
With
+0.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
13 currently pending
Career history
99
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.5%
-37.5% vs TC avg
§103
50.2%
+10.2% vs TC avg
§102
32.6%
-7.4% vs TC avg
§112
12.6%
-27.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 72 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §DOUBLEPATENT
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 . DETAILED ACTION This action is in response to communications filed 11/18/2024. Claim 1 is currently pending. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 11/18/2024, 04/08/2025, 04/16/2025, 06/02/2025, and 01/09/2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner. Double Patenting The nonstatutory 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 nonstatutory 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 Ornum, 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 nonstatutory 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 nonstatutory 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. Claim 1 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 10 of U.S. Patent No. 12,149,483 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because of the following: Claim 1 of Current Application Claim 10 of Parent Patent (Patent No.: US 12,149,483 B2) A method for wireless communication, comprising: transmitting, by a network node to a wireless device, a first resource configuration and a second resource configuration, wherein the first resource configuration comprises one or more first resources related to channel measurement, wherein the second resource configuration comprises one or more second resources related to interference measurement, and wherein at least one first resource is associated with at least one second resource; and A method of wireless communication, comprising: transmitting, by a network node to a wireless device, a first resource configuration and a second resource configuration, wherein the first resource configuration comprises one or more first resources related to channel measurement, wherein the second resource configuration comprises one or more second resources related to interference measurement, and wherein at least one first resource is associated with at least one second resource; and receiving, by the network node, a report comprising one or more signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) values, wherein at least one SINR value is based on the at least one first resource and the at least one second resource. receiving, by the network node, a report comprising a plurality of signal-to- interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) values, wherein at least one of the plurality of SINR values is based on measurement results of the at least one first resource and the at least one second resource 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. Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Liu (WO 2019/099857 A1). Regarding claim 1, Liu teaches A method for wireless communication (Liu pg. 2 technical field and pg. 6 paragraph 8: wireless communication method), comprising: transmitting, by a network node to a wireless device, a first resource configuration and a second resource configuration, wherein the first resource configuration comprises one or more first resources related to channel measurement, wherein the second resource configuration comprises one or more second resources related to interference measurement, and wherein at least one first resource is associated with at least one second resource (Liu pg. 6 paragraph 8: “an apparatus (e.g., a network node) for wireless communications, includes means for indicating [transmitting], to a user equipment (UE), a set of non-zero- power (NZP) channel state information (CSI) reference signal (CSI-RS) (NZP CSI-RS) resources for channel measurement and interference measurement. A first subset of the set of NZP CSI-RS resources are configured for channel measurement, and a second subset of the set of NZP CSI-RS resources are configured for interference measurement”- first resource configuration for channel measurement and second for interference measurement); and receiving, by the network node, a report comprising one or more signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) values, wherein at least one SINR value is based on the at least one first resource and the at least one second resource (Liu pg. 19 paragraph 3: “UE1 may perform SINR measurement based on the CSI- RS resource and CSI-IM resource”- first and second resource; “the UE may generate a report in accordance with the measurement process configuration and the reporting configuration based on the measurement”- report from UE to network node of the report; pg. 6 paragraph 8: “receiving a CSI report from the UE.”; pg. 4 paragraph 1: “CSI report based on the channel measurement and interference measurement [first and second resources] and transmitting the CSI report to a network”). Conclusion The following prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. Guo (Pub. No.: US 2022/0312433 A1) discloses first set of resources for channel measurement and second set of resources for interference measurement and calculating SINR based on the results. Liu (Pub. No.: US 2019/0149290 A1) discloses UE reporting regarding SINR based on reference signal resources and interference measurement resources. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RACHEL E CERLANEK whose telephone number is (703)756-1309. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:30am-5:30pm. 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, Charles C Jiang can be reached at (571)270-7191. 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. /R.E.C./Examiner, Art Unit 2412 /CHARLES C JIANG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2412
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 18, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 28, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §DOUBLEPATENT (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
96%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+0.3%)
2y 10m (~11m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 72 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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