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 . 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.
Claims 1-3, 6-8, 12 and 13 are amended.
Claim 4 is cancelled.
Claims 1-3, 5-13 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see page 10, filed 04/16/2026, with respect to claim 9 under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) claim interpretation have been fully considered and are persuasive. The claim rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) of 08/26/2025 has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, see page 10, filed 04/16/2026, with respect to claims 1, 6-9, 12 and 13 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) have been fully considered and are persuasive. The claim rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) of 01/16/2026 has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, see page 9-10, filed 05/07/2026 with respect to claim(s) 1-3 and 5-13 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Funane (U. S. PGPub. No. 2019/0165937 A1 (hereinafter “Funane”) in view of Ota (U. S. PGPub. No. 2019/0098003 A1) (hereinafter “Ota”);
Regarding Claim 1, Funane teaches:
An information processing apparatus configured to execute an application for controlling authentication processing using an external authenticator connected to the information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus comprising (Funane: [0037] In FIG. 1, wearable terminals such as a plurality of smartwatches 104 may be connected to the network 101. In other words, this system is a system that includes a plurality of terminals such as the smartphone 103 and the smartwatch 104. [0038] The voice assistant 105 is an information processing apparatus…)
A processor (Funane: [0234], The computer may comprise one or more processors (e.g, central processing unit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network of separate computers or separate processors to read out and execute the computer executable instructions); and
a memory storing a program which, when executed by the processor, cause the information processing apparatus to (Funane: [0011], the information processing apparatus comprises: a memory storing first instructions, and at least one processor executing the first instructions causing the information processing apparatus to):
transmit a request to a system configured to communicate via a network (Funane: [0090] Description will be continued with reference to FIG. 9. In Step S401, when an input of user information is accepted, the application 320 transmits a use registration request of the mail-order service 310 of the user to the mail-order service 310 through the communication unit 322. In the request, attribute information and a password that have been input by the user are included. The communication unit 317 of the mail-order service 310 receives the request transmitted from the application 320 in Step S401)
receive parameters including verification data from the system (Funane (2019/0165937 A1): [0091], In Step S403, the authenticator information processing unit 313 of the mail-order service 310 transmits a credential generation request to the application 320 through the communication unit 317. [0075] An attestation challenge management table represented in a Table C is data managed by the data storing unit 312 of the mail-order service 310. In the attestation challenge management table, one record represents information of one attestation challenge. An attestation challenge is a parameter (=parameter) that is used as verification data for executing challenge response authentication and is issued for each user. [0076] A process of issuing an attestation challenge will be described later. In an attestation challenge column, a value of an attestation challenge is stored. In a user ID column, a user ID of a user who has issued the attestation is stored. In a validity period column, a validity period of an attestation challenge is stored);
transmit an authentication request (Funane: [0144] In Step S514, the biometric authentication control unit 364 specifies an authenticator (terminal) to execute a request for biometric authentication using the authenticator management table (table F)…) including the verification data (Funane: [0140] Hereinafter, the biometric authentication parameter will be described. The biometric authentication parameter is data (=verification data) that is used when the mail-order service 310 executes authentication of the application 320. The biometric authentication parameter is composed of an assertion challenge and an assertion expansion area), to the external authenticator worn by a user of the information processing apparatus (Funane: [0035], The smartwatch 104 is a wearable terminal and may be a wearable terminal of a different form such as smart glasses, an accessory (an earphone, a headphone, a ring, a necklace, a nail, or the like), shoes, underwear, a heart rate meter, an internal-use device, or a human body-embedded device),
receive, from the external authenticator, signature data (Funane: [0152] In addition, the biometric authentication processing unit 352 generates assertion information including the specified authentication information ID and the generated signature data. In Step S517, the biometric authentication processing unit 352 returns the generated assertion information (=assertion information includes signature data) to the voice assistant 105) generated by the external authenticator based on verification data (Funane: [0151]: Step S516, the biometric authentication processing unit 352 generates signature data by encrypting an assertion challenge included in the Auth biometric authentication parameter using the specified secret key);
transmit the signature data to the system (Funane: [0163] In Step S523, the communication unit 365 of the voice service 360 returns the assertion information (=assertion information includes signature data) received in Step S517 or S522 to the mail-order service 310);
receive, from the system, data based on a result of verification processing on the signature data using a public key registered in the system (Funane: [0167] In the verification, the signature data included in the assertion information is decrypted using a public key specified by the authentication information ID included in the assertion information. In the specifying of the public key, the authenticator information management table (table D) is used. Then, it is verified whether or not the decrypted value matches the assertion challenge included in the biometric authentication parameter that is generated and transmitted in Step S513),
Funane does not explicitly teaches:
Transmit a notification request to the external authenticator in an case where the data based on the result of the verification processing has been received from the system,
and wherein the external authenticator provides the user with first notification in response to a result of biometric authentication performed based on authentication request;
wherein external authenticator provided the user with a second notification in response to a reception of the notification request from the information processing apparatus.
However, in an analogous art, Ota teaches:
Transmit a notification request to the external authenticator in an case where the data based on the result of the verification processing has been received from the system (Ota: [0055], transmits the processing result to the voice assistant 102 (=external authenticator)…[0082], In step S419, the request processing unit 331 returns the processing result (success or failure of the saving) to the voice assistant 102. In step S420, the voice transmission unit 312 notifies the user of a voice based on the result received in step S419),
wherein the external authenticator (Ota: [0029] The mobile terminal 104 is a mobile terminal, such as a general mobile phone, smartphone, tablet, or wearable terminal… The mobile terminal 104 also includes a sensor and a camera for acquiring biological information for authenticating an individual. A program for performing biometric authentication also operates on the mobile terminal 104..) provides the user with a first notification (Ota: [0100] In a case where the biometric authentication fails, then in step S514, using the speaker unit 219, the voice transmission unit 312 notifies (=provides the first notification to the user) the user that the biometric authentication failed (=biometric result) in response to a result of biometric authentication performed based on the authentication request (Ota: [0033], The biological information of the user for use in biometric authentication is data (a signal) of a voiceprint, a fingerprint, a face, or an iris detected from data input by the microphone or the camera, or the feature amount of the data) [0099], In step S513, it is determined whether the biometric authentication is successful. According to whether the authentication succeeds or fails, the processing switches…)
wherein the external authenticator provides the user with a second notification (Ota: [0101] Next, a description is provided of the processing performed in a case where it is determined in step S513 that the biometric authentication is successful (=Biometric result))..[0106], This response includes a message that is generated as a result of the process of step S521 and should be transmitted from the voice assistant 102 to the user) in response to a reception of the notification request from the information processing apparatus (Ota: [0134] In step S1203, the execution confirmation unit 322 notifies (=first notification) the user of a message (a machine voice) such as “A request to permit the purchase of XX is received from the user B. Do you permit or prohibit the purchase?” via the voice transmission unit 312) [0056], A confirmation request unit 341 is a component for making a request to confirm whether the execution of a service is permitted (=reception of notification request))
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Funane’s method of automatically sensing biometric information and registering the wearable device in order to communicate with the services by applying Ota’s method of providing first notification when execution confirmation unit notifies (=first notification) the user such as “Do you permit or prohibit the purchase?” and based on user selection of whether to “permit” or “prohibit” system generate/provide second notification when biometric authentication is successful. The motivation is to performing biometric authentication for authenticating individual using wearable terminal (Ota: [0029]).
Regarding Claim 2, Funane in view of Ota teaches:
The information processing apparatus of claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above),
wherein the program when executed by the processor further causes the information processing apparatus to use a network interface (Funane: [0011], the information processing apparatus comprises: a memory storing first instructions, and at least one processor executing the first instructions causing the information processing apparatus to) to control a display for the user wearing the external authenticator (Lee: [Col 3, lines 27-29], The user-wearable device 102 can be a standalone device which gathers and processes data and displays results to a user) in response to at least one of the result of the biometric authentication in response to the authentication request, and the third reception unit receiving the data (Lee: [Col 15, lines 7-29], (67) The performing of steps 306, 308, 310 and 312 is an example of what can collectively be referred to as the performing of an authentication determination that compares the sensed biometric information to baseline biometric information to determine whether or not they match one another, wherein if the sensed biometric information matches the baseline biometric information the user wearing the user-wearable device is authenticated. Steps 306, 308, 310 and 312 can all be performed by the user-wearable device being worn by the user whose biometric information is sensed at step 304…the user-wearable device may receive results of an authentication determination that compares the sensed biometric information to baseline biometric information to determine whether or not they match one another, wherein if the sensed biometric information matches the baseline biometric information the user wearing the user-wearable device is authenticated).
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Funane’s method of registering the wearable device in order to communicate with the services by applying Ota’s method of providing first notification when execution confirmation unit notifies (=first notification) the user such as “Do you permit or prohibit the purchase?” and based on user selection of whether to “permit” or “prohibit” system generate/provide second notification when biometric authentication is successful. The motivation is to performing biometric authentication for authenticating individual using wearable terminal (Ota: [0029]).
Regarding Claim 3, Funane in view of Ota teaches:
The information processing apparatus of claim 2 (see rejection of claim 2 above),
wherein, when the external authenticator does not support a function for the notification, the display is controlled by the information processing apparatus (Funane: Examiner interpreting that if authenticator dies not support for receiving notification by sending vibrations, then authenticator receives an message using voice/speech as disclosed in [0230] In Step S821 and S824, the speech generating unit 363 of the voice service 360 notifies the user of an acceptance result of the request received in Step S801 through a voice…. As the notification, in addition to a notification using speech, for example, a message or the like may be transmitted to a target terminal).
Regarding Claim 5, Funane in view of Ota teaches:
The information processing apparatus of claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above),
wherein the external authenticator is any one of a smartwatch, an earphone, and a smart ring that are configured to perform biometric authentication even while being worn by the user (Funane: [0035], The smartwatch 104 is a wearable terminal and may be a wearable terminal of a different form such as smartglasses, an accessory (an earphone, a headphone, a ring, a necklace, a nail, or the like), shoes, underwear, a heart rate meter, an internal-use device, or a human body-embedded device),
Regarding Claim 6, this claim contains identical limitations found within that of claim 1 above albeit directed to a different statutory category (method medium). For this reason the same grounds of rejection are applied to claim 6.
Regarding Claim 7, Funane teaches:
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to (Funane: [0234], a ‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiments and/or that includes one or more circuits (e.g, application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiments, and by a method performed by the computer of the system or apparatus).
This claim contains identical limitations found within that of claim 1 above albeit directed to a different statutory category (non-transitory computer-readable storage medium). For this reason the same grounds of rejection are applied to claim 7.
Claim(s) 8-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Funane (U. S. PGPub. No. 2019/0165937 A1 (hereinafter “Funane”) in view of Lee (U. S. Pat. No. 9,558,336 B2) (hereinafter “Lee”); and in further view of Ota (U. S. PGPub. No. 2019/0098003 A1) (hereinafter “Ota”).
Regarding Claim 8, Funane teaches:
An authenticator configured to connect as an external authenticator to an information processing apparatus configured to execute an application for controlling authentication processing using the external authenticator (Funane: [0037] wearable terminals such as a plurality of smartwatches 104 may be connected to the network 101. In other words, this system is a system that includes a plurality of terminals such as the smartphone 103 and the smartwatch 104. [0038] The voice assistant 105 is an information processing apparatus…)
and configured to be worn by a user of the information processing apparatus, the authenticator comprising (Funane: [0035], The smartwatch 104 is a wearable terminal and may be a wearable terminal of a different form such as smart glasses, an accessory (an earphone, a headphone, a ring, a necklace, a nail, or the like), shoes, underwear, a heart rate meter, an internal-use device, or a human body-embedded device),
a processor (Funane: [0234], The computer may comprise one or more processors (e.g, central processing unit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network of separate computers or separate processors to read out and execute the computer executable instructions);
and a memory storing a program which, when executed by the processor, cause the authenticator to (Funane: [0011], the information processing apparatus comprises: a memory storing first instructions, and at least one processor executing the first instructions causing the information processing apparatus to):
generate signature data (Funane: [0151]: Step S516, the biometric authentication processing unit 352 generates signature data by encrypting an assertion challenge included in the Auth biometric authentication parameter using the specified secret key) using verification data included in the authentication request (Funane: [0151], In other words, the authenticator 350 executes biometric authentication and a secret key is extracted in the case of an authentication success. In addition, in the table A, not only the feature quantity but a match of a service ID included in the Auth biometric authentication parameter may be verified. Then, in Step S516, the biometric authentication processing unit 352 generates signature data by encrypting an assertion challenge included in the Auth biometric authentication parameter using the specified secret key) and a private key corresponding to the biometric information in a case where the biometric authentication is successful (Funane: [0068] In an authentication information management table illustrated in the table A, one record represents an entry of one piece of authentication information. A record of the table A is generated when the smartphone 103 registers the authenticator 330 in the mail-order service 310 of the server 102 and is added to the table A. An ID used for uniquely identifying each piece of authentication information is stored in an authentication information ID column. An ID used for uniquely identifying a service using an authentication function using biometric information is stored in a service ID column);
transmit the signature data to the information processing apparatus (Funane: [0163], In addition, in a case in which a result of the biometric authentication process of Step S520 is an authentication failure in the terminal that is a retry destination, here, the smartphone 103, the smartphone 103 executes the following process in Step S522. In other words, the smartphone 103 returns information indicating that the result of the biometric authentication process is an authentication failure to the voice assistant 105);
Funane does not explicitly teaches:
detect biometric information about the user in response to receiving an authentication request from the information processing apparatus;
perform biometric authentication using the biometric information;
and provide a notification to the user in response to at least one of a result of the biometric authentication in response to the authentication request.
However, Lee disclose:
detect biometric information about the user in response to receiving an authentication request from the information processing apparatus (Lee: [Col 13, lines 43-45], the type of biometric information that is sensed (=detected) at step 304 is the same as the type of baseline biometric information that is obtained and stored at step 302. [Col 13, lines 57-60], (63) At step 306, the biometric information sensed at step 304 is compared to the baseline biometric information obtained and stored at step 302, so that there can be a determination at step 308 of whether they match one another);
perform biometric authentication using the biometric information (Lee: [Col 13, lines 57-60], (63) At step 306, the biometric information sensed at step 304 is compared to the baseline biometric information obtained and stored at step 302, so that there can be a determination at step 308 of whether they match one another);
provide a first notification to the user in response to at least one of a result of the biometric authentication in response to the authentication request (Lee: [Col 4, lines 33-37], The user-wearable device 102 can inform the user of a new alert (=notify) by vibrating and/or emitting an audible sound. In certain embodiments, the user-wearable device 102 will only provide such alerts to a user wearing the device 102 if the user is authenticated. [Col 14, lines 32-35], (65) Referring again to FIG. 3, as indicated at block 310 in FIG. 3, if there is a determination that the sensed biometric information and the baseline biometric information match, then the user is authenticated)),
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Funane’s method of registering the wearable device in order to communicate with the services by applying Lee’s method of providing notifications to the user if authentication fails, in order to indicate the biometric authentication result. The motivation is to provide computer security to prevent a user from accessing data available via a computer system but for which the user does not have access permission (Lee: [Col 1, lines16-17]).
The Funane in view of Lee does not explicitly disclose:
receive, from the information processing apparatus, a notification request based on the information processing apparatus, receiving, from a system, data based on a result of verification processing on the signature data using a public key registered in the system and provide a second notification to the user in response to the received notification request.
However, in an analogous art, Ota teach:
receive, from the information processing apparatus, a notification request based on the information processing apparatus (Ota: [0055], transmits the processing result to the voice assistant 102 (=external authenticator)…[0082], In step S419, the request processing unit 331 returns the processing result (success or failure of the saving) to the voice assistant 102. In step S420, the voice transmission unit 312 notifies the user of a voice based on the result received in step S419),
receiving, from a system, data based on a result of verification processing on the signature data using a public key registered in the system(Funane: [0167] In the verification, the signature data included in the assertion information is decrypted using a public key specified by the authentication information ID included in the assertion information. In the specifying of the public key, the authenticator information management table (table D) is used. Then, it is verified whether or not the decrypted value matches the assertion challenge included in the biometric authentication parameter that is generated and transmitted in Step S513), and provide a second notification to the user(Ota: [0101] Next, a description is provided of the processing performed in a case where it is determined in step S513 that the biometric authentication is successful (=Biometric result))..[0106], This response includes a message that is generated as a result of the process of step S521 and should be transmitted from the voice assistant 102 to the user) in response to the received notification request (Ota: [0134] In step S1203, the execution confirmation unit 322 notifies (=first notification) the user of a message (a machine voice) such as “A request to permit the purchase of XX is received from the user B. Do you permit or prohibit the purchase?” via the voice transmission unit 312) [0056], A confirmation request unit 341 is a component for making a request to confirm whether the execution of a service is permitted (=reception of notification request)).
A person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, would have found it obvious to modify Funane in view of Lee by applying the well-known technique as disclosed by Ota’s method of providing first notification when execution confirmation unit notifies (=first notification) the user such as “Do you permit or prohibit the purchase?” and based on user selection of whether to “permit” or “prohibit” system generate/provide second notification when biometric authentication is successful. The motivation is to performing biometric authentication for authenticating individual using wearable terminal (Ota: [0029]).
Regarding claim 9, Funane in view of Lee and Ota teaches:
The authenticator of claim 8 (see rejection of claim 8 above),
Wherein the first notification to the user by authenticator is provided in accordance with control information regarding the first notification that is included in the authentication request (Ota: [0033], The biological information of the user for use in biometric authentication is data (a signal) of a voiceprint, a fingerprint, a face, or an iris detected from data input by the microphone or the camera, or the feature amount of the data) [0099], In step S513, it is determined whether the biometric authentication is successful. According to whether the authentication succeeds or fails, the processing switches…)
Regarding Claim 10, Funane in view of Lee and Ota teaches:
The authenticator of claim 8 (see rejection of claim 8 above),
wherein the authenticator is any one of a smartwatch, an earphone, and a smart ring that are configured to perform the biometric authentication while being worn by the user (Funane: [0035], The smartwatch 104 is a wearable terminal and may be a wearable terminal of a different form such as smart glasses, an accessory (an earphone, a headphone, a ring, a necklace, a nail, or the like), shoes, underwear, a heart rate meter, an internal-use device, or a human body-embedded device),
Regarding Claim 11, Funane in view of Lee and Ota teaches:
The authenticator of claim 8 (see rejection of claim 8 above),
wherein the first notification and the second notification are provided by sound or vibration (Lee: [Col 4, lines 33-37],The user-wearable device 102 can inform the user of a new alert by vibrating and/or emitting an audible sound. In certain embodiments, the user-wearable device 102 will only provide such alerts to a user wearing the device 102 if the user is authenticated)
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Funane’s method of registering the wearable device in order to communicate with the services by applying Lee’s method of providing alerts to the user if authentication fails, in order to indicate the user by sending vibrations of sound. The motivation is to provide computer security to prevent a user from accessing data available via a computer system but for which the user does not have access permission (Lee: [Col 1, lines16-17]).
Regarding Claim 12, this claim contains identical limitations found within that of claim 8 above albeit directed to a different statutory category (method medium). For this reason the same grounds of rejection are applied to claim 12.
Regarding Claim 13, this claim contains identical limitations found within that of claim 7 above. For this reason the same grounds of rejection are applied to claim 13.
Claim(s) 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Funane (U. S. PGPub. No. 2019/0165937 A1 (hereinafter “Funane”) in view of and in further view of Ota (U. S. PGPub. No. 2019/0098003 A1) (hereinafter “Ota”) and in further view of Bouey et al. (U. S. Pat. No. 1,361,290 B2) (hereinafter “Bouey”);
Regarding Claim 14, Funane in view of Ota teaches:
The information processing apparatus of claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above),
Funane in view of Ota does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the received parameters include control information for causing the external authenticator to execute a notification control,
and the authentication request including both the verification data and the control information is transmitted to the external authenticator, and
wherein the external authenticator provides the notification to the user in response to a result of biometric authentication performed based on the authentication request including the control information.
However, in an analogous art, Bouey teaches:
wherein the received parameters include control information for causing the external authenticator to execute a notification control (Bouey: [col 13, lines 4-7], As another example, if the fund transfer request originated from a particular sender, then the user may specify the mode of the notification (=control information) (e.g., e-mail, voicemail, or text message)),
and the authentication request including both the verification data and the control information is transmitted to the external authenticator (Bouey: [Col 16, lines 50-58], (55) The default notification settings field 401 presents the user with information regarding the current default notification settings for a funds transfer event. As shown in the screen shot in FIG. 4, notification settings field 401 may include settings to specify a telephone number (=verification data) to which automated telephone call notifications or text message notifications should be sent (field 403) and an e-mail address (=verification data) to which e-mail notifications should be sent (field 405) [Col 18, lines 44-64], (64) FIG. 5 is a screen shot of a form that allows a user to update default or custom notification settings….The user may use a checkbox to indicate which e-mail address should receive a notification….The user may use a check mark 509 to select a phone number that receives a notification… In other embodiments, the user may choose multiple telephone numbers and multiple e-mail addresses for notification…The user may click on save button 513 to save the notification changes implemented by the user), and
A person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, would have found it obvious to modify Funane in view of Ota by applying the well-known technique as disclosed by Bouey receiving notifications based on notification mode specified by user. The motivation is to provides an additional level of security to facilitate secure communications over a computer network (Bouey: [Col 1, lines 63-65]).
Funane in view of Ota and Bouey does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the external authenticator provides the notification to the user in response to a result of biometric authentication performed based on the authentication request including the control information.
However, in an analogous art, Lee teaches:
wherein the external authenticator provides the notification to the user in response to a result of biometric authentication performed based on the authentication request including the control information (Lee: [Col 4, lines 33-37], The user-wearable device 102 can inform the user of a new alert (=notify) by vibrating and/or emitting an audible sound. In certain embodiments, the user-wearable device 102 will only provide such alerts to a user wearing the device 102 if the user is authenticated. [Col 14, lines 32-35], (65) Referring again to FIG. 3, as indicated at block 310 in FIG. 3, if there is a determination that the sensed biometric information and the baseline biometric information match, then the user is authenticated)),
A person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, would have found it obvious to modify Funane in view of Ota and Bouey by applying the well-known technique as disclosed by Lee’s method of providing notifications to the user if authentication fails, in order to indicate the biometric authentication result. The motivation is to provide computer security to prevent a user from accessing data available via a computer system but for which the user does not have access permission (Lee: [Col 1, lines16-17])
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Refer to PTO-892, Notice of References Cited for a listing of analogous art.
Krishna (U. S. 2021/0400036 A1): The present invention describes the user authentication system comprising of multiple levels of security which is used to authorize the user. The system uses more than one levels of authentication process which receives the credentials from the user and authorizes them to allow access to the IoT devices which are used by the user. The connected devices represent individual targets for the cyber-criminals who 20 would hack the devices to retrieve the secure information of the users. Such insecurities about the IoT devices and the system are eliminated by using the multiple level user authentication system which is described in the present invention.
SIM et al. (U. S. 2021/00334348 A1): A biometric authentication apparatus is provided. The biometric authentication apparatus includes one or more converters that convert a transmit signal of an electrical signal into a vibration signal of a mechanical signal and transmit the vibration signal vibrating within a set frequency range to a user, one or more sensor that receive a biometric signal corresponding to the vibration signal from the user and convert the biometric signal into a receive signal of an electrical signal, an authentication module that extracts anatomical feature information of the user from the receive signal and determines whether the user is a registered user based on the anatomical feature information, and a memory that stores a database for the registered user. The biometric signal is a frequency-based signal modified to include the anatomical feature information while the vibration signal passes through at least a portion of the body of the user.
Conclusion
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 RUPALI DHAKAD whose telephone number is (571)270-3743. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alexander Lagor can be reached at 5712705143. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/R.D./Examiner, Art Unit 2437
/ALI S ABYANEH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2437
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