DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the Amendment filed on January 20th, 2026.
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.
In the instant Amendment, claims 1, 12 & 17 have been amended; and claims 1, 12 & 17 are independent. Claims 1-20 have been examined and are pending. This Action is made FINAL.
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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 7-8, filed 01/20/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-20 under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Nixon.
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) 1-2, 4-12, 14-17 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yasaki et al. (Yasaki), U.S. Pub. Number 2019/0306715, in view of Nixon et al. (Nixon), U.S. Pub. Number 2020/0162701.
Regarding claim 1; Yasaki discloses a method comprising:
receiving, by a first computing device configured to provide access to a first network, from a user device, a first request to connect to the first network (pars. 0043 & 0188; the access control device 101 receives a request for a connection from the terminal 102 via wireless communication; the access control device Api receives a request for a connection to the wireless LAN from a terminal Tj,), wherein the first request comprises a random Media Access Control (MAC) address associated with the user device (pars. 0037 & 0189; a MAC address of terminal 102; Api acquires a MAC address of the terminal Tj.);
determining, based on the random MAC address, that the user device is not authorized to connect to the first network (pars. 0052 & 0190; when the authentication data does not match the sign, the access control device 101 determines that the terminal 102 is not authorized; determines whether or not the acquired MAC address is already registered.);
sending, to the user device, a second request for the user device to provide user information to connect to the first network (pars. 0044 & 0192; the access control device 101 issues a sign from a device 103 supporting a reading scheme for terminal 102 in response to reception of the request for the connection from the terminal 102 via the wireless communication and transmits a control program 104 to the terminal 102; the access control device Api references the sign management DB 500 and identifies a reading scheme and a sign that are associated with the MAC address of the terminal Tj.);
receiving, from the user device, the user information associated with the user device (pars. 0049 & 0198; the terminal 102 executes the control program 104 upon receiving the control program 104 from the access control device 101; by executing the control program 104, the terminal 102 generates a key information item of the terminal 102 and acquires authentication data based on the sign read by the reading scheme for the terminal 102; when the access control device APi has received the response from the terminal Tj, the access control device APi references the sign management DB 500 and determines whether or not the firstAuth flag associated with the MAC address of the terminal Tj indicates “true.”); and
sending, to a second computing device, a third request that comprises the user information and a first MAC address associated with the first computing device and the first location (pars. 0050 & 0200; the terminal 102 transmits to the access control device 101, a response including the key information item 105 and the sign #1a; when the terminal Tj is authorized, the access control device APi associates a public key, included in the received response, of the terminal Tj with the MAC address of the terminal Tj and registers the associated public key and the associated MAC address in the sign management DB 500.).
Yasaki fails to explicitly disclose the second computing device permits the user device accessing either the first network or a second network based on at least one of: the first MAC address, the first location, or the user information.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Nixon discloses identifying and locating objects by associating video data of the objects with signals identifying wireless devices belonging to the objects wherein the second computing device permits the user device accessing either the first network or a second network based on at least one of: the first MAC address, the first location, or the user information (Nixon: pars. 0272 & 0307; determine that the MAC address for the wireless device 118 is not associated with a listing of known and/or allowed devices permitted to access the WiFi network of the user’s network 218, such as the activity of interest database 522.).
Therefore, it would have obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Nixon into the device of Yasaki wherein the second computing device permits the user device accessing either the first network or a second network based on at least one of: the first MAC address, the first location, or the user information to improve the function of A/V recording and communication devices that strengthen the ability of such devices to reduce crime and enhance public safety (Nixon: par. 0002).
Regarding claim 2; Yasaki and Nixon disclose the method of claim 1, wherein Yasaki further discloses the user information associated with the user device comprises a user identifier (Yasaki: par. 0055; the identification information of the terminal 102.) and a user password (Yasaki: par. 0050; the sign #1a entered as a password.).
Regarding claim 4; Yasaki and Nixon disclose the method of claim 3, Yasaki further discloses comprising: adding, based on the response, at least one of the random MAC address or a MAC address associated with the user device, in an access allow list for a period of time (Yasaki: par. 0180; multiple signs associated with the MAC address of the access control device APi may exist in the key management DB 700; for instance, when key information items different for periods are used, signs associated with key information items used for classes conducted in the past are stored in the key management DB 700; the sign accumulating section 1026 may cause multiple signs associated with the MAC address of the access control device APi to be included as authentication data in the response to be transmitted to the access control device APi.).
Regarding claim 5; Yasaki and Nixon disclose the method of claim 1, Yasaki further discloses comprising: receiving, from the second computing device, based on the user information and the MAC address associated with the first computing device, a response indicating that the first request is received by the first computing device located in a user’s residence associated with the user information (Yasaki: par. 0232; the terminal Tj determines whether or not the terminal Tj has received a signal from the access control device APi; when the terminal Tj has not received the signal from the access control device APi, the terminal Tj determines whether or not a specified time period elapsed after the transmission of the response to the access control device APi.); denying, based on the response, the user device access to the first network (Yasaki: par. 0235; when the result signal indicates that the authentication has failed, the terminal Tj executes a process of disconnecting a connection to the access control device APi and terminates the access process.); and providing the user device access to a second network (Yasaki: par. 0235; when the result signal indicates that the authentication has been successful, the terminal Tj executes a connection process of establishing a connection to the access control device APi.).
Regarding claim 6; Yasaki and Nixon disclose the method of claim 5, wherein Yasaki further discloses the first computing device is configured to provide the first network and the second network (Yasaki: par. 0067; a public network interface (I/F) 305, a WLAN I/F 306.).
Regarding claim 7; Yasaki and Nixon disclose the method of claim 6, wherein Yasaki further discloses the first network is a public network and the second network is a private network (Yasaki: par. 0067; a public network interface (I/F) 305, a WLAN I/F 306.).
Regarding claim 8; Yasaki and Nixon disclose the method of claim 5, Yasaki further discloses comprising: adding, based on the response, at least one of the random MAC address or a MAC address associated with the user device, in an access deny list for a period of time (Yasaki: par. 0233; when the specified time period has not elapsed, the terminal Tj causes the access process to terminate the access process.).
Regarding claim 9; Yasaki and Nixon disclose the method of claim 1, wherein Yasaki further discloses determining that the user device is not authorized to connect to the first network comprises: comparing the random MAC address with one or more MAC addresses in an access allow list or an access deny list (Yasaki: par. 0210; the access control device APi transmits an error response to the terminal Tj and terminates the access control process; the error signal is a result signal indicating that the authentication has failed.).
Regarding claim 10; Yasaki and Nixon disclose the method of claim 1, wherein Yasaki further discloses the third request further comprises at least one of a network type, a signal to noise ratio, or one or more Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) identifiers (Yasaki: par. 0072; a beacon signal via NFC whose communication range is smaller than that of the wireless communication in the wireless LAN; for instance, the beacon transmitter 310 uses a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) advertising signal as a beacon signal.).
Regarding claim 11; Yasaki and Nixon disclose the method of claim 1, wherein Yasaki further discloses the first computing device is a gateway device or an access point, and the second computing device is a server (Yasaki: par. 0058; an access point of a wireless LAN in a school environment such as an elementary or junior high school.).
Regarding claim 12; Claim 12 is directed to a method which has similar scope as claim 1. Therefore, claim 12 remains un-patentable for the same reasons.
Regarding claims 14-16; Claims 14-16 are directed to the method of claim 12 which have similar scope as claims 2, 4-11. Therefore, claims 14-16 remain un-patentable for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 17; Claim 17 is directed to a method which has similar scope as claim 1. Therefore, claim 17 remains un-patentable for the same reasons.
Regarding claims 19-20; Claims 19-20 are directed to the method of claim 17 which have similar scope as claims 2, 4-11. Therefore, claims 19-20 remain un-patentable for the same reasons.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 13, or 18 is 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
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
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/KHOI V LE/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2436
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