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 Office Action is in response to the response filed on 04/23/2026.
Claims 1-8 have been examined and are pending; claims 9-14 are non-elected. This Action is made Non-FINAL.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant elects, without traverse, Group-I, comprising claims 1-8, for prosecution of this patent application in the reply filed on 04/23/2026 is acknowledged.
Priority
This application is a continuation-in -part of U.S. application No. 16/396,367, filed on April 26th, 2019 (Now U.S. patent No. 11, 917, 061).
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 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 of this title, 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.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (CN 106549927) and in view of Manaka (US 2011/0305342).
Regarding claim 1, Chen discloses a method of encryption, comprising:
generating a first unique symmetric cryptographic key using a symmetric key cryptography algorithm (Chen abstract and S201; Obtaining a first key, wherein the first key is the key needing to be protected. See also claim 1);
generating a second unique symmetric cryptographic key using a symmetric key cryptography algorithm (Chen abstract and S12; Generating a second key. See also claim 1);
generating a third unique symmetric cryptographic key using a symmetric key cryptography algorithm (Chen abstract and S13; Generating the third key. See also claim 1);
using the second cryptographic key to encrypt the first cryptographic key via a symmetric key algorithm (Chen abstract and S12; Using the second key to encrypt the first key to obtain the first ciphertext. when using the key to encrypt, it can obtain the preset encryption algorithm, encrypts the information by a predetermined encryption algorithm. See also claim 1);
using the third cryptographic key to encrypt the second cryptographic key via a symmetric key algorithm (Chen abstract and S13; The third key to encrypt the second key to obtain the second ciphertext. See also claim 1);
storing the third cryptographic key and the encrypted first cryptographic key in a first computational storage space (Chen S14; Respectively and independently storing the first ciphertext, the second ciphertext and the third key);
storing encrypted second cryptographic key in a second computational storage space that is logically separate from the first computational storage space (Chen S14 and S204; In certain embodiments, the stored as separate file the first ciphertext, the second ciphertext is stored in the configuration file, the third key stored in the source code. The Ta is stored in a separate file. See also claim 2).
Chen teaches, the stored as separate file the first ciphertext, the second ciphertext is stored in the configuration file, the third key stored in the source code (Chen S14). However, Chen does not explicitly disclose wherein second computational storage space that is logically separate from the first computational storage space.
However, in an analogous art, Manaka teaches wherein second computational storage space that is logically separate from the first computational storage space (Manaka par. 0081; Storing the encrypted seed A'/apparatus serial N' generated by the identification information encryption section 282 as the file D in the external storage apparatus 260 through the connection section 217, and reading through the connection section 217 the encrypted Seed A'/apparatus serial N' from the file D stored in the external storage apparatus 260. See also par. 0092 and 0118).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of Manaka with the method and system of Chen, wherein second computational storage space that is logically separate from the first computational storage space to provide users with a means for restoring a device key easily and safely (Manaka par. 0006).
Regarding claim 2, Chen and Manaka disclose the method of claim 1,
Chen further discloses further comprising: using the first symmetrical key to encrypt a secret; and storing the encrypted secret in the second computational storage space with the encrypted second cryptographic key (Chen S14 and S210; Respectively and independently storing the first ciphertext, the second ciphertext and the third key. In this embodiment, protection to be key to perform the encryption, secret key of plain text. is also encrypted by encryption processing using the key, it can ensure the safety of encryption key. by the relevant parameters are stored).
Regarding claim 3, Chen and Manaka disclose the method of claim 1,
Chen further discloses wherein the first, second, and third cryptographic keys are generated independently of hardware cryptographic modules and public key cryptography algorithms (Chen S206; For example, the encryption algorithm is aes-256-cbc, adopting the Kc to Kb to aes-256 -cbc encryption, obtaining Tb. In addition, the Kb encrypted Ka and Kb Kc encrypted using encryption algorithm can be stored in a library file, a library file can be generated by a third party. See also S205).
Regarding claim 4, Chen and Manaka disclose the method of claim 1,
Chen further discloses wherein the encryption of the first and second keys is implemented by algorithms operable in any computational environment, devoid of specialized hardware (Chen S206; For example, the encryption algorithm is aes-256-cbc, adopting the Kc to Kb to aes-256 -cbc encryption, obtaining Tb. In addition, the Kb encrypted Ka and Kb Kc encrypted using encryption algorithm can be stored in a library file, a library file can be generated by a third party. If the integrated module is implemented in the form of software function module and sold or used as an individual product, it can also be stored in a computer readable storage medium).
Regarding claim 5, Chen and Manaka disclose the method of claim 2,
Chen further discloses wherein the encryption of the secret is implemented by an algorithm operable in any computational environment, devoid of specialized hardware (Chen S14, S206, S210 and page 8; Respectively and independently storing the first ciphertext, the second ciphertext and the third key. For example, the encryption algorithm is aes-256-cbc, adopting the Kc to Kb to aes-256 -cbc encryption, obtaining Tb. In addition, the Kb encrypted Ka and Kb Kc encrypted using encryption algorithm can be stored in a library file, a library file can be generated by a third party. If the integrated module is implemented in the form of software function module and sold or used as an individual product, it can also be stored in a computer readable storage medium. In this embodiment, protection to be key to perform the encryption, secret key of plain text. is also encrypted by encryption processing using the key, it can ensure the safety of encryption key. by the relevant parameters are stored).
Regarding claim 6, Chen and Manaka disclose the method of claim 2,
Chen further discloses further comprising recovering the secret by:
retrieving the third cryptographic key and the encrypted first cryptographic key from the first computational storage area (Chen Fig. 3, S31; Obtaining the independently stored first ciphertext and the second ciphertext and the third key);
retrieving the encrypted secret and the encrypted second cryptographic key from the first computational storage area (Chen Fig. 3, S31; Obtaining the independently stored first ciphertext and the second ciphertext and the third key);
decrypting the encrypted second cryptographic key using the third cryptographic key via a symmetric key algorithm (Chen Fig. 3, S32; Using the third key to the second ciphertext to decrypt and obtain the second key. Wherein the algorithm for decrypting the second ciphertext is selected consistent with the encryption algorithm of the second ciphertext);
decrypting the encrypted first cryptographic key using the second cryptographic key via a symmetric key algorithm (Chen Fig. 3, S33; Using the second key to decrypt the first ciphertext, obtaining the first key, the first key is a key needs to be protected. Wherein the algorithm for decrypting the first ciphertext when selected consistent with the encryption algorithm of the first ciphertext); and
Manaka further discloses decrypting the secret using the first cryptographic key (Manaka par. 0066; The device key Ka is used to encrypt a content recorded in a recording medium 251 or to decrypt an encrypted content).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of Manaka with the method and system of Chen, wherein second computational storage space that is logically separate from the first computational storage space to provide users with a means for restoring a device key easily and safely (Manaka par. 0006).
Regarding claim 7, Chen and Manaka disclose the method of claim 6,
Chen further discloses wherein the decryption of the first and second keys and the secret is implemented by algorithms operable in any computational environment, devoid of specialized hardware (Chen page 8; It should be understood that each component of the invention can be hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. In the above embodiments, multiple steps or method can be stored in a memory and executed by a suitable instruction execution system software or firmware to realize. If the integrated module is implemented in the form of software function module and sold or used as an individual product, it can also be stored in a computer readable storage medium).
Regarding claim 8, Chen and Manaka disclose the method of claim 7,
Chen further discloses wherein recovery of the secret is requested by a user, and further comprising authorizing and authenticating the user during retrieval of the cryptographic keys (Chen S210; Above is a share key Ka of the saving process, if desired to obtain key Ka, ciphertext Hf/ ciphertext Tb/ key Kc is lack of one, and the three parts are placed respectively to store the independent file/configuration file/source code, each part requires independent authority to obtain, can be by means of separating authority to ensure the Ka).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SANCHIT K SARKER whose telephone number is (571)270-7907. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 AM-5:30 PM.
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/SANCHIT K SARKER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2495
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