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 in response to the claimed listing filed in Amendment on 12/04/2025.
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Response to Arguments
This is in response to the argument remarks filed on 12/04/2025.
Regards to the amendments responsive to Abbreviation in Claimed Objections. See the objection issue below in the action.
- Regards to the arguments subjected to the USC 101 rejection in claim 20. With adding limitation, “non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a data structure for a non-fungible token non-fungible token (NFT) for identifying and managing a functional subcomponent of a large quantum program comprising:”, the adding limitation has the claim addressed in new ground of rejection, the arguments are moot in view of new ground of rejection.
- With regards to the arguments to claim 20, rejected under 35 USC 102(a)(2) by Richter, the arguments are not persuasive since the claims merely information in a NFT, as “a) a unique identifier for the functional subcomponent; b) ownership information …; and c) deployment path information indicating an optimal distributed hardware environment for the subcomponent” , Theses limitations as in broad manner, the teachings in Richter as mapped read on the recitations.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-17, and 18-19 are objected to.
MPEP requirement for full English to be used for clear and definite limitation in a claim. Abbreviation is permitted in claims. To avoid ambiguity, it must be properly defined with reference characters (enclosed in parentheses) and consistently applied.
Claims 1-17: In Claim 1, at the third bold dot: “generating, by an NFT generator engine, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for the program”. The use of the NFT abbreviation is incorrect and not put in the correct position. It should be amended as:
“generating, by a non-fungible token (NFT) generator engine, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for the program”. And thereafter using NFT for “non-fungible token” and NFTs for “non-fungible tokens”.
In Claim 4, a dependent claim, the original limitation “based on an NFT linkage…” is clear/corrected if the Abbreviation NFT of has been defined in previous claims, such as in claim 1. The amendment has the limitation using “(NFT)” incorrect.
Claims 18-19: In Claim 18, it is a new scope, an independent form and away from the set of claims 1-17.
In the second bold dot “generating NFTs..” would make the use of “NFTs” unclear. Therefore, the limitation should be amended as “generating non-fungible tokens (NFTs)..”.
For the clarification of the claims, it would be respectfully to use correct abbreviations.
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.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because the claim recites directed a Non-Fungible Token which is a data per se:
Claim 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more.
The claim recites “A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a data structure for a non-fungible token non-fungible token (NFT)” which is a non-transitory computer readable medium.
However, the claim recites: for identifying and managing a functional subcomponent of a large quantum program comprising:
“a) a unique identifier for the functional subcomponent; b) ownership information associated with the functional subcomponent; and c) deployment path information indicating an optimal distributed hardware environment for the subcomponent” ,
Step 2A, prong 1: The limitations as a whole in bold it is merely information/data per se reciting a list of nonfunctional-descriptive materials with the information. It should be noted that Non-Fungible Token (NFT) is a piece of information, well-known as a record of information stored on a blockchain. The NFT itself is the unique data that certifies ownership, authenticity, and other details about a specific digital or physical item. The elements in the claim such as, a unique identifier for the functional subcomponent; ownership information, deployment path information, are the particular information to the NFT of the claim. These limitation can be formed in mind or writing in paper or typing in a computer text. Information or data alone is generally seen as an abstract concept, not a physical machine, article, or composition of matter, it is a mental. Thus, the limitations has the claim directed to an abstract idea (See 2106.04(a) Abstract Ideas).
Step 2A, prong 2: The claim is added with “A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a data structure for a non-fungible token non-fungible token (NFT)” for identifying and managing a functional subcomponent of a large quantum program” - With this limitation is used for the claimed preamble. It is as the data structure is stored in the computer readable medium, and with “identifying and managing a functional subcomponent of a large quantum program data or information”, as a part of the preamble, both are intended without any functional structures. It is only intended without functioning to the limitations recited in bold as a whole. Therefore, the preamble does not add to the claimed limitation in bold above as an additional elements to integrate the Judicial Exception into a Practical Application.
Therefore, the claim is directed to an abstract idea without additional elements to integrate the abstract idea significantly more. The claim is ineligible under 35 USC 101.
It should be noted that Non-Fungible Token (NFT) is a piece of information, well-known as a record of information stored on a blockchain. The NFT itself is the unique data that certifies ownership, authenticity, and other details about a specific digital or physical item.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 20 is are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Richter, US Pat. No. US 12169825B2 (has the EF on 2/21/2023) .
As per Claim 20: Regarding,
20. (Currently Amended) A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a data structure for a non-fungible token non-fungible token (NFT) for identifying and managing a functional subcomponent of a large quantum program comprising:
a) a unique identifier for the functional subcomponent;
(See FIG. 1, Transactions Ai associated with Hash A for identifying Transaction Bi, and Transaction Bi associated with Hash B for identifying transaction C1. And see col. 12, lines 51-58, “In a non-limiting example, implicit data collection may include a fingerprint received through a digital fingerprinting, wherein the fingerprint is a unique identifier of one or more data,… to identify and track user, apparatus 100, processor 104, and any other devices described in this disclosure online through a fingerprinting algorithm”. In this case, the Hash or Fingerprint is a unique identifier, and the elements being identified are subcomponents)
b) ownership information associated with the functional subcomponent;
(See Col. 15, lines 10, col. 22, lines 46-53, “For example and without limitation, processor 104 may receive a user object and/or user interest category 120 and broadcast it to and/or post it on a blockchain and/or immutable sequential listing 132 to trigger a smart contract function; smart contract function in tum may create a token and assign it to its owner and/or creator, which
may include an owner and/or creator of creative work or an assignee and/or transferee thereof.”)
and
c) deployment path information indicating an optimal distributed hardware environment for the subcomponent.
(See col. 20, lines 27-48, “… apparatus 100 may be configured to mint an NFT 128 into some sequential listing such as immutable sequential listing 132. "Mint" or "minting," as used in this disclosure, is the process of confirming a cryptographic asset and deploying it on some sequential listing, blockchain” (emphasis added).
See col. 25, lines 48-52, “Immutable sequential listing 200 may be incorporated in, stored in, or incorporate, any suitable data structure, including without limitation any database, datastore, file structure, distributed hash table, directed acyclic graph or the like.”(emphasis added).
Thus, FIG 1, NFT 128 provides immutable Sequential Listing 132; i.e. it contains optimal distributed hardware environment, where the path information is identified by Hash from transaction Ai to Bi, or from Bi to Ci in FIG.2.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-19 are objected to. Claims would be allowable if the objection addressed above is resolved.
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 Ted T Vo whose telephone number is (571)272-3706. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-4:30pm ET.
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, Wei Y Mui can be reached at (571) 272-3708. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
TTV
January 10, 2026
/Ted T. Vo/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2191
Prosecution Insights