DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
Claims 1, 5, and 12 have been amended.
Claims 1-20 are currently pending and have been considered by the examiner.
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 .
Response to Arguments
Prior Art Rejection:
Applicant asserts that the prior art of record fails to explicitly disclose the newly amended claims. The examiner respectfully disagrees based upon the rationale provided in the following prior art rejection.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5-8, 10-13, 15-18 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moy et al. (US 20190026730 A1) in view of Fang et al. (US 20200184473 A1) in further view of Beechan et al. (US 20190288850 A1) and Rose (US 20210389854 A1).
Regarding Claims 1 and 12, Moy discloses:
A method directed to tracking digital wallet transactions comprising: generating an anchor token, wherein the anchor token is a particular token that is inextricably tied to an owner of at least one of a plurality of digital wallets (See Moy: Para. [0047] – “In step 220, one or more token(s) may be created. In one embodiment, one or more tokens may be created for each party to represent the party's part of the transaction … For example, a third smart contract may create debt token(s) for the debt issuer and may send the debt token(s) to the debt issuer's wallet (e.g., a wallet maintained and/or tracked using the distributed ledger wallet). A fourth smart contract may create cash tokens for the investor when the investment amount is withdrawn, escrowed, or encumbered from the investor's bank account. The cash tokens may be moved to the investor's distributed ledger wallet.”), and
comprises a unique identifier specific to an owner of a plurality of digital wallets (See Moy: Para. [0047] – “In step 220, one or more token(s) may be created. In one embodiment, one or more tokens may be created for each party to represent the party's part of the transaction”);
deriving, based on the unique identifier, a reference, wherein the references comprises an association between the anchor token and at least one of the plurality of digital wallets (See Moy: Para. [0012] – “writing the at least one cash token to a wallet for the investor that is tracked on a distributed ledger” – May discloses that the token is tracked on the distributed ledger and written to a wallet. It is clear to one of ordinary skill in the art that such tracking and writing must be performed via some form of identifying reference/identifier); and
However, Moy fails to explicitly disclose:
encrypting the reference to produce a ciphertext;
wherein the ciphertext is: an encryption generated using a public key associated with a designated entity; and
used to access, through the reference, records tracking transactions performed by the plurality of digital wallets
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Fang discloses:
encrypting the reference to produce a ciphertext (See Fang: Para. [0043] – “Participant A can use Participant B's public key to encrypt data, and send the encrypted data to Participant B. Participant B can use its private key to decrypt the encrypted data (ciphertext) and extract the original data (plaintext”);
wherein the ciphertext is an encryption generated using a public key associated with a designated entity (See Fang: Para. [0043] – “Participant A can use Participant B's public key to encrypt data, and send the encrypted data to Participant B. Participant B can use its private key to decrypt the encrypted data (ciphertext) and extract the original data (plaintext”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the method of tracking a digital wallet via token identification disclosed by Moy by obfuscating information associated with said token using asymmetric encryption as disclosed by Fang yielding the predictable result of an increase in the security strength of the invention.
However, the combination of Moy and Fang fails to explicitly disclose:
Wherein the ciphertext is used to access, through the reference, records tracking transactions performed by the plurality of digital wallets
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Beecham discloses:
Using a ciphertext to access through reference, one or more transaction records (See Beecham: Para. [0310] – “in response to the first read request, accessing the ciphertext based on the entry in the index that maps the first identifier to the ciphertext in the first datastore, decrypting the ciphertext to access the record, and providing the record to the first reading client application; finishing storing the record in the one or more blockchains and, in response, updating the index to map the first identifier to a location of at least part of the record in the one or more blockchains and deleting a cryptographic key of the ciphertext or the ciphertext; before storing all of the record in the one or more blockchains”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to substitute the ciphertext disclosed by the combination of Moy and Fang for the ciphertext capable of accessing transaction records via reference as disclosed by Beecham yielding the predictable result of an increase in the security strength of the invention by ensuring that only users who can decrypt the ciphertext can access transaction records.
The combination of Moy, Fang, and Beecham fails to explicitly disclose:
a set of access information used to access contents for each of the plurality of digital wallets
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Rose discloses:
a set of access information used to access contents for each of the plurality of digital wallets (See Rose: Para. [0129] – “In some examples, credentials and/or authentication or access information may include one or more of any of API keys, wallet credentials, access tokens, passwords or passphrases, wallet identifiers, account identifiers, or other identifying information, etc.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the token of the combination of Moy, Fang, and Beecham to include the access information of the access token disclosed by Rose yielding the predictable result of an increase in the insecurity strength of the invention by limiting what wallets a token can be used to access.
Regarding Claims 2 and 13, the combination discloses:
wherein the unique identifier is selected from the group consisting of a name, a pseudonym, date of birth, a blockchain address, a social security number, a set of contact information, a jurisdiction associated with the owner, and a usage profile associated with the owner of the plurality of digital wallets (See Moy: Para. [0035] – “In one embodiment, financial institution 120 may issue and/or receive cash tokens from network 110. In one embodiment, a cash token may be a legal representation of cash enabled by participating deposit-holding banks. The cash tokens may be represented and/or created by smart contracts which may enable a delivery versus payment, or DVP. In one embodiment, the tokens may be split (e.g., using a Unspent Transaction Output, or UTXO model).” – Moy discloses that the cash token contain data functionally equivalent to the BRI of the claimed “usage profile”).
Regarding Claim 3, the combination discloses:
wherein the reference comprises at least one of: an indicator pointing to a database entry identifying the owner of the plurality of digital wallets; and an identifier token disclosing personal information about the owner (See Moy: Para. [0035] – “In one embodiment, financial institution 120 may issue and/or receive cash tokens from network 110. In one embodiment, a cash token may be a legal representation of cash enabled by participating deposit-holding banks. The cash tokens may be represented and/or created by smart contracts which may enable a delivery versus payment, or DVP. In one embodiment, the tokens may be split (e.g., using a Unspent Transaction Output, or UTXO model).”).
Regarding Claim 5, the combination disclsoes:
a pairing comprising the public key of the plurality of digital wallets and a copy of the reference are stored in a public database (See Fang: para. [0043] – “Asymmetric encryption uses keys pairs that each include a private key, and a public key, the private key being known only to a respective node, and the public key being known to any or all other nodes in the blockchain network. A node can use the public key of another node to encrypt data, and the encrypted data can be decrypted using other node's private key. For example, and referring again to FIG. 2, Participant A can use Participant B's public key to encrypt data, and send the encrypted data to Participant B. Participant B can use its private key to decrypt the encrypted data (ciphertext) and extract the original data (plaintext). Messages encrypted with a node's public key can only be decrypted using the node's private key.”, See Beecham: para. [0116] – “It should be emphasized that a data structure need not be labeled as a graph or as having nodes or edges in program code to constitute a graph, as long as the data structure includes linking between data elements present in a graph. In some cases, graphs may be encoded as a list of links between data elements, for example, in a key-value pair, or in a hierarchical data structure, such as in a hierarchical data serialization format, like JOSN or XML. Graphs may also be encoded as relationships in a relational database. Further, multiple data structures, such as different graphs, may be overlaid on one another, for example in the manner described below, while still preserving the existence of the distinct graphs.”).
Regarding Claims 6 and 16, the combination discloses:
wherein the reference is encrypted using ElGamal-based encryption (See Fang: Para. [0043] – “Participant A can use Participant B's public key to encrypt data, and send the encrypted data to Participant B. Participant B can use its private key to decrypt the encrypted data (ciphertext) and extract the original data (plaintext”))
Regarding Claims 7 and 17, the combination discloses:
wherein usage profiles enable sharing a set of use information among the plurality of digital wallets, wherein the set of use information includes least one of a set of preferences, a usage history, a purchase history or a set of individual references to contents of the plurality of digital wallets (See Moy: Para. [0035] – “In one embodiment, financial institution 120 may issue and/or receive cash tokens from network 110. In one embodiment, a cash token may be a legal representation of cash enabled by participating deposit-holding banks. The cash tokens may be represented and/or created by smart contracts which may enable a delivery versus payment, or DVP. In one embodiment, the tokens may be split (e.g., using a Unspent Transaction Output, or UTXO model).”).
Regarding Claims 8 and 18, the combination discloses:
wherein the ciphertext is decrypted, to access the reference; and the private key corresponds to the public key associated with the designated entity (See Fang: Para. [0043] – “Participant B can use its private key to decrypt the encrypted data (ciphertext) and extract the original data (plaintext)”).
Regarding Claims 10 and 20, the combination discloses:
a privacy policy associated with the anchor token is determined by the owner of the plurality of digital wallets; and the privacy policy governs use of the ciphertext by third party entities. (See Fang: Para. [0042] – “In some blockchain networks, cryptography is implemented to maintain privacy of transactions. For example, if two nodes want to keep a transaction private, such that other nodes in the blockchain network cannot discern details of the transaction, the nodes can encrypt the transaction data. An example of cryptography includes, without limitation, symmetric encryption, and asymmetric encryption. Symmetric encryption refers to an encryption process that uses a single key for both encryption (generating ciphertext from plaintext), and decryption (generating plaintext from ciphertext). In symmetric encryption, the same key is available to multiple nodes, so each node can en-/de-crypt transaction data” – The owner of the digital wallet uses a broad privacy policy extending to only other nodes on the blockchain).
Regarding Claim 11, the combination discloses:
wherein a pairing comprising the public key of the plurality of digital wallets and a copy of the reference are stored in a public database. (See Fang: Para. [0043] – “Asymmetric encryption uses keys pairs that each include a private key, and a public key, the private key being known only to a respective node, and the public key being known to any or all other nodes in the blockchain network”).
Regarding Claim 15, the combination discloses:
wherein a pairing comprising the public key of the plurality of digital wallets and a copy of the reference are stored in a public database. (See Moy: Para. [0047] – “A fourth smart contract may create cash tokens for the investor when the investment amount is withdrawn, escrowed, or encumbered from the investor's bank account. The cash tokens may be moved to the investor's distributed ledger wallet.” – Moy discloses a cash token which can broadly correspond to both a investor’s wallet as well as a seller’s wallet).
Claim(s) 4 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moy, in view of Fang, in further view of Rose and Ravinathan (US 20210406904 A1).
Regarding Claims 4 and 14, the combination of Moy, Fang, and Rose discloses the method of claim 1 but fails to explicitly disclose:
wherein the anchor token further comprises a set of wallet information for unlocking the plurality of digital wallet and the set of wallet information is selected from the group consisting of a biometric template of the owner of at least one digital wallet and a salted-and-hashed password.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Ravinathan discloses:
wherein the anchor token further comprises a set of wallet information for unlocking the plurality of digital wallets and the set of wallet information is selected from the group consisting of a biometric template of the owner of at least one digital wallet and a salted-and-hashed password (See Ravinathan: Para. [0107] – “At 310, the identified device 132 receives the push notification, thereby triggering a biometric authentication process, for example within a digital wallet application or authenticator application executing on the mobile device 132.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the reference disclosed by the combination of Moy, Fang, and Rose to additionally contain biometric authentication information as disclosed by Ravinathan yielding the predictable result of an increase in the security strength of the invention by leveraging the well known benefits of biometric authentication.
Claim(s) 9 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moy, in view of Fang, in further view of Rose and NChain (WO 2019193452 A1).
Regarding Claims 9 and 19, the combination of Moy, Fang, and Rose discloses the method of claim 1 but fails to explicitly disclose:
wherein a private key corresponding to the public key associated with the designated entity is distributivity held through a polynomial threshold sharing structure; and the polynomial threshold sharing structure comprises multiple members of the designated entity.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Nchain discloses:
wherein a private key corresponding to the public key associated with the designated entity is distributivity held through a polynomial threshold sharing structure; and the polynomial threshold sharing structure comprises multiple members of the designated entity.
(See Nchain: pg. 23, lines 16-21 – “The present invention enables a secure wallet service system employed by Bitcoin exchanges, which employ the '2 of 3' multi-signature technology, to be effectively replaced (and improved) by a scheme based on threshold signatures employing polynomial secret sharing.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the public and private key disclosed by the combination of Moy, Fang, and Rose to be distributively held using a polynomial threshold sharing method as disclosed by Nchain yielding the predictable result of an increase in the security strength of the invention by increasing the security status of the public and private key respectively.
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.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Dua (US 20150100488 A1) generally discloses a novel system for using a wireless device with an NFC module containing a digital wallet and performing transactions
Kalgi (US 20150019944 A1) generally discloses a hybrid application using distributed models to perform digital wallet based transactions
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS K PHAN whose telephone number is (571)272-6748. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 1 pm-9 pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Neha Patel can be reached on 571-270-1492. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NICHOLAS K PHAN/Examiner, Art Unit 3699
/DUAN ZHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3699