CTNF 18/956,901 CTNF 86026 DETAILED ACTION This Office Action is in response to the original filing of November 22, 2024. Claim(s) 1-20 is/are pending and have been considered as follows. Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. Information Disclosure Statement 06-52 The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 2/6/2025. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15-aia AIA Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Gupta et al. (US 2025/0212052 A1, hereinafter Gupta) . As to Claim 1, Gupta discloses an apparatus, comprising: one or more processors (Gupta; Fig. 12) ; and one or more computer-readable media storing computer-usable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors (Gupta; Fig. 12) , cause the one or more processors to: receive a packet that includes an outer Internet Protocol (IP) header that encapsulates an inner packet ( (Gupta; [0004, 0041, 0043]) , where Gupta discloses receiving a packet including an IP header. ); determine whether one or more bits of the outer IP header indicate congestion is experienced for a telecommunications network ( (Gupta; [0012; 0043, 0049]) , where Gupta discloses identifying a bit in the header indicating congestion is detected. ); and implement one or more processes for Low Latency, Low Loss, and Scalable Throughput (L4S) congestion control based at least on the one or more bits of the outer IP header indicating that the congestion is experienced for the telecommunications network ( (Gupta; [0023, 0040-0045, 0049]) , where Gupta discloses implementing L4S congestion on the network. ). As to Claim 2, Gupta discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus includes a first queue for L4S traffic and a second queue for non-L4S traffic, wherein the packet is directed to the first queue ( (Gupta; [0077-0078) , where Gupta discloses queues for L4S and non-L4S .). As to Claim 3, Gupta discloses the apparatus of claim 2, wherein the one or more processes for L4S congestion control include queuing, delaying, deprioritizing, and/or dropping packets ( (Gupta; [0043, 0077-0078, 0135) , where Gupta discloses queues for L4S and non-L4S .). As to Claim 4, Gupta discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the packet comprises a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP) packet including the outer IP header, a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) header, and a GTP header, wherein the inner packet comprises a user IP packet (Gupta; [0072, 0075]) . As to Claim 5, Gupta discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer-usable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to provide L4S feedback to a source of the inner packet indicating that congestion is experienced for the telecommunications network (Gupta; [0040, 0072]) . As to Claim 6, Gupta discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inner packet comprises a Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) packet (Gupta; [0072, 0075]) . As to Claim 7, Gupta discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises a network function, an access node, or a switch of the telecommunications network (Gupta; Fig. 1; [0055-0056]) . As to Claim 8, Gupta discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the packet includes L4S traffic, wherein the computer-usable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to: determine whether a congestion level for the telecommunications network exceeds a threshold (Gupta; [0021, 0048, 0080]) ; and implement the one or more processes for L4S congestion control for the packet based a determination that the congestion level for the telecommunications network exceeds the threshold (Gupta; [0023, 0049, 0082]) . As to Claim 9, Gupta discloses an apparatus, comprising: one or more processors (Gupta; Fig. 12) ; and one or more computer-readable media storing computer-usable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors (Gupta; Fig. 12) , cause the one or more processors to: mark one or more bits of an outer Internet Protocol (IP) header of a packet to indicate that congestion is experienced in a telecommunications network that includes the apparatus ( (Gupta; [0012; 0043, 0049]) , where Gupta discloses identifying a bit in the header indicating congestion is detected. ), wherein the outer IP header encapsulates an inner packet ( (Gupta; [0004, 0041, 0043]) , where Gupta discloses receiving a packet including an IP header. ); and transmit the packet to another component of the telecommunications network ( (Gupta; [0138]) , where Gupta discloses transmitting the packet to a device. ). As to Claim 10, Gupta discloses the apparatus of claim 9, wherein the packet comprises a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP) packet including the outer IP header, a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) header, and a GTP header, wherein the inner packet comprises a user IP packet (Gupta; [0072, 0075]) . As to Claim 11, Gupta discloses the apparatus of claim 9, wherein the computer-usable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to provide Low Latency, Low Loss, and Scalable Throughput (L4S) feedback to a source of the inner packet indicating that congestion is experienced for the telecommunications network (Gupta; [0040, 0072]) . As to Claim 12, Gupta discloses the apparatus of claim 9, wherein the inner packet comprises a Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) packet (Gupta; [0072, 0075]) . As to Claim 13, Gupta discloses the apparatus of claim 9, wherein the apparatus comprises a network function or an access node of the telecommunications network (Gupta; Fig. 1; [0055-0056]) . As to Claim 14, Gupta discloses the apparatus of claim 9, wherein the computer-usable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to determine a congestion level based at least on one or more network characteristics (Gupta; [0021, 0048, 0080]) . As to Claim 15, Gupta discloses the apparatus of claim 14, wherein the computer-usable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to mark the one or more bits of the outer IP header of the packet to indicate that congestion is experienced in the telecommunications network that includes the apparatus in response to the congestion level exceeding a threshold (Gupta; [0021, 0048, 0080]) . As to Claim 15, Gupta discloses the apparatus of claim 9, wherein the computer-usable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: receive a second packet that includes an outer IP header that encapsulates a second inner packet ( (Gupta; [0004, 0041, 0043]) , where Gupta discloses receiving a packet including an IP header. ); determine whether one or more bits of the outer IP header indicate congestion is experienced for the telecommunications network ( (Gupta; [0012; 0043, 0049]) , where Gupta discloses identifying a bit in the header indicating congestion is detected. ); and implement one or more processes for Low Latency, Low Loss, and Scalable Throughput (L4S) congestion control for the second packet based at least on the one or more bits of the outer IP header indicating that congestion is experienced for the telecommunications network ( (Gupta; [0023, 0040-0045, 0049]) , where Gupta discloses implementing L4S congestion on the network. ). As to Claim 17, Gupta discloses a method, comprising: marking, with a first component of a telecommunications network, one or more bits of a field of an outer Internet Protocol (IP) header of a packet to indicate that the packet includes Low Latency, Low Loss, and Scalable Throughput (L4S) traffic or to indicate that congestion is experienced for the telecommunications network ( (Gupta; [0012; 0043, 0049]) , where Gupta discloses identifying a bit in the header indicating congestion is detected. ), wherein the outer IP header encapsulates an inner packet ( (Gupta; [0004, 0041, 0043]) , where Gupta discloses receiving a packet including an IP header. ); and transmitting the packet to a second component of the telecommunications network ( (Gupta; [0138]) , where Gupta discloses transmitting the packet to a device. ). As to Claim 18, Gupta discloses the method of claim 17, wherein the packet comprises a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP) packet including the outer IP header, a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) header, and a GTP header, wherein the inner packet comprises a user IP packet (Gupta; [0072, 0075]) . As to Claim 19, Gupta discloses the method of claim 17, wherein the inner packet comprises a Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) packet (Gupta; [0072, 0075]) . As to Claim 20, Gupta discloses the method of claim 17, further comprising determining whether the congestion is experienced for the telecommunications network based at least on one or more network characteristics exceeding a threshold (Gupta; [0021, 0048, 0080]) . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892 . The examiner also requests, in response to this Office action, support be shown for language added to any original claims on amendment and any new claims. That is, indicate support for newly added claim language by specifically pointing to page(s) and line no(s) in the specification and/or drawing figure(s). This will assist the examiner in prosecuting the application. When responding to this office action, Applicant is advised to clearly point out the patentable novelty which he or she thinks the claims present, in view of the state of the art disclosed by the references cited or the objections made. He or she must also show how the amendments avoid such references or objections See 37 CFR 1.111(c). Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN M THIEU whose telephone number is (571) 270-7475 and fax number is (571) 270-8475. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM EST. 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, Brian Gillis can be reached at (571) 272-7952. 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. /BENJAMIN M THIEU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2441 5.29.2026 Application/Control Number: 18/956,901 Page 2 Art Unit: 2441 Application/Control Number: 18/956,901 Page 3 Art Unit: 2441 Application/Control Number: 18/956,901 Page 4 Art Unit: 2441 Application/Control Number: 18/956,901 Page 6 Art Unit: 2441 Application/Control Number: 18/956,901 Page 7 Art Unit: 2441
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