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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 7, 31-32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s) the step of determining which is a concept that can be performed in the human mind. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the claims recite a processor and a memory/non-transitory computer readable medium at a high level of generality. The claimed processor and memory/medium do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the additional elements when considered separately and in combination because mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component cannot provide an inventive concept.
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(s) 1-3, 5, 7-8, 11, 29-34 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by 3GPP TSG-SA3 Meeting #107-e Ad Hoc (S3-221424) by Nokia, Nokia Shanghai Bell hereafter Nokia.
1. Nokia discloses a notification subscription method, performed by a first core network device and comprising: subscribing, to a second core network device, a change notification regarding user consent information of a terminal (Section 4, user consent handling that can be used specifically for NTN (non-terrestrial networks), for NTN communications, correct location of the UE is needed by the onboard NTN gNB on the satellite to route or connect the UE), wherein the user consent information indicates whether the terminal consents to report location information (Section 4, For NTN functionality, it is necessary that UE location information is available to NG-RAN as well as AMF. Getting user consent for sharing UE location before activating the NTN functionality is required because of privacy and legal obligations).
2. Nokia discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the change notification comprises at least one of: updating of the user consent information; or revoking of the user consent information (Section 4, Without user consent for sharing UE location, NR satellite access cannot be provided to UEs due to lack of the precise UE location information in AMF and NG-RAN. In addition to the user consent for sharing the location information, user consent may be applied to prohibit or enable certain services in specific countries. Country and Service specific user consent may be collected by the Management Systems by offline methods. UDM may forward the country and service specific user consent after the successful primary authentication to the serving PLMN for selective application of services. However, such user consent is not yet specified for NTN in 3GPP.).
3. Nokia discloses the method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving the change notification sent by the second core network device; and determining changed user consent information according to the change notification (Section 4, see above).
5. Nokia discloses the method according to claim 3, further comprising: sending the changed user consent information to a base station (Section 4, see above).
7. Nokia discloses a subscription determination method, performed by a second core network device and comprising: determining that a first core network device subscribes a change notification regarding user consent information of a terminal, wherein the user consent information indicates whether the terminal consents to report location information (Section 4, user consent handling that can be used specifically for NTN (non-terrestrial networks), for NTN communications, correct location of the UE is needed by the onboard NTN gNB on the satellite to route or connect the UE … For NTN functionality, it is necessary that UE location information is available to NG-RAN as well as AMF. Getting user consent for sharing UE location before activating the NTN functionality is required because of privacy and legal obligations).
8. Nokia discloses the method according to claim 7, further comprising: determining the change notification based on a change in the user consent information of the terminal, and sending the change notification to the first core network device (5GS shall collect NTN specific user consent for sharing UE location and other sensitive information, if required, before using the UE location information in NG-RAN and 5GC network functions for satellite access. User consent may incorporate, country and service specific options by the Management Systems while collecting by offline methods.).
11. Nokia discloses an information receiving method, performed by a base station and comprising: receiving changed user consent information from a first core network device, wherein user consent information indicates whether a terminal consents to report location information, and the changed user consent information is obtained by the first core network device by subscribing, to a second core network device, a change notification regarding user consent information of the terminal (Section 4, user consent handling that can be used specifically for NTN (non-terrestrial networks), for NTN communications, correct location of the UE is needed by the onboard NTN gNB on the satellite to route or connect the UE … For NTN functionality, it is necessary that UE location information is available to NG-RAN as well as AMF. Getting user consent for sharing UE location before activating the NTN functionality is required because of privacy and legal obligations).
Claims 29-34 are similar in scope to claims 1, 7, and 11 and are rejected under similar rationale.
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 (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 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.
Claim(s) 4, 6, 9-10, and 12-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nokia as applied to claims 3, 5, 8, and 11 above, and further in view of Sirotkin et al. (US 2025/0081078) hereafter Sirotkin.
4. Nokia discloses the method according to claim 3, but does not disclose further comprising: updating user consent information of the terminal locally stored by the first core network device to the changed user consent information. However, in an analogous art, Sirotkin discloses consent information delivery in wireless communication sincluding updating user consent information of the terminal locally stored by the first core network device to the changed user consent information (para 106-122). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the implementation of Nokia with the implementation of Sirotkin in order to share user consent information (para 6).
6. Nokia discloses the method according to claim 5, but does not disclose wherein the change notification further comprises base station identification information of a base station affected by a change in the user consent information, and the sending the changed user consent information to a base station comprises: sending the changed user consent information to a base station corresponding to the base station identification information. However, in an analogous art, Sirotkin discloses consent information delivery in wireless communications including wherein the change notification further comprises base station identification information of a base station affected by a change in the user consent information, and the sending the changed user consent information to a base station comprises: sending the changed user consent information to a base station corresponding to the base station identification information (para 106-122). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the implementation of Nokia with the implementation of Sirotkin in order to share user consent information (para 6).
9. Nokia discloses the method according to claim 8, but does not disclose wherein the sending the change notification to the first core network device comprises: sending, according to a core network identifier, the change notification to a serving core network that provides a service to the terminal. However, in an analogous art, Sirotkin discloses consent information delivery in wireless communications including wherein the sending the change notification to the first core network device comprises: sending, according to a core network identifier, the change notification to a serving core network that provides a service to the terminal (para 106-122). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the implementation of Nokia with the implementation of Sirotkin in order to share user consent information (para 6).
10. Nokia discloses the method according to claim 8, but does not disclose further comprising: determining, according to stored subscription data of the terminal, the change in the user consent information of the terminal. However, in an analogous art, Sirotkin discloses consent information delivery in wireless communications including determining, according to stored subscription data of the terminal, the change in the user consent information of the terminal (para 106-122). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the implementation of Nokia with the implementation of Sirotkin in order to share user consent information (para 6).
12. Nokia discloses the method according to claim 11, but does not disclose further comprising: updating user consent information of the terminal locally stored by the base station to the changed user consent information. However, in an analogous art, Sirotkin discloses consent information delivery in wireless communications including updating user consent information of the terminal locally stored by the base station to the changed user consent information (para 106-122). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the implementation of Nokia with the implementation of Sirotkin in order to share user consent information (para 6).
13. Nokia discloses the method according to claim 11, but does not disclose further comprising: configuring, according to the changed user consent information, the terminal to report location information. However, in an analogous art, Sirotkin discloses consent information delivery in wireless communications including configuring, according to the changed user consent information, the terminal to report location information (para 106-122). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the implementation of Nokia with the implementation of Sirotkin in order to share user consent information (para 6).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES R TURCHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1378. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 7-3.
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, Luu Pham can be reached at 571-270-5002. 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.
/JAMES R TURCHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2439
Prosecution Insights