Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/589,219

DELEGATED ATTESTATION VIA PROXIMATE LOCATION

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Feb 27, 2024
Examiner
PHAM, TIMOTHY X
Art Unit
3648
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Qualcomm Incorporated
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 10m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allow Rate
814 granted / 946 resolved
+34.0% vs TC avg
Strong +17% interview lift
Without
With
+17.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
24 currently pending
Career history
970
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.6%
-31.4% vs TC avg
§103
52.3%
+12.3% vs TC avg
§102
17.6%
-22.4% vs TC avg
§112
10.3%
-29.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 946 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/12/2024 has been considered by the examiner. 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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, 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) 1-5, 7, 8, 10-16, 18-21, and 23-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Edgington (US 2020/0287890) in view of Yan (US 2023/0336978). Regarding claims 1 and 27, Edgington discloses a method for delegated attestation by an apparatus, comprising: receiving an indication to attest to a property of a target device (paragraphs [0018], [0034]; e.g., receiving at an intermediary device from an issuer a credential for attesting that the issuer has authenticated a target device as having a predetermined property according to an anonymous attestation cryptographic protocol); generating data regarding an integrity of the apparatus (paragraphs [0025]-[0026]; e .g., generating, in dependence on the credential information transmitted from the intermediary device, an attestation message for transmission to a verifier to attest to the verifier that said target device has said predetermined property); generating attestation data, the attestation data including the generated data regarding the integrity of the apparatus (paragraphs [0037], [0044]-[0045]; e.g., If the credential is being stored by the intermediary device, then on requesting verification the target device may request the credential or information derived from the credential to be transmitted to the target device from the intermediary so that it can generate the attestation message); and transmitting the attestation data to a verifier device (paragraphs [0037], [0045]; e.g., an attestation message for transmitting to a verifier to attest to the verifier that the target device has the predetermined property). Edgington fails to specifically discloses the intermediary device generating a measurement associated with the property of the target device and generating attestation data, the attestation data including information associated with the generated measurement. However, Yan discloses generating a measurement associated with the property of a target device (paragraphs [0068], [0128]; e.g., attempt to detect and measure the wireless signals from the third device 130 in order to determine the location-related information) and generating attestation data (paragraphs [0129], [0151]), the attestation data including information associated with the generated measurement (paragraphs [0154], [0157]). Therefore, taking the teachings of Edgington in combination of Yan as a whole, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention by applicant to generating a measurement associated with the property of the target device and generating attestation data, the attestation data including information associated with the generated measurement in order to enhance privacy of location information of a target device can be preserved during provisioning of a service (Yan: Abstract). Regarding claims 2 and 28, Edgington in combination with Yan discloses the apparatus and the method of claims 1 and 27, wherein the property of the target device comprises a property of the target device perceptible by the apparatus (Edgington: paragraphs [0034], [0048]). Regarding claim 3, Edgington in combination with Yan discloses the apparatus of claim 2, wherein the property of the target device comprises a location of the target device (Yan: paragraphs [0154]-[0155]). Therefore, taking the teachings of Edgington in combination of Yan as a whole, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention by applicant to have the property of the target device comprises a location of the target device in order to enhance privacy of location information of a target device can be preserved during provisioning of a service. Regarding claims 4 and 29, Edgington in combination with Yan discloses the apparatus and the method of claims 3 and 28, wherein, to generate the measurement, the at least one processor is configured to: measure a distance to the target device; and measure an angle of arrival of the target device (Yan: paragraphs [0068], [0118]). Therefore, taking the teachings of Edgington in combination of Yan as a whole, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention by applicant generate the measurement including measure a distance to the target device; and measure an angle of arrival of the target device for advantages of enhancing privacy of location information of a target device can be preserved during provisioning of a service. Regarding claims 5 and 30, Edgington in combination with Yan discloses the apparatus and the method of claims 4 and 29, wherein, to generate the attestation data, the at least one processor is configured to determine a location of the target device based on the measured distance and the angle of arrival, and wherein the information associated with the generated measurement comprises the location of the target device (Yan: paragraphs [0068], [0118]). Therefore, taking the teachings of Edgington in combination of Yan as a whole, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention by applicant to determine a location of the target device based on the measured distance and the angle of arrival, and wherein the information associated with the generated measurement comprises the location of the target device for advantages of enhancing privacy of location information of a target device can be preserved during provisioning of a service. Regarding claim 7, Edgington in combination with Yan discloses the apparatus of claim 5, wherein the attestation data includes the determined location of the target device (Yan: paragraphs [0068], [0118]). Therefore, taking the teachings of Edgington in combination of Yan as a whole, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention by applicant to have the attestation data includes the determined location of the target device for advantages of enhancing privacy of location information of a target device can be preserved during provisioning of a service. Regarding claim 8, Edgington in combination with Yan discloses the apparatus of claim 7, wherein the information associated with the generated measurement includes the measured distance of the target device, and the angle of arrival (Yan: paragraphs [0068], [0118]). Therefore, taking the teachings of Edgington in combination of Yan as a whole, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention by applicant to have the information associated with the generated measurement includes the measured distance of the target device, and the angle of arrival for advantages of enhancing privacy of location information of a target device can be preserved during provisioning of a service. Regarding claim 10, Edgington in combination with Yan discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive an identifier from the target device, and wherein the attestation data includes the received identifier (Edgington: paragraphs [0041], [0050]; see when communicating with two different verifier services, the same target device may provide two different user identifiers to the respective service providers to identify the user sufficiently for the purposes of using that service). Regarding claim 11, Edgington in combination with Yan discloses the apparatus of claim 10, wherein the identifier comprises at least one of: a unique identifier of the target device; an assigned identifier assigned to the target device by the apparatus; or a ranging session identifier (Edgington: paragraphs [0041], [0050]). Regarding claim 12, Edgington in combination with Yan discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the attestation data is encrypted and signed (Edgington: paragraphs [0048], [0051]; see authentication and credential to attest). Regarding claim 13, Edgington in combination with Yan discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the data regarding the integrity of the apparatus includes at least one of: versioning information; file hash; information about installed applications; signature information; hardware identification numbers; and event records (Edgington: paragraphs [0041], [0053]). Regarding claim 14, Edgington discloses an apparatus for delegated attestation, comprising: at least one memory comprising instructions (Fig. 2 storage 12; paragraph [0049]); and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory (Fig. 2) and configured to: determine to verify a property of a target device (paragraphs [0018], [0034]; e.g., receiving at an intermediary device from an issuer a credential for attesting that the issuer has authenticated a target device as having a predetermined property according to an anonymous attestation cryptographic protocol); transmit, to an attesting device, a request to perform delegated attestation for the target device (paragraphs [0022], [0037]; e.g., to request that an intermediary device transmits to the target device credential information for attesting that an issuer has authenticated the target device as having a predetermined property); receive attestation data, the attestation data including information associated with a property of a target device and data regarding an integrity of the attesting device (paragraphs [0025]-[0026]; e.g., generating, in dependence on the credential information transmitted from the intermediary device, an attestation message for transmission to a verifier to attest to the verifier that said target device has said predetermined property), wherein the attesting device is separate from the target device (paragraphs [0025], [0038]; e.g., The intermediary device may be any consumer electronics device which is separate from the target device); verify the integrity of the attesting device based on the data regarding the integrity of the attesting device (paragraphs [0025]-[0026], [0034]; e.g., when the issuer issues the credential for attesting to a predetermined property of the target device). Edgington fails to specifically disclose verify the property associated with the target device based on an expected property of the target device. However, Yan discloses verify the property associated with the target device based on an expected property of the target device (paragraphs [0068], [0128]; e.g., attempt to detect and measure the wireless signals from the third device 130 in order to determine the location-related information). Therefore, taking the teachings of Edgington in combination of Yan as a whole, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention by applicant to verify the property associated with the target device based on an expected property of the target device in order to enhance privacy of location information of a target device can be preserved during provisioning of a service (Yan: Abstract). Regarding claim 15, Edgington in combination with Yan discloses the apparatus of claim 14, wherein the property of the target device comprises a location of the target device, and wherein the expected property of the target device comprises an expected location of the target device (Edgington: paragraphs [0034], [0048]). Regarding claim 16, Edgington in combination with Yan discloses the apparatus of claim 15, wherein the location of the target device is relative to a location of the attesting device (Edgington: paragraphs [0034], [0048]). Regarding claim 18, Edgington in combination with Yan discloses the apparatus of claim 15, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to compare the location of the target device to the expected location of the target device (Yan: paragraphs [0154]-[0155]). Therefore, taking the teachings of Edgington in combination of Yan as a whole, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention by applicant to compare the location of the target device to the expected location of the target device order to enhance privacy of location information of a target device can be preserved during provisioning of a service. Regarding claim 19, Edgington in combination with Yan discloses the apparatus of claim 18, wherein the expected location of the target device is based on a previous location of the target device (Yan: paragraphs [0154]-[0155]). Therefore, taking the teachings of Edgington in combination of Yan as a whole, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention by applicant to have the expected location of the target device is based on a previous location of the target device order to enhance privacy of location information of a target device can be preserved during provisioning of a service. Regarding claim 20, Edgington in combination with Yan discloses the apparatus of claim 14, wherein the attestation data includes an identifier associated with the target device (Edgington: paragraphs [0041], [0050]; see when communicating with two different verifier services, the same target device may provide two different user identifiers to the respective service providers to identify the user sufficiently for the purposes of using that service). Regarding claim 21, Edgington in combination with Yan discloses the apparatus of claim 20, wherein the identifier comprises at least one of: a unique identifier of the target device; an assigned identifier assigned to the target device by the apparatus; and a ranging session identifier (Edgington: paragraphs [0041], [0050]). Regarding claim 23, Edgington in combination with Yan discloses the apparatus of claim 14, to determine to verify the property of the target device, the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a request to access information; and determine to verify the property of the target device based on the request to access the information (Edgington: paragraphs [0037], [0044]-[0045]). Regarding claim 24, Edgington in combination with Yan discloses the apparatus of claim 23, wherein the expected property of the target device is received from the target device, and wherein the expected property is received as attestation data from the target device (Yan: paragraphs [0068], [0128]; e.g., attempt to detect and measure the wireless signals from the third device 130 in order to determine the location-related information). Therefore, taking the teachings of Edgington in combination of Yan as a whole, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention by applicant to have the expected property of the target device is received from the target device, and wherein the expected property is received as attestation data from the target device in order to enhance privacy of location information of a target device can be preserved during provisioning of a service. Regarding claim 25, Edgington in combination with Yan discloses the apparatus of claim 23, wherein the at least one processor is configured to provide the information based on verifying the property associated with the target device (Edgington: paragraphs [0037], [0045]; e.g., an attestation message for transmitting to a verifier to attest to the verifier that the target device has the predetermined property). Regarding claim 26, Edgington in combination with Yan discloses the apparatus of claim 25, wherein the at least one processor is configured to provide the information based on verifying the integrity of the attesting device (Edgington: paragraphs [0037], [0045]). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 6, 9, 17, and 22 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. As to claim 6, the prior arts of records fail to teach, or render obvious, alone or in combination, an apparatus for delegated attestation comprising the claimed means and their components, relationships, and functionalities as specifically recited in claims 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and independent claim 1 that claim 6 depends on. Claim 9 is objected because claim 9 depends on objected claim 6. As to claim 17, the prior arts of records fail to teach, or render obvious, alone or in combination, an apparatus for delegated attestation comprising the claimed means and their components, relationships, and functionalities as specifically recited in claims 17, 16, 15, and independent claim 14 that claim 17 depends on. As to claim 22, the prior arts of records fail to teach, or render obvious, alone or in combination, an apparatus for delegated attestation comprising the claimed means and their components, relationships, and functionalities as specifically recited in claims 22 and independent claim 14 that claim 22 depends on. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TIMOTHY X PHAM whose telephone number is (571)270-7115. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 8:30-5:00. 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, Resha Desai can be reached at 571-270-7792. 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. /TIMOTHY X PHAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3648
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 27, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 18, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+17.2%)
2y 10m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 946 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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