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 .
Claims 1-20 are pending.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 7-16, 18-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,271,267 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because all of the limitations of the above referenced claims of the instant application are anticipated by the claims of the patent. See below table for the analysis of some of the claims. While the claims of the patent doesn’t specifically recite setting a range filter size, the dependent claims recite generating or adjusting the filter size (see claims 3 and 5 of the patent), which anticipates setting a filter size.
19/039,579
12,271,267 B2
1. A method, comprising: setting a range filter size for a set of range filters corresponding to a set of snapshots, wherein a range filter for a snapshot comprises respective bits that each indicate whether the snapshot includes data within a respective portion of a logical address range that is spanned by the range filter, and
1. A method, comprising: receiving a request to read data within a specified logical address range from a backup file that includes a set of snapshots; accessing a set of range filters that span at least the specified logical address range to determine one or more snapshots of the set of snapshots that include the requested data, wherein the set of range filters corresponds to the set of snapshots, and wherein a respective range filter of the set of range filters comprises bits indicating whether a corresponding snapshot includes data within a corresponding logical address range of the backup file that is spanned by the range filter; and reading the requested data from the one or more snapshots based at least in part on accessing the set of range filters.
wherein the range filter size indicates a size of the respective portion of the logical address range;
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: generating the set of range filters in accordance with a range filter size, the range filter size indicating a size of a respective portion of the corresponding logical address range to which the bits correspond, wherein respective bits of the respective range filter indicate whether the corresponding snapshot includes respective data within respective portions of the corresponding logical address range.
scanning the set of snapshots or indices of the set of snapshots for presence or absence of data within the respective portions of the logical address range; and
4. The method of claim 3, wherein generating a range filter of the set of range filters comprises: scanning the set of snapshots or indices of the set of snapshots for the presence or absence of the respective data within the respective portions of the corresponding logical address range; and
setting the respective bits in accordance with the scanning, wherein generation of the set of range filters is based at least in part scanning the set of snapshots or the indices of the set of snapshots and setting the respective bits.
setting the respective bits in accordance with the scanning.
7. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving a request to read data within a specified logical address range from a backup file that includes the set of snapshots; using one or more range filters from the set of range filters that span at least the specified logical address range to identify one or more snapshots within the set of snapshots that include the requested data; and reading the requested data from the one or more snapshots.
anticipated by the first clause of claim 1
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 6, 17 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.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 7-16 and 18-20 would be allowable if terminally disclaimed to overcome the double patenting rejection set forth in this OFFICE ACTION.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
PG Pub. 2013/0,124,798 A1 discloses method for storing an address index of a snapshot or delta generated such that the snapshot or delta of the matrix of the disk storage blocks can be instantly located via the stored address index.
PG Pub. 2013/0,042,052 A1 discloses method for efficiently performing user storage virtualization for data stored in a storage system including a plurality of solid-state storage devices. A data storage subsystem supports multiple mapping tables. Records within a mapping table are arranged in multiple levels.
PG Pub. 2021/0,334,206 A1 discloses a storage controller configured to receive a request to perform a bulk array task and in response to receiving the request, store an indication relating old keys of a mapping table to new keys, wherein both the old keys and the new keys correspond to the request.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHAE M KO whose telephone number is (571)270-3886. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9 am - 5 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ashish Thomas can be reached at 571-272-0631. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHAE M KO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2114
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