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 .
This office action is in response to the application filed October 24, 2023.
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Claim Objections
Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities: the claims recites “They system” rather than “The system” Appropriate correction is required.
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)(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(s) 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by “Jakobsson” (US PG Pub 2023/0006976).
Regarding Claim 18, Jakobsson teaches:
18. A method for monitoring a blockchain network, the method comprising: deploying a first agent to monitor a layer 2 solution, the layer 2 solution being communicatively coupled with a layer 1 blockchain via a bridge; (See Jakobsson layer 1 blockchain in Fig. 28, and ¶¶113-115 describing system including layer 1 and layer 2 blockchains and bridges between, and further Jakobsson e.g. ¶¶337-338 teaches generation of smart contracts which act as agents and may monitor the blockchain transactions in the network))
deploying a second agent to monitor an oracle, the oracle being communicatively coupled with the layer 2 solution; (See Jakobsson layer 1 blockchain in Fig. 28, and ¶¶113-115 describing system including layer 1 and layer 2 blockchains and bridges between, and further Jakobsson e.g. ¶¶337-338 teaches generation of smart contracts which act as agents and may monitor the blockchain transactions in the network))
receiving network activity data from the first agent and the second agent; (See Jakobsson l ¶¶113-115,345, Fig. 26 describing system including layer 1 and layer 2 including a watchful bridge which receives transaction data from bounty hunters, oracles, agents etc in determining transactions to process, halt or delay)
at an Al system, analyzing the network activity data; (See Jakobsson l ¶¶113-115,345, Fig. 26 describing system including layer 1 and layer 2 including a watchful bridge which receives transaction data from bounty hunters, oracles, agents etc in determining transactions to process, halt or delay)
by analyzing the network activity data, determining a corrective action, (See Jakobsson l ¶¶113-115,345, Fig. 26 describing system including layer 1 and layer 2 including a watchful bridge which receives transaction data from bounty hunters, oracles, agents etc in determining transactions to process, halt or delay)
wherein the corrective action includes altering an operating parameter of one or more of the layer 2 solution, the bridge, or the oracle; (See Jakobsson ¶¶352-354 describe updating timestamps and flags for the layer 2 blockchain when the corrective action includes, blocking, delaying or confirming the blockchain transaction)
performing the corrective action; and (See Jakobsson l ¶¶113-115,345, Fig. 26 describing system including layer 1 and layer 2 including a watchful bridge which receives transaction data from bounty hunters, oracles, agents etc in determining transactions to process, halt or delay and performing the action as in Fig. 26 )
displaying, via a user interface, a report that is based at least in part on the analysis, at the Al system, of the network activity data. (Jakobsson teaches, e.g. in ¶¶287-88, the system including reporting units for communicating network traffic and security statistics on client-side applications, see also Security Logs and notifications in ¶313)
Regarding Claim 19, Jakobsson teaches:
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the layer 2 solution includes a plurality of blockchains distinct from the layer 1 blockchain. (See Jakobsson ¶¶113-115 describing separate operat of L1 and L2 blockchains)
Regarding Claim 20, Jakobsson teaches:
20. A system for monitoring a blockchain network, the system comprising:a processor; and memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system to:
deploy a first agent to monitor a layer 2 solution, the layer 2 solution being communicatively coupled with a layer 1 blockchain via a bridge; (See Jakobsson layer 1 blockchain in Fig. 28, and ¶¶113-115 describing system including layer 1 and layer 2 blockchains and bridges between, and further Jakobsson e.g. ¶¶337-338 teaches generation of smart contracts which act as agents and may monitor the blockchain transactions in the network))
deploy a second agent to monitor an oracle, the oracle being communicatively coupled with the layer 2 solution; (See Jakobsson layer 2 blockchain in Fig. 28, and ¶¶113-115 describing system including layer 1 and layer 2 blockchains and bridges between, and further Jakobsson e.g. ¶¶337-338 teaches generation of smart contracts which act as agents and may monitor the blockchain transactions in the network))
receive network activity data from the first agent and the second agent; (See Jakobsson l ¶¶113-115,345, Fig. 26 describing system including layer 1 and layer 2 including a watchful bridge which receives transaction data from bounty hunters, oracles, agents etc in determining transactions to process, halt or delay)
at an Al system, analyze the network activity data; (See Jakobsson l ¶¶113-115,345, Fig. 26 describing system including layer 1 and layer 2 including a watchful bridge which receives transaction data from bounty hunters, oracles, agents etc in determining transactions to process, halt or delay)
by analyzing the network activity data, determine a corrective action, (See Jakobsson l ¶¶113-115,345, Fig. 26 describing system including layer 1 and layer 2 including a watchful bridge which receives transaction data from bounty hunters, oracles, agents etc in determining transactions to process, halt or delay)
wherein the corrective action includes altering an operating parameter of one or more of the layer 2 solution, the bridge, or the oracle; (See Jakobsson ¶¶352-354 describe updating timestamps and flags for the layer 2 blockchain when the corrective action includes, blocking, delaying or confirming the blockchain transaction)
perform the corrective action; (See Jakobsson l ¶¶113-115,345, Fig. 26 describing system including layer 1 and layer 2 including a watchful bridge which receives transaction data from bounty hunters, oracles, agents etc in determining transactions to process, halt or delay and performing the action as in Fig. 26 )
and display, via a user interface, a report that is based at least in part on the analysis, at the Al system, of the network activity data. (Jakobsson teaches, e.g. in ¶¶287-88, the system including reporting units for communicating network traffic and security statistics on client-side applications, see also Security Logs and notifications in ¶313)
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) 1-9, and 12-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over “Jakobsson” (US PG Pub 2023/0006976) in view of “Grant” (US PG Pub 2023/0367788).
Regarding Claim 1, Jakobsson teaches:
1. A system for monitoring network activity data in a blockchain network, the system comprising: a layer 1 blockchain; (See Jakobsson layer 1 blockchain in Fig. 28, and ¶¶113-115 describing system including layer 1 and layer 2 blockchains and bridges between)
a layer 2 solution communicatively coupled, via a bridge, with the layer 1 blockchain; (See Jakobsson layer 2 blockchain in Fig. 28, and ¶¶113-115 describing system including layer 1 and layer 2 blockchains and bridges between)
an oracle communicatively coupled with the layer 2 solution; (See Jakobsson l ¶¶113-115 describing system including layer 1 and layer 2 blockchains and bridges between including connected oracles, see further ¶¶315-317,345 further describing operation of oracles)
and a monitoring system comprising (See Jakobsson l ¶¶113-115,345, Fig. 26 describing system including layer 1 and layer 2 including a watchful bridge which receives transaction data from bounty hunters, oracles, agents etc in determining transactions to process, halt or delay)
an artificial intelligence (Al) system, (See e.g. ¶¶117-119,360 wherein the watchful bridge includes machine learning and/or artificial intelligence systems for analyzing and identifying problematic transactions on the blockchain)
and a reporting system;
wherein the AI system is configured to: receive,… the network activity data; (See Jakobsson l ¶¶113-115,345, Fig. 26 describing system including layer 1 and layer 2 including a watchful bridge which receives transaction data from bounty hunters, oracles, agents etc in determining transactions to process, halt or delay)
analyze the network activity data; (See Jakobsson l ¶¶113-115,345, Fig. 26 describing system including layer 1 and layer 2 including a watchful bridge which receives transaction data from bounty hunters, oracles, agents etc in determining transactions to process, halt or delay)
and determine a corrective action based on analyzing the network activity data; (See Jakobsson l ¶¶113-115,345, e.g. 2620, Fig. 26 describing system including layer 1 and layer 2 including a watchful bridge which receives transaction data from bounty hunters, oracles, agents etc in determining transactions to process, halt or delay)
wherein the reporting system is configured to display a report of the network activity data via a user interface; (Jakobsson teaches, e.g. in ¶¶287-88, the system including reporting units for communicating network traffic and security statistics on client-side applications, see also Security Logs and notifications in ¶313)
and wherein the monitoring system is configured to perform the corrective action. (See Jakobsson l ¶¶113-115,345, Fig. 26 e.g. 2650 or 2640 describing system including layer 1 and layer 2 including a watchful bridge which receives transaction data from bounty hunters, oracles, agents etc in determining transactions to process, halt or delay)
Jakobsson does not teach, but Grant teaches:
a log collector, (Grant See e.g. processor 112 saving layer 1 and layer 2 blockchain activity to tracking database 114, fig. 1 in e.g.¶¶22-23)
wherein the log collector is configured to: receive network activity data from the layer 2 solution and the oracle; (Grant See e.g. processor 112 saving layer 1 and layer 2 blockchain activity to tracking database 114, fig. 1 in e.g.¶¶22-23)
and provide the network activity data to the AI system; (Grant e.g. ¶¶28-42 and tables 1-8 teaches providing the layer 1 and layer 2 activity from the tracking database for analysis)
In addition, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to combine the teachings of Jakobsoon and Grant as each is directed to multi-layer blockchain management systems and Grant recognized “techniques are needed to allow for efficient processing of transactions bridged across multiple blockchains.” (¶4).
Regarding Claim 2, Jakobsson teaches: 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the AI system includes one or more AI models trained using layer 2 blockchain processing information. (Jakobsson teaches training AI models online using the watchful bridges of the L1 and L2 blockchains in e.g. ¶363).
Regarding Claim 3, Jakobsson does not teach, but Grant teaches:
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the log collector is further configured to receive the network activity data from the bridge and the layer 1 blockchain. (Grant See e.g. processor 112 saving layer 1 and layer 2 blockchain activity to tracking database 114, fig. 1 in e.g.¶¶22-23) In addition, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to combine the teachings of Jakobsoon and Grant as each is directed to multi-layer blockchain management systems and Grant recognized “techniques are needed to allow for efficient processing of transactions bridged across multiple blockchains.” (¶4).
Regarding Claim 4, Jakobsson teaches:
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the report includes layer 2 blockchain operation parameters that are based, at least in part, on a mapping between one or more layer 2 blockchain network operation parameters and one or more non-blockchain network operating parameters. (See Jakobsson ¶¶287-288 teaches reports including traffic metrics for the network related to the operation of layer 1 and layer 2 block chain transactions).
Regarding Claim 5, Jakobsson teaches 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the layer 2 solution is maintained within an organization. (Jakobsson ¶155 teaches private blockchains maintained in an organization or consortium of organizations)
Regarding Claim 6, Jakobsson teaches 6. The system of The system of wherein the layer 2 solution comprises an internal layer 2 solution and an external layer 2 solution; (Jakbosoon e.g. ¶¶155-158 teach the use of public and private blockchains, where the private/permissioned blockchains are maintained within an organization wherein the bridge comprises an internal bridge and an external bridge; (Jakobsson teaches, e.g. ¶¶115-117, 388-391, the use of watchful bridges for both public and private blockchains)
and wherein the oracle comprises an internal oracle and an external oracle. (Jakbosoon e.g. ¶¶155-158 teach the use of public and private blockchains, and further teaches the use of oracles of any of the blockchains e.g.¶¶345,352).
Regarding Claim 7, Jakobsson teaches 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the log collector is further configured to receive the network activity data from each of the external layer 2 solution, the external oracle, the external bridge, the internal layer 2 solution, the internal oracle, and the internal bridge. (See Jakobsson l ¶¶113-115,345, describing system including layer 1 and layer 2 including a watchful bridge, for public and private blockchains (¶¶155-158), which receives transaction data from bounty hunters, oracles, agents etc in determining transactions to process, halt or delay)
Regarding Claim 8, Jakobsson teaches 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the Al system is configured to generate, based on the network activity data, an optimized parameter template useable to optimize performance of the layer 2 solution. (See Jakobsson ¶170 teaching providing mecanisims for network optimization challenges in the blockchain system)
Regarding Claim 9, Jakobsson teaches 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the Al system is configured to send the optimized parameter template to the layer 2 solution. (See Jakobsson ¶170 teaching providing mecanisims for network optimization challenges in the blockchain system as part of a system described in ¶¶169-182 for providing consensus mechanisms for the blockchain system)
Regarding Claim 12, Jakobsson teaches 12. The system of The system of further comprising an agent handler; wherein the agent handler is configured to: generate an agent; (Jakobsson e.g. ¶¶337-338 teaches generation of smart contracts which act as agents and may monitor the blockchain transactions in the network) and deploy the agent to monitor the network activity data of the layer 2 solution. (Jakobsson e.g. ¶¶337-338 teaches generation of smart contracts which act as agents and may monitor the blockchain transactions in the network)
Regarding Claim 13, Jakobsson teaches 13. The system of claim 12, wherein receiving the network activity data from the layer 2 solution comprises receiving the network activity data from the agent. (Jakobsson e.g. ¶¶337-338 teaches generation of smart contracts which act as agents and may monitor the blockchain transactions in the network).
Regarding Claim 14, Jakobsson teaches 14. The system of claim 12, wherein generating the agent comprises using the Al system to generate the agent. (Jakobsson e.g. ¶¶337-338 teaches generation of smart contracts which act as agents and may monitor the blockchain transactions in the network, and further describes the security platform as employing a machine learning system to carry out such security sets in e.g. ¶¶293, 303,360)
Regarding Claim 15, Jakobsson teaches:
15. The system of claim 1, wherein the corrective action includes one or more of: halting a transaction; generating an alert; destroying the bridge; updating an operation
parameter of the layer 2 solution; or provisioning computational resources to be used by layer 2 solution. (See e.g. blocking transactions 2640, Fig. 26 of Jakobsson)
Regarding Claim 16, Jakobsson teaches:
16. The system of claim 1, wherein analyzing the network activity data comprises applying a deep learning model. (See e.g. using machine learning in watchful bridge of ¶¶117-119).
Regarding Claim 17, Jakobsson teaches:
17. The system of claim 1, wherein the layer 1 blockchain is associated with Bitcoin or Ethereum transactions. (See Jakobsson Ethereum in ¶¶139,147,406 Bitcoin ¶170).
Claim(s) 10 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over “Jakobsson” (US PG Pub 2023/0006976) in view of “Grant” (US PG Pub 2023/0367788) as applied above and further in view of “Bernardi” (US PG Pub 2024/0185191).
Regarding Claim 10, Jakobsson et al do no further teach, but Bernandi teaches:
10. The system of claim 1, wherein the layer 2 solution is a sidechain. (Bernandi teaches Sidechains as L2 solutions in e.g. ¶¶771-778,789-791) In addition, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to combine the teachings of Jakobsoon and Bernardi as each is directed to multi-layer blockchain management systems and Bernardi recognized “By developing multi-chain smart contracts and/or Ricardian contracts, projects have been able to both expand their user base and experiment with new features on lower-cost networks that would otherwise be too cost-prohibitive” (¶791).
Regarding Claim 11, Jakobsson et al do no further teach, but Bernandi teaches:
11. They system of claim 1, wherein the layer 2 solution is a rollup. (Bernandi teaches rollups as L2 solutions in e.g. ¶¶789-791) In addition, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to combine the teachings of Jakobsoon and Bernardi as each is directed to multi-layer blockchain management systems and Bernardi recognized “By developing multi-chain smart contracts and/or Ricardian contracts, projects have been able to both expand their user base and experiment with new features on lower-cost networks that would otherwise be too cost-prohibitive” (¶791).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The prior art cited in the attached PTO-892 form includes additional prior art relevant to applicant’s disclosures related to multi-layer blockchain monitoring and management.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW J BROPHY whose telephone number is (571)270-1642. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9am-4:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Wei Zhen 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.
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MJB
5/28/2026
/MATTHEW J BROPHY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2191
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