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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the following limitation: “assign the mismatch probability estimate to the mismatch sourceblock as the frequency of occurrence of the mismatch sourceblock”. It is unclear what the scope of this claim limitation is. The mismatch probability estimate is a calculated probability and the frequency of occurrence is a frequency. It is unclear how a probability can be assigned to a mismatched sourceblock as a frequency, since they are two unrelated variables that are not equivalent. If the frequency of occurrence is assigned to the mismatched sourceblock then the mismatch probability estimate was not assigned. How is a mismatch probability estimate assigned as the frequency of occurrence?
Further there is no frequency of occurrence of the mismatch sourceblock (“the frequency of occurrence of the mismatch sourceblock” has an antecedent basis issue), the claim previously states the following: “determine a frequency of occurrence of each sourceblock of the training data set” and the mismatch sourceblock is not a sourceblock of the training data set and thus has not had a frequency of occurrence determined for it.
Claim 10 has the same issues as claim 1 above and the remaining claims are rejected by virtue of their dependence upon a rejected base claim.
Double Patenting
Due to the 112 rejection above, the claim language precludes a proper double patenting analysis at this time. After the 112 rejections have been addressed, a proper double patenting analysis will be performed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL ALSIP whose telephone number is (571)270-1182. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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, Reginald G. Bragdon can be reached at (571)272-4204. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL ALSIP/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2139
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