DETAILED ACTION
This is a final office action on the merits. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (the Office) has received claims 1 – 20 in application 17/722,627.
Claims 2, 9, and 16 are canceled.
1, 3, 7, 8, 10, 14, 15, 17 are amended.
Claims 1, 3-8, 10-15, and 17-20 are pending and have been examined on the merits.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after 16 March 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
35 USC 103 Rejection
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 3-8, 10-15, 17-20 filed 12/17/2025 have been considered but are not persuasive. The rejection does not rely on isolated features. Lohe teaches the core blockchain voting mechanism in which a user’s vote is submitted and stored on the blockchain as a transaction while Wright teaches managing and renewing software service entitlements so that the service remains available for an additional period of time. The combination considers the claim as a whole because the resulting system uses the same blockchain voting framework to record votes, evaluate the voting result, and support a renewal decision for a software service. Please see the updated rejection below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
The factual inquires set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1066), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. § 103 are summarized as follows:
Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 3-8, 10-15, 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Lohe (US20170046689), in view of Wright (EP3257191B1).
Regarding claims 1, 8, and 15. Lohe teaches (in BOLD):
receive, from a client device of a plurality of client devices, a cryptocurrency transaction of a plurality of cryptocurrency transactions, each cryptocurrency transaction of the plurality of cryptocurrency transactions comprising a vote for extending a lifetime of a software service such that the software service is not discontinued;
Lohe - the user may provide login credentials to log into the SOCOACT account…the user may satisfy a smart contract by transferring a crypto token…to a special SOCOACT vote address (¶ 0393). A vote message…may be generated…and submitted to the block chain…as a blockchain transaction with the user's vote…storing the user's vote on the blockchain (¶ 0400).
publish the plurality of cryptocurrency transactions to a digital ledger;
Lohe - commits the transaction to the blockchain (¶ 0213). A vote message…may be generated at 5125 and submitted to the block chain…as a blockchain transaction with the user's vote (¶ 0400).
after publishing the plurality of cryptocurrency transactions to the digital ledger, determine that a number of the plurality of cryptocurrency transactions exceeds a predetermined threshold; and
Lohe - the user may provide login credentials to log into the SOCOACT account…the user may satisfy a smart contract by transferring a crypto token…to a special SOCOACT vote address (¶ 0393). A vote message…may be generated…and submitted to the block chain…as a blockchain transaction with the user's vote…storing the user's vote on the blockchain…tallying and/or auditing results of the poll (¶ 0400). more than 40% of the vote (¶ 0406).
in response to determining that the number of the plurality of cryptocurrency transactions exceeds the predetermined threshold, execute one or more smart contracts to:
Lohe - a smart contract with the user's vote outcome to be determined based on oracle data) (¶ 0400). tallying and/or auditing results of the poll (¶ 0400). more than 40% of the vote (¶ 0406).
retain, the plurality of cryptocurrency transactions for use in extending the lifetime of the software service by transferring ownership of the plurality of cryptocurrency transactions from the plurality of client devices to a digital wallet associated with the software service; and
Lohe - the Blockchain component 5843 of the SOCOACT 5801 commits the transaction to the blockchain (¶ 0213). storing the user's vote on the blockchain may provide a permanent record of each user's vote and/or may facilitate tallying and/or auditing results of the poll (¶ 0400). a smart contract fulfillment (SCF) component for the SOCOACT. In FIG. 42, a smart contract fulfillment request may be obtained at 4201. For example, the smart contract fulfillment request may be obtained to determine whether a smart contract should be unlocked (¶ 0351). the user may satisfy a smart contract by transferring a crypto token (e.g., provided by the SOCOACT) from a crypto address known to belong to the user (e.g., based on the user's public key) to a special SOCOACT vote address (¶ 0393).
Lohe does not teach, however Wright discloses (in BOLD):
receive, from a client device of a plurality of client devices, a cryptocurrency transaction of a plurality of cryptocurrency transactions, each cryptocurrency transaction of the plurality of cryptocurrency transactions comprising a vote for extending a lifetime of a software service such that the software service is not discontinued;;
Wright - a consumer pays a merchant for access to a service for a period of time (¶ 0042). automatically extend for a further twelve months if they are not cancelled (¶ 0070).
retain, the plurality of cryptocurrency transactions for use in extending the lifetime of the software service by transferring ownership of the plurality of cryptocurrency transactions from the plurality of client devices to a digital wallet associated with the software service; and
Wright - a consumer pays a merchant for access to a service for a period of time (¶ 0042). automatically extend for a further twelve months if they are not cancelled (¶ 0070).
for each cryptocurrency transaction of the plurality of cryptocurrency transactions, automatically deposit, for a corresponding client device of the plurality of client devices, the cryptocurrency transaction toward a renewal fee for the software service.
Wright - a consumer pays a merchant for access to a service for a period of time… an automated process used to sweep the value at the end of the period to the merchant's account (¶ 0042). automatically extend for a further twelve months if they are not cancelled (¶ 0070).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the crypto voting of Lohe and the consensus time parameter and the contract management including the renewal of Wright because doing so provides funding for the extending the life of a service when conditions are met and funds it automatically.
Regarding claims 3, 10, and 17. The combination of Lohe and Wright teaches all of the claim limitations of the system of claim 1, method of claim 8, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15. The combination further teaches wherein the memory further comprises instructions that are executable by the processor for causing the processor to: determine that the number of the plurality of cryptocurrency transactions does not exceed the predetermined threshold; and
Lohe - anti-ping detection, detection of excess threshold account balance in an account data structure datastore, detection of excess threshold of aggregated blockchain oracle data value, detection of excess threshold number of transactions, detection of specified micro transaction amount, excess bounds of a smart contract generator GUI generated crypto smart rule, failure to login to 4th party website (¶ 0502).
in response to determining that the number of the plurality of cryptocurrency transactions does not exceed the predetermined threshold, execute one or more smart contracts in the digital ledger to return the plurality of cryptocurrency transactions to the plurality of client devices.
Lohe - The trade order is received and verified by the servers 104 (step 2022), after which the servers 104 execute the trade order, for example, by placing a corresponding buy/sell order on a market exchange (step 2024). Upon successful execution of the trade order, the trade execution servers 104 transmit a trade confirmation message to the SOCOACT (step 2026). Once the confirmation message is received (step 2028), the Blockchain component 5843 of the SOCOACT 5801 commits the transaction to the blockchain (see, e.g., the process of FIG. 6) (step 2030). The trade order confirmation is then forwarded to the client terminal 106 (step 2032), where it is displayed to the client 106 a on a display device thereof (step 2034). This instance of the process may then terminate (0213).
Regarding claims 4, 8, and 15. The combination of Lohe and Wright teaches all of the claim limitations of the system of claim 1, the method of claim 8, the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15. The combination further teaches wherein the memory further comprises instructions that are executable by the processor for causing the processor to: in response to receiving the cryptocurrency transaction from the client device, transmit a cryptographic token to the client device, the cryptographic token representing a value of the cryptocurrency transaction.
Lohe - FIG. 37 shows an exemplary model for the SOCOACT. In FIG. 37, a central constancy data structure store (CCDSS) issues crypto tokens that may be usable with a permissioned ledger (e.g., on the permissioned block chain). In various embodiments, crypto tokens may be issued for a variety of assets such as currency (e.g., US Dollars (USD)), securities (e.g., treasuries, equities, bonds, derivatives), real world items (e.g., a car), and/or the like. Participants (e.g., Participant A and Participant B) may convert assets into crypto tokens by issuing instructions to their respective custodians at 3701 (¶ 0326).
Regarding claims 5, 12, and 19. The combination of Lohe and Wright teaches all of the claim limitations of the system of claim 4, the method of claim 11, the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18. The combination further teaches wherein the memory further comprises instructions that are executable by the processor for causing the processor to: in response to determining that the number of the plurality of cryptocurrency transactions exceeds the predetermined threshold, alert the plurality of client devices of an extension of the lifetime of the software service;
Lohe - the listing may provided at a physical or virtual location other than through the SOCOACT. The buyer, at any later point, checks the listing and indicates her interest in the item (step 810). The SOCOACT updates the listing and notifies the seller (step 814). The seller sees the interest and suggests a meeting location to the buyer via the SOCOACT (step 816). The buyer agrees and notifies the seller via the SOCOACT (step 812) (¶ 0172).
receive, from a client device of the plurality of client devices, a request to redeem a portion of the renewal fee of the software service using the cryptographic token, the portion corresponding to the value of the cryptocurrency transaction; and
Lohe - All or a meaningful portion of the biometric data may be used in the public key assigned to the person. Other similar implementations are readily contemplated (¶ 0185).
waive the portion of the renewal fee for the client device.
Lohe - Because each output from one transaction can only ever be referenced once by an input of a subsequent transaction, the entire combined input value needs to be sent in an output to prevent its loss. If the input is worth 50 coins but one only wants to send 25 coins, SOCOACT will create two outputs worth 25 coins, sending one to the destination and one back to the source. Any input not redeemed in an output is considered a transaction fee, and whoever operates the SOCOACT will get the transaction fee, if any (¶ 0159).
Regarding claims 6, 13, and 20. The combination of Lohe and Wright teaches all of the claim limitations of the system of claim 1, the method of claim 8, the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15. The combination further teaches wherein the memory further comprises instructions that are executable by the processor for causing the processor to: receive, from a client device of the plurality of client devices, a request to cancel a renewal of the software service;
Lohe - The Crypto Voting and Social Aggregating, Fractionally Efficient Transfer Guidance, Conditional Triggered Transaction, Datastructures, Apparatuses, Methods and Systems (“SOCOACT”) transforms vote request, vote input inputs via SOCOACT components into vote UI, vote confirmation outputs. A crypto vote request associated with a poll may be obtained from a user. Voter authentication may be obtained and used to determine that the user is authorized to vote. An authentication token and a crypto vote user interface may be generated and provided to the user. A crypto vote input that specifies a conditional vote that includes a set of vote conditions may be obtained from the user. Each vote condition is associated with a vote outcome and an aggregated blockchain oracle. The conditional vote may be instantiated in a socially aggregated blockchain datastructure. A determination that a vote condition has been satisfied may be made and the associated vote outcome may be determined (Abstract).
retain the cryptocurrency transaction of the plurality of cryptocurrency transactions associated with the client device; and
Lohe - The Crypto Voting and Social Aggregating, Fractionally Efficient Transfer Guidance, Conditional Triggered Transaction, Datastructures, Apparatuses, Methods and Systems (“SOCOACT”) transforms vote request, vote input inputs via SOCOACT components into vote UI, vote confirmation outputs. A crypto vote request associated with a poll may be obtained from a user. Voter authentication may be obtained and used to determine that the user is authorized to vote. An authentication token and a crypto vote user interface may be generated and provided to the user. A crypto vote input that specifies a conditional vote that includes a set of vote conditions may be obtained from the user. Each vote condition is associated with a vote outcome and an aggregated blockchain oracle. The conditional vote may be instantiated in a socially aggregated blockchain datastructure. A determination that a vote condition has been satisfied may be made and the associated vote outcome may be determined (Abstract).
cancel the renewal of the software service for the client device.
Lohe - The Crypto Voting and Social Aggregating, Fractionally Efficient Transfer Guidance, Conditional Triggered Transaction, Datastructures, Apparatuses, Methods and Systems (“SOCOACT”) transforms vote request, vote input inputs via SOCOACT components into vote UI, vote confirmation outputs. A crypto vote request associated with a poll may be obtained from a user. Voter authentication may be obtained and used to determine that the user is authorized to vote. An authentication token and a crypto vote user interface may be generated and provided to the user. A crypto vote input that specifies a conditional vote that includes a set of vote conditions may be obtained from the user. Each vote condition is associated with a vote outcome and an aggregated blockchain oracle. The conditional vote may be instantiated in a socially aggregated blockchain datastructure. A determination that a vote condition has been satisfied may be made and the associated vote outcome may be determined (Abstract).
Regarding claims 7 and 14. The combination of Lohe and Wright teaches all of the claim limitations of the system of claim 1 and method of claim 8. The combination further teaches wherein each cryptocurrency transaction of the plurality of cryptocurrency transactions comprises
an upgrade vote regarding a potential upgrade for the software service, and wherein the memory further comprises instructions executable by the processor for causing the processor to:
Lohe - Another useful datastructure for accomplishing transactions as described herein can be represented by the following exemplary table of field names, field types, field sizes and field data (the corresponding XML datastructure of which is similar to those examples provided in the foregoing) (¶ 0205).
in response to determining that the number of the plurality of cryptocurrency transactions exceeds the predetermined threshold,
Lohe - The method of embodiment 54, wherein the instantiated aggregated crypto 2-party transaction trigger entry unlock event is any of: anti-ping detection, detection of excess threshold account balance in an account data structure datastore, detection of excess threshold of aggregated blockchain oracle data value, detection of excess threshold number of transactions, detection of specified micro transaction amount, excess bounds of a smart contract generator GUI generated crypto smart rule, failure to login to 4th party website (¶ 0502).
execute the one or more smart contracts in the digital ledger to retain the plurality of cryptocurrency transactions for use in delaying the potential upgrade for the software service.
Lohe - In another embodiment, SOCOACT includes a crowdsource (e.g., weather from smartphones) to inform a blockchain oracle to act as trigger for actions, with a list of options to, e.g., settle smart contracts like: restrict bitcoin wallet access, release extra key, buy stock, vote, etc. For example, if lots of sales of corn, buy counter stock/hedge. Or, for example, if lots of corn producers weather reports drought, buy corn futures (¶ 0108).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Vosseller et al. (US20230062776) - Techniques are described, as implemented by computing devices, to control access to digital content through use of nonfungible tokens (NFTs). This is performed by leveraging a blockchain such that digital content associated with an item is made available to supplement use of the item (e.g., to supplement use of a physical item, digital content, and so forth) or make other functionality available based on a user's possession of the item.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTINA C STEVENSON whose telephone number is (571)270-7280. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Patrick Mcatee can be reached on 571-272-7575. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/C.C.S./Examiner, Art Unit 3698
/PATRICK MCATEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3698
Prosecution Insights