DETAILED ACTION
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 .
This Office Action is in response to Applicant’s amendment and request for continued examination filed 12/10/2025. Claims 1-20 are currently pending in this application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claims 1-2, 4-7, 9, 11-12, and 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goldman-Shenhar et al. (U.S. 2017/0248436 A1, hereinafter Goldman) in view of Kushtagi et al. (U.S. 2014/0038577 A1).
Claim 1, Goldman teaches:
A method (Goldman, Fig. 1) comprising:
during a state of a device, and upon detecting predetermined events, enabling a radio frequency monitoring tag located in the device to collect, via radio frequency reception, information indicative of geographical locations corresponding respectively to the predetermined events (Goldman, Paragraph [0034], When the tag, e.g. tag 21, establishes communication with module 130, i.e. upon detecting a predetermined event, the tag 21 may receive its own location data, e.g. by communication with one or more additional tags nearby, which is information indicative of a geographical location of the tag. The connection of the tag 21 to the device, as well as the connection of the device with the server 160 are examples of predetermined events. The tag communicates via one or more of a plurality of wireless protocols, i.e. via radio frequency reception (see Goldman, Paragraph [0024]). The tag is attached to an object (see Goldman, Paragraph [0023]), which may be located inside of a mobile platform 101, wherein the mobile platform 101 includes one of a plurality of structures that are configured to move through its environment (see Goldman, Paragraph [0021]), wherein the mobile platform is interpretable as a device. Additionally, as the device, with associated/attached tag, moves from one location to another, the location is transmitted to server 160, wherein the movement from one location to another is another example of predetermined events.);
storing the information indicative of the geographical locations in memory of the radio frequency monitoring tag (Goldman, Paragraph [0034], It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the known location of the tag to be stored in the tag memory (see Goldman, Fig. 10: 1002, Paragraph [0042]).);
upon powering up of the device and upon the device connecting with a remote server to activate the device, sending by the device, to the remote server, the information indicative of the geographical locations (Goldman, Paragraph [0034], The tag may transmit its location data to the module 130. The server 160 thus registers the tag data once the connection between the tag and the module 130 is made. As can be seen in Fig. 1, i.e. element 135, the module 130 directly communicates with network 150 to server 160. The limitation “to activate the device” is interpreted as the device connecting with the remote server in an attempt to activate the device. As disclosed in Paragraph [0046] of the Applicant’s specification, when the geo-tracking server 280 determines that there are no more anomalies with the record of events 800, the geo-tracking server 280 sends a command to fully activate device 110. Therefore, the device itself does not activate upon powering up and connecting with the remote server, but instead activates when the server determines that the device may be activated.).
Goldman does not explicitly teach:
A powered off state of a device,
the monitoring tag affixed to the device, and
upon powering up of the device and upon the device connecting with a remote server, sending by the device, to a remote server, the information indicative of the geographical locations of the radio frequency monitoring tag; and
receiving a command to deactivate the device in response to at least an aspect of the information indicative of the geographical locations.
As per the limitation of a powered off state and upon powering up of the device, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the mobile platform, i.e. the device, to be in a powered on or a powered off state during the operation of the tag, the module, and the server. Such a condition of the mobile platform would not change the principal operation of the system, as a whole, because the tag, the module, and the server operate independently of the mobile platform.
As per the limitation of the monitoring tag affixed to the device, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the object with the attached tag to be affixed to the mobile platform 101, i.e. such that the tag I also affixed to the mobile platform 101. For example, if the mobile platform 101 is a vehicle, and the object is a computing device, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the computing device to be mountable to the vehicle. Such a modification would not change the principal operation of the system, as a whole, and would yield predictable results. See MPEP 2144.04.
Kushtagi teaches:
Receiving a command to deactivate the device in response to at least an aspect of the information indicative of the geographical locations (Kushtagi, Paragraph [0029], In step 302, a remote server pushes a policy to an electronic device based on the geographical location of the electronic device, wherein the policy includes the step of disabling functions based on the policy in step 304. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the policy to include all functions of the device depending on the preferences of the policy maker (see Kushtagi, Paragraphs [0008] and [0026-0028]).).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the system in Goldman by integrating the teaching of an electronic device prohibiting system as taught by Kushtagi.
The motivation would be to prevent illegal usage of electronic devices in certain geographical locations (see Kushtagi, Paragraph [0001]).
Claim 2, Goldman in view of Kushtagi further teaches:
The method of claim 1, further comprising, upon powering up of the device, transferring the information indicative of the geographical locations from the memory of the radio frequency monitoring tag to memory of the device (Goldman, Paragraph [0034], When the tag transmits the location data to the module 130, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the location data to be transmitted from the memory component 1002 of the tag (see Goldman, Paragraph [0042]) to the memory component 503 of the module (see Goldman, Paragraph [0041]).).
Claim 4, Goldman in view of Kushtagi further teaches:
The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined events include at least one of opening or closing a chassis of the device, inserting into or removing a component from the device, detecting a change in temperature, detecting a change in movement, detecting a change in air pressure, or detecting that the device has been powered on (Goldman, Paragraph [0026], Communication with the module 130 is established when the tags are in range of the module 130. This includes instances when the object with which the tag is attached to enters the module 130, i.e. inserted into the device.).
Claim 5, Goldman in view of Kushtagi further teaches:
The method of claim 1, wherein the information indicative of the geographical locations is received as a cellular long-term evolution (LTE) System Information Block 1 (SIB 1) broadcast (Goldman, Paragraph [0024], The tags utilize any wireless protocol now known or later developed. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to try an LTE SIB, e.g. SIB 1, as a protocol for communication, because the system in Goldman specifically uses wireless communication over a cellular network (see Goldman, Paragraph [0022]). Such a modification would not change the principal operation of the system, as a whole, and would thus yield predictable results.).
Claim 6, Goldman in view of Kushtagi further teaches:
The method of claim 1, wherein the information indicative of the geographical locations is received as a cellular long-term evolution (LTE) System Information Block 16 (SIB 16) broadcast (Goldman, Paragraph [0024], The tags utilize any wireless protocol now known or later developed. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to try an LTE SIB, e.g. SIB 16, as a protocol for communication, because the system in Goldman specifically uses wireless communication over a cellular network (see Goldman, Paragraph [0022]). Such a modification would not change the principal operation of the system, as a whole, and would thus yield predictable results.).
Claim 7, Goldman in view of Kushtagi further teaches:
The method of claim 1, wherein the information indicative of the geographical locations is received as an Automatic Dependent Surveillance- Broadcast (ADS-B) beacon broadcast (Goldman, Paragraph [0024], The tags utilize any wireless protocol now known or later developed. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to try an ADS-B, as a protocol for communication, because the system in Goldman specifically uses wireless communication over a network (see Goldman, Paragraph [0022]). Such a modification would not change the principal operation of the system, as a whole, and would thus yield predictable results.).
Claim 9, Goldman in view of Kushtagi further teaches:
The method of claim 1, wherein the information indicative of the geographical locations comprises a Mobile Country Code (MCC) and a Mobile Network Code (MNC) (Goldman, Paragraph [0024], The tags utilize any wireless protocol now known or later developed. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to try an LTE SIB, e.g. SIB 1, as a protocol for communication, because the system in Goldman specifically uses wireless communication over a cellular network (see Goldman, Paragraph [0022]). Such a modification would not change the principal operation of the system, as a whole, and would thus yield predictable results. As disclosed in the Applicant’s specification, the SIB 1 includes a PLMN that identifies the Mobile Country Code (MCC) and the Mobile Network Code (MNC).).
Claim 11, Goldman teaches:
A device (Goldman, Fig. 1: 101) comprising:
an interface configured to enable network communications (Goldman, Fig. 1: 130, 135, Fig. 5: 505);
a memory (Goldman, Fig. 1: 130, Fig. 5: 503); and
one or more processors coupled to the interface and the memory (Goldman, Fig. 5: 502), and configured to:
during a state of the device, and upon detecting predetermined events, enable a radio frequency monitoring tag located in the device to collect, via radio frequency reception, information indicative of geographical locations corresponding respectively to the predetermined events (Goldman, Paragraph [0034], When the tag, e.g. tag 21, establishes communication with module 130, i.e. upon detecting a predetermined event, the tag 21 may receive its own location data, e.g. by communication with one or more additional tags nearby, which is information indicative of a geographical location of the tag. The connection of the tag 21 to the device, as well as the connection of the device with the server 160 are examples of predetermined events. The tag communicates via one or more of a plurality of wireless protocols, i.e. via radio frequency reception (see Goldman, Paragraph [0024]). The tag is attached to an object (see Goldman, Paragraph [0023]), which may be located inside of a mobile platform 101, wherein the mobile platform 101 includes one of a plurality of structures that are configured to move through its environment (see Goldman, Paragraph [0021]), wherein the mobile platform is interpretable as a device. Additionally, as the device, with associated/attached tag, moves from one location to another, the location is transmitted to server 160, wherein the movement from one location to another is another example of predetermined events.);
store the information indicative of the geographical locations in a memory of the radio frequency monitoring tag (Goldman, Paragraph [0034], It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the known location of the tag to be stored in the tag memory (see Goldman, Fig. 10: 1002, Paragraph [0042]).);
send by the device, to the remote server, the information indicative of the geographical locations (Goldman, Paragraph [0034], The tag may transmit its location data to the module 130. The server 160 thus registers the tag data once the connection between the tag and the module 130 is made. As can be seen in Fig. 1, i.e. element 135, the module 130 directly communicates with network 150 to server 160.).
Goldman does not explicitly teach:
A powered off state of a device,
the monitoring tag affixed to the device, and
upon powering up of the device and upon the device connecting with a remote server to activate the device, send by the device, to the remote server, the information indicative of the geographical; and
receive a command to deactivate the device in response to at least an aspect of the information indicative of the geographical locations.
As per the limitation of a powered off state and upon powering up of the device, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the mobile platform, i.e. the device, to be in a powered on or a powered off state during the operation of the tag, the module, and the server. Such a condition of the mobile platform would not change the principal operation of the system, as a whole, because the tag, the module, and the server operate independently of the mobile platform.
As per the limitation of the monitoring tag affixed to the device, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the object with the attached tag to be affixed to the mobile platform 101, i.e. such that the tag I also affixed to the mobile platform 101. For example, if the mobile platform 101 is a vehicle, and the object is a computing device, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the computing device to be mountable to the vehicle. Such a modification would not change the principal operation of the system, as a whole, and would yield predictable results. See MPEP 2144.04.
The limitation of to activate the device is interpreted as the device connecting with the remote server in an attempt to activate the device. As disclosed in Paragraph [0046] of the Applicant’s specification, when the geo-tracking server 280 determines that there are no more anomalies with the record of events 800, the geo-tracking server 280 sends a command to fully activate device 110. Therefore, the device itself does not activate upon powering up and connecting with the remote server, but instead activates when the server determines that the device may be activated.
Kushtagi teaches:
Receiving a command to deactivate the device in response to at least an aspect of the information indicative of the geographical locations (Kushtagi, Paragraph [0029], In step 302, a remote server pushes a policy to an electronic device based on the geographical location of the electronic device, wherein the policy includes the step of disabling functions based on the policy in step 304. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the policy to include all functions of the device depending on the preferences of the policy maker (see Kushtagi, Paragraphs [0008] and [0026-0028]).).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the system in Goldman by integrating the teaching of an electronic device prohibiting system as taught by Kushtagi.
The motivation would be to prevent illegal usage of electronic devices in certain geographical locations (see Kushtagi, Paragraph [0001]).
Claim 12, Goldman in view of Kushtagi further teaches:
The device of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to, upon powering up of the device, transfer the information indicative of the geographical locations from the memory of the radio frequency monitoring tag to memory of the device (Goldman, Paragraph [0034], When the tag transmits the location data to the module 130, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the location data to be transmitted from the memory component 1002 of the tag (see Goldman, Paragraph [0042]) to the memory component 503 of the module (see Goldman, Paragraph [0041]).).
Claim 14, Goldman in view of Kushtagi further teaches:
The device of claim 11, wherein the predetermined events include at least one of opening or closing a chassis of the device, inserting into or removing a component from the device, detecting a change in temperature, detecting a change in movement, detecting a change in air pressure, or detecting that the device has been powered on (Goldman, Paragraph [0026], Communication with the module 130 is established when the tags are in range of the module 130. This includes instances when the object with which the tag is attached to enters the module 130, i.e. inserted into the device.).
Claim 15, Goldman in view of Kushtagi further teaches:
The device of claim 11, wherein the information indicative of the geographical locations is received as a cellular long-term evolution (LTE) System Information Block 1 (SIB 1) broadcast (Goldman, Paragraph [0024], The tags utilize any wireless protocol now known or later developed. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to try an LTE SIB, e.g. SIB 1, as a protocol for communication, because the system in Goldman specifically uses wireless communication over a cellular network (see Goldman, Paragraph [0022]). Such a modification would not change the principal operation of the system, as a whole, and would thus yield predictable results.).
Claim 16, Goldman in view of Kushtagi further teaches:
The device of claim 11, wherein the information indicative of the geographical locations is received as a cellular long-term evolution (LTE) System Information Block 16 (SIB 16) broadcast (Goldman, Paragraph [0024], The tags utilize any wireless protocol now known or later developed. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to try an LTE SIB, e.g. SIB 16, as a protocol for communication, because the system in Goldman specifically uses wireless communication over a cellular network (see Goldman, Paragraph [0022]). Such a modification would not change the principal operation of the system, as a whole, and would thus yield predictable results.).
Claim 17, Goldman in view of Kushtagi further teaches:
The device of claim 11, wherein the information indicative of the geographical locations is received as an Automatic Dependent Surveillance- Broadcast (ADS-B) beacon broadcast (Goldman, Paragraph [0024], The tags utilize any wireless protocol now known or later developed. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to try an ADS-B, as a protocol for communication, because the system in Goldman specifically uses wireless communication over a network (see Goldman, Paragraph [0022]). Such a modification would not change the principal operation of the system, as a whole, and would thus yield predictable results.).
Claim 18, Goldman teaches:
One or more non-transitory computer readable storage media encoded with instructions that, when executed by a processor (Goldman, Paragraph [0018]), cause the processor to:
during a state of a device, and upon detecting predetermined events, enable a radio frequency monitoring tag located in a device to collect, via radio frequency reception, information indicative of geographical locations corresponding respectively to the predetermined events (Goldman, Paragraph [0034], When the tag, e.g. tag 21, establishes communication with module 130, i.e. upon detecting a predetermined event, the tag 21 may receive its own location data, e.g. by communication with one or more additional tags nearby, which is information indicative of a geographical location of the tag. The connection of the tag 21 to the device, as well as the connection of the device with the server 160 are examples of predetermined events. The tag communicates via one or more of a plurality of wireless protocols, i.e. via radio frequency reception (see Goldman, Paragraph [0024]). The tag is attached to an object (see Goldman, Paragraph [0023]), which may be located inside of a mobile platform 101, wherein the mobile platform 101 includes one of a plurality of structures that are configured to move through its environment (see Goldman, Paragraph [0021]), wherein the mobile platform is interpretable as a device. Additionally, as the device, with associated/attached tag, moves from one location to another, the location is transmitted to server 160, wherein the movement from one location to another is another example of predetermined events.);
store the information indicative of the geographical locations in memory of the radio frequency monitoring tag (Goldman, Paragraph [0034], It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the known location of the tag to be stored in the tag memory (see Goldman, Fig. 10: 1002, Paragraph [0042]).);
send by the device, to the remote server, the information indicative of the geographical locations (Goldman, Paragraph [0034], The tag may transmit its location data to the module 130. The server 160 thus registers the tag data once the connection between the tag and the module 130 is made. As can be seen in Fig. 1, i.e. element 135, the module 130 directly communicates with network 150 to server 160.).
Goldman does not explicitly teach:
A powered off state of a device,
the monitoring tag affixed to the device, and
upon powering up of the device and upon the device connecting with a remote server to activate the device, send by the device, to the remote server, the information indicative of the geographical locations; and
receive a command to deactivate the device in response to at least an aspect of the information indicative of the geographical locations.
As per the limitation of a powered off state and upon powering up of the device, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the mobile platform, i.e. the device, to be in a powered on or a powered off state during the operation of the tag, the module, and the server. Such a condition of the mobile platform would not change the principal operation of the system, as a whole, because the tag, the module, and the server operate independently of the mobile platform.
As per the limitation of the monitoring tag affixed to the device, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the object with the attached tag to be affixed to the mobile platform 101, i.e. such that the tag I also affixed to the mobile platform 101. For example, if the mobile platform 101 is a vehicle, and the object is a computing device, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the computing device to be mountable to the vehicle. Such a modification would not change the principal operation of the system, as a whole, and would yield predictable results. See MPEP 2144.04.
The limitation of to activate the device is interpreted as the device connecting with the remote server in an attempt to activate the device. As disclosed in Paragraph [0046] of the Applicant’s specification, when the geo-tracking server 280 determines that there are no more anomalies with the record of events 800, the geo-tracking server 280 sends a command to fully activate device 110. Therefore, the device itself does not activate upon powering up and connecting with the remote server, but instead activates when the server determines that the device may be activated.
Kushtagi teaches:
Receiving a command to deactivate the device in response to at least an aspect of the information indicative of the geographical locations (Kushtagi, Paragraph [0029], In step 302, a remote server pushes a policy to an electronic device based on the geographical location of the electronic device, wherein the policy includes the step of disabling functions based on the policy in step 304. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the policy to include all functions of the device depending on the preferences of the policy maker (see Kushtagi, Paragraphs [0008] and [0026-0028]).).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the system in Goldman by integrating the teaching of an electronic device prohibiting system as taught by Kushtagi.
The motivation would be to prevent illegal usage of electronic devices in certain geographical locations (see Kushtagi, Paragraph [0001]).
Claim 19, Goldman in view of Kushtagi further teaches:
The one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 18, wherein the predetermined events include at least one of opening or closing a chassis of the device, inserting into or removing a component from the device, detecting a change in temperature, detecting a change in movement, detecting a change in air pressure, or detecting that the device has been powered on (Goldman, Paragraph [0026], Communication with the module 130 is established when the tags are in range of the module 130. This includes instances when the object with which the tag is attached to enters the module 130, i.e. inserted into the device.).
Claim 20, Goldman in view of Kushtagi further teaches:
The one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 18, wherein the information indicative of the geographical locations is received as a cellular long-term evolution (LTE) System Information Block 1 (SIB 1) broadcast (Goldman, Paragraph [0024], The tags utilize any wireless protocol now known or later developed. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to try an LTE SIB, e.g. SIB 1, as a protocol for communication, because the system in Goldman specifically uses wireless communication over a cellular network (see Goldman, Paragraph [0022]). Such a modification would not change the principal operation of the system, as a whole, and would thus yield predictable results.).
Claims 3 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goldman-Shenhar et al. (U.S. 2017/0248436 A1, hereinafter Goldman) in view of Kushtagi et al. (U.S. 2014/0038577 A1) in view of Bullock (U.S. 2013/0057392 A1).
Claim 3, Goldman in view of Kushtagi further teaches:
The method of claim 1, further comprising powering the radio frequency monitoring tag (Goldman, Paragraph [0024], The tags use power, e.g. for operating the low-power BLUETOOTH.).
Goldman in view of Kushtagi does not explicitly teach:
A battery.
Bullock teaches:
A battery (Bullock, Paragraph [0046]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the system in Goldman in view of Kushtagi by integrating the teaching of battery-powered tags, as taught by Bullock.
The motivation would be to improving the transmission range of the tags by utilizing battery power (see Bullock, Paragraph [0048]).
Claim 13, Goldman in view of Kushtagi further teaches:
The device of claim 11, wherein the radio frequency monitoring tag is powered (Goldman, Paragraph [0024], The tags use power, e.g. for operating the low-power BLUETOOTH.).
Goldman in view of Kushtagi does not explicitly teach:
A battery.
Bullock teaches:
A battery (Bullock, Paragraph [0046]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the system in Goldman in view of Kushtagi by integrating the teaching of battery-powered tags, as taught by Bullock.
The motivation would be to improving the transmission range of the tags by utilizing battery power (see Bullock, Paragraph [0048]).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goldman-Shenhar et al. (U.S. 2017/0248436 A1, hereinafter Goldman) in view of Kushtagi et al. (U.S. 2014/0038577 A1) in view of Vivas Suarez (U.S. 2019/0362304 A1).
Claim 8, Goldman in view of Kushtagi teaches:
The method of claim 1, and a wireless network (Goldman, Paragraph [0024]).
Goldman in view of Kushtagi does not specifically teach:
Wherein the information indicative of a geographical location of the radio frequency monitoring tag is received as a wireless local area network Service Set Identifier (SSID).
Vivas Suarez teaches:
An SSID of a local wireless network (Vivas Suarez, Paragraph [0159]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the system in Goldman in view of Kushtagi by integrating the teaching of a local wireless network, as taught by Goldman.
The motivation would be to utilize a well-known SSID for identifying a local wireless network (see Vivas Suarez, Paragraph [0159]).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goldman-Shenhar et al. (U.S. 2017/0248436 A1, hereinafter Goldman) in view of Kushtagi et al. (U.S. 2014/0038577 A1) in view of Beyer, JR. et al. (U.S. 2019/0289452 A1).
Claim 10, Goldman in view of Kushtagi teaches:
The method of claim 1.
Goldman in view of Kushtagi does not specifically teach:
Wherein the remote server is associated with a licensing server for the device, and the method further comprises, receiving, by the device, licensing configuration information that enables the device to operate over a network.
Beyer teaches:
Wherein the remote server is associated with a licensing server for the device, and the method further comprises, receiving, by the device, licensing configuration information that enables the device to operate over a network (Beyer, Paragraph [0052], The server receives additional data such as a license number from a user’s cell phone/PDA or PC to establish a connection with the user’s cell phone/PDA or PC as other devices that are or wish to connect to the network, wherein the server is functionally equivalent to a licensing server.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify he system in Goldman in view of Kushtagi by integrating the teaching of a license number as taught by Beyer.
The motivation would be ensure a level of security when communicating over a network (see Beyer, Paragraph [0012]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/10/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive in view of the new grounds of rejection, necessitated by the Applicant’s amendment.
The Examiner further notes, with respect to the limitation of to activate the device, and with respect to the interview conducted on 12/08/2025, the term activate has a different interpretation dependent on the type of device associated with the term. For example, the Applicant’s specification defines a device 110 to include a router or network switch (see Applicant’s specification, Paragraph [019]), wherein the activation and deactivation of the device 110 is determined by a licensing server, which enables rudimentary functionality on the network device (see Applicant’s specification, Paragraph [019]). The claims, as currently presented, do not define the device to be a network device, e.g. a router or switch, and therefore may be interpreted as any type of device that may be powered on/off, and is able to communicate with a remote server. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
Furthermore, the Examiner acknowledges the Applicant’s intent for the “information indicative of the geographical locations” to include historical geographical locations, e.g. during transport of the device. The step to “deactivate”, as currently amended, only requires an aspect of the information indicative of the geographical locations, which includes the, for example, only the current location of the device.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES J YANG whose telephone number is (571)270-5170. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30am-6:00p M-F.
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/JAMES J YANG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2686