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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 are pending in this office action.
Applicant’s arguments, filed November 12, 2025, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Soukharev et al. (U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2020/0044818).
Regarding claims 1 and 11, Soukharev et al. teaches a computer processing system comprising: at least one elliptic curve computational unit in a computer processing device operably configured to (fig. 12, ref. num 1200): perform an elliptic curve arithmetic operation with a sequence of field operations (fig. 12, ref. num 1202 and paragraph 0067); receive an elliptic curve numerical input that includes at least one elliptic curve coefficient of an elliptic curve that is operably utilized in the elliptic curve arithmetic operation (paragraph 0060 and 0087); receive an elliptic curve coefficient randomization numerical input for side-channel attack protection that includes a numerical value that is operably configured for use in the elliptic curve arithmetic operation (paragraph 0008 and 0024); compute at least one new and substantially equivalent elliptic curve representation for the at least one elliptic curve coefficient of the elliptic curve by performing at least one field operation with the elliptic curve numerical input and the elliptic curve coefficient randomization numerical input, the elliptic curve coefficient randomization numerical input scaling the elliptic curve numerical input altering how the at least one field operation is performed (paragraph 0008, 0065, and 0087); and utilize the at least one new and substantially equivalent elliptic curve representation before or during the first elliptic curve arithmetic operation in the sequence of field operations, including a revised formula in the sequence of field operations, thereby mitigating against side-channel leakage in performance of the elliptic curve operation (paragraph 0047, 0048, 0085, 0086, and 0091 – in 0048 during operation: converting is an active or during step, in 0091 before operation: whenever an affine point (x,y) on the elliptic curve is converted to any form of projective coordinates representation, then X=x, Y=y, and Z=1. In order to provide randomization, a random Z needs to be selected in every conversion, and the corresponding projective point needs to be determined); and an arithmetic output port that is operably configured to output at least one numerical result from the elliptic curve arithmetic operation that would have an equivalent numerical result using the revised formula, thereby masking computations performed in the computer processing system involving elliptic curve coefficients (paragraph 0086, 0087, and 0123).
Regarding claims 2 and 12, Soukharev et al. teaches wherein: the at least one elliptic curve coefficient represents an elliptic curve of any of the following forms: short Weierstrass curves, Montgomery curves, Edwards curves, twisted Edwards curves, Hessian curves, twisted Hessian curves, doubling-oriented Doche-Icart-Kohel curves, tripling-oriented Doche-Icart-Kohel curves, Jacobi intersections, Jacobi quartics, binary Edwards curves, binary Hessian curves, or binary short Weierstrass curves (paragraph 0060).
Regarding claims 3 and 13, Soukharev et al. teaches wherein: receiving the elliptic curve point numerical input that includes at least one elliptic curve point in the at least one elliptic curve computational unit and utilizing the at least one elliptic curve point in the elliptic curve arithmetic operation (paragraph 0067).
Regarding claims 4 and 14, Soukharev et al. teaches wherein: the at least one elliptic curve point includes an additional projective point value operably utilized in the elliptic curve arithmetic operation (paragraph 0048).
Regarding claims 5 and 15, Soukharev et al. teaches wherein: the at least one elliptic curve point is represented using any of the following coordinates: projective coordinates, Kummer coordinates, inverted coordinates, extended coordinates, Jacobian coordinates, modified Jacobian coordinates, doubling Doche-Icart-Kohel coordinates, tripling Doche-Icart-Kohel coordinates, extended Hessian coordinates, projective Jacobi quartics coordinates, extended Jacobi quartics coordinates, projective Jacobi intersection coordinates, or extended Jacobi intersection coordinates (paragraph 0060).
Regarding claims 6 and 16, Soukharev et al. teaches wherein: the at least one elliptic curve computational unit is operably configured to receive an additional input that includes a scalar or numerical value that is operably utilized in the elliptic curve arithmetic operation (paragraph 0082).
Regarding claims 7 and 17, Soukharev et al. teaches wherein: the elliptic curve computational unit is operably configured to perform at least one of the following elliptic curve arithmetic operations: point addition, point inversion, point subtraction, point doubling, point halving, scalar point multiplication, point counting, cardinality computations, finding generator points, finding a random point, calculating point order, checking supersingularity, Frobenius endomorphisms, j-invariant computation, elliptic curve isomorphism, elliptic curve isogeny, elliptic curve pairing, or elliptic curve hashing (paragraph 0083).
Regarding claims 8 and 18, Soukharev et al. teaches further comprising: a random number generator operably configured to generate the elliptic curve coefficient randomization numerical input (paragraph 0050).
Regarding claims 9 and 19, Soukharev et al. teaches wherein: the at least one numerical result from the elliptic curve arithmetic operation and from the arithmetic output port is operably configured for use in an elliptic curve cryptosystem, a pairing-based cryptosystem, or an isogeny-based cryptosystem (paragraph 0008).
Regarding claims 10 and 20, Soukharev et al. teaches further comprising: the at least one elliptic curve computational unit is operably configured to compute the least one new and substantially equivalent elliptic curve representation by performing at least one field multiplication with the curve coefficient randomization numerical input (paragraph 0080).
Conclusion
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.
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/BRANDON HOFFMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2433