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 responsive to application filed November 26, 2024.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-10 were presented, and are pending examination.
Drawings
Drawings filed on 11/26/24 are acknowledged.
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 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.
(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.
Claims 1-6,9,10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Migishima (US Publication 20240406328).
In reference to claim 1, Migishima teaches a communication apparatus, comprising: a communication interface; a notifying device; and a controller configured to:
in response to power supply to the communication apparatus, determine whether an initial-setting process in the communication apparatus is completed; (see at least ¶ 44 lines 1-2, ¶ 47 lines 1-5 and ¶ 97, which teaches a power on instruction from a user to an MFP/communication apparatus, and determining if an initial setting process is completed) and
in response to determining that the initial-setting process is incomplete, control the notifying device to perform a first notification that prompts execution of the initial-setting process using an external terminal. (see at least ¶s 57,98,99, which teaches determining that the initial setting process is not completed, and generating a notification prompt for executing the initial setting process using an external processing terminal)
In reference to claim 2, Migishima teaches receiving a start instruction requesting that the initial setting process is executed after the first notification (see at least ¶s 48,56).
In reference to claim 3, Migishima teaches a notification different than the first notification and which is not executing the initial setting process (see at least ¶ 98).
In reference to claim 4, Migishima teaches in response to the start instruction from the external terminal, perform another notification for another step of the initial setting process (see at least ¶s 100,101).
In reference to claim 5, Migishima teaches performing the other notification without the first notification (see at least ¶ 102).
In reference to claim 6, Migishima teaches not repeating the other notification when successful (see at least ¶ 103).
In reference to claim 9, Migishima teaches displaying objects for configuring communication settings (see at least ¶s 49,50).
In reference to claim 10, Migishima teaches displaying an option for canceling the network connection to the external device and related to executing the initial setting process. (see at least ¶ 50).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 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.
Claims 7,8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Migishima et al (US Patent 11562099) in view of Asai (US Publication 20220174170).
In reference to claim 7, Migishima fails to explicitly teach wherein the controller is configured to control the display to display, as the first notification, a location to be accessed by the external terminal in order to download a transmitting program for transmitting the start instruction for the initial-setting process to the communication apparatus. However, Asai teaches controlling an image forming device via an external device, where the image device displays a location to be accessed by the external device in order to download a program for transmitting an instruction to the image device for a setup process (see Asai, at least Abstract & ¶s 3-5 & 63-65). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Migishima based on the teachings of Asai for the purpose of facilitating the connection and setup process for users that utilize different platform devices.
In reference to claim 8, Asai teaches displaying a QR code readable by the external device (see Asai, at least ¶s 63-65). One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to modify Migishima in view of the teachings of Asai for the purpose as mentioned in claim 7 above.
Conclusion
For any subsequent response that contains new/amended claims, Applicant is required to cite its corresponding support in the specification. (See MPEP chapter 2163.03 section (I.) and chapter 2163.04 section (I.) and chapter 2163.06) Applicant may not introduce any new matter to the claims or to the specification.
In formulating a response/amendment, Applicant is encouraged to take into consideration the prior art made of record but not relied upon, as it is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached Form 892.
Contact & Status
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAMY M OSMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-4008. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, 9AM-5PM.
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/Ramy M Osman/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2457
March 4, 2026