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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicant filed amendment 12/11/2025. Claims 1, 10, 12, 14 and 27 have been amended. Claims 3 and 16 are canceled. Claims 1-2, 4-15, 17-19 and 27 are currently pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 103 rejections have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on one or more reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Examiner’s Note
Previous examiner is no longer with the Office. This action is made non-final based on the review of prosecution history and further searches. New grounds of rejection are applied.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 14, and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
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(as cited in applicant filed IDS, hereinafter 3GPP), in view of Keevill et al. (US 20130095789, hereinafter Keevill).
Consider claim 1, 14 and 27. 3GPP discloses a method, a network node and a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium to support Authentication and Key Management for Applications (AKMA) in a wireless network, wherein AKMA provides an authentication and key distribution service to a subscriber of the wireless network to access to an application server based on cellular subscription of the subscriber, the method comprising:
transmitting a query to a database, the query including that includes an identifier of the subscriber and that requiring information on AKMA allowability of the subscriber; and
receiving an indication of AKMA allowability of the subscriber responsively, wherein the indication of AKMA allowability is provided based on retrieval of information for the subscriber stored in the database (see 3GPP, section 3.1, “AKMA subscription data: The data in the home operator's network indicating whether or not the subscriber is allowed to use AKMA.”; section 4.2.5, “UDM stores AKMA subscription data of the subscriber”; section 4.4.2, “AKMA AF shall be able to identify AAnF of the UE from the A-KID”; section 6.1, “…the AUSF interacts with the UDM in order to fetch authentication information such as subscription credentials (e.g. AKA Authentication vectors) and the authentication method using the Nudm_UEAuthentication_Get Request service operation.”; section 6.2, “…The AAnF shall check whether the AAnF can provide the service to the AF based on the configured local policy or based on the authorization information or policy provided by the NEF/NRF using the AF Id…”).
3GPP does not specifically disclose “the information for the subscriber stored in an Information Element (IE) that is to indicate AKMA allowability of the subscriber”.
In a similar endeavor, Keevill discloses the information for the subscriber stored in an Information Element (IE) that is to indicate AKMA allowability of the subscriber (see [0115], “After this point the UE's WLAN Station may at any time request the setup of a secure association with the WLAN Access Point in the Multi Standard Cell according to the security options supported by the Multi Standard Cell as announced in the RSN IE of the BEACON frame. In this case the BEACON will announce that the only AKM (authentication and Key Management) suite supported is the PSK-based suite.” Note: RSN IE is Robust Security Network Information Element; also see [0138]).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the initial filing date to modify 3GPP by Keevill to authenticate UE to connect to different types of network bases on need/movements, thus allowing a speedy access to the network with efficient authentication procedure, as suggested by Keevill in [0002].
Claims 1, 9-12, 14, and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over You et. al (US 20220368684 A1 hereafter You) in view of Guo et al. (US 20220278835 A1 hereafter Guo), and further in view of KRISHNAN et al. (US 20190239071 A1, hereinafter KRISHNAN).
Consider claim 1. You suggests A method to support ([0004] In some implementations, a method ) Authentication and Key Management for Applications (AKMA) in a ([0040] In some implementations, the core network 130 may be configured to encompass a special architecture for authentication and key management for service applications (AKMA)) wireless network, ([0040] The wireless communication network 300) wherein AKMA provides an authentication and key distribution service to a ([0044] In the application key management scheme illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, one or more AAnFs 380 may be distributed) subscriber of the wireless network ([0049] Such options may be provided via a service subscription mechanism. For example, AKMA may be provided as a service that may be subscribed to ) to access to an application server ([0027] authentication server function (AUSF) 360) based on cellular subscription of the subscriber, ([0034] While FIGS. 2-14 and the various exemplary implementations described below are based on cellular wireless communication networks) the method comprising:
transmitting a query to a database, the query including ([0067] The AAnF 380 may query for the AKMA anchor key; [0029] database for user contract and subscription data; also see [0004][0006]) an identifier of the subscriber receiving an indication of AKMA allowability ([0006] the subscription dataset may include an identifier of an application key management network node in the communication network that is associated with the service application; [0045] In Step 601-2, the anchor key K.sub.AKMA and corresponding identifier K.sub.ID may be generated on both the UE side and the network side) of the subscriber responsively, ([0045] the anchor key identifier K.sub.ID in a response to the anchor key request from the AAnF 380)
However You fails to explicitly suggest and that requires information on AKMA allowability of the subscriber to a database; wherein the indication of AKMA allowability is provided based on retrieval of information for the subscriber stored in the database.
While in a similar field of endeavor Gou suggests and that requires information on AKMA allowability of the subscriber to a database; and ([0127] Note that UDM[i.e. database] 726) wherein the indication of AKMA allowability ([0134] Authentication and Key Management for Applications (AKMA) is an authentication and key distribution service where access to an application server is based on a user's cellular subscription) is provided based on retrieval of information for the subscriber stored in the database. ([0127] may also include a home subscriber server (HSS) function and the PCF may also include a policy and charging rules function (PCRF))
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the initial filing date to take the suggestions of You to anchor key and application key generation and management with the suggestions of Guo using a key derivation function to secure wireless communications.
While Guo discloses indicate AKMA allowability of the subscriber ([0134] Authentication and Key Management for Applications (AKMA) is an authentication and key distribution service where access to an application server is based on a user's cellular subscription), and Gao also mentioned an Information Element (IE) ([0047] IE: Information Element), Gao does not explicitly disclose the information for the subscriber stored in an Information Element (IE) that is to indicate AKMA allowability of the subscriber.
However, KRISHNAN discloses the information for the subscriber stored in an Information Element (IE) that is to indicate AKMA allowability of the subscriber (see [0012] “…IE contains three components: …an Authentication and Key Management Field value...”.).
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art to modify the teachings of the cited references, to include AKMA information in IE, in order to assist the authentication process for the UE.
Consider claim 9. You-Gou suggests the limitations of claim 1, and You further suggests, wherein the indication of AKMA allowability of the subscriber is provisioned through a management interface of the wireless network. ([0041] Such request may be forwarded by the AMF/SEAF 330 to the AUSF 360 for processing. During the authentication process, the AUSF 360 may obtain user contract and subscription information from the UDM/ARPF 370)
Consider claim 10. You-Gou suggests the limitations of claim 1, and You further suggests, wherein provisioning of the indication of AKMA allowability of the subscriber uis performed using a business support system (BSS) of the wireless network. ([0024] The service applications 140 may be hosted by various application servers that are accessible by the terminal devices 110 and 112 through the core network 130 of the carrier network 102. A service application 140 may be deployed as a data network outside of the core network 130. Likewise, the other data networks 150 may be accessible by the terminal devices 110 and 112 through the core network 130 and may appear as either data destination or data source of a particular communication session instantiated in the carrier network 102.)
Consider claim 11. You-Gou suggests the limitations of claim 1, and You further suggests, wherein the identifier of the subscriber is one of a subscription permanent identifier (SUPI) ([0037] The User identification, for example, may include a subscription permanent identifier (SUPI) assigned by the operator of the wireless communication network to the user.) or a subscription concealed identifier (SUCI). ([0037] provided in the form of a hidden identification such as subscription concealed identifier (SUCI))
Consider claim 12. You-Gou suggests the limitations of claim 1, and You further suggests, wherein electronic device implements a unified data management (UDM) entity ([0027] universal data management (UDM) function 370 (functioning as the UDMNN 270 of FIG. 2)) or a network exposure function (NEF) to perform the transmitting the query and receiving the indication of AKMA allowability of the subscriber. ([0046] FIG. 7 further shows the network exposure function (NEF) 702 as a gateway for providing capability exposure of the core network to the AF 390 associated with the service applications.)
Regarding claim 14, You-Gou suggest all the limitations of claim 1 in method form rather than apparatus form. Therefore, the limitations of claim 1 apply equally as well to the limitations of claim 14.
Regarding claim 27, You-Gou suggest all the limitations of claim 1 in method form rather than CRM form. You also suggests a CRM ([0087] non-transitory computer-readable media). Therefore, the limitations of claim 1 apply equally as well to the limitations of claim 27.
Claims 2, 4-8, 13, 15, 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over You et. al (US 20220368684 A1 hereafter You) in view of Guo et al. (US 20220278835 A1 hereafter Guo) in view of Li et al. (WO 2019242467 A1, with reference to the provided Machine/English translation, hereafter Li)
Consider claim 2. You-Gou suggests the limitations of claim 1, and You further suggests one value of which indicates that the subscriber is allowed to use AKMA, ([0049] a UE may either subscribe to or not subscribe to the AKMA service)
However You-Gou fails to explicitly suggest wherein the information for the subscriber stored in the database comprises a Boolean data entry and an opposite value indicating that the subscriber is not allowed to use AKMA
While in a similar field of endeavor Li suggests wherein the information for the subscriber stored in the database, (page 9 para 4 subscription management and other functions, and can access user subscription data stored in UDR. UDR is a user subscription data storage server that is responsible for providing user subscription data) comprises a Boolean data entry (page 15 para 4 The comparison result can be a character string (such as true for matching and false for non-matching)); and an opposite value indicating that the subscriber is not allowed to use AKMA. (page 15 para 4 it can also be a numerical value, such as 1 for matching and 0 for mismatching. There are many ways to characterize the comparison result, and there is no limitation here.)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the initial filing date to take the suggestions of You-Guo to AKMA subscription management with the suggestions of Li Boolean data characterization to minimize billing disputes (Li Abstract).
Consider claim 4 You-Gou suggests the limitations of claim 1, and Li further suggests, wherein the information for the subscriber stored in the database is stored as a part of authentication subscription data for the subscriber, (page 9 para 4 UDR is a user subscription data storage server) wherein the authentication subscription data for the subscriber further comprises an authentication method, (page 12 para 5 method negotiated with the UE (that is, the network element of the home network generates a message verification code[i.e. authentication method])) an encryption value of a permanent authentication key, (page 11 para 3 user permanent identifier (Subscription, Permanent Identifier, SUPI)) a protection parameter identifier that identifies a parameter (page 11 para 0 data sent by the UE cannot be tampered with, integrity protection is required.) set that can be used to decrypt the permanent authentication key, (page 12 para 9 the integrity encryption key to generate) and an algorithm identifier to identify a parameter set that provides details on algorithm (page 20 para 3 Those of ordinary skill in the art may realize that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in combination with the embodiments) and parameters used to generate one or more authentication vectors to authenticate the subscriber. (page 3 para 2 authentication code to the first network element, where the message authentication code is based on sharing The key and the first network usage are generated)
Consider claim 5 You-Gou-Li suggests the limitations of claim 4, and Li further suggests, wherein the query is transmitted to the database in responsive to receiving an authentication request for the subscriber, (page 11 para 2 the AUSF sends the UE identity and the serving network identity to the UDM, and the UDM generates a Kausf based on the serving network identity, and sends the Kausf to the AUSF. Specifically, for the Kausf generation process, refer to section A.2 in TS33.501. ) wherein the authentication request is generated for the subscriber during a primary authentication initialization of the subscriber with an Authentication Server Function (AUSF). (page 11 para 2 The Kausf is a key generated during the authentication of the UE by the home network.)
Consider claim 6 You-Gou-Li suggests the limitations of claim 5, and You further suggests, wherein the one or more authentication vectors and the indication of AKMA allowability of the subscriber are provided to the AUSF, ([0057] Further in Step 805, the AUSF 360 verifies the authentication vector sent) which, when the indication of AKMA allowability of the subscriber indicates allowability being true, generates AKMA key materials including a AKMA key and an AKMA key identifier (A-KID) ([0042] As further shown by 412 and 422 in FIG. 4, an identifier for the anchor key K.sub.AKMA may be generated at the UE 310 and the AUSF 360. Such an identifier may be referred to as K.sub.ID ) after a successfully completed primary authentication. ([0058] authentication logic flow 850 is successful, the UE 310 and the AUSF 360 may generate the AKMA anchor key K.sub.AKMA=KDF (K.sub.AUSF, AKMA Type, RAND, SUPI, AAnF identifier))
Consider claim 7 You-Gou-Li suggests the limitations of claim 6, and You further suggests, wherein the one or more authentication vectors and the indication of AKMA allowability ([0056] The UDM/ARPF 370 then determines the type of user authentication (e.g., 5G-AKA or EAP-AKA) and generate an authentication vector.) of the subscriber are provided to the AUSF, which, when the indication of AKMA allowability of the subscriber indicates allowability being false, continues primary authentication of the subscriber and without generating the AKMA key materials after the successfully completed primary authentication. ([0075] there is no need to generate any initial K.sub.ID at the AUSF 360 because no request needs to be directed later to the AUSF 360 for querying the AKMA anchor key as a result of the information push in Step 1202 and 1204.)
Consider claim 8 You-Gou-Li suggests the limitations of claim 7, and You further suggests, wherein the AUSF transmits the AKMA key materials to an AKMA Anchor Function (AAnF), ([0040] may further include AKMA Anchor functions (AAnFs)) which acknowledges with a register response upon receipt of the AKMA key materials. ([0060] Logic flow 860 further illustrates an exemplary implementation for anchor key generation … 860 correspond to Steps 806, 807, 808, and 809, respectively.)
Consider claim 13 You-Gou-Li suggests the limitations of claim 1, and Li further suggests, wherein the database is implemented in a unified data repository (UDR) that stores the information for the subscriber based on which the indication of AKMA (page 9 para 4 allowability is provided. Unified data management (UDM) module: including front end (FE) and user database (user data repository))
Regarding claim 15, You-Gou-Li suggest all the limitations of claim 2 in method form rather than apparatus form. Therefore, the limitations of claim 2 apply equally as well to the limitations of claim 15.
Regarding claim 17, You-Gou-Li suggest all the limitations of claim 4 in method form rather than apparatus form. Therefore, the limitations of claim 4 apply equally as well to the limitations of claim 17.
Regarding claim 18, You-Gou-Li suggest all the limitations of claim 5 in method form rather than apparatus form. Therefore, the limitations of claim 5 apply equally as well to the limitations of claim 18.
Regarding claim 19, You-Gou-Li suggest all the limitations of claim 6 in method form rather than apparatus form. Therefore, the limitations of claim 6 apply equally as well to the limitations of claim 19.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KATHY W WANG-HURST whose telephone number is (571)270-5371. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5:00pm.
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/KATHY W WANG-HURST/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2644
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