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 amended listing of claims filed on May 29, 2024. Claims 13, 20, and 23 are cancelled while claim 2 is original. Claims 1, 11, 14, 16-17, and 21-22 are previously presented. Claims 3-10, 12, 15, and 18-19 are currently amended. Claims 1-12, 14-19, and 21-22 are currently pending.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-12, 14-19, and 21-22 are objected to because of the following informalities: The claims are missing at least one colon, in each claim, to indicate the preamble portions. 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 1-2, 12, 16, and 21-22 are 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. The rejected claims cite the term “regularly”. Neither the claim limitations nor the specifications clarify what iteration, period or time, frequency, any other scope properly constitutes the claimed “regularly”. As such, the claim limitations are deemed indefinite.
Claims 1-6, 9, 11-12, 16, 18-19, and 21-22 are 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. The rejected claims cite the term “unit” in various forms. For instance, computational unit, unit state, unit accumulator, unit variable, and unit state accumulator. Neither the claim limitations nor the specifications clarify what properly constitutes each of these “units”. For instance, it is unclear what equates to a computational unit. It could be a script, a virtual machine, a function within a program, an app, or an OS. In other instances, it is completely unclear what equates to a unit, for instance a unit state. Is a unit state the status of a unit of something? These claim limitations are therefore deemed indefinite.
Claims 1, 10, 12, 16, and 21-22 are 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. The rejected claims cite the phrase “deterministic and replicated manner”. It is unclear how something in computing, networks, or cryptography is deterministic. The term manner is also indefinite in scope. As such, these claim limitations are deemed indefinite.
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 1-12, 14-19, and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bartolucci et al (US PGPub No: 2021/0336776) in view of Zamani et al (US PGPub No: 2022/0271957), hereafter referred to as Bartolucci and Zamani, respectively.
With regard to claims 1, 21, and 22, Bartolucci teaches through Zamani, a computer-implemented method for signing data in a distributed network, the distributed network comprising at least one application subnet, wherein the application subnet comprises a plurality of nodes, wherein each of the plurality of nodes is configured to run two or more computational units, wherein the computational units are pieces of software that comprise their own unit state and wherein the computational units are configured to execute computations in a deterministic and replicated manner across the application subnet, the method comprising
regularly computing, by the plurality of nodes of the application subnet, a digest of an application subnet accumulator, the application subnet accumulator comprising for each of the computational units of a respective application subnet an assigned accumulator element as unit variable (Bartolucci teaches the generation and use of an accumulation tree digests for a set (subnet); see paragraphs 50 and 66-67, Bartolucci. The digests compress information in the tree can represent elements; see paragraph 42, Bartolucci. Set and subset are both supported; see paragraph 144, Bartolucci);
regularly executing, by the nodes of the application subnet, a joint signature on the digest of the application subnet accumulator, thereby producing an application subnet certificate (Bartolucci teaches multisignature (joint signature) being used to store combinations of elements (subnet) and the verification key; see paragraphs 68-70, Bartolucci. See below for certificate);
regularly computing, by each of the computational units of the application subnet, a digest of an unit accumulator, the unit accumulator comprising a representation of the unit state of the respective computational unit, wherein accumulator elements of the unit accumulator comprise computational results of the respective computational unit (Bartolucci teaches the digests compress information in the tree can represent elements; see paragraph 42, Bartolucci. The combination of elements can be represented as a leaf node (unit accumulator) of the accumulation tree; see paragraphs 36 and 42, Bartolucci. Bartolucci supports checks of the nodes to determine if their execution window is closed and can just check on the node's work for validity/cheating; see paragraphs 101 and 132, Bartolucci);
and regularly writing the digest of the unit accumulator as unit variable into the corresponding accumulator element of the application subnet accumulator (Bartolucci teaches combinations of elements being used in the generation of digests, the digests having different values/variables; see paragraph 66, Bartolucci).
While Bartolucci teaches a network that supports accumulators, Bartolucci does not explicitly cite the use of certificates. In the same field of endeavor, Zamani also teaches a network that supports accumulators; see paragraphs 63-69, Zamani. In particular, Zamani explains how certificates can be supported; see paragraphs 38 and 156-158, Zamani. The disclosure further teaches support for certificate being constituted based on a quorum number of signatures (joint signatures); see paragraphs 38 and 157, Zamani. By utilizing adjustable quorums, performance can be improved; see paragraphs 85-86, Zamani. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date, to have combined the teachings of Zamani with those of Bartolucci to improve performance.
With regards to claim 2, Bartolucci teaches through Zamani, a computer-implemented method further comprising regularly updating, by the plurality of computational units of the application subnet, the corresponding unit variables of their assigned accumulator elements of the application subnet accumulator (Bartolucci supports updating on a periodic basis; see paragraph 131, Bartolucci).
With regards to claim 3, Bartolucci teaches through Zamani, a computer-implemented method wherein the application subnet accumulator and/or the unit accumulator are embodied as cryptographic accumulators (Bartolucci supports cryptographic accumulators; see paragraph 46, Bartolucci).
With regards to claim 4, Bartolucci teaches through Zamani, a computer-implemented method wherein the application subnet accumulator is embodied as application subnet hash tree; the digest of the application subnet accumulator is embodied as root hash of the application subnet hash tree; and the assigned accumulator elements of the one or more computational units are embodied as leaves of the application subnet hash tree (Bartolucci supports the accumulator being embodied in an accumulator tree used in hash verification; see paragraphs 35, 40-42, and 50, Bartolucci).
With regards to claim 5, Bartolucci teaches through Zamani, a computer-implemented method wherein the unit accumulator is embodied as unit hash tree; the digest of the unit accumulator is embodied as root hash of the unit hash tree; and the assigned accumulator elements of the unit accumulator are embodied as leaves of the unit hash tree (Bartolucci teaches the digest linking the element to the root; see paragraphs 54-58, Bartolucci).
With regards to claim 6, Bartolucci teaches through Zamani, a computer-implemented method wherein the unit variables of the computational units are securely linked with an identifier of the corresponding computational units (Bartolucci explains how leaves can be identified being at the same level as authenticated data within the accumulator tree; see paragraph 50, Bartolucci).
With regards to claim 7, Bartolucci teaches through Zamani, a computer-implemented method wherein the joint signature is a threshold-signature
The disclosure further teaches support for certificate being constituted based on a quorum number of signatures (joint signatures); see paragraphs 38 and 157, Zamani. By utilizing adjustable quorums, performance can be improved; see paragraphs 85-86, Zamani. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date, to have combined the teachings of Zamani with those of Bartolucci to improve performance.
With regards to claim 8, Bartolucci teaches through Zamani, a computer-implemented method wherein the joint signature is a multi-signature (Bartolucci teaches multisignature (joint signature) being used to store combinations of elements (subnet) and the verification key; see paragraphs 68-70, Bartolucci).
With regards to claim 9, Bartolucci teaches through Zamani, a computer-implemented method further comprising receiving a request for computational results of one of the plurality of computational units of the application subnet; computing a witness of the application subnet accumulator, the witness comprising authentication information for authenticating the accumulator element of the application subnet accumulator of the respective computational unit; computing a witness of the unit accumulator, the witness comprising authentication information for authenticating the accumulator element of the unit accumulator of the requested computational result; and providing the latest application subnet certificate, the witness of the application subnet accumulator, the witness of the unit accumulator and the requested computational result as response to the request (Bartolucci teaches support for the use of witnesses along with the digest information, in the accumulator tree; see paragraph 50 and 53-54, Bartolucci).
With regards to claim 10, Bartolucci teaches through Zamani, a computer-implemented method further comprising performing consecutive consensus rounds to reach a consensus on a sequence of payloads; performing consecutive processing rounds comprising a consecutive processing of the sequence of payloads in a deterministic and replicated manner; and updating the application subnet accumulator at the end of each of the consecutive processing round
The disclosure teaches support for certificate being constituted based on a quorum number of signatures (joint signatures); see paragraphs 38 and 157, Zamani. Zamani further teaches processing consensus rounds within the blockchain sharding; see paragraphs 60-62, Zamani. By utilizing adjustable quorums, performance can be improved; see paragraphs 85-86, Zamani. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date, to have combined the teachings of Zamani with those of Bartolucci to improve performance.
With regards to claim 11, Bartolucci teaches through Zamani, a computer-implemented method further comprising updating, by each of the computational units of the application subnet, at the end of each of the processing rounds, the unit state accumulator; and the corresponding unit variable of the application subnet accumulator
The disclosure teaches support for certificate being constituted based on a quorum number of signatures (joint signatures); see paragraphs 38 and 157, Zamani. Zamani further teaches processing consensus rounds within the blockchain sharding; see paragraphs 60-62, Zamani. The tree and accumulators are updated in sharding; see paragraphs 70-71, Zamani. By utilizing adjustable quorums, performance can be improved; see paragraphs 85-86, Zamani. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date, to have combined the teachings of Zamani with those of Bartolucci to improve performance.
With regards to claim 12, Bartolucci teaches through Zamani, a computer-implemented method the distributed network comprising a plurality of application subnets and a root subnet, the root subnet comprising a plurality of root nodes, wherein each of the plurality of root nodes of the root subnet is configured to run one or more computational units, wherein the computational units of the root subnet are configured to execute computations in a deterministic and replicated manner across the root subnet, the method further comprising regularly computing, by the plurality of root nodes, a root subnet accumulator, the root subnet accumulator comprising for each of the plurality of application subnets an assigned accumulator element as key variable, the assigned accumulator element comprising an application subnet public key of the corresponding application subnet; regularly executing, by the root nodes of the root subnet, a joint signature on the digest of the root subnet accumulator, thereby producing a root subnet certificate
The disclosure teaches support for certificate being constituted based on a quorum number of signatures (joint signatures); see paragraphs 38 and 157, Zamani. Zamani further teaches processing consensus rounds within the blockchain sharding; see paragraphs 60-62, Zamani. The tree and accumulators are updated in sharding; see paragraphs 70-71, Zamani. Zamani also teaches how an element can be used as a value in the calculations; see paragraphs 63-69, Zamani. Zamani further explains how identifiers can be at the leafs of the tree while the path from the root to the leaf can specify a prefix; see paragraph 142, Zamani. By utilizing adjustable quorums, performance can be improved; see paragraphs 85-86, Zamani. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date, to have combined the teachings of Zamani with those of Bartolucci to improve performance.
With regards to claim 14, Bartolucci teaches through Zamani, a computer-implemented method further comprising receiving, by the root subnet, a request for an application subnet public key of one of the application subnets of the plurality of application subnets; computing a witness of the root subnet accumulator, the witness comprising authentication information for authenticating the accumulator element of the respective application subnet; and providing the latest root subnet certificate, the witness of the root subnet accumulator and the respective application subnet public key as response to the request
Bartolucci explains how witness is computed of the root; see paragraphs 54-56, Bartolucci. Bartolucci also teaches the digests compress information in the tree can represent elements; see paragraph 42, Bartolucci. The combination of elements can be represented as a leaf node (unit accumulator) of the accumulation tree; see paragraphs 36 and 42, Bartolucci. Bartolucci supports checks of the nodes to determine if their execution window is closed and can just check on the node's work for validity/cheating; see paragraphs 101 and 132, Bartolucci.
Zamani teaches support for certificate being constituted based on a quorum number of signatures (joint signatures); see paragraphs 38 and 157, Zamani. Zamani further teaches processing consensus rounds within the blockchain sharding; see paragraphs 60-62, Zamani. The tree and accumulators are updated in sharding; see paragraphs 70-71, Zamani. Zamani also teaches how an element can be used as a value in the calculations; see paragraphs 63-69, Zamani. Zamani further explains how identifiers can be at the leafs of the tree while the path from the root to the leaf can specify a prefix; see paragraph 142, Zamani. By utilizing adjustable quorums, performance can be improved; see paragraphs 85-86, Zamani. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date, to have combined the teachings of Zamani with those of Bartolucci to improve performance.
With regards to claim 15, Bartolucci teaches through Zamani, a computer-implemented wherein the root subnet accumulator is embodied as root subnet hash tree; the digest of the root subnet accumulator is embodied as root hash of the root subnet hash tree; and the assigned accumulator element is embodied as leaf of the root subnet hash tree (Bartolucci explains how witness is computed of the root; see paragraphs 54-56, Bartolucci. Bartolucci also teaches the digests compress information in the tree can represent elements; see paragraph 42, Bartolucci. The combination of elements can be represented as a leaf node (unit accumulator) of the accumulation tree; see paragraphs 36 and 42, Bartolucci. Bartolucci supports checks of the nodes to determine if their execution window is closed and can just check on the node's work for validity/cheating; see paragraphs 101 and 132, Bartolucci. Bartolucci supports the accumulator being embodied in an accumulator tree used in hash verification; see paragraphs 35, 40-42, and 50, Bartolucci).
With regards to claim 16, Bartolucci teaches through Zamani, a computer-implemented method for authenticating data of a distributed network, the distributed network comprising at least one application subnet, wherein the application subnet comprises a plurality of nodes, wherein each of the plurality of nodes is configured to run two or more computational units, wherein the computational units are pieces of software that comprise their own unit state and wherein the computational units are configured to execute computations in a deterministic and replicated manner across the application subnet, the method comprising
regularly computing, by each of the computational units of the application subnet, a digest of an unit accumulator, the unit accumulator comprising a representation of the unit state of the respective computational unit, wherein accumulator elements of the unit accumulator comprise computational results of the respective computational unit (Bartolucci teaches the generation and use of an accumulation tree digests for a set (subnet); see paragraphs 50 and 66-67, Bartolucci. The digests compress information in the tree can represent elements; see paragraph 42, Bartolucci. Set and subset are both supported; see paragraph 144, Bartolucci);
regularly writing the digest of the unit accumulator as unit variable into the corresponding accumulator element of the application subnet accumulator (Bartolucci teaches combinations of elements being used in the generation of digests, the digests having different values/variables; see paragraph 66, Bartolucci);
issuing a request to a node of the application subnet for a computational result of one of the computational units of the application subnet (Bartolucci supports submitting work ticket requests; see paragraph 32 and Fig. 8, Bartolucci);
receiving, from the node, an application subnet certificate (see below), a witness of the application subnet accumulator, a witness of the unit accumulator and the requested computational result as response to the request (Bartolucci teaches support for the use of witnesses along with the digest information, in the accumulator tree; see paragraph 50 and 53-54, Bartolucci);
verifying the digest of the application subnet accumulator by means of the application subnet certificate (see below);
verifying the accumulator element of the respective computational unit by recalculating the digest of the application subnet accumulator by means of the witness of the application subnet accumulator (Bartolucci teaches an ordered sequence of proofs per layer of the accumulation tree; see paragraph 53, Bartolucci);
and verifying the requested computational result by recalculating the digest of the unit accumulator by means of the witness of the unit accumulator (Bartolucci teaches the digests compress information in the tree can represent elements; see paragraph 42, Bartolucci. The combination of elements can be represented as a leaf node (unit accumulator) of the accumulation tree; see paragraphs 36 and 42, Bartolucci. Bartolucci supports checks of the nodes to determine if their execution window is closed and can just check on the node's work for validity/cheating; see paragraphs 101 and 132, Bartolucci. Bartolucci teaches combinations of elements being used in the generation of digests, the digests having different values/variables; see paragraph 66, Bartolucci).
While Bartolucci teaches a network that supports accumulators, Bartolucci does not explicitly cite the use of certificates. In the same field of endeavor, Zamani also teaches a network that supports accumulators; see paragraphs 63-69, Zamani. In particular, Zamani explains how certificates can be supported; see paragraphs 38 and 156-158, Zamani. The disclosure further teaches support for certificate being constituted based on a quorum number of signatures (joint signatures); see paragraphs 38 and 157, Zamani. By utilizing adjustable quorums, performance can be improved; see paragraphs 85-86, Zamani. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date, to have combined the teachings of Zamani with those of Bartolucci to improve performance.
With regards to claim 17, Bartolucci teaches through Zamani, a computer-implemented method the method further comprising issuing a request for an application subnet public key; receiving the application subnet public key, the root subnet certificate and a corresponding witness of the root subnet accumulator; verifying the digest of the root subnet accumulator by means of the root subnet certificate; and verifying the application subnet public key by recalculating the digest of the root subnet accumulator by means of the witness of the root subnet accumulator
Bartolucci explains how a witness authenticates a node of a path from a queried node to the accumulation tree root; see paragraphs 53-56, Bartolucci. However, Bartolucci does not explicitly cite the use of certificates. In the same field of endeavor, Zamani also teaches a network that supports accumulators; see paragraphs 63-69, Zamani. In particular, Zamani explains how certificates can be supported; see paragraphs 38 and 156-158, Zamani. The disclosure further teaches support for certificate being constituted based on a quorum number of signatures (joint signatures); see paragraphs 38 and 157, Zamani. By utilizing adjustable quorums, performance can be improved; see paragraphs 85-86, Zamani. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date, to have combined the teachings of Zamani with those of Bartolucci to improve performance.
With regards to claim 18, Bartolucci teaches through Zamani, a computer-implemented method wherein the application subnet accumulator, the unit accumulator and/or the root subnet accumulator are embodied as Merkle-trees
Zamani explains how an accumulator can be a root of a Merkle tree; see paragraph 147, Zamani. By utilizing adjustable quorums, performance can be improved; see paragraphs 85-86, Zamani. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date, to have combined the teachings of Zamani with those of Bartolucci to improve performance.
With regards to claim 19, Bartolucci teaches through Zamani, a method further comprising providing different representations of the application subnet accumulator, the unit accumulator and/or the root subnet accumulator; and performing an adaptive transformation between the different representations of the application subnet accumulator, the unit accumulator and/or the root subnet accumulator; wherein the different representations encompass in particular a canonical state representation; a partial canonical state representation; and a hash tree state representation (see elliptic curve and accumulation tree; see paragraphs 41-42, 65, and 81, Bartolucci).
The obviousness motivation applied to independent claims 1, 22, 23, and 16 are applicable to their respective dependent claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AZIZUL Q CHOUDHURY whose telephone number is (571)272-3909. The examiner can normally be reached M-F.
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/AZIZUL CHOUDHURY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2455