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
Claims 1-20 are pending in this office action.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on October 7, 2024, is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim 8 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.
Claim 8 recites the limitation "the smart contract.” There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Regarding claims 9, and 15-17, the phrase "for example" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitation(s) following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Khan et al. (U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2023/0144857).
Regarding claim 1, Khan et al. teaches a verification method, in particular a computer-implemented verification method, in an asymmetric cryptography system with at least one entity to which a public key and a private key are assigned, wherein in at least one method step at least one non-fungible token (NFT) is created (minted) which contains a copy of the public key or a deterministic derivative of the public key and which is stored in a distributed ledger, such as a blockchain, a tangle or a hashgraph, of a distributed ledger technology (DLT) (paragraph 0023 and 0025).
Regarding claim 2, Khan et al. teaches wherein authenticity of the public key is confirmed in that the NFT is owned by at least one legitimation entity that is different from the entity (paragraph 0005).
Regarding claim 3, Khan et al. teaches wherein the NFT is offered for transmission to at least one legitimation entity that is different from the entity (paragraph 0061-0062).
Regarding claim 4, Khan et al. teaches wherein at least one legitimation entity that is different from the entity requests transmission of the NFT and/or wherein the NFT, preferably the requested NFT, is sent to at least one legitimation entity that is different from the entity (paragraph 0029).
Regarding claim 5, Khan et al. teaches wherein at least one NFT received by the legitimation entity, preferably each NFT received by the legitimation entity, is checked in at least one checking step as to whether the NFT was previously requested by the legitimation entity, wherein in the event of a negative checking result the NFT is directly redeemed or burned (paragraph 0039).
Regarding claim 6, Khan et al. teaches wherein in at least one verification step the public key is verified by determining ownership of the NFT/ of the NFTs of the public key (paragraph 0030).
Regarding claim 7, Khan et al. teaches wherein the NFT is provided for verification of the ownership (paragraph 0030).
Regarding claim 8, Khan et al. teaches wherein for a cancelation of the legitimation of the entity by the legitimation entity, the NFT is sent to a burn address of the DLT or to a DLT address of a developer/administrator of the DLT, in particular to a DLT address of the smart contract originally used for creating the NFT (paragraph 0039).
Regarding claim 9, Khan et al. teaches wherein the verification step is performed by a web application, like for example a web browser (paragraph 0026).
Regarding claim 10, Khan et al. teaches wherein the entity is realized as a product and the verification step is performed by a user, purchaser or provider of the product (paragraph 0002 and 0017).
Regarding claim 11, Khan et al. teaches wherein the legitimation entity is a central certification authority (paragraph 0061-0062).
Regarding claim 12, Khan et al. teaches wherein the entity is realized as a product and the legitimation entity is a manufacturer of the product (paragraph 0002).
Regarding claim 13, Khan et al. teaches wherein the entity is realized as a product and the legitimation entity is a product checking point or a repair point and/or a maintenance point for the product (paragraph 0029).
Regarding claim 14, Khan et al. teaches wherein the entity is a person and the legitimation entity is a body legitimized for an identity check of the person, like an authority or a KYC provider (paragraph 0017).
Regarding claim 15, Khan et al. teaches wherein the NFT created in the method step contains in addition to the public key at least a confirmation, for example a warranty certificate, an insurance confirmation, a use permit certificate, or its deterministic derivative, and/or at least an expiry date, for example a warranty expiry, an insurance period, a duration of a use permit, which is assigned to the entity or to an agreement connected to the entity (paragraph 0046).
Regarding claim 16, Khan et al. teaches wherein the entity is a person with a digital ID and/or a decentralized identifier, comprising a private key-public key pair, and the NFT created in the method step further contains at least a legitimation of the person, for example an identity document, a driving license, a residence permit etc., or a deterministic derivative thereof (paragraph 0027).
Regarding claim 17, Khan et al. teaches wherein the entity is a person with a digital ID and/or a decentralized identifier, comprising a private key-public key pair, and the NFT created in the method step additionally contains at least an ownership confirmation, for example a training diploma, a stock portfolio, an ownership certificate for things or real estate etc., or a deterministic derivative thereof (paragraph 0017).
Regarding claims 18 and 21, Khan et al. teaches a verification computer system, which is in particular configured for carrying out a verification method according to claim 1, with at least one NFT creation device that is configured to create an NFT containing a copy of a public key, assigned to an entity, of an asymmetric cryptography system or a deterministic derivative of the public key, and is configured for storing the created NFT in a distributed ledger, such as a blockchain, a tangle or a hashgraph, of a distributed ledger technology (paragraph 0023-0025).
Regarding claims 19 and 22, Khan et al. teaches further comprising a verification device, which is in particular realized separately from the NFT creation device, and which is configured for checking an authenticity of the public key by querying and evaluating an ownership status of the NFT (fig. 1, ref. num 102 and paragraph 0018 and 0030).
Regarding claim 20, Khan et al. teaches further comprising a legitimation device, which is in particular realized separately from the NFT creation device and from the verification device, and which is configured for taking possession of/purchasing the NFT via a publicly viewable legitimation address of the DLT that can be allocated to a legitimation entity (fig. 1, ref. num 104 and paragraph 0024).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRANDON HOFFMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-3863. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30AM-5:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeffrey Pwu can be reached at (571)272-6798. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRANDON HOFFMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2433