QUALCOMM IncorporatedDownload PDFPatent Trials and Appeals BoardApr 23, 202015202207 - (D) (P.T.A.B. Apr. 23, 2020) Copy Citation UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE United States Patent and Trademark Office Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450 www.uspto.gov APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO. 15/202,207 07/05/2016 Shrinivas KUDEKAR 160855US 9216 15055 7590 04/23/2020 Patterson + Sheridan, L.L.P. Qualcomm 24 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1600 Houston, TX 77046 EXAMINER NGUYEN, THIEN DANG ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 2111 NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE 04/23/2020 ELECTRONIC Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding. The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication. Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the following e-mail address(es): PAIR_eOfficeAction@pattersonsheridan.com ocpat_uspto@qualcomm.com qualcomm@pattersonsheridan.com PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD Ex parte SHRINIVAS KUDEKAR, SE YONG PARK, ALEXANDROS MANOLAKOS, KRISHNA KIRAN MUKKAVILLI, VINCENT LONCKE, JOSEPH BINAMIRA SORIAGA, JING JIANG, and THOMAS JOSEPH RICHARDSON Appeal 2019-002222 Application 15/202,207 Technology Center 2100 Before JOHN P. PINKERTON, NABEEL U. KHAN, and JOYCE CRAIG, Administrative Patent Judges. CRAIG, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL STATEMENT OF THE CASE Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 134(a), Appellant1 appeals from the Examiner’s decision to reject claims 1, 3–7, 9–18, 21, 25–27, 29–38, and 41–44. See Final Act. 1. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). An oral hearing was held on April 14, 2020. We affirm. 1 We use the word Appellant to refer to “applicant” as defined in 37 C.F.R. § 1.42. Appellant identifies the real party in interest as QUALCOMM Incorporated. Appeal Br. 3. Appeal 2019-002222 Application 15/202,207 2 CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER The claims are directed to puncturing of structured low density parity check (LDPC) codes. Claim 1, reproduced below, is illustrative of the claimed subject matter: 1. A method for wirelessly transmitting data in a accordance with a radio technology, comprising: encoding a set of information bits based on a low density parity check (LDPC) code to produce a code word, the LDPC code defined by a matrix having a first number of variable nodes and a second number of check nodes; puncturing the code word to produce a punctured code word, wherein the puncturing is performed according to a first puncturing pattern designed to puncture bits corresponding to at least one variable node at a start of the code word having a highest degree of connectivity to the check nodes and to puncture a number of bits at an end of the code word; and transmitting the punctured code word in accordance with the radio technology across a wireless channel. REJECTION Claims 1, 3–7, 9–18, 21, 25–27, 29–38, and 41–44 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 because the claimed invention is directed to patent- ineligible subject matter. Final Act. 9–11. ANALYSIS Appellant argues that the Examiner’s rejection of claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as directed to patent-ineligible subject matter is in error. To the extent Appellant has not advanced separate, substantive arguments for particular claims, or other issues, such arguments are waived. 37 C.F.R. § 41.37(c)(1)(iv). Appellant argues claims 1, 3–7, 9–18, 21, 25–27, 29–38, and 41–44 as a group. Appeal Br. 10, 20. Given our discretion under Appeal 2019-002222 Application 15/202,207 3 37 C.F.R. § 41.37(c)(1)(iv), we decide the § 101 rejection of claims 1, 3–7, 9–18, 21, 25–27, 29–38, and 41–44 based on representative claim 1. Principles of Law “Whether a claim is drawn to patent-eligible subject matter is an issue of law that we review de novo.” SiRF Tech., Inc. v. Int’l Trade Comm’n, 601 F.3d 1319, 1331 (Fed. Cir. 2010). An invention is patent-eligible if it claims a “new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter.” 35 U.S.C. § 101. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has long interpreted 35 U.S.C. § 101 to include implicit exceptions: “[l]aws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas” are not patentable. E.g., Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int’l, 573 U.S. 208, 216 (2014). In determining whether a claim falls within an excluded category, we are guided by the Court’s two-part framework, described in Mayo and Alice. Alice, 573 U.S. at 217–18 (citing Mayo Collaborative Servs. v. Prometheus Labs., Inc., 566 U.S. 66, 75–77 (2012)). In accordance with that framework, we first determine what concept the claim is “directed to.” See Alice, 573 U.S. at 219 (“On their face, the claims before us are drawn to the concept of intermediated settlement, i.e., the use of a third party to mitigate settlement risk.”); see also Bilski v. Kappos, 561 U.S. 593, 611 (2010) (“Claims 1 and 4 in petitioners’ application explain the basic concept of hedging, or protecting against risk.”). Concepts determined to be abstract ideas, and thus patent ineligible, include certain methods of organizing human activity, such as fundamental economic practices (Alice, 573 U.S. at 219–20; Bilski, 561 U.S. at 611); mathematical formulas (Parker v. Flook, 437 U.S. 584, 594–95 (1978)); and Appeal 2019-002222 Application 15/202,207 4 mental processes (Gottschalk v. Benson, 409 U.S. 63, 67 (1972)). Concepts determined to be patent eligible include physical and chemical processes, such as “molding rubber products” (Diamond v. Diehr, 450 U.S. 175, 191 (1981)); “tanning, dyeing, making waterproof cloth, vulcanizing India rubber, smelting ores” (id. at 182 n.7 (quoting Corning v. Burden, 56 U.S. 252, 267–68 (1853))); and manufacturing flour (Benson, 409 U.S. at 69 (citing Cochrane v. Deener, 94 U.S. 780, 785 (1876))). In Diehr, the claim at issue recited a mathematical formula, but the Court held that “a claim drawn to subject matter otherwise statutory does not become nonstatutory simply because it uses a mathematical formula.” Diehr, 450 U.S. at 187; see also id. at 191 (“We view respondents’ claims as nothing more than a process for molding rubber products and not as an attempt to patent a mathematical formula.”). Having said that, the Court also indicated that a claim “seeking patent protection for that formula in the abstract . . . is not accorded the protection of our patent laws, and this principle cannot be circumvented by attempting to limit the use of the formula to a particular technological environment.” Id. (citing Benson and Flook); see, e.g., id. at 187 (“It is now commonplace that an application of a law of nature or mathematical formula to a known structure or process may well be deserving of patent protection.”). If the claim is “directed to” an abstract idea, we turn to the second step of the Alice and Mayo framework, where “we must examine the elements of the claim to determine whether it contains an ‘inventive concept’ sufficient to ‘transform’ the claimed abstract idea into a patent- eligible application.” Alice, 573 U.S. at 221 (quotation marks omitted). “A claim that recites an abstract idea must include ‘additional features’ to Appeal 2019-002222 Application 15/202,207 5 ensure ‘that the [claim] is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the [abstract idea].’” Id. (alterations in original) (quoting Mayo, 566 U.S. at 77). “[M]erely requir[ing] generic computer implementation[] fail[s] to transform that abstract idea into a patent-eligible invention.” Id. In January 2019, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published revised guidance on the application of § 101. 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. 50 (Jan. 7, 2019) (“2019 Revised Guidance”).2 “All USPTO personnel are, as a matter of internal agency management, expected to follow the guidance.” Id. at 51; see also October 2019 Update at 1. Under the 2019 Revised Guidance and the October 2019 Update, we first look to whether the claim recites: (1) any judicial exceptions, including certain groupings of abstract ideas (i.e., mathematical concepts, certain methods of organizing human activity such as a fundamental economic practice, or mental processes) (“Step 2A, Prong One”); and (2) additional elements that integrate the judicial exception into a practical application (see MPEP § 2106.05(a)–(c), (e)–(h) (9th ed. Rev. 08.2017, Jan. 2018)) (“Step 2A, Prong Two”).3 2 In response to received public comments, the Office issued further guidance on October 17, 2019, clarifying the 2019 Revised Guidance. USPTO, October 2019 Update: Subject Matter Eligibility (the “October 2019 Update”) (available at https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/peg_oct_2019_update.p df). 3 This evaluation is performed by (a) identifying whether there are any additional elements recited in the claim beyond the judicial exception, and (b) evaluating those additional elements individually and in combination to determine whether the claim as a whole integrates the exception into a practical application. See 2019 Revised Guidance - Section III(A)(2), 84 Fed. Reg. 54–55. Appeal 2019-002222 Application 15/202,207 6 2019 Revised Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. at 52–55. Only if a claim (1) recites a judicial exception and (2) does not integrate that exception into a practical application, do we then look, under Step 2B, to whether the claim: (3) adds a specific limitation beyond the judicial exception that is not “well-understood, routine, conventional” in the field (see MPEP § 2106.05(d)); or (4) simply appends well-understood, routine, conventional activities previously known to the industry, specified at a high level of generality, to the judicial exception. 2019 Revised Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. at 52–56. Step 1 Claim 1, as a method claim, falls within the process category of § 101. See 2019 Revised Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. at 53–54 (citing MPEP §§ 2106.03, 2106.06). Step 2A(i): Does the Claim Recite a Judicial Exception? In the rejection, the Examiner determined that claim 1 is directed to an abstract idea, namely encoding data. See Final Act. 9. The Examiner identified the “encoding” and “puncturing” steps as part of the recited abstract idea. Id. Figures 4 and 4a of Appellant’s Specification show graphical and matrix representations of an exemplary LDPC code. For example, Figure 4 shows bipartite graph 400 representing exemplary LDPC code. Bipartite graph 400 includes a set of 5 variable nodes 410 (represented by circles) connected to 4 check nodes 420 (represented by squares). Edges in graph 400 connect variable nodes 410 to check nodes 420 (represented by the lines connecting variable nodes 410 to check nodes 420). Spec. ¶ 72. The degree of a node refers to the number of edges connected to that node. Id. ¶ 75. Appeal 2019-002222 Application 15/202,207 7 Puncturing is the act of removing bits from a code word to yield a shorter code word. Spec. ¶ 84. Specifically, for a matrix representation of an LDPC code, including bits to be punctured, where the variable node to be punctured has a degree of one, puncturing the variable node removes the associated bit from the code and effectively removes its single neighboring check node from the graph. As a result, the number of check nodes in the graph is reduced by one. Id. Consistent with Appellant’s description of the claims, we find that the “encoding” and “puncturing” limitations, as recited in claim 1, describe concepts that can be performed in the human mind or practicably with pen and paper, and that fall into the mental process category of abstract ideas. See 2019 Revised Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. at 52. The 2019 Revised Guidance explains that “mental processes” include acts that people can perform in their minds or using pen and paper, even if the claim recites that a generic computer component performs the acts. See id. at 52 n.14 (“If a claim, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance in the mind but for the recitation of generic computer components, then it is still in the mental processes category unless the claim cannot practically be performed in the mind.”); see also Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Symantec Corp., 838 F.3d 1307, 1318 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (“[W]ith the exception of generic computer-implemented steps, there is nothing in the claims themselves that foreclose them from being performed by a human, mentally or with pen and paper.”), quoted in 2019 Revised Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. at 52 n.14. Appellant argues that the Examiner erred by characterizing the claims “as merely directed to encoding/decoding leading to analysis untethered Appeal 2019-002222 Application 15/202,207 8 from the claim language.” Appeal Br. 12. Appellant further argues that “the cited case law is insufficient because Recognicorp4 is based upon a different set of facts and claims not like those pending here.” Id. (footnote added). We are not persuaded that the Examiner erred. Here, claim 1 recites no structural elements, let alone particular structures, articles, or devices that implement the recited encoding and puncturing method. The limitation calling for encoding a set of information bits bases on a LDPC code can be performed entirely mentally, even by merely thinking about this encoding. Elec. Power Grp., LLC v. Alstom S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1354 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (noting that analyzing information by steps people go through in their minds, or by mathematical algorithms, without more, are essentially mental processes within the abstract idea category); Digitech Image Tech., LLC v. Elecs. for Imaging, Inc., 758 F.3d 1344, 1351 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (“Without additional limitations, a process that employs mathematical algorithms to manipulate existing information to generate additional information is not patent eligible.”); Benson, 409 U.S. at 63 (holding ineligible claims involving a mathematical algorithm and directed to converting binary- coded-decimal (BCD) numerals into pure binary numerals for use with a computer); accord CyberSource Corp. v. Retail Decisions, Inc., 654 F.3d 1366, 1375 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (“That purely mental processes can be unpatentable, even when performed by a computer, was precisely the holding of the Supreme Court in [Benson].”). We reach this conclusion noting that it is well settled that not only is standard encoding and decoding an abstract concept long utilized to transmit 4 RecogniCorp, LLC v. Nintendo Co., 855 F.3d 1322, 1326 (Fed. Cir. 2017). Appeal 2019-002222 Application 15/202,207 9 information, encoding and decoding can also be performed entirely mentally. See RecogniCorp, 855 F.3d at 1326 (“Morse code, ordering food at a fast food restaurant via a numbering system, and Paul Revere’s ‘one if by land, two if by sea’ signaling system all exemplify encoding at one end and decoding at the other end.”); see also Return Mail, Inc. v. U.S. Postal Serv., 868 F.3d 1350, 1368 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (noting encoding and decoding information are processes that can—and have been—performed in the human mind). For similar reasons, the “puncturing” step recites an abstract mental process. As recited in claim 1, puncturing is performed according to a first puncturing pattern designed to puncture bits corresponding to at least one variable node at a start of the code word having a highest degree of connectivity to the check nodes and to puncture a number of bits at an end of the code word. Appeal Br. 21 (claim 1). Like encoding, puncturing can be performed with the human mind or with pen and paper. Appellant’s argument that the Examiner improperly interpreted the claimed “puncturing” as “encoding” “in an attempt to fit these features of Appellant’s claim to generic concepts which have been held by courts to be abstract” (Reply Br. 5) is unavailing under the current § 101 guidance, as it is no longer necessary to compare a claim to claims in prior cases in order to determine whether the claim recites an abstract idea. The 2019 Revised Guidance extracts and synthesizes key concepts identified by the courts as abstract ideas. 2019 Revised Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. at 52. The question in this step of the analysis, then, is whether claim 1 recites a judicial exception, including certain groupings of abstract ideas (i.e., mathematical concepts, certain methods of organizing human activity such as a fundamental Appeal 2019-002222 Application 15/202,207 10 economic practice, or mental processes). Id. In the Reply Brief, filed after the effective date of the 2019 Revised Guidance, Appellant presented no arguments directed to whether claim 1 recites mathematical concepts, certain methods of organizing human activity, or mental processes. Accordingly, Appellant has waived those arguments. Therefore, given the mental steps associated with the encoding and puncturing limitations noted above, these limitations fall squarely within the mental processes category of the agency’s guidelines and, therefore, recite an abstract idea. See 2019 Revised Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. at 52. Because we agree with the Examiner that the claim recites an abstract idea, we proceed to Prong Two of Step 2A to determine if the idea is integrated into a practical application, in which case the claim as a whole would not be “directed to” merely an abstract idea. Step 2A(ii): Judicial Exception Integrated into a Practical Application? Because we determine that claim 1 recites a patent-ineligible concept, we next determine whether the recited judicial exception is integrated into a practical application of that exception by: (a) identifying whether there are any additional elements recited in the claim beyond the judicial exception(s); and (b) evaluating those additional elements individually and in combination to determine whether they integrate the exception into a practical application. We use the term “additional elements” for claim features, limitations, or steps that the claim recites beyond the identified judicial exception. See 2019 Revised Guidance at 55 n.24. In claim 1, the additional elements include the limitation “transmitting the punctured code word in accordance with the radio technology across a wireless channel.” We agree, however, Appeal 2019-002222 Application 15/202,207 11 with the Examiner that the additional “transmitting” element amounts to insignificant, extra-solution activity and, therefore, does not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application. Final Act. 10; MPEP § 2106.05(g). Appellant argues that claim 1 is directed to improvements in computer functionality and of wireless communication technology. Appeal Br. 13. In particular, Appellant argues that claim 1 is directed to improvements in processors, such as wireless transmitters and receivers in wireless communication systems. Id. Appellant further argues that, because the claimed puncturing allows transmission at higher code rates and, without sacrificing code performance, the communications between the transmitter and receiver are more efficient, which results in power savings. Id. at 14. Appellant’s arguments are not persuasive at least because they are not commensurate with the scope of claim 1, which does not recite modifying or otherwise improving processors or wireless transmitters or receivers. Moreover, the Federal Circuit has found that “merely adding computer functionality to increase the speed or efficiency of the process does not confer patent eligibility on an otherwise abstract idea.” Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Capital One Bank (USA), 792 F.3d 1363, 1369–70 (Fed. Cir. 2015); see also Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Erie Indemnity Co., 711 F. App’x 1012, 1017 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (unpublished) (“Though the claims purport to accelerate the process of finding errant files and to reduce error, we have held that speed and accuracy increases stemming from the ordinary capabilities of a general-purpose computer ‘do[] not materially alter the patent eligibility of the claimed subject matter.”’). Appeal 2019-002222 Application 15/202,207 12 Appellant’s claim 1 is also unlike the technology-based integrations cited by Appellant. See Appeal Br. 13, 16. Appellant argues that, like the claims in Enfish, LLC v. Microsoft Corp., 822 F.3d 1327 (Fed. Cir. 2016), the claims of the present application are directed to features that achieve benefits over conventional systems (e.g., conventional encoding systems, decoding systems, and puncturing systems) and improve those systems by logical structures and processes that provide an improvement in the performance, for example, of the encoder, decoder, apparatus, and wireless communication device. Appeal Br. 16. We disagree. In Enfish, the patent-eligible claim was directed to a self-referential table to improve computer databases. Enfish, 822 F.3d at 1330. The disclosed technique enabled faster searching and more effective storage of data than previous methods. Id. at 1333. The court found the claims directed to “a specific improvement to the way computers operate, embodied in the self-referential table” (id. at 1336), and explained that the claims are “not simply directed to any form of storing tabular data, but instead are specifically directed to a self-referential table for a computer database” that functions differently than conventional databases. Id. at 1337. Appellant further argues that the claimed puncturing step “is a new technique for efficiently transmitting LDPC code words at higher rates without sacrificing code performance.” Appeal Br. 19. We are not persuaded by Appellant’s argument. The puncturing step recited in claim 1 is part of the abstract idea, and is not an additional element. Moreover, the puncturing step merely reduces the size of the code word. Spec. ¶ 84. Thus, at best, the puncturing step manipulates data, rather than improving an encoder, decoder, apparatus, or wireless communication Appeal 2019-002222 Application 15/202,207 13 device. Moreover, the novelty of any element or steps in a process, or even of the process itself, is of no relevance in determining whether the subject matter of a claim falls within the § 101 categories of possibly patentable subject matter. Diehr, 450 U.S. at 188–89. Our reviewing court further guides that “[e]ligibility and novelty are separate inquiries.” Two-Way Media Ltd. v. Comcast Cable Commc’ns, LLC, 874 F.3d 1329, 1340 (Fed. Cir. 2017); see also Affinity Labs of Tex., LLC v. DIRECTV, LLC, 838 F.3d 1253, 1263 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (holding that “[e]ven assuming” that a particular claimed feature was novel does not “avoid the problem of abstractness”). Considering claim 1 as a whole, then, Appellant’s invention lacks a technical solution to a technical problem like the claims in Enfish. Here, the additional limitation(s) do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application. More particularly, the claims do not recite (i) an improvement to the functionality of a computer or other technology or technical field (see MPEP § 2106.05(a)); (ii) a “particular machine” to apply or use the judicial exception (see MPEP § 2106.05(b)); (iii) a particular transformation of an article to a different thing or state (see MPEP § 2106.05(c)); or (iv) any other meaningful limitation (see MPEP § 2106.05(e)). See 2019 Revised Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. at 55. Rather, claim 1 recites an abstract idea as identified in Step 2A(i), supra, and none of the limitations integrates the judicial exception into a practical application. Therefore, because the abstract idea is not integrated into a practical application, we conclude that the claim is directed to the judicial exception. Step 2B — “Inventive Concept” or “Significantly More” If the claims are directed to a patent-ineligible concept, as we conclude above, we proceed to the “inventive concept” step. For Step 2B we Appeal 2019-002222 Application 15/202,207 14 must “look with more specificity at what the claim elements add, in order to determine ‘whether they identify an “inventive concept” in the application of the ineligible subject matter’ to which the claim is directed.” Affinity Labs, 838 F.3d at 1258 (quoting Elec. Power Grp., 830 F.3d at 1353). We look to see whether there are any “additional features” in the claims that constitute an “inventive concept,” thereby rendering the claims eligible for patenting even if they are directed to an abstract idea. Alice, 573 U.S. at 221. Those “additional features” must be more than “well-understood, routine, conventional activity.” Mayo, 566 U.S. at 79. The Examiner determined that it is conventional and well-known in the art to transmit data over a wireless channel. Final Act. 10. Indeed, courts have recognized that receiving or transmitting data over a network, in a manner similar to that recited in the claims, is well-known, routine, and conventional. OIP Techs., Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., 788 F.3d 1359, 1363 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (sending messages over a network); buySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 765 F.3d 1350, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (computer receives and sends information over a network). Appellant relies on the recited “puncturing” step in claim 1 to provide an inventive concept. Appeal Br. 18–19. We are not persuaded by Appellant’s argument because the “puncturing” step, as recited in claim 1, is part of the abstract idea and is not an “additional feature” of the claim. Moreover, Appellant does not direct our attention to anything in the Specification that indicates the puncturing step, even in combination with computer components, performs anything other than well-understood, routine, and conventional functions, such as manipulating and transmitting data. See buySAFE, 765 F.3d at 1355 (“That a Appeal 2019-002222 Application 15/202,207 15 computer receives and sends the information over a network—with no further specification—is not even arguably inventive”); In re TLI Commc’ns LLC Patent Litig., 823 F.3d 607, 614 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (server that receives data, extracts classification information from the received data, and stores the digital images insufficient to add an inventive concept); Alice, 573 U.S. at 225–26 (receiving, storing, sending information over networks insufficient to add an inventive concept). We conclude claim 1 does not have an inventive concept because the claim, in essence, merely recites the identified abstract idea and a well- understood, routine and conventional “transmitting” step. Because the claims are directed to a judicial exception, without significantly more, we sustain the Examiner’s § 101 rejection of independent claim 1 and grouped claims 3–7, 9–18, 21, 25–27, 29–38, and 41–44, not argued separately with particularity. DECISION We affirm the decision of the Examiner rejecting claims 1, 3–7, 9–18, 21, 25–27, 29–38, and 41–44. DECISION SUMMARY Claims Rejected 35 U.S.C. § Reference(s)/Basis Affirmed Reversed 1, 3–7, 9– 18, 21, 25– 27, 29–38, 41–44 101 Eligibility 1, 3–7, 9– 18, 21, 25– 27, 29–38, 41–44 Appeal 2019-002222 Application 15/202,207 16 TIME PERIOD FOR RESPONSE No time period for taking any subsequent action in connection with this appeal may be extended under 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a). See 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a)(1)(iv). AFFIRMED Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation