CTNF 18/752,819 CTNF 90883 DETAILED ACTION This action is a response to an application filed 6/25/24 in which claims 1-20 are pending. Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-12-aia AIA (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. 07-15-03-aia AIA Claim(s) 1, 3-6, 10, 11, 16-18 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kneckt et al. (Pub. No.: 2023/0232218 A1), herein Kneckt . As to claim 1 , Kneckt teaches a device comprising processing circuitry coupled to storage, the processing circuitry configured to: generate a frame comprising a medium access control (MAC) header comprising one or more unencrypted fields and one or more encrypted fields, wherein the frame is one of a management frame or a data frame and the one or more unencrypted fields comprise an address 3 (A3) field (Kneckt Fig. 3A non-encrypted Address 3 field) ; and instruct to send the frame to one or more stations (STAs) (Kneckt [0105] Other fields in header 315 include transmitter address (TA), receiver address (RA), sequence number (SN), packet number (PN), and/or a Salt) As to claim 17 , Kneckt teaches an apparatus comprising: a means for generating a frame comprising a medium access control (MAC) header comprising one or more unencrypted fields and one or more encrypted fields, wherein the frame is one of a management frame or a data frame and the one or more unencrypted fields comprise an address 3 (A3) field (Kneckt Fig. 3A non-encrypted Address 3 field) ; and a means for instructing to send the frame to one or more stations (STAs) (Kneckt [0105] fields in header 315 include transmitter address (TA), receiver address (RA), sequence number (SN), packet number (PN), and/or a Salt) As to claim 19 , Kneckt teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising one or more instructions which, if executed by a processor, cause the processor to: generate a frame comprising a medium access control (MAC) header comprising one or more unencrypted fields and one or more encrypted fields, wherein the frame is one of a management frame or a data frame and the one or more unencrypted fields comprise an address 3 (A3) field (Kneckt Fig. 3A non-encrypted Address 3 field) ; and instruct to send the frame to one or more stations (STAs) (Kneckt [0105] fields in header 315 include transmitter address (TA), receiver address (RA), sequence number (SN), packet number (PN), and/or a Salt) As to claim 3 , Kneckt teaches the device of claim 1, wherein the one or more encrypted fields comprise an encrypted frame control field comprising a first retry field, a first power management (PM) field, and a first more data field representative of corresponding features of the frame (Kneckt Fig. 4A and [0046] retry field, power management and more data field) Claim 18 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 3. As to claim 4 , Kneckt teaches the device of claim 3, wherein the one or more unencrypted fields comprise an unencrypted frame control field comprising a second retry field, a second PM field, and a second more data field, each of the second retry field, the second PM field, and the second more data field being set to zero (Kneckt [0040] Certain MAC header fields in Frame Control field 310 and/or Quality of Service (QoS) Control field 320 of header 315 that are not encrypted can be used to identify (e.g., fingerprint) a STA or an AP where the STA or AP can be tracked. To improve privacy, some embodiments include identifying those certain MAC header fields, inserting the actual values of those certain MAC header fields in MAC header bits 330 as part of payload 340 that is then encrypted as shown in FIG. 3 A. In some embodiments, those certain MAC header fields in Frame Control field 310 can include: retry field 412 , power management (PM) field 414 , more data (MD) field 416 , [0047] where the corresponding OTA values may be all zeroes,) As to claim 5 , Kneckt teaches the device of claim 1, wherein the one or more unencrypted fields further comprise a duration field, an address 1 (A1) field, and an address 2 (A2) field (Kneckt Fig. 3A duration, A1 and A2 field) As to claim 6 , Kneckt teaches the device of claim 1, wherein the frame is the data frame and the one or more unencrypted fields further comprise an address 4 (A4) field and an indication for an Aggregated MAC Service Data Unit (A-MSDU), in a Quality of Service (QoS) Control field (Kneckt [0040] Certain MAC header fields in Frame Control field 310 and/or Quality of Service (QoS) Control field 320 of header 315 that are not encrypted certain MAC header fields in MAC header bits 330 as part of payload Those certain MAC header fields in QoS Control field 320 can include: traffic ID (TID) field 452 , aggregated MAC service data unit (A-MSDU) present field 458 of FIG. 4 B (described below) and Fig. 3A address 4 field) Claim 20 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 6. As to claim 10 , Kneckt teaches the device of claim 6, wherein the one or more encrypted fields comprise a further QoS control field representative of an actual QoS control field of the frame (Kneckt [0040] MAC header fields in MAC header bits 330 as part of payload 340 that is then encrypted as shown in FIG. 3 A. In some embodiments, those certain MAC header fields in Frame Control field 310 can include: retry field 412 , power management (PM) field 414 , more data (MD) field 416 , +HTC field 418 of FIG. 4 A, end of service period (EOSP) field 454 and/or ACK policy indicator 456 of FIG. 4 B. Those certain MAC header fields in QoS Control field 320 ) As to claim 11 , Kneckt teaches the device device of claim 6, wherein the A3 field is representative of one of a destination address (DA) a source address (SA) or an a basic service set identifier (BSSID) (Kneckt [0105] fields in header 315 include transmitter address (TA), receiver address (RA), sequence number (SN), packet number (PN), and/or a Salt) As to claim 16 , Kneckt teaches the device of claim 1, the device further comprising a transceiver configured to wirelessly transmit the frame to the one or more STAs (Kneckt Fig. 2 antenna) Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 2, 7, 8, 14 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kneckt and Patil et al. (Pub. No.: 2024/0305987), herein Patil . As to claim 2 , Kneckt teaches the device of claim 1, Kneckt does not teach wherein the one or more encrypted fields are encrypted using an encryption key. However Patil does teach wherein the one or more encrypted fields are encrypted using an encryption key (Patil [0077] [0077] In some implementations, the first wireless communication device 602 may use different encryption keys,) It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kneckt with Patil, because Patil teaches us [0077] In some implementations, the first wireless communication device 602 may use different encryption keys, different packet numbers, or a combination thereof, to perform encryption of payloads (e.g., MPDUs) and generation of the header integrity check information As to claim 7 , the combination of Kneckt and Patil teach the device of claim 6, wherein the one or more encrypted fields comprise a sequence control field representative of a sequence number and a fragment number of the frame (Patil [0059] As another example, as shown in FIG. 5 , the sequence control field 512 may include a fragment number subfield 550 that consists of four bits and a sequence number subfield 552 that consists of twelve bits) It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kneckt and Patil, for the same reasons stated in claim 2. As to claim 8 , the combination of Kneckt and Patil teach the device of claim 7, wherein the sequence control field comprises a first portion of a Galois/Counter Mode Protocol (GCMP) header for encryption with header encryption key, wherein the QoS Control field includes a second portion of the GCMP header for encryption with header encryption key, wherein the frame further includes a GCMP header field including a third portion of the GCMP header for encryption with header encryption key. (Patil [0087] The encryption performed on the fields of the header of the first data packet 628 may be use the same encryption protocol as the encryption performed on the payload of the first data packet 628 , such as GCMP) It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kneckt and Patil, for the same reasons stated in claim 2. As to claim 14 , the combination of Kneckt and Patil teach the device of claim 6, wherein the data frame is a QoS Null data frame (Patil [0071] he first data packet 628 may be a QoS null frame) It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kneckt and Patil, for the same reasons stated in claim 2. As to claim 15 , the combination of Kneckt and Patil teach the device of claim 6, wherein the one or more encrypted fields further comprise a message integrity code for encryption with a header encryption key (Patil [0083] As another example, if the first data packet 628 includes the integrity check information 670 (and the integrity check information 670 corresponds to header integrity and message integrity), the header integrity check value 658 may be generated based on one or more fields of the header of the first data packet 628 and the message integrity check value 660 may be generated based on the payload of the first data packet 628 and [0077] In some implementations, the first wireless communication device 602 may use different encryption keys, different packet numbers, or a combination thereof, to perform encryption of payloads (e.g., MPDUs) and generation of the header integrity check information 610 . Stated differently, the header integrity check information 610 may be generated based on one or both of a second packet number 618 that is distinct from a first packet number 616 included in the header of the first data packet 628 (and is used to encrypt the payload of the first data packet 628 ) or a second encryption key (e.g., a second temporal key 624 ) that is distinct from a first encryption key (e.g., a first temporal key 622 ) used to encrypt the payload of the first data packet. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kneckt and Patil, for the same reasons stated in claim 2 . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 12 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kneckt and Zhu et al. WO 2023/184115 A, herein Zhu . As to claim 12 , Kneckt teaches the device of claim 6, Kneckt does not teach wherein the A3 field is set to zero if an actual A3 field of the frame comprises one of a DA or a SA, wherein the one or more encrypted fields further comprises a further A3 field comprising the one of the DA or the SA. However Zhu does teach wherein the A3 field is set to zero if an actual A3 field of the frame comprises one of a DA or a SA, wherein the one or more encrypted fields further comprises a further A3 field comprising the one of the DA or the SA. (Zhu page 22 line18-21 S5-10.AP2 checks whether the value of the address 3 field in the frame header of data frame 2 is all zeros; when the value of the address 3 field in the frame header of data frame 2 is all zeros, AP2 applies integrity to data frame 2 After verification and decryption, extract DA (MAC2) and SA (MAC1)) It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kneckt with Zhu, because Zhu teaches S5-5.AP1 checks the OTA MAC address list it maintains to determine whether MAC-OTA1 is identifiable; if MAC-OTA1 is identifiable, AP1 checks whether the value of the address 3 field in the header of data frame 1 is all zeros , when the value of the address 3 field in the frame header of data frame 1 is all zeros, AP1 extracts DA, that is, the permanent MAC address MAC2 of STA2, As to claim 13 , the combination of Kneckt and Zhu teach the device of claim 10, wherein the A4 field is set to zero if an actual A4 field of the frame comprises one of a DA or a SA, wherein the one or more encrypted fields further comprise a further A4 field comprising the one of the DA or the SA (Zhu page 23 lines 34-38 The values of the address 3 field and the address 4 field of the fourth frame are all zeros, or the values of the address 3 field and the address 4 field of the fourth frame are both random numbers, then after integrity verification and decryption of the fourth frame, Extract the source address (SA) and destination address (DA) from the frame body of the fourth frame. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kneckt with Zhu for the same reasons stated in claim 12 . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim 9 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 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AYANAH S GEORGE whose telephone number is (571)272-8880. The examiner can normally be reached on 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM. 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, Hassan Phillips can be reached on 572-272-3940. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. AYANAH S. GEORGE Primary Examiner Art Unit 2467 /AYANAH S GEORGE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2467 Application/Control Number: 18/752,819 Page 2 Art Unit: 2467 Application/Control Number: 18/752,819 Page 3 Art Unit: 2467 Application/Control Number: 18/752,819 Page 4 Art Unit: 2467 Application/Control Number: 18/752,819 Page 5 Art Unit: 2467 Application/Control Number: 18/752,819 Page 6 Art Unit: 2467 Application/Control Number: 18/752,819 Page 7 Art Unit: 2467 Application/Control Number: 18/752,819 Page 8 Art Unit: 2467 Application/Control Number: 18/752,819 Page 9 Art Unit: 2467 Application/Control Number: 18/752,819 Page 10 Art Unit: 2467 Application/Control Number: 18/752,819 Page 11 Art Unit: 2467 Application/Control Number: 18/752,819 Page 12 Art Unit: 2467
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