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
This is in response to the amendments filed on 11/3/2025 Claims 1, 11, and 19 have been amended. Claims 2-3, 12-13, and 20 have been canceled. Claims 1, 4-11, and 14-19 are currently pending and have been considered below
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 11, and 19 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 Objections
Claims 1, 6, 8, 11, 16, 18, and 19 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1, line 11 recites “stores its copy of the key” which should be changed to --stores a copy of the temporary key--. Line 12 further recites “the key” which should be changed to --the temporary key--. Lines 14-15 and 16 further recite “the secure communication channel” which should be changed to --the temporary secure communication channel--.
Claim 6, line 2 recite “secure communication channel” which should be changed to --temporary secure communication channel--.
Claim 8, line 2 recite “secure communication channel” which should be changed to --temporary secure communication channel--.
Claim 11, line 7 recites “stores its copy of the key” which should be changed to --stores a copy of the temporary key--. Line 8 further recites “the key” which should be changed to --the temporary key--. Lines 10-11 and 12 further recite “the secure communication channel” which should be changed to --the temporary secure communication channel--.
Claim 16, line 2 recite “secure communication channel” which should be changed to --temporary secure communication channel--.
Claim 18, line 2 recite “secure communication channel” which should be changed to --temporary secure communication channel--. Claim 19, line 9 recites “stores its copy of the key” which should be changed to --stores a copy of the temporary key--. Line 10 further recites “the key” which should be changed to --the temporary key--. Lines 12-13 and 14 further recite “the secure communication channel” which should be changed to --the temporary secure communication channel--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1, 4-11, and 14-19 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 1, 11, and 19 each recite the limitation "wherein determine the elapsed time value is based upon a type of a task to be performed", however there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claims because the claims lack any recitation of “determi[ing]”. The examiner recommends amending “determine” to instead be “specifying”.
Claims 1, 11, and 19 further recite the limitations “perform[ing] the task on each of the computing devices using the secure communication channel” and “cancel[ing] the secure communication channel when the amount of time has expired”, however it’s unclear as which of the secure communication channels is being referred to because the claims previously establish “a temporary secure communication channel with each of the computing devices”. In other words, the previous recitation of “establish[ing] a temporary secure communication channel with each of the computing devices” implies that there is a “secure communication channel” for every instance of computing device (i.e., multiple channels being present), rather than one single communication channel (as implied by the “perform[ing]” and “cancel[ing” limitations).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: “Sharma” (US 2015/0281213), “Xu” (US 2018/0316500), and “Nunn” (US 2023/0123691).
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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL B POTRATZ whose telephone number is (571)270-5329. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 10 A.M. - 6 P.M. CST.
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, William Korzuch can be reached on 571-272-7589. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/DANIEL B POTRATZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2491
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