DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of (Species II: Claims 8-14) in the reply filed on 02/02/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-7 and 15-20 have been canceled.
Claims 21-33 have been newly added.
Claims 8-14 and 21-33 are presented for examination.
Examiner’s Note
Claim 21 recites the limitation “One or more computer storage media” in line 1. After reviewing the application, the specification defines that “Computer storage media does not comprise a propagated data signal” (see para [0093]). Therefore, Claim 21 is statutory.
Claim Objections
Claims 22-27 are objected to because of the following informalities: “The method of claim” in line 1 should be --- The media of claim ---. 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)(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.
Claims 8, 13-14, 21, 26-28, and 33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and/or 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Fernandez et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0245287 A1) hereinafter Fernandez.
Regarding claims 8, 13, 21, 26, and 28, Fernandez discloses a method of securing communication of keystroke data between a keyboard and an input destination, the method comprising:
generating, at a computing device, a scramble instruction that includes a seed value (encryption key) (para 0011, generating, at the computing device, a randomized keymap and para 0029, the computer generates a random N-ASCII Key Map, and the N-ASCII Key Map is transmitted from the computer terminal to the keyboard and para 0019, the encryption key is a Negotiated ASCII Keymap (N-ASCII Keymap) previously sent by the computer to the keyboard 10 for use in the particular session);
communicating the scramble instruction to a crossbar (fig. 3 firmware 110) operating between the keyboard (fig. 1, keyboard 10) and a keystroke input processor (fig. 3, key switches 100 and/or the keyboard processor (not shown) (para 0029, the computer generates a random N-ASCII Key Map, and the N-ASCII Key Map is transmitted from the computer terminal to the keyboard and para 0019, The keyboard processor operates according to the firmware 110, which includes or stores an encryption key);
providing a secure mode activation instruction to the crossbar (para 0010, sending, from the computing device, session information data. The session information data includes first data that identifies the user, second data that identifies a communication session between the keyboard and the computing device, and third data that identifies the randomized key map and para 0012, After the computer receives the activation notification and user ID, the computer generates a session token. The session token includes a User ID, Session ID, Key Code, and a negotiated ASCII Key Map (N-ASCII Key Map));
receiving, at the computing device, a scrambled keystroke from the keystroke input processor (para 0030, The input data is translated by the keyboard processor (not shown) according to the N-ASCII Key Map to generate an encrypted key signal. The keyboard sends the encrypted key signal to the computer);
unscrambling, at the computing device, using the scramble instruction the scrambled keystroke to form an unscrambled keystroke (para 0031, the computer receives the encrypted key signal and translates the encrypted key signal according to the N-ASCII Key Map via decryption software); and
communicating the unscrambled keystroke to the input destination (para 0001, The device driver then passes the data to a program currently running on the electronic device and para 0031, The computer displays the corresponding symbol based on the deciphered output data at the computer terminal).
Regarding claims 14, 27, and 33, Fernandez discloses the method of claim 13, wherein the method comprises providing a sequence of scramble instructions for consecutive keystrokes (para 0029).
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.
Claims 9, 22, and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fenandez as applied to claims 8, 21, and 28 above, and further in view of Wang (US Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0144558 A1) hereinafter Wang.
Regarding claims 9, 22, and 29, Fernandez discloses the method of claim 8 above, but does not explicitly disclose, however, Wang discloses further comprising encrypting the unscrambled keystroke prior to communicating the unscrambled keystroke to the input destination (para 0007-0009). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of claimed invention to modify the teachings of Fernandez to include encrypting the unscrambled keystroke prior to communicating the unscrambled keystroke to the input destination as taught by Wang in order to prevent keyloggers from logging text data that is outputted by a computer user data input device (Wang, abstract).
Claims 10, 23, and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fenandez as applied to claims 8, 21, and 28 above, and further in view of Pemmaraju et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0040635 A1) hereinafter Pemmaraju.
Regarding claims 10, 23, and 30, Fernandez discloses the method of claim 8 above, but does not explicitly disclose, however, Pemmaraju discloses wherein the wherein the input destination is an application in control focus (para 0009 and claim 10). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of claimed invention to modify the teachings of Fernandez to include wherein the input destination is an application in control focus as taught by Mathur in order to enable the user to enter sensitive information without the keystrokes being intercepted (Pemmaraju, para 0009).
Claims 11, 24, and 31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fenandez as applied to claims 8, 21, and 28 above, and further in view of Mathur (US Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0379287 A1) hereinafter Mathur.
Regarding claims 11, 24, and 31, Fernandez discloses the method of claim 8 above, but does not explicitly disclose, however, Mathur discloses wherein the input destination is a container that uses resources of a host operating system, wherein the host operating system is installed on the computing device (para 0032). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of claimed invention to modify the teachings of Fernandez to include the above features as taught by Mathur in order to effectively reduce data security threats (Mathur, para 0032).
Claims 12, 25, and 32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fenandez as applied to claims 8, 21, and 28 above, and further in view of Haworth et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0026947 A1) hereinafter Haworth.
Regarding claims 12, 25, and 32, Fernandez discloses the method of claim 8 above, but does not explicitly disclose, however, Haworth discloses wherein the input destination is a virtual machine running in a data center (para 0039). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of claimed invention to modify the teachings of Fernandez to include wherein the input destination is a virtual machine running in a data center by Mathur in order to decrypt the encrypted keystrokes at the server site (Haworth, para 0042).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure (see PTO-892).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BAOTRAN N TO whose telephone number is (571)272-8156. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 8-5.
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/BAOTRAN N TO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2435
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