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
This action is responsive to RCE filed 5/1/2026 which entered the amendment filed 4/6/26.
Status of Claims
Applicant amended the claims on 4/6/26. Claims 1-20 remain pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 4/6/26, with respect to the previous rejections have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new grounds of rejection is made based on Lee in view of Pierce in view of D’Halluin.
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 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 1-7,9-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al (US Publication 20180084413) in view of Pierce (US Patent 6868407) in further view of D’Halluin et al (US Publication 20190057027).
In reference to claim 1, Lee teaches a method comprising:
generating a plurality of keys for link encryption; (see at least ¶s 58,61,76, which teaches establishing/generating a key for an initial network connection, and then generate other keys part of a refresh provisioning procedure)
storing the keys in an order; (see at least ¶s 71,78, which teaches storing the keys)
detecting that a re-key programmable threshold is met during link encryption with a device; (see at least ¶s 61,64, which teaches detecting a key refresh trigger during the connection)
identifying a synchronization point associated with the device, where the synchronization point indicates the device is ready to switch a current key used for link encryption; (see at least ¶ 61 lines 8-18 & ¶s 77-78, which teaches identifying a time period when the device is ready to switch or refresh keys during a connection) and
synchronizing a rekeying event with the device (see at least ¶s 74-75, which teaches synchronizing key refresh event with the device).
Lee fails to explicitly teach generating a plurality of keys comprising a set of two or more keys, and storing the plurality of keys as the set in a deterministic order. However, Pierce teaches managing cryptographic keys (see Pierce, at least Abstract), and discloses generating and storing a set of two or more keys in a deterministic manner (see Pierce, at least column 4 line 53 – column 5 line 20). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Lee based on the teachings of Pierce for the purpose of managing multiple keys in a manner that ensures an adequate level of security over time.
Lee fails to explicitly teach storing… in a deterministic order based on transaction type. However, D’Halluin teaches key storage management, where keys are stored in a deterministic order and are based on transaction/operation type (see D’Halluin, at least Abstract and ¶s 28,30,34,37). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Lee based on the teachings of D’Halluin for the purpose of ensuring keys are stored in a consistent manner thus improving efficiency (see D’Halluin, at least Background/Summary).
In reference to claim 2, this is taught by Lee, at least ¶ 61 lines 8-15, which teaches conditions for a key refreshing frequency.
In reference to claim 3, this is taught by Lee, at least ¶ 61, which teaches conditions based on an amount of time and other factors.
In reference to claim 4, this is taught by Lee, at least ¶ 109, which teaches a controller and other components for link communication.
In reference to claim 5, this is taught by Lee, at least ¶s 73-76, which teaches a trigger for periodically indicating a key refresh, and generating a next key for a re-authentication procedure.
In reference to claim 6, this is taught by Pierce, at least column 4 lines 53-67 and column 5 lines 14-55, which teaches the deterministic order facilitate key management for data protection. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to modify Lee based on the teachings of Pierce in accordance to the rationale given for claim 1.
In reference to claim 7, this is taught by Pierce, at least column 5 lines 40-67, which teaches key management and generating new encryption keys. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to modify Lee based on the teachings of Pierce in accordance to the rationale given for claim 1.
Claims 9-19 are slight variations of the rejected claims 1-7 above, and are therefore rejected based on the same rationale.
Claims 8,20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al (US Publication 20180084413) in view of Pierce (US Patent 6868407) in further view of D’Halluin et al (US Publication 20190057027) in further view of Hausauer et al (US Publication 20230403260).
In reference to claim 8, Lee teaches interconnecting and communicating via peripheral components (see Lee, at least ¶s 111,115). Lee fails to explicitly teach the link is PCIe and encryption is on the PCIe link. However, Hausauer teaches encryption processing for encrypted communication and discloses PCIe links for encrypted communication transfers (see Hausauer, at least Background and ¶ 38). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Lee based on the teachings of Hausauer for the purpose of facilitating encrypted communications via high speed hardware encryption process.
Claim 20 is slight variations of the rejected claim 8 above, and is therefore rejected based on the same rationale.
Conclusion
For any subsequent response that contains new/amended claims, Applicant is required to cite its corresponding support in the specification. (See MPEP chapter 2163.03 section (I.) and chapter 2163.04 section (I.) and chapter 2163.06) Applicant may not introduce any new matter to the claims or to the specification.
In formulating a response/amendment, Applicant is encouraged to take into consideration the prior art made of record but not relied upon, as it is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached Form 892.
Contact & Status
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAMY M OSMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-4008. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri, 9AM-5PM.
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/Ramy M Osman/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2457
August 3, 2026
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