DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group 1 (Claims 1-6, 10-11, & 13-14) is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/08/2023; 07/31/2024; and 11/19/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is
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 1-3, 10-11 & 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Kaoru Kenyoshi NICT Japan: “Proposed modifications to the draft Recommendation ITU-T Y.QKDN_KM “Key management for quantum key distribution Network”;C119 [Provided by Examiner]), hereon referred to as Kaoru, in view of Wang et al. (US 2021/0119788), and hereon referred to as Wang.
In regards to claims 1, 10-11 & 13-14 Kaoru discloses a communication interface configured to receive, from a source application of a user network, request information of an application key including first identification information for identifying the source application, second identification information for identifying a destination application, and a requested amount of the application key used for encrypting or decrypting communication in the user network (Identifying boundary between KSA and cryptographic application to demarcate responsibility for management and consumption of keys; reception of key request from the cryptographic application including information on a required security level; Pgs.11-14); determine a sharing amount of the application key from the requested amount of the application key (KMA picks up the required amount of key form the storage of KMA-key data, taking into account the metatdata on relay encryption based on the requests security level and key supply policy; Pgs.14-16); cause the communication interface to transmit the application key to the key manager as the sharing destination, the application key to be transmitted having been encrypted by using the link key and satisfying the sharing amount and cause the communication interface to transmit the application key of the requested amount to the source application identified by the first identification information (When relaying the key to the next destination node it is encrypted; the key is shared between KMA1 and KMA3; once the keys are supplied to the cryptographic application; Pages 14-16; Fig.4).
However, Kaoru does not disclose a processor configured to identify a key manager as a sharing destination of the application key from the second identification information. In an analogous art Kaoru discloses a processor configured to identify a key manager as a sharing destination of the application key from the second identification information (The quantum key manager may transfer the first quantum key and the first quantum key identifier from the QKD client of the first network node to the protocol stack of the first network node; the quantum key manager may identify the third quantum key based on the second quantum key and the first quantum key; the quantum key manager may transfer the first quantum key and the first quantum key identifier from the QKD client of the first network node to a key management layer of the first network node; Paragraphs 0165-0170).
At the time before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to the one with ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings disclosed by Kaoru, with the teachings disclosed by Wang regarding a processor configured to identify a key manager as a sharing destination of the application key from the second identification information. The suggestion/motivation of the combination would have been to provide additional security in distributing quantum keys to encrypt communications between a central node and one or more remote nodes (Wang; Paragraph 0004).
In regards to claim 2, the combination of Kaoru, and Wang discloses wherein the request information of the application key further includes a provision time at which the application key is to be transmitted, and the communication interface is configured to transmit the application key of the requested amount to the source application by the provision time (The elements presented in the claim(s) do not contain any additional features, do not present any inventive step or novelty not addressed/presented in the combination of Kaoru, and Wang. Examiner takes official notice, that these elements are commonly known, minor design details that are derivable from the prior art and are well known, and obvious to an ordinary skill in the art. The additional features of these claims represent normal design options, which the skilled person would implement the combination of Kaoru, and Wang, depending on the circumstances, without exercising any inventive activity).
In regards to claim 3, Wang discloses wherein the communication interface is configured to communicate with a quantum key distribution network (QKDN) control device in which mapping information is stored, the mapping information including the second identification information and third identification information correlated with each other, the third identification information being used for identifying a key manager transmitting the application key to the destination application, and acquire the mapping information from the QKDN control device, and the processor is configured to identify the key manager as the sharing destination of the application key from the mapping information (The quantum key manager may transfer the first quantum key and the first quantum key identifier from the QKD client of the first network node to the protocol stack of the first network node; the quantum key manager may identify the third quantum key based on the second quantum key and the first quantum key; the quantum key manager may transfer the first quantum key and the first quantum key identifier from the QKD client of the first network node to a key management layer of the first network node; Paragraphs 0165-0170).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-6 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHARIF E ULLAH whose telephone number is (571)272-5453. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7:00-5:30.
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, Farid Homayounmehr can be reached at 571-272-3739. 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.
/SHARIF E ULLAH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2495