DETAILED ACTION
Applicant’s Application filed on August 5, 2026 has been reviewed.
Claims 1 and 10 are amended in the amendment.
Claims 1-18 have been examined.
Claim Objections
Claims 2 and 13 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claims 2, at line 6, “the plane (UP)” should be changed to “the user plane (UP)”.
In claim 13, at line 1, “The method of claim 12” should be changed to “The [[method]]apparatus of claim 12”.
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 of this title, 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kweon et al. (US 2021/0281658 A1), hereinafter referred to as Kweon, in view of Puente et al. (US 2021/0297535 A1), hereinafter referred to as Puente, and further in view of Yang et al. (US 2025/0184811 A1), hereinafter referred to as Yang.
With respect to claim 1, Kweon teaches A method for operating event exposure service by a session management function (SMF) in a wireless communication system (the SMF 315 transmits a Nupf_EventExposure_Subscribe/Unsubscribe request message about a service subscription or unsubscription request to the UPF 316 in order to subscribe to or unsubscribe from the UPF event exposure service to the UPF 316, para. 0072; for an NF (including an AF) to use a UPF event exposure service in a wireless communication system, para. 0056; figs. 2 and 3), the method comprising:
receiving capability information of event exposure service of the UPF (the SMF 315 transmits the information received from the UDM 314 in operation 303c and the notification target address to which an address of the SMF 315 is added, which is for the SMF 315 to receive a notification, para. 0072), wherein the capability information of event exposure service includes at least one of event identifier list information supported by the UPF, or information on whether direct reporting function of a corresponding event is supported (a subscription request message needs to include the following parameters: Event IDs for identifying event exposure services for subscription, para. 0057-0058 and Notification target address [for direct reporting] defines an address and subscription-related ID of an NF to receive a notification when an event occurs , para. 0064), wherein the direct reporting function is defined as a function in which the UPF directly reports a result of an event (a subscription request message needs to include the following parameters: Event IDs for identifying event exposure services for subscription, para. 0057-0058 and Notification target address [for direct reporting] defines an address and subscription-related ID of an NF to receive a notification when an event occurs , para. 0064; notification is directly forwarded to the NF without going through the NEF, para. 0077);
receiving an event subscription request to the UPF from another network function (NF) (the UDM 314 transmits a Nsmf_EventExposure_Subscribe/Unsubscribe request message about a service subscription request to the SMF 315 in order to subscribe to from the UPF event exposure service to the UPF 316, para. 0071; fig. 3);
processing the event subscription request based on the received capability information (the SMF 315 transmits a Nupf_EventExposure_Subscribe/Unsubscribe request message about a service subscription request to the UPF 316 in order to subscribe to from the UPF event exposure service to the UPF 316, para. 0072; fig. 3).
Kweon does not explicitly teach
receiving, through an association setup procedure with a user plane function (UPF), capability information of event exposure service of the UPF;
However, Puente teaches
receiving, through an association setup procedure with a user plane function (UPF), capability information of event exposure service of the UPF (transmitting, by said UPF, to said SMF, a session association setup request message, wherein said session association setup request message comprises a capability identification for identifying capability for reporting, para. 0028; also see para. 0059) in order to allow the SMF to know which UPFs support this capability and this can influence UPF selection as taught by Puente (para. 0016);
Therefore, based on Kweon in view of Puente, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Puente to the method of Kweon in order to allow the SMF to know which UPFs support this capability and this can influence UPF selection as taught by Puente (para. 0016).
Kweon in view of Puente does not explicitly teach
wherein the direct reporting function is defined as a function in which the UPF directly reports a result of an event without passing through the SMF;
However, Yang teaches
wherein the direct reporting function is defined as a function in which the UPF directly reports a result of an event without passing through the SMF (an indication of direct event notification (to request the UPF to directly report QoS Monitoring information to the Local NEF or the AF, para. 0013 and 0042; the UPF notifies the QoS Monitoring event information to the AF (directly or via Local NEF), the UPF sends the Nupf_EventExposure_Notify to the Notification Target Address indicated by the Session Reporting Rule (SRR) received from the SMF correspond to the AF or to a local NEF, para. 0019; fig. 3) in order to allow consumer NFs to subscribe for an Event ID as taught by Yang (para. 0020);
Therefore, based on Kweon in view of Puente, and further in view of Yang, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Yang to the method of Kweon in view of Puente in order to allow consumer NFs to subscribe for an Event ID as taught by Yang (para. 0020).
With respect to claim 2, Kweon in view of Puente, and further in view of Yang teaches The method of claim 1 as described above,
Further, Puente teaches wherein the association setup procedure comprises:
transmitting an N4 association setup request message to the UPF and receiving an N4 association setup response message including user plane (UP) function feature from the UPF, or
receiving an N4 association setup request message including the plane (UP) function feature from the UPF and transmitting an N4 association setup response message to the UPF (reporting User Plane Function, UPF 10, capabilities to a Session Management Function, SMF 9; in the form of a PFCP Association Setup Request message 21 with a new capability which allow SMF 9 to know which UPFs 10 support this capability and thus can influence on UPF 10 selection; the SMF 9 sends 22 a PFCP Association Setup Response message to UPF 10, para. 0059).
Therefore, based on Kweon in view of Puente, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Puente to the method of Kweon in order to allow the SMF to know which UPFs support this capability and this can influence UPF selection as taught by Puente (para. 0016).
With respect to claim 3, Kweon teaches The method of claim 1, wherein the information of event exposure service is received included in an N4 request message or an N4 response message (the SMF 435 transmits an N4 request message, the UPF 434 transmits an N4 response message to the SMF 435, para. 0092 and 0093).
Further, Puente teaches wherein the capability information of event exposure service is received included in an association setup request message or an association setup response message (reporting User Plane Function, UPF 10, capabilities to a Session Management Function, SMF 9; in the form of a PFCP Association Setup Request message 21 with a new capability which allow SMF 9 to know which UPFs 10 support this capability and thus can influence on UPF 10 selection; the SMF 9 sends 22 a PFCP Association Setup Response message to UPF 10, para. 0059; the N4 interface between SMF and UPF will be based on the PFCP protocol; the current PFCP definition only allows to report volume from UPF to SMF, para. 0011) in order to allow to report from UPF to SMF as taught by Puente (para. 0011).
Therefore, based on Kweon in view of Puente, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Puente to the method of Kweon in order to allow to report from UPF to SMF as taught by Puente (para. 0011).
With respect to claim 4, Kweon in view of Puente, and further in view of Yang teaches The method of claim 3 as described above,
Furthermore, Puente teaches wherein the capability information of event exposure service is included in the user plane function features (reporting User Plane Function, UPF 10, capabilities to a Session Management Function, SMF 9; in the form of a PFCP Association Setup Request message 21 with a new capability which allow SMF 9 to know which UPFs 10 support this capability and thus can influence on UPF 10 selection; the SMF 9 sends 22 a PFCP Association Setup Response message to UPF 10, para. 0059).
Therefore, based on Kweon in view of Puente, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Puente to the method of Kweon in order to allow the SMF to know which UPFs support this capability and this can influence UPF selection as taught by Puente (para. 0016).
With respect to claim 5, Kweon in view of Puente, and further in view of Yang teaches The method of claim 1 as described above,
Further, Yang teaches wherein the event includes at least one of a quality of service (QoS) monitoring event (AF subscribes to the QoS Monitoring results from the PCF via a NEF, para. 0017; the SMF sends the QoS monitoring request to the RAN and N4 rules to the UPF using the Nsmf_EventExposure Service, para. 0019-0020) in order to allow consumer NFs to subscribe for an Event ID as taught by Yang (para. 0020) or a time sensitive communication (TSC) management information event.
Therefore, based on Kweon in view of Puente, and further in view of Yang, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Yang to the method of Kweon in view of Puente in order to allow consumer NFs to subscribe for an Event ID as taught by Yang (para. 0020).
With respect to claim 6, Kweon in view of Puente, and further in view of Yang teaches The method of claim 1 as described above,
Further, Yang teaches wherein the network function is at least one of a network data analytics function (NWDAF) (this service provides events related to PDU Sessions towards consumer NF (e.g., AF or NEF); the service operations exposed by this service allow the NWDAF to collect data for network data analytics, para. 0020) in order to allow consumer NFs to subscribe for an Event ID as taught by Yang (para. 0020), a time sensitive network application function (TSNAF), or a time sensitive communication time synchronization function (TSCTSF).
Therefore, based on Kweon in view of Puente, and further in view of Yang, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Yang to the method of Kweon in view of Puente in order to allow consumer NFs to subscribe for an Event ID as taught by Yang (para. 0020).
With respect to claim 7, Kweon in view of Puente, and further in view of Yang teaches The method of claim 1 as described above,
Further, Puente teaches wherein the capability information of event exposure service includes a supported event list (reporting User Plane Function, UPF 10, capabilities to a Session Management Function, SMF 9; in the form of a PFCP Association Setup Request message 21 with a new capability which allow SMF 9 to know which UPFs 10 support this capability and thus can influence on UPF 10 selection; the SMF 9 sends 22 a PFCP Association Setup Response message to UPF 10, para. 0059), and wherein the supported event list includes an event identifier or name for each event (reporting User Plane Function, UPF 10, capabilities to a Session Management Function, SMF 9; in the form of a PFCP Association Setup Request message 21 with a new capability which allow SMF 9 to know which UPFs 10 support this capability and thus can influence on UPF 10 selection; the SMF 9 sends 22 a PFCP Association Setup Response message to UPF 10, para. 0059) in order to allow the SMF to know which UPFs support this capability and this can influence UPF selection as taught by Puente (para. 0016).
Therefore, based on Kweon in view of Puente, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Puente to the method of Kweon in order to allow the SMF to know which UPFs support this capability and this can influence UPF selection as taught by Puente (para. 0016).
With respect to claim 8, Kweon teaches The method of claim 7, wherein the supported event list further includes information on whether SBI is supported for each event (Nupf, which is a service-based interface (SBI), is defined, and the UPF may provide an event exposure service to another NF through the SBI, para. 0043; for network functions (NFs) in a 5G core (5GC) or an external application function (AF) to use an event exposure service of a user plane function using a service-based interface (SBI), para. 0031).
With respect to claim 9, Kweon in view of Puente, and further in view of Yang teaches The method of claim 7 as described above,
Further, Yang teaches wherein the supported event list further includes information on whether direct reporting function is supported for each event (based on the indication of direct event notification and operator's policy, the PCF include an indication of direct event notification (including target local NEF address or target AF address) within the PCC rule that it provides to the SMF, para. 0018; AF subscribes to the QoS Monitoring results from the PCF via a NEF, para. 0017; after receiving the message 351 from the AF/NEF, the PCF creates one or more PCC rules with a reference to QoS monitoring data as requested including the notification URI and the notification correlation ID; the PCF then invokes the Npcf_SMFPolicyControl Service, the PCF then sends to an SMF 306 a message 352 comprising the PCC rule(s), para. 0038) in order to allow consumer NFs to subscribe for an Event ID as taught by Yang (para. 0020).
Therefore, based on Kweon in view of Puente, and further in view of Yang, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Yang to the method of Kweon in view of Puente in order to allow consumer NFs to subscribe for an Event ID as taught by Yang (para. 0020).
With respect to claim 10, Kweon teaches An apparatus of a session management function (SMF) for operating event exposure service in a wireless communication system (the SMF 315 transmits a Nupf_EventExposure_Subscribe/Unsubscribe request message about a service subscription or unsubscription request to the UPF 316 in order to subscribe to or unsubscribe from the UPF event exposure service to the UPF 316, para. 0072; for an NF (including an AF) to use a UPF event exposure service in a wireless communication system, para. 0056; figs. 2 and 3), the apparatus comprising:
a transceiver (the communication unit 210 transmits and receives a signal to and from other network entities, para. 0051; fig. 2); and
a processor operably connected to the transceiver (the controller 230 includes at least one processor or a microprocessor or a part of a processor, para. 0053; fig. 2),
wherein the processor is configured to:
receive capability information of event exposure service of the UPF the SMF 315 transmits the information received from the UDM 314 in operation 303c and the notification target address to which an address of the SMF 315 is added, which is for the SMF 315 to receive a notification, para. 0072), wherein the capability information of event exposure service includes at least one of event identifier list information supported by the UPF, or information on whether direct reporting function of a corresponding event is supported (a subscription request message needs to include the following parameters: Event IDs for identifying event exposure services for subscription, para. 0057-0058 and Notification target address [for direct reporting] defines an address and subscription-related ID of an NF to receive a notification when an event occurs , para. 0064), wherein the direct reporting function is defined as a function in which the UPF directly reports a result of an event (a subscription request message needs to include the following parameters: Event IDs for identifying event exposure services for subscription, para. 0057-0058 and Notification target address [for direct reporting] defines an address and subscription-related ID of an NF to receive a notification when an event occurs , para. 0064; notification is directly forwarded to the NF without going through the NEF, para. 0077);
receive an event subscription request to the UPF from another network function (NF) (the UDM 314 transmits a Nsmf_EventExposure_Subscribe/Unsubscribe request message about a service subscription request to the SMF 315 in order to subscribe to from the UPF event exposure service to the UPF 316, para. 0071; fig. 3),
process the event subscription request based on the received capability information (the SMF 315 transmits a Nupf_EventExposure_Subscribe/Unsubscribe request message about a service subscription request to the UPF 316 in order to subscribe to from the UPF event exposure service to the UPF 316, para. 0072; fig. 3).
Kweon does not explicitly teach
receive, through an association setup procedure with a user plane function (UPF), capability information of event exposure service of the UPF;
However, Puente teaches
receiving, through an association setup procedure with a user plane function (UPF), capability information of event exposure service of the UPF (transmitting, by said UPF, to said SMF, a session association setup request message, wherein said session association setup request message comprises a capability identification for identifying capability for reporting, para. 0028; also see para. 0059) in order to allow the SMF to know which UPFs support this capability and this can influence UPF selection as taught by Puente (para. 0016);
Therefore, based on Kweon in view of Puente, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Puente to the apparatus of Kweon in order to allow the SMF to know which UPFs support this capability and this can influence UPF selection as taught by Puente (para. 0016).
Kweon in view of Puente does not explicitly teach
wherein the direct reporting function is defined as a function in which the UPF directly reports a result of an event without passing through the SMF;
However, Yang teaches
wherein the direct reporting function is defined as a function in which the UPF directly reports a result of an event without passing through the SMF (an indication of direct event notification (to request the UPF to directly report QoS Monitoring information to the Local NEF or the AF, para. 0013 and 0042; the UPF notifies the QoS Monitoring event information to the AF (directly or via Local NEF), the UPF sends the Nupf_EventExposure_Notify to the Notification Target Address indicated by the Session Reporting Rule (SRR) received from the SMF correspond to the AF or to a local NEF, para. 0019; fig. 3) in order to allow consumer NFs to subscribe for an Event ID as taught by Yang (para. 0020);
Therefore, based on Kweon in view of Puente, and further in view of Yang, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Yang to the apparatus of Kweon in view of Puente in order to allow consumer NFs to subscribe for an Event ID as taught by Yang (para. 0020).
With respect to claim 11, Kweon in view of Puente, and further in view of Yang teaches The apparatus of claim 10 as described above,
Further, Puente teaches wherein for the association setup procedure, the processor is further configured to:
transmit an N4 association setup request message to the UPF and receive an N4 association setup response message including user plane (UP) function feature from the UPF, or
receive an N4 association setup request message including the user plane (UP) function feature from the UPF and transmit an N4 association setup response message to the UPF (reporting User Plane Function, UPF 10, capabilities to a Session Management Function, SMF 9; in the form of a PFCP Association Setup Request message 21 with a new capability which allow SMF 9 to know which UPFs 10 support this capability and thus can influence on UPF 10 selection; the SMF 9 sends 22 a PFCP Association Setup Response message to UPF 10, para. 0059).
Therefore, based on Kweon in view of Puente, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Puente to the apparatus of Kweon in order to allow the SMF to know which UPFs support this capability and this can influence UPF selection as taught by Puente (para. 0016).
With respect to claim 12, Kweon teaches The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the information of event exposure service is received included in an N4 request message or an N4 response message (the SMF 435 transmits an N4 request message, the UPF 434 transmits an N4 response message to the SMF 435, para. 0092 and 0093).
Further, Puente teaches wherein the capability information of event exposure service is received included in an association setup request message or an association setup response message (reporting User Plane Function, UPF 10, capabilities to a Session Management Function, SMF 9; in the form of a PFCP Association Setup Request message 21 with a new capability which allow SMF 9 to know which UPFs 10 support this capability and thus can influence on UPF 10 selection; the SMF 9 sends 22 a PFCP Association Setup Response message to UPF 10, para. 0059; the N4 interface between SMF and UPF will be based on the PFCP protocol; the current PFCP definition only allows to report volume from UPF to SMF, para. 0011) in order to allow to report from UPF to SMF as taught by Puente (para. 0011).
Therefore, based on Kweon in view of Puente, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Puente to the apparatus of Kweon in order to allow to report from UPF to SMF as taught by Puente (para. 0011).
With respect to claim 13, Kweon in view of Puente, and further in view of Yang teaches The method of claim 12 as described above,
Furthermore, Puente teaches wherein the capability information of event exposure service is included in the user plane function features (reporting User Plane Function, UPF 10, capabilities to a Session Management Function, SMF 9; in the form of a PFCP Association Setup Request message 21 with a new capability which allow SMF 9 to know which UPFs 10 support this capability and thus can influence on UPF 10 selection; the SMF 9 sends 22 a PFCP Association Setup Response message to UPF 10, para. 0059).
Therefore, based on Kweon in view of Puente, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Puente to the apparatus of Kweon in order to allow the SMF to know which UPFs support this capability and this can influence UPF selection as taught by Puente (para. 0016).
With respect to claim 14, Kweon in view of Puente, and further in view of Yang teaches The apparatus of claim 10 as described above,
Further, Yang teaches wherein the event includes at least one of a quality of service (QoS) monitoring event (AF subscribes to the QoS Monitoring results from the PCF via a NEF, para. 0017; the SMF sends the QoS monitoring request to the RAN and N4 rules to the UPF using the Nsmf_EventExposure Service, para. 0019-0020) or a time sensitive communication (TSC) management information event.
Therefore, based on Kweon in view of Puente, and further in view of Yang, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Yang to the apparatus of Kweon in view of Puente in order to allow consumer NFs to subscribe for an Event ID as taught by Yang (para. 0020).
With respect to claim 15. Kweon in view of Puente, and further in view of Yang teaches The apparatus of claim 10 as described above,
Further, Yang teaches wherein the network function is at least one of a network data analytics function (NWDAF) (this service provides events related to PDU Sessions towards consumer NF (e.g., AF or NEF); the service operations exposed by this service allow the NWDAF to collect data for network data analytics, para. 0020), a time sensitive network application function (TSNAF), or a time sensitive communication time synchronization function (TSCTSF).
Therefore, based on Kweon in view of Puente, and further in view of Yang, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Yang to the apparatus of Kweon in view of Puente in order to allow consumer NFs to subscribe for an Event ID as taught by Yang (para. 0020).
With respect to claim 16, Kweon in view of Puente, and further in view of Yang teaches The apparatus of claim 10 as described above,
Further, Puente teaches wherein the capability information of event exposure service includes a supported event list (reporting User Plane Function, UPF 10, capabilities to a Session Management Function, SMF 9; in the form of a PFCP Association Setup Request message 21 with a new capability which allow SMF 9 to know which UPFs 10 support this capability and thus can influence on UPF 10 selection; the SMF 9 sends 22 a PFCP Association Setup Response message to UPF 10, para. 0059), and wherein the supported event list includes an event identifier or name for each event (reporting User Plane Function, UPF 10, capabilities to a Session Management Function, SMF 9; in the form of a PFCP Association Setup Request message 21 with a new capability which allow SMF 9 to know which UPFs 10 support this capability and thus can influence on UPF 10 selection; the SMF 9 sends 22 a PFCP Association Setup Response message to UPF 10, para. 0059) in order to allow the SMF to know which UPFs support this capability and this can influence UPF selection as taught by Puente (para. 0016).
Therefore, based on Kweon in view of Puente, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Puente to the apparatus of Kweon in order to allow the SMF to know which UPFs support this capability and this can influence UPF selection as taught by Puente (para. 0016).
With respect to claim 17, Kweon teaches The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the supported event list further includes information on whether SBI is supported for each event (Nupf, which is a service-based interface (SBI), is defined, and the UPF may provide an event exposure service to another NF through the SBI, para. 0043; for network functions (NFs) in a 5G core (5GC) or an external application function (AF) to use an event exposure service of a user plane function using a service-based interface (SBI), para. 0031).
With respect to claim 18, Kweon in view of Puente, and further in view of Yang teaches The apparatus of claim 16 as described above,
Further, Yang teaches wherein the supported event list further includes information on whether direct reporting function is supported for each event (based on the indication of direct event notification and operator's policy, the PCF include an indication of direct event notification (including target local NEF address or target AF address) within the PCC rule that it provides to the SMF, para. 0018; AF subscribes to the QoS Monitoring results from the PCF via a NEF, para. 0017; after receiving the message 351 from the AF/NEF, the PCF creates one or more PCC rules with a reference to QoS monitoring data as requested including the notification URI and the notification correlation ID; the PCF then invokes the Npcf_SMFPolicyControl Service, the PCF then sends to an SMF 306 a message 352 comprising the PCC rule(s), para. 0038) in order to allow consumer NFs to subscribe for an Event ID as taught by Yang (para. 0020).
Therefore, based on Kweon in view of Puente, and further in view of Yang, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Yang to the apparatus of Kweon in view of Puente in order to allow consumer NFs to subscribe for an Event ID as taught by Yang (para. 0020).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-18 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any of the references being used in the current rejection.
Terminal disclaimer filed and approved on August 13, 2026; therefore, the Double Patenting rejection is withdrawn.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HAO HONG NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2666. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8AM-4:30PM EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JOON H. HWANG can be reached on 571-272-4036. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/H.H.N/Examiner, Art Unit 2447
September 30, 2026
/JOON H HWANG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2447
