DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
Claims 1, 7-8, 10, 16-17, and 19 have been amended.
Claims 1, 3-10, and 12-19 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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 6 April 2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
101 Rejection:
Applicant’s arguments have been considered and are moot in view of the rationale provided in the following 101 rejection.
Prior Art Rejection:
Applicant’s arguments have been considered and have been deemed persuasive and in view of additional search and consideration the examiner has rescinded the previously issued prior art rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1, 3-10, and 12-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
In the instant case, claim 1-9 are directed towards a method, claims 10-18 are directed to a system/apparatus, and claim 19-20 are directed towards a non-transitory computer readable medium. Therefore, these claims fall within the four statutory categories of invention.
Claim 1 recites the following:
A method for data processing, comprising:
staking, based at least in part on one or more first messages broadcast via a blockchain network supported distributed data store associated with a blockchain network and according to a proof-of-stake protocol associated with the blockchain network supported distributed data storeat least a first amount of a first crypto token, wherein the first crypto token is locked from being transferred via the proof-of-stake protocol associated with the blockchain network supported distributed data store based at least in part on being staked in accordance with the one or more first messages;
minting, based at least in part on one or more second messages broadcast via the blockchain network supported distributed data store and via a self-executing program and toone or more token pools managed by a custodial token platform, a supply of a second crypto token that represent a supply of the first crypto token staked via the custodial token platform and locked from being transferred, wherein the second crypto token is transferrable via the proof-of-stake protocol associated with the blockchain network supported distributed data store;
receiving, at a custodial token platform from a first user profile, a first request to wrap a first amount of a first crypto token that is staked in accordance with a protocol associated with a blockchain network supported distributed data store and locked from being transferred;
attributing, after receiving the first request, a second amount of a second crypto token that represents at least the portion of the first amount of the first crypto token to the first user profile, the second amount being based on a first value of a current conversion ratio between the first crypto token and the second crypto token; wherein the second amount is retrieved from the one or more token pools managed by the custodial token platform that are attributed with the supply of the second crypto token
receiving, at the custodial token platform from a second user profile, a second request to unwrap the second amount of the second crypto token that represents at least a portion of the first amount of the first crypto token; and
attributing, after receiving the second request and based at least in part on receiving the second request from the second user profile, the second user profile with a third amount of the first crypto token that is staked in accordance with the proof-of- stake protocol associated with the blockchain network supported distributed data store, the third amount being based on a second value of the current conversion ratio between the first crypto token and the second crypto token.
Regarding Step 2A Prong One, the claims recite the abstract idea of performing an economic transaction. Specifically, the claims recite the limitations underlined above which recite the process of transferring economic value from one party to another which constitutes an economic transaction which is grouped within the Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity grouping of abstract ideas in prong one of step 2A of the Alice/Mayo test (See MPEP § 2106.04) because the claims involve the process of mitigating risk in an economic transaction. Accordingly, the claims recite an abstract idea (See pages 7, 10, Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank International, et al., US Supreme Court, No. 13-298, June 19, 2014; 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. 50, 53-54 (January 7, 2019)).
Regarding Step 2A Prong Two, the recited abstract idea is not integrated into a practical application because, when analyzed under prong two of step 2A of the Alice/Mayo test (See MPEP § 2106.04(d)), the additional element(s) of the claim(s) such as a “custodial token platform”, and “blockchain network supported distributed data store” merely use(s) a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea. Specifically, the “custodial token platform”, and “blockchain network supported distributed data store” perform(s) the steps or functions underlined above. The use of a processor/computer as a tool to implement the abstract idea does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it requires no more than a computer performing functions that correspond to acts required to carry out the abstract idea. The additional elements do not involve improvements to the functioning of a computer, or to any other technology or technical field (MPEP 2106.05(a)), the claims do not apply or use the abstract idea to effect a particular treatment or prophylaxis for a disease or medical condition (Vanda Memo), the claims do not apply the abstract idea with, or by use of, a particular machine (MPEP 2106.05(b)), the claims do not effect a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing (MPEP 2106.05(c)), and the claims do not apply or use the abstract idea in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking the use of the abstract idea to a particular technological environment, such that the claim as a whole is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception (MPEP 2106.05(e) and Vanda Memo). Therefore, the claims do not, for example, purport to improve the functioning of a computer. Nor do they effect an improvement in any other technology or technical field. Accordingly, the additional elements do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea, and the claims are directed to an abstract idea.
The claim(s) do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because, when analyzed under step 2B of the Alice/Mayo test (See MPEP § 2106.05), the additional element(s) of a “custodial token platform”, and “blockchain network supported distributed data store” amounts to no more than using a computer or processor to automate and/or implement the abstract idea. As discussed above, taking the claim elements separately, the “custodial token platform”, and “blockchain network supported distributed data store” perform(s) the steps or functions underlined above. These functions correspond to the actions required to perform the abstract idea. Viewed as a whole, the combination of elements recited in the claims merely recite risk mitigation. Therefore, the use of these additional elements does no more than employ the computer as a tool to automate and/or implement the abstract idea. The use of a computer or processor to merely automate and/or implement the abstract idea cannot provide significantly more than the abstract idea itself (MPEP 2106.05(I)(A)(f) & (h)). Therefore, the claim is not patent eligible.
Dependent claims 3-9 and 12-18 further describe the recited abstract idea. The dependent claims do not include additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application or that provide significantly more than the abstract idea. Specifically:
Claims 3-5, 7, 9, 12-15, 17, and 19 recite additional claim limitations which are also directed towards the recited abstract idea of performing an economic transaction
Claims 6, 8, 16, and 18 merely further describe the amount and type of currency being used to perform the recited abstract idea.
Therefore, as the dependent claims do not include additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application nor provide significantly more than the abstract idea, the dependent claims are also not patent eligible.
Conclusion
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 at 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
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