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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/13/2025 and 11/03/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 9-10, filed 12/31/2025, with respect to the rejection of claim 12 under 35 U.S.C. § 112(a) written description have been fully considered. The rejection of claim 12 under 35 U.S.C. § 112(a) has been withdrawn. The Examiner respectfully notes that claim 12 was rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(a) written description, not enablement in the Non-Final Rejection mailed 09/05/2025.
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 10-11, filed 12/31/2025, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-7, 9, and 11-14 under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) have been fully considered. The previous rejection of claims 1-7, 9, and 11-14 under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) has been withdrawn. With respect to the claim limitations “data permitted to be used” and “data not permitted to be used”, these limitations will be interpreted under the broadest reasonable interpretation as to mean the same as “valid” and “invalid” respectively based upon paragraph [0131] of Applicant’s published patent application (US Publication No. US 2023/0143525 A1).
Applicant's arguments, see pages 11-14, filed 12/31/2025, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-7, 9, and 11-14 under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant first attests that McGregor fails to anticipate newly amended independent claim 1.
The Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Since applicant does not give any further explanation as to how the previously cited art differentiates from the claimed invention other than repeating the amendments made to the claim and arguing that McGregor allegedly does not disclose anywhere the newly claimed limitations, the examiner defers to the rejection below as a response to this argument.
Applicant then attests that independent claims 13-14 are novel at least for the reasons set forth for claim 1, and that dependent claims 2-7 and 11-12 are novel by virtue of their dependence upon allegedly allowable claims. The examiner defers to the rejection below as a response to this argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-7 and 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding Claims 1, 13, and 14:
Independent claims 1, 13, and 14 recite, “in response to having determined that the predetermined period expires and the electronic device is not connected to the network”. The recited function does not follow from the structure recited in the claim, so it is unclear whether the function requires some other structure or is simply a result of operating the “device” in a certain manner. Thus, one of ordinary skill in the art would not be able to draw a clear boundary between what is and is not covered by the claim. See MPEP 2173.05(g) for more information.
Dependent claims fall together accordingly.
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.
Claim(s) 1-7 and 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by McGregor et. al. (US Publication No. US 2016/0026702 A1) hereinafter McGregor.
Regarding Claims 1 and 13-14:
Claim 1. McGregor discloses an electronic device connected to a server which stores, for each user, management information related to allowability of use of data of a subscription type permitted to be used within a predetermined period, the electronic device comprising (McGregor [0082-0083], [0086-0090], claim 28 storage medium): storage which stores the data (McGregor claim 28 storage medium); a processor configured to (McGregor claim 28 processor): confirm, with the server, management information of a user of the electronic device (McGregor [0100] account initialization, [0191]); permit using, in the electronic device, data permitted to be used in the management information (McGregor [0180-0183] permission handling of shared content), among data of the subscription type stored in the storage (McGregor [0184-0187] handling of various other sharing data, [0222] subscriber-relationship of the user contemplated); acquire a lock start instruction from the user (McGregor Fig. 9 mutex is acquired; [0276-0292] access management); wherein in a case where a lock start instruction has been acquired and the management information of the user of the electronic device has been confirmed and the data permitted to be used in the confirmed management information has been stored in the storage of the electronic device, the processor permits using, in the electronic device, data of the subscription type stored in the storage of the electronic device within the predetermined period based on the confirmed management information before the lock start instruction has been acquired (McGregor Fig. 12 temp file handle for temporary lock on writing access to a file, [0302-0305]), wherein the electronic device is an electronic musical instrument (McGregor [0162], [0167-0169]), wherein the processor permits using, in the electronic device, the data of the subscription type stored in the storage of the electronic device within the predetermined period when the electronic device is not connected to a network to confirm the management information with the server (McGregor [0088] and [0162-0165] system works without an internet connection; [0180-0183] permission handling of shared content), wherein the data comprises sound data (McGregor [0146] music files anticipated; [0335-0337] examples of sound/music data, [0222] may subscribe to music), and in response to having determined that the predetermined period expires and the electronic device is not connected to the network, the processor is configured to prohibit using the sound data of the subscription type stored in the storage of the electronic device (McGregor [0226] if after 150 days the user does not sign-in account may be marked inactive and/or deleted along with user files).
Independent Claims 13-14 disclose substantially the same content and are therefore rejected under the same rationales. McGregor discloses a data usage method (McGregor claim 37), and McGregor discloses a non-transitory computer readable recording medium, storing an electronic device program causing a computer to execute a usage processing of data of a subscription type permitted to be used within a predetermined period (McGregor claim 28 and 46).
Regarding Claim 2:
McGregor further discloses the electronic device according to claim 1 (McGregor [0082-0083], [0086-0090], claim 28 storage medium), wherein the processor is further configured to: acquire a lock release instruction from the user (McGregor Fig. 9 mutex; [0276-0292] access management with mutexes); impose a limitation on data stored in storage in a period from acquisition of a lock start instruction to acquisition of a lock release instruction (McGregor Fig. 9 mutex; [0276-0292] access management with mutexes—the mutex ensures that the files/cached data are not written to while lock is held).
Regarding Claim 3:
McGregor further discloses the electronic device according to claim 2 (McGregor [0082-0083], [0086-0090], claim 28 storage medium), wherein the limiting means prohibits storage of data stored in the data storage means that have been edited (McGregor Fig. 9 mutex; [0276-0292] access management with mutexes—the mutex ensures that the files/cached data are not written to while lock is held), in a period from acquisition of the lock start instruction by the lock start instruction acquisition means to acquisition of the lock release instruction by the lock release instruction acquisition means (McGregor Fig. 9 mutex; [0276-0292] access management with mutexes—the mutex ensures that the files/cached data are not written to while lock is held).
Regarding Claim 4:
McGregor further discloses the electronic device according to claim 2 (McGregor [0082-0083], [0086-0090], claim 28 storage medium), wherein the processor prohibits addition of new data to the storage in a period from acquisition of the lock start instruction to acquisition of the lock release instruction (McGregor Fig. 9 mutex; [0276-0292] access management with mutexes—the mutex ensures that the files/cached data are not written to while lock is held).
Regarding Claim 5:
McGregor further discloses the electronic device according to claim 1 (McGregor [0082-0083], [0086-0090], claim 28 storage medium), wherein the storage stores information of the data of the subscription type in the confirmed management information (McGregor [0290-0292] access protection scheme stores the set of permission flags indicating what the user may perform, [0082-0086] various file types and metadata stored), wherein in a case where a lock start instruction has been acquired, the processor permits using, in the electronic device, data of the subscription type stored in the storage based on the information of the data of the subscription type stored in the storage before the lock start instruction has been acquired (McGregor Fig. 12 temp file handle for temporary lock on writing access to a file, [0302-0305]).
Regarding Claim 6:
McGregor further discloses the electronic device according to claim 1 (McGregor [0082-0083], [0086-0090], claim 28 storage medium), wherein the processor permits using the data of the subscription type according to a charge of fee to the user (McGregor [0102] system may discriminate between free and paid users, Fig. 11 file permission model, [0182] a business may block the content (i.e., if the user did not pay, they can block the content)).
Regarding Claim 7:
McGregor further discloses the electronic device according to claim 1 (McGregor [0082-0083], [0086-0090], claim 28 storage medium), wherein the processor prohibits using, in the electronic device, data not permitted to be used in confirmed the management information, among data of the subscription type stored in the storage (McGregor Fig. 11 file permission model, [0181-182] businesses or users may change access permissions); and wherein in a case where a lock start instruction has been acquired, the processor prohibits using, in the electronic device, data of the subscription type stored in the storage based on the confirmed management information before the lock start instruction has been acquired (McGregor Fig. 12 and [0302-0305] block read and writes are suspended if the mutex to access them are unavailable).
Regarding Claim 11:
McGregor further discloses the electronic device according to claim 1 (McGregor [0082-0083], [0086-0090], claim 28 storage medium), wherein the data further comprises content data (McGregor [0103-0107]).
Regarding Claim 12:
McGregor further discloses the electronic device according to claim 1 (McGregor [0082-0083], [0086-0090], claim 28 storage medium), wherein the electronic device does not connect a device for keeping and managing time and date (McGregor [0088] system works without an internet connection; [0159] metadata may include date and time but not required to do so).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record in the submitted PTO-892 Notice of References Cited and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
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 MIGUEL A LOPEZ whose telephone number is (703)756-1241. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00AM-5:00PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jorge Ortiz-Criado can be reached on 5712727624. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/M.A.L./ Examiner, Art Unit 2496
/JORGE L ORTIZ CRIADO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2496