DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1, 3-8, 10-15, and 17-21 are presented for consideration.
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, 3-6, 8, 10-13, 15, and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gauvreau, Jr. [ US Patent Application No 2024/0095733 ], in view of Alwen et al. [ US Patent Application No 2022/0103370 ].
As per claim 1, Gauvreau discloses the invention as claimed including a method of deactivating decentralized domains comprising:
operating, via at least one processor of a decentralized system, a decentralized domain providing content hosted on a blockchain [ i.e. blockchain-based domain name registrar and management system ] [ Figure 1; Abstract; and paragraph 0024 ], wherein the decentralized domain includes a blockchain domain name represented by a non-fungible token stored in a wallet account of a user [ i.e. tied to an-on-chain asset (e.g. token or NFT) stored in a digital wallet of the owner of the domain ] [ paragraphs 0023, 0027, 0028, and 0039 ];
monitoring, via a smart contract of the at least one processor [ i.e. smart contracts ] [ 114, Figure 1; and paragraphs 0033, 0042-0044 ], for occurrence of a set of conditions associated with operation of the decentralized domain [ i.e. renew, transferring domain name from a blockchain-based registrar to a non-blockchain registrar ] [ Figures 5 and 6; and paragraphs 0026, 0029, 0067, and 0068 ]; and
deactivating, via the at least one processor, the decentralized domain in response to the occurrence of the set of conditions by processing a transaction on the blockchain transferring control of the decentralized domain from the user [ i.e. on-chain asset can be transferred from one user to another user ] [ Figure 7; and paragraphs 0023, 0028, and 0029 ].
Gauvreau does not specifically disclose
wherein the set of conditions includes a number of signed messages from wallet accounts requesting deactivation of the decentralized domain.
Alwen discloses
wherein the set of conditions includes a number of signed messages from wallet accounts requesting deactivation of the decentralized domain [ i.e. receive request to de-register, the request may comprises at least two signatures, the first signature and the second signature, and one or more signatures are valid ] [ Figure 7; and paragraphs 0026, 0060, 0065-0067 ].
It would have been obvious to a person skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Gauvreau, and Alwen because the teaching of Alwen would enable to allow for trusted network name look-ups that allow for the secure exchange of cross-entity communications [ Alwen, paragraph 0003 ].
As per claim 3, Gauvreau discloses wherein deactivating the decentralized domain includes: transferring the decentralized domain to an address of the decentralized system preventing access to the decentralized domain [ i.e. one the on-chain asset is in the new owner’s digital wallet, only the new owner has administrative capabilities for the domain ] [ paragraphs 0023, and 0028 ].
As per claim 4, Gauvreau discloses wherein deactivating the decentralized domain includes: transferring the decentralized domain to a different address until conditions are satisfied for transfer of the decentralized domain to the user [ i.e. stored in an off-chain database ] [ Figure 5; and paragraphs 0044, and 0063-0065 ].
6. As per claim 5, Gauvreau disclose wherein deactivating the decentralized domain includes: tracking deactivations of decentralized domains via a second smart contract; and preventing access to a corresponding decentralized domain in response to deactivation of the corresponding decentralized domain being tracked by the second smart contract [ i.e. the request to de-register and the request may be received by the smart contract ] [ Figure 7; and paragraphs 0065-0067 ].
7. As per claim 6, Gauvreau discloses wherein deactivating the decentralized domain includes: modifying one or more records of the decentralized domain to indicate deactivation of the decentralized domain [ i.e. change, update or modify record ] [ paragraphs 0028, and 0080 ]; and preventing access to the decentralized domain based on the one or more modified records [ i.e. one the on-chain asset is in the new owner’s digital wallet, only the new owner has administrative capabilities for the domain ] [ paragraphs 0023, and 0028 ].
As per claims 8, 10-13, they are rejected for similar reasons as stated above in claims 1, 3-6.
As per claims 15, 17-20, they are rejected for similar reasons as stated above in claims 1, 3-6.
Claim(s) 7, 14, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gauvreau, Jr. [ US Patent Application No 2024/0095733 ], in view of Alwen et al. [ US Patent Application No 2022/0103370 ], and further in view of Jakobsson et al. [ US Patent Application No 2023/0006976 ].
11. As per claim 7, Gauvreau in view of Alwen does not specifically disclose wherein the set of conditions further includes one or more from a group of: a time period in which the messages need to be signed by the wallet accounts to indicate the deactivation; the wallet accounts having accounts with a safety score satisfying a threshold indicating a reliable wallet account; an age of the wallet accounts; a signed message from a reviewing authority that performs a review of the decentralized domain; and a safety score of the decentralized domain. Jakobsson discloses wherein the set of conditions further includes one or more from a group of: a time period in which the messages need to be signed by the wallet accounts to indicate the deactivation; the wallet accounts having accounts with a safety score satisfying a threshold indicating a reliable wallet account; an age of the wallet accounts; a signed message from a reviewing authority that performs a review of the decentralized domain; and a safety score of the decentralized domain [ i.e. risk score, safety ] [ paragraphs 0026, 0119, and 0279 ]. It would have been obvious to a person skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Gauvreau, Alwen, and Jakobsson because the teaching of Jakobsson would enable to provide system and method for providing security against deception and abuse in distributed and tokenized environments [ Jakobsson, paragraph 0007 ].
As per claims 14, and 21, they are rejected for similar reasons as stated above in claim 7.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 3-8, 10-15, and 17-21 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Berry et al. [ US Patent Application No 2023/0396610 ] discloses leveraging secure tokenization, such as NFT, for purpose, of multifactor and/or elevated user authentication
Shapiro et al. [ US Patent Application No 2022/0309491 ] discloses system and method for creation and rendering of a creative work associated with NFT
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/DUSTIN NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2446