DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 6/30/2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely grounds of rejection specifically challenged in the argument.
On page 10 of the 6/30/2025 Remarks, Applicant argues “Neither Chaum nor Walker, even in combination with Keresman, disclose or suggest embedding explicit routing information directly in the dynamic card number for routing purposes within the payment network”, and “Unlike Keresman, where random numbers are paired with static identification externally, the amended claims clarify that the routing determination is inherently embedded and explicitly encoded in the dynamic card number itself, thus precluding anticipation by Keresman”.
These arguments are addressed substantively in the 35 U.S.C. 112 rejections below.
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 10-34 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.
As a first matter, Examiner has maintained that the dynamic payment card number is recited as nonfunctional descriptive matter as it is merely provided by a processor of a battery-powered card. Neither the processor nor the timing device nor any other element of the card are structurally distinguished by providing any particular number that is not functionally related to the structure. The dynamic payment card number is not functionally related to the structure. The processor is not, for example, limited as storing algorithmic instructions for transforming information (e.g. timing signal, identification information, etc.) and generating the dynamic payment card number. In all, neither the card nor the processor of the claim is structurally distinguished over prior art devices providing materially different numbers.
Additionally, it is unclear how the claim structure is limited by the language “explicitly indicative of a particular type”. In Applicant’s disclosure related to Figs. 12, type 1221 may be embodied as digits representing a type of processing system/facility: “the processing facility may look at the first digit of the credit card number and use this first digit to determine if the card is a dynamic credit card, a Visa card, a Mastercard, or an American Express card”. The processing facility appears capable of utilizing the type 1221, decoding the digits, and determining a system to which the card is related. While a person having ordinary skill in the art would understand the digits of type 1221 in Fig. 12 indicate a processing facility type, an artisan would not understand the degree to which the claimed “explicit” indication structurally limits the battery-powered card. In light of this disclosure, it is unclear what “explicitly indicative” means as the Oxford English Dictionary defines explicitly accordingly: “As a matter of explicit knowledge, belief, or statement; expressly and not merely by implication”. Neither the disclosure nor the claims connect the knowledge of the indication to an element of the claimed apparatus. It appears that the explicit knowledge that the digits are an indication of type resides in the human designer/programmer of the system or perhaps the programming of a system element decoding the digits. The metes and bounds of the claimed invention cannot be determined.
Further, the phrasing “said dynamic payment card number includes encoded routing information explicitly indicative of …” is contradictory as encoding opposes explicitness. Explicitness requires information to be express, direct, and outright and encoding requires translation/transformation/revelation of information from a meaning that is not express, direct, and outright. This discussion stems from the plain meaning of the words according to dictionary definitions provided.
Lastly, the claim recites “said dynamic payment card number … explicitly excludes static symbols representative of identification information” and this is a contradiction with the recitation “explicitly indicative of a particular type” because the particular type of destination is necessarily identification information. The claim does not explicitly exclude enumerated species of “identification information” but rather the whole of the genus of “identification information”. The intent of the amendment may have been to require the card number to include one specie of identification information and exclude another specie of identification information, but the claim excludes the symbols from broadly representing identification information. Read as a whole, the claim thus requires the card number to explicitly include a specie of identification information (i.e. destination type identification) and explicitly exclude identification information altogether. The metes and bounds of the claimed invention cannot be determined.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 10-34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims recite “said dynamic payment card number includes encoded routing information explicitly indicative of a particular type of destination within a payment network… said dynamic payment card number … explicitly excludes while not including one or more static symbols representative of identification information”. The mutually exclusive interpretations of the claim language is detailed in the indefiniteness rejections above. A person having ordinary skill in the art would not understand Applicant to have been in possession of the contradictory claim language required by explicitly including a particular type of destination information while explicitly excluding static symbols representative of identification information as claimed. As further discussed above, the type 1221 symbols indicate a particular type of destination within a payment network but are static symbols representative of identification information simultaneously. If the digit “4” indicates “Visa” as one part of a particular type of destination within a payment system, that digit “4” indicates a particular type of destination within a payment network and is a static symbol representative of identification information (i.e. Visa). The digit “4” does not represent the customer identification and does not represent the account identification, but the digit is a static symbol representing a payment network. Applicant does not evidence possession of a card number with symbols/digits that both includes a particular type of destination within a payment network and is devoid of static symbols representative of identification information as a genus.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of pre-AIA 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 –
(b) the invention was patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country or in public use or on sale in this country, more than one year prior to the date of application for patent in the United States.
Claims 10-16, 18-23, 26-27 and 29 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(b) as being anticipated by Keresman, III et al. (US 2002/0120583 A1; hereinafter Keresman).
Regarding claim 10, Keresman teaches a battery-powered (para [0053]) payment card (token 10, Fig. 1a-b; para [0026-0027]) comprising: a processor operable to provide a dynamic payment card number (“the dispensed number 20. Alternately, the selected random number can be prefixed or suffixed to the user's account number, or other account identification, provided by the issuing financial institution” & “A dispensed number is cross referenced by the authentication system to the random number database that was created when the token was programmed. In this way the user or transaction can be authenticated”; para [0007,0024-0028]) based, at least in part, on a timing signal provided by a timing device (the user’s selection of a first button triggers is a timing signal which causes software in the token to select the next available number each time the button is depressed, Fig. 2-5; para [0027]), wherein said dynamic payment card number is usable by at least one routing element receiving said dynamic payment card number in a payment network to determine a next destination of said dynamic payment card number in said payment network (to authentication element of the overall payment network; e.g. para [0040]), said dynamic payment card number being representative of only a portion of payment account data (“the dispensed number 20. Alternately, the selected random number can be prefixed or suffixed to the user's account number, or other account identification, provided by the issuing financial institution” & “The user then requests a number from the token 10 at step 66, and at step 68, the token dispenses, by the method shown in FIG. 3, a number including an indicator digit as previously described. The user next communicates this number and other account identification data (e.g. a user ID or name) to the authentication system 34 and, at step 70, the authentication system cross references the number and the user's ID against the random number database 40”; para [0024-0028,0039]) and while not including one or more static symbols representative of identification information (the dispensed numbers are random; para [0024-0028]); a device (communications port, 28, Fig. 1b & 2) operable to provide said dynamic payment card number (para [0027-0028]) and feedback information (a code representing the selected account is responsive to the user selection which reads on “feedback information”, e.g. Visa®; para [0027-0028]) to an external device (authentication system 34); and a display (display 14, Fig. 1a-1b) operable to display said feedback information (“a code representing the selected Visa.RTM. account to be displayed, "1" for example, combined with the selected number in the display area 14, "1123456" in this example”; para [0027-0028]) and said dynamic payment card number (Fig. 1a-1b; para [0027-0028]).
Keresman discloses embodiments including (1) appending the account information to the dispensed, random number 20 and (2) not appending the account information to the dispensed, random number 20. Keresman's dispensed, random number 20 anticipates the claimed "dynamic payment card number" with both embodiments because in both embodiments the corresponding user ID (e.g. name or account number) is the static portion of communicated information, while the random number is not static [0024-0028,0039]. Keresman’s random number 20 “is said dynamic payment card number being representative of only a portion of payment account data”, as it is acknowledged that the random number is matched based on random number associated with the user ID [0024-0028,0039]. Keresman’s random number 20 “while not including one or more static symbols representative of identification information”, as it is a randomly-generated number (e.g. 6 digits) that must accompany a user ID for authentication/authorization. Keresman’s user ID is static information that is likely, though not explicitly, represented by one or more static symbols.
Regarding claim 11, Keresman teaches the device is an encoder (para [0027-0028]) and the feedback information includes the number of writes left for said encoder (“the quantity of numbers remaining in the token”; para [0028]).
Regarding claim 12, Keresman teaches a battery-powered (para [0053]) payment card (token 10, Fig. 1a-b; para [0026-0027]) comprising: a display (display 14, Fig. 1a-1b); a processor operable to provide a dynamic payment card number (para [0024-0028]) based, at least in part, on a timing signal from a timing device (the user’s selection of a first button triggers is a timing signal which causes software in the token to selects the next available number each time the button is depressed, Fig. 2-5; para [0027]), wherein said dynamic payment card number is operable for determining a destination of said dynamic payment card number in a payment network (to authentication element of the overall payment network; e.g. para [0040]), said dynamic payment card number being representative of only a portion of payment account data (“the dispensed number 20. Alternately, the selected random number can be prefixed or suffixed to the user's account number, or other account identification, provided by the issuing financial institution” & “The user then requests a number from the token 10 at step 66, and at step 68, the token dispenses, by the method shown in FIG. 3, a number including an indicator digit as previously described. The user next communicates this number and other account identification data (e.g. a user ID or name) to the authentication system 34 and, at step 70, the authentication system cross references the number and the user's ID against the random number database 40”; para [0024-0028,0039]) and while not including one or more static symbols representative of identification information (the dispensed numbers are random; para [0024-0028]); and a receiver (communications port 28, Fig. 1b & 2) for receiving information from an authorization facility (para [0033-0034]).
See comments in association with similar limitations in claim 10.
Regarding claim 13, Keresman teaches the received information includes a purchase approval (authentication system generates random numbers for transactions and thus purchase approvals, Fig. 2; abstract & para [0034]). Neither this claim nor base claim 12 define a purchase process, an approval process, or a combination thereof.
Regarding claim 14, Keresman teaches a battery-powered (para [0053]) payment card (token 10, Fig. 1a-b; para [0026-0027]) comprising: a counter (the user’s selection of a first button triggers the software in the token to utilize a next available number each time the button is depressed, Fig. 2-5; para [0024-0028]), wherein said counter is configured to increment (N+1; para [0024]) at payment card use and said counter is utilized in providing a dynamic payment card number (Fig. 2-5; para [0024,0027-0029]), wherein said dynamic payment card number is operable for determining a destination of said dynamic payment card number in a payment network (to authentication element of the overall payment network; e.g. para [0040]), said dynamic payment card number being representative of only a portion of payment account data (“the dispensed number 20. Alternately, the selected random number can be prefixed or suffixed to the user's account number, or other account identification, provided by the issuing financial institution” & “The user then requests a number from the token 10 at step 66, and at step 68, the token dispenses, by the method shown in FIG. 3, a number including an indicator digit as previously described. The user next communicates this number and other account identification data (e.g. a user ID or name) to the authentication system 34 and, at step 70, the authentication system cross references the number and the user's ID against the random number database 40”; para [0024-0028,0039]) and while not including one or more static symbols representative of identification information (the dispensed numbers are random; para [0024-0028]).
See comments in association with similar limitations in claim 10.
Regarding claim 15, Keresman teaches a battery-powered (para [0053]) payment card (token 10, Fig. 1a-b; para [0026-0027]) comprising: a random number generator (the token dispenses random numbers upon demand via the display 14 and the magnetic transducer 26 thus “generat[es]” random numbers; para [0024,0027,0033,0054-0056]), wherein a dynamic payment card number is operable for determining a destination of said dynamic payment card number in a payment network (to authentication element of the overall payment network; e.g. para [0040]), provided based, at least in part, on said random number generator (para [0027-0029]), said dynamic payment card number representative of payment account data (“each of the buttons 16 is used to select an account and request that the token 10 dispense a random number from its internal memory” & “a code representing the selected Visa.RTM. account to be displayed”; para [0024-0028]) and while not including static identification information (the dispensed numbers are random; para [0024-0028]).
Regarding claim 16, Keresman teaches a battery-powered (para [0053]) payment card (token 10, Fig. 1a-b; para [0026-0027]) comprising: a pseudo-random number generator (polynomial transformations of numbers, Fig. 3; para [0024,0036-0038]), wherein a dynamic payment card number is operable for determining a destination of said dynamic payment card number in a payment network (to authentication element of the overall payment network; e.g. para [0040]), provided based, at least in part, on said pseudo-random number generator (para [0024-0029,0036-0038]), wherein said dynamic payment card number is said dynamic payment card number being representative of only a portion of payment account data (“the dispensed number 20. Alternately, the selected random number can be prefixed or suffixed to the user's account number, or other account identification, provided by the issuing financial institution” & “The user then requests a number from the token 10 at step 66, and at step 68, the token dispenses, by the method shown in FIG. 3, a number including an indicator digit as previously described. The user next communicates this number and other account identification data (e.g. a user ID or name) to the authentication system 34 and, at step 70, the authentication system cross references the number and the user's ID against the random number database 40”; para [0024-0028,0039]) and while not including one or more static symbols representative of identification information (the dispensed numbers are random; para [0024-0028]).
Note: The Oxford English dictionary defines “pseudo-random” to be: [s]atisfying one or more statistical tests for randomness but produced by a reproducible mathematical procedure. A polynomial transformation (i.e. reproducible mathematical procedure) of a random number (i.e. satisfies a test for randomness) creates a pseudo-random number.
Regarding claim 18 and 19, Keresman teaches a second display (logo 11, Fig. 1a).
Regarding claim 20-23 and 26-27 and 29, Keresman teaches a processor (token carries out the processes of Figs. 3-5 via software in memory; para [0030,0034]), a display (display 14, logo 11, Fig. 1a), and a device operable to provide information to an external device such as a device operable to communicate magnetic stripe data to a magnetic stripe reader (para [0024,0027,0033,0054-0056]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 10, 12, 14-17, 24-25, and 28 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Chaum (US 4,529,870; hereinafter Chaum; previously cited) in view of Keresman.
Regarding claim 10, Chaum teaches a payment card (transaction device 108 embodied as a card comprising cryptographic device 103 and terminal device 107, Fig. 1) comprising: a processor (cryptographic device's circuitry 626, Fig. 6) operable to provide a dynamic payment card number (key generator circuitry pulls from random value generator 607; col. 7, ln. 52-col. 8, ln. 31 & col. 11, ln. 13-col. 15, ln. 68) based, at least in part, on a timing signal provided by a timing device (col. 7, ln. 52-col. 8, ln. 31), wherein said dynamic payment card number is usable by at least one routing element receiving said dynamic payment card number in a payment network to determine of said dynamic payment card number in a payment network (numeric values provided are inherently capable of such use; col. 7, ln. 52-col. 8, ln. 31 & col. 11, ln. 13-col. 15, ln. 68), wherein said dynamic payment card number said dynamic payment card number being representative of only a portion of payment account data (“After generating the random value and encrypting it by use of the system key, the interface circuitry 606 reformats it as necessary and forwards it to the external system 101 via the communications link 624 along with the PAN that the external system had previously assigned to the card owner or his account, as described in process block 208”; col. 7, ln. 52-col. 8, ln. 31 & col. 9, ln. 19-36 & col. 11, ln. 13-col. 15, ln. 68) and while not including one or more static symbols representative of identification information (the transmitted numbers are random; col. 7, ln. 52-col. 8, ln. 31 & col. 11, ln. 13-col. 12, ln. 53); a device operable to provide said dynamic payment card number and feedback information to an external device (display provides information to the user and interface circuitry 606 provides information to external systems 101; col. 10, ln. 63-67 & col. 6, ln. 48-53 & col. 7, ln. 14-44 & col. 11, ln. 35-60); and a display operable to display said feedback information and said dynamic payment card number (col. 10, ln. 63-67).
Chaum discloses including the PAN identification with the random number encrypted by a shared, cryptographic key. Chaum's encrypted random number anticipates the claimed "dynamic payment card number" with because the PAN is the static portion of communicated information, while the random number is not static. Chaum’s random number “is said dynamic payment card number being representative of only a portion of payment account data”, as it is acknowledged that the random number is decrypted and matched based on the static PAN thus the random number is only a portion of account data. Chaum’s encrypted, random number “while not including one or more static symbols representative of identification information”, as it is a randomly-generated number and then encrypted for security purposes. Chaum’s PAN is static information that is likely, though not explicitly, represented by one or more static symbols.
Regarding claim 12, Chaum teaches a payment card (transaction device 108 embodied as a card comprising cryptographic device 103 and terminal device 107, Fig. 1) comprising: a display (display provides information to the user; col. 10, ln. 63-67); a processor operable to provide a dynamic payment card number based (key generator circuitry pulls from random value generator 607; col. 7, ln. 52-col. 8, ln. 31 & col. 11, ln. 13-col. 12, ln. 53), at least in part, on a timing signal (col. 7, ln. 52-col. 8, ln. 31), wherein said dynamic payment card number is usable by at least one routing element receiving said dynamic payment card number in a payment network to determine of said dynamic payment card number in a payment network (numeric values provided are inherently capable of such use; col. 7, ln. 52-col. 8, ln. 31 & col. 11, ln. 13-col. 15, ln. 68), said dynamic payment card number representative of payment account data (“the card owner has a secret ID which, when provided to the cryptographic device 103, may be used by the encryption/decryption circuitry 608 to decrypt data stored in the memories 610, 611. This is one way the card 108 can be "personalized" so that only its proper owner may use it”; col. 7, ln. 52-col. 8, ln. 31 & col. 9, ln. 19-36 & col. 11, ln. 13-col. 12, ln. 53) and while not including static identification information (the transmitted numbers are random; col. 7, ln. 52-col. 8, ln. 31 & col. 11, ln. 13-col. 12, ln. 53); and a receiver for receiving information from an authorization facility (interface circuitry 606 exchanges information with external systems 101; col. 6, ln. 48-53 & col. 7, ln. 14-44 & col. 11, ln. 35-60).
See comments in association with similar limitations in claim 10.
Regarding claim 14, Chaum teaches a payment card (transaction device 108 embodied as a card comprising cryptographic device 103 and terminal device 107, Fig. 1) comprising: a counter, wherein said counter is incremented at payment card use and said counter is utilized in providing a dynamic payment card number (col. 7, ln. 52-col. 8, ln. 31 & col. 11, ln. 13-col. 12, ln. 53), wherein said dynamic payment card number is usable by at least one routing element receiving said dynamic payment card number in a payment network to determine of said dynamic payment card number in a payment network (numeric values provided are inherently capable of such use; col. 7, ln. 52-col. 8, ln. 31 & col. 11, ln. 13-col. 15, ln. 68), wherein said dynamic payment card number said dynamic payment card number being representative of only a portion of payment account data (“After generating the random value and encrypting it by use of the system key, the interface circuitry 606 reformats it as necessary and forwards it to the external system 101 via the communications link 624 along with the PAN that the external system had previously assigned to the card owner or his account, as described in process block 208”; col. 7, ln. 52-col. 8, ln. 31 & col. 9, ln. 19-36 & col. 11, ln. 13-col. 15, ln. 68) and while not including one or more static symbols representative of identification information (the transmitted numbers are random; col. 7, ln. 52-col. 8, ln. 31 & col. 11, ln. 13-col. 12, ln. 53).
See comments in association with similar limitations in claim 10.
Regarding claim 15, Chaum teaches a payment card (transaction device 108 embodied as a card comprising cryptographic device 103 and terminal device 107, Fig. 1) comprising: a random number generator, wherein a dynamic payment card number is provided based, at least in part, on said random number generator (col. 7, ln. 52-col. 8, ln. 31 & col. 11, ln. 13-col. 12, ln. 53), wherein said dynamic payment card number is usable by at least one routing element receiving said dynamic payment card number in a payment network to determine of said dynamic payment card number in a payment network (numeric values provided are inherently capable of such use; col. 7, ln. 52-col. 8, ln. 31 & col. 11, ln. 13-col. 15, ln. 68), wherein said dynamic payment card number said dynamic payment card number being representative of only a portion of payment account data (“After generating the random value and encrypting it by use of the system key, the interface circuitry 606 reformats it as necessary and forwards it to the external system 101 via the communications link 624 along with the PAN that the external system had previously assigned to the card owner or his account, as described in process block 208”; col. 7, ln. 52-col. 8, ln. 31 & col. 9, ln. 19-36 & col. 11, ln. 13-col. 15, ln. 68) and while not including one or more static symbols representative of identification information (the transmitted numbers are random; col. 7, ln. 52-col. 8, ln. 31 & col. 11, ln. 13-col. 12, ln. 53).
See comments in association with similar limitations in claim 10.
Regarding claim 16, Chaum teaches a payment card (transaction device 108 embodied as a card comprising cryptographic device 103 and terminal device 107, Fig. 1) comprising: a pseudorandom number generator, wherein a dynamic payment card number is provided based, at least in part, on said pseudorandom number generator (col. 7, ln. 52-col. 8, ln. 31 & col. 11, ln. 13-col. 12, ln. 53), wherein said dynamic payment card number is usable by at least one routing element receiving said dynamic payment card number in a payment network to determine of said dynamic payment card number in a payment network (numeric values provided are inherently capable of such use; col. 7, ln. 52-col. 8, ln. 31 & col. 11, ln. 13-col. 15, ln. 68), wherein said dynamic payment card number said dynamic payment card number being representative of only a portion of payment account data (“After generating the random value and encrypting it by use of the system key, the interface circuitry 606 reformats it as necessary and forwards it to the external system 101 via the communications link 624 along with the PAN that the external system had previously assigned to the card owner or his account, as described in process block 208”; col. 7, ln. 52-col. 8, ln. 31 & col. 9, ln. 19-36 & col. 11, ln. 13-col. 15, ln. 68) and while not including one or more static symbols representative of identification information (the transmitted numbers are random; col. 7, ln. 52-col. 8, ln. 31 & col. 11, ln. 13-col. 12, ln. 53).
See comments in association with similar limitations in claim 10.
Regarding claims 10, 12, and 14-16, Chaum discloses the claimed invention as cited above though does not explicitly disclose a battery-powered card.
Keresman discloses: a battery powered card (para [0053]) and said dynamic payment card number representative of payment account data (“each of the buttons 16 is used to select an account and request that the token 10 dispense a random number from its internal memory” & “a code representing the selected Visa.RTM. account to be displayed”; para [0027-0028]) and said dynamic payment card number representative of payment account data (“each of the buttons 16 is used to select an account and request that the token 10 dispense a random number from its internal memory” & “a code representing the selected Visa.RTM. account to be displayed”; para [0027-0028]).
At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to power the card via a battery as taught by Keresman with the device as disclosed by Chaum. The motivation would have been to keep the size of the token substantially similar to a standard credit card and provide a backup to alternative sources of power (para [0053]).
Regarding claims 17, 24-25, and 28, Chaum teaches a wireless signal receiver (optical and radio connections; col. 4, ln. 37-56).
Claims 10, 12, 14, and 30-32 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Walker et al. (US Pat. No. 6,163,771; hereinafter Walker) in view of Keresman.
Regarding claim 10, Walker teaches a powered card (hand-held smart card device, Fig. 1) comprising: a processor (central processor 101, Fig. 1) operable to provide a dynamic payment card number (single use credit card number teaches anticipation by the cited disclosure of the nonce; col. 6, ln. 30-59 & col. 7, ln. 52-59) based, at least in part, on a timing signal provided by a timing device (“a single-use credit card number … [t]he number is unique for the specific input variables set by the cardholder or by the device. It may also be unique to the specific date and time to avoid so-called "replay" attacks”; col. 6, ln. 30-59), wherein said dynamic payment card number is usable by at least one routing element receiving said dynamic payment card number in a payment network to determine of said dynamic payment card number in a payment network (numeric values provided are inherently capable of such use; col. 6, ln. 30-59 & col. 7, ln. 52-59), wherein said dynamic payment card number is said dynamic payment card number being representative of only a portion of payment account data (“a "nonce" 602, is associated with the account number” and used in combination with an a-bit account number and m-bit initialization variable; col. 7, ln. 27-col. 9, ln. 3) and while not including one or more static symbols representative of identification information (encryption scheme uses IV to ensure no duplicated encryption of the nonce, Fig. 8; col. 6, ln. 30-59 & col. 7, ln. 52-59 & col. 9, ln. 4-col. 11, ln. 18); a device operable to provide said dynamic payment card number (“cardholder transmits the single-use number to the merchant (step 361), and the merchant enters the single-use number into an authorization terminal”; col. 6, ln. 30-59) and feedback information (col. 6, ln. 30-59) to an external device (merchant’s authorization terminal; col. 6, ln. 30-59); and a display (display 102, Fig. 1) operable to display said feedback information (“the device responds by querying the cardholder on display 102 whether it should generate a single-use credit card number (step 355)”; col. 6, ln. 14-33) and said dynamic payment card number (col. 6, ln. 30-59).
Walker discloses including the a-bit account number with the IV-encrypted nonce. Walker's IV-encrypted nonce anticipates the claimed "dynamic payment card number" with because the PAN is a static portion of communicated information, while the random number is not static. Walker’s IV-encrypted nonce “is said dynamic payment card number being representative of only a portion of payment account data”, as it is acknowledged that the nonce is decrypted and verified based on the account information (e.g. account name of a-bit account number) and thus the random number is only a portion of account data. Walker’s encrypted, random number “while not including one or more static symbols representative of identification information”, as it is encrypted with a cipher depending on a never-repeating initialization variable for security purposes. Walker’s account identifying information (e.g. a-bit account number or cardholder name) is static information that is likely, though not explicitly, represented by one or more static symbols.
Walker discloses the claimed invention as cited above though does not explicitly disclose: a battery.
Keresman teaches a battery-powered (para [0053]) payment card (token 10, Fig. 1a-b; para [0026-0027]) and said dynamic payment card number representative of payment account data (“each of the buttons 16 is used to select an account and request that the token 10 dispense a random number from its internal memory” & “a code representing the selected Visa.RTM. account to be displayed”; para [0027-0028]).
At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to provide battery power as taught by Keresman with the system as disclosed by Walker. The motivation would have been to power the processor and on-card processes independently of an external power source.
Regarding claim 12, Walker teaches the elements of claim 10 though does not explicitly disclose: a receiver for receiving information from an authorization facility.
Keresman teaches a receiver (communications port 28, Fig. 1b & 2) for receiving information from an authorization facility (para [0033-0034]) and said dynamic payment card number representative of payment account data (“each of the buttons 16 is used to select an account and request that the token 10 dispense a random number from its internal memory” & “a code representing the selected Visa.RTM. account to be displayed”; para [0027-0028]).
See comments in association with similar limitations in claim 10.
At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to provide a receiver as taught by Keresman with the system as disclosed by Walker. The motivation would have been to provide the user with an indication of authorization (para [0033-0034]).
Regarding claim 14, Walker teaches the elements of claim 10 and a counter (“The initialization variable is set at 0 (zero) when the card is newly issued, and is incremented each time a single-use credit card number is generated”; col. 7, ln. 46-59), wherein said counter is incremented at payment card use and said counter is utilized in providing a dynamic payment card number (col. 7, ln. 46-59), (numeric values provided are inherently capable of such use; col. 6, ln. 30-59 & col. 7, ln. 52-59), said dynamic payment card number said dynamic payment card number being representative of only a portion of payment account data (“a "nonce" 602, is associated with the account number”; col. 7, ln. 27-36).
See comments in association with similar limitations in claim 10.
Regarding claims 30-32, Walker teaches said dynamic payment card number comprises at least fifteen digits (col. 6, ln. 30-59 & col. 7, ln. 52-59).
Claims 33-34 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Keresman as applied to claims 15 and 16, and further in view of Walker.
Keresman discloses the claimed invention as cited above though does not explicitly disclose a fifteen digit dynamic card number.
Walker teaches said dynamic payment card number comprises at least fifteen digits (col. 6, ln. 30-59 & col. 7, ln. 52-59).
At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to utilize a fifteen digit number as taught by Walker with the system as disclosed by Keresman. The motivation would have been to conform to conventional credit card systems which utilize 16 digit card numbers. It is inherently true that randomly guessing a 16-digit authorization value is less probable than randomly guessing a 6-digit authorization value, and therefore security is enhanced by increasing the number of dynamic digits in the authorization value.
Claims 33-34 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Chaum in view of Keresman as applied to claims 15 and 16, and further in view of Walker.
Chaum discloses the claimed invention as cited above though does not explicitly disclose a fifteen digit dynamic card number.
Walker teaches said dynamic payment card number comprises at least fifteen digits (col. 6, ln. 30-59 & col. 7, ln. 52-59).
At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to utilize a fifteen digit number as taught by Walker with the system as disclosed by Chaum. The motivation would have been to conform to conventional credit card systems which utilize 16 digit card numbers. It is inherently true that randomly guessing a 16-digit authorization value is less probable than randomly guessing a 6-digit authorization value, and therefore security is enhanced by increasing the number of dynamic digits in the authorization value.
Conclusion
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/CHRISTOPHER STANFORD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872