DETAILED ACTION
Acknowledgements
This office action is in response to the claims filed 01/07/2026.
Claims 1-20, 29 and 37 are cancelled.
Claims 21-23, 25-28, 30-35, 39 and 40 are amended.
Claims 21-23, 25-28, 30-36 and 38-40 are pending.
Claims 21-23, 25-28, 30-36 and 38-40 have been examined.
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 filed 01/07/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
112
Due to Applicant’s amendments, prior 112 rejections are withdrawn.
103
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on the combination of references applied in the prior rejection of record.
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.
Claims 21-23, 25-28, 30-36 and 38-40 are 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claims 21, 33 and 40 recite “processing the request by processing the stored asset information relating to information in the request…generating transaction information according to the information included in the request…” The claim is unclear and indefinite. First, the claim is unclear what “processing the request by processing the stored asset information”, it is unclear what computer function is actually being performed, when a device is “processing the request by processing”, secondly, it is unclear whether the “information in the request”, is the same as “the information included in the request”, or whether there is a lack of antecedent basis on two different information sets. The claims are unclear and indefinite. Dependent claims 22, 23, 25-28, 30-32, 36, 38 and 39 are also rejected.
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.
Claims 21-23, 25-28, 30-36 and 38-40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang et al. (US 202102630830) (“Hwang”), and further in view of Liu et al. (US 20160300224) (“Liu”)
Regarding claims 21, 33 and 40, Hwang discloses storing asset information in a non-transitory memory (Figure 2, 4; ¶ 22, 29-31, 42, 55, 70-76; claim 1);
Hwang - the power metering server configured to store the power metering data… verifying whether the power metering data is authentic may be respectively stored in a database of a power metering server and a blockchain node (¶ 22, 29)
receiving a request from a communication device via a network (¶ 22-27, 70-77; claim 6);
Hwang - a power metering client configured to request access to the power metering data stored in the power metering server… when a request for access to the power metering data occurs from a power metering client, the power metering server may verify a permission to access the power metering data that the power metering client intends to access…The power metering client 103 may request the power metering data from a blockchain node 200, and may provide a function of outputting or storing the power metering data. (¶ 22, 47, 76)
processing the request by processing the stored asset information relating to information in the request (¶ 47-53, 76, 77);
Hwang - when a request for access to the power metering data occurs from a power metering client, the power metering server may verify a permission to access the power metering data that the power metering client intends to access.( ¶ 76)
determining whether a user of the communication device has authority to request to process the asset information (Figure 4; ¶ 46-52, 78-80);
Hwang - When the power metering server receives the digitally signed hash value from the blockchain node corresponding to the request, whether the power metering data is authentic may be determined by using the digitally signed hash value. In other words, the power metering server may verify whether the power metering data stored in the power metering server corresponds to the original with assured integrity and transparency by using the digitally signed hash value(¶ 78)
based on a determination that the user of the communication device has the authority, generating transaction information and storing the transaction information in the non-transitory memory (Figure 5; ¶ 24, 25, 47-53, 67-69, 75, 84); and
Hwang - The blockchain node may be configured to receive, in response to a request of the power metering apparatus, one or more digitally signed hash values, generate a transaction block including the received one or more digitally signed hash values, and connect and store the generated transaction block…The blockchain node 104 may generate a transaction block, after verifying whether the generated transaction is a transaction generated by the legitimate power metering apparatus 101 by using the received digital signature. The transaction block may be propagated to and shared by different blockchain nodes on a blockchain network, and the blockchain nodes may verify whether the transaction is a valid transaction in the same manner as a verification manner, and then may update a distributed ledger so as to reflect contents of the transaction. ( ¶ 24, 52)
distributing the transaction information to a plurality of apparatuses included in the blockchain network to add the transaction information to a chain of blocks (Figure 1; ¶ 11, 21, 22, 42-44, 52, 68).
Hwang - there is provided a power metering system including a power metering apparatus configured to respectively transmit, to a blockchain node and a power metering server, power metering data generated according to an amount of power generated by an energy source and a hash value of the power metering data,… The blockchain node 104 may generate a transaction block, after verifying whether the generated transaction is a transaction generated by the legitimate power metering apparatus 101 by using the received digital signature. The transaction block may be propagated to and shared by different blockchain nodes on a blockchain network, and the blockchain nodes may verify whether the transaction is a valid transaction in the same manner as a verification manner, and then may update a distributed ledger so as to reflect contents of the transaction. (¶ 22, 52)
Hwang does not disclose according to the information included in the request.
Liu teaches according to the information included in the request (¶ 29, 32, 60, 80, 83, 111, 120, 121).
Liu - The server receives (502) a transaction request including transaction information, card identifier information, and card data from a first terminal. For example, the transaction information includes a resource amount for the transaction, goods and/or services associated with the transaction, time/date and location of the transaction, and identifier information (¶ 80)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Hwang(¶ 44), which teaches “the unique key may include information for retrieving the digitally signed hash value on the blockchain, such as a power metering apparatus identifier, a transaction identifier of the digitally signed hash value, and the like” and Liu(¶ 81, 95), which teaches “The server authenticates (504) the identity of a first user according to the card identifier information and the card data… If the two are the same, the authentication of the identity of the first user is successful, and if the two are different, the authentication of the identity of the first user fails” in order to provide further protection for utility transactions (Liu; ¶ 2-5, 95).
Regarding claims 22 and 34, Hwang discloses wherein execution of the instruction further causes the processor to determine whether the user of the communication device has an access right, and generates, based on a determination indicating that the user of the communication device has the access right, the transaction information (¶ 79, 85-91).
Regarding claim 23, Hwang discloses wherein the processor receives the request from an intermediary server (¶ 72-79).
Regarding claim 25, Hwang discloses wherein the information in the request indicates an amount of electricity produced by a power generator, and the asset information indicates that a production method of the electricity is one of a production of electricity using a renewable source, a production of electricity using fossil fuels, and a production of electricity using nuclear power (¶ 55-66).
Regarding claims 26 and 35, Hwang discloses wherein the execution of the instruction further causes the processor to transmit a response indicating a processing failure to the communication device, based on a determination that the user of the communication device does not have the authority (¶ 46-52, 78-80).
Regarding claim 27, Hwang discloses wherein the non-transitory memory stores, for each user of a plurality types of users, information indicating whether the user has authority to request to process the asset information (¶ 46-52, 78-80).
Regarding claims 28 and 36, Hwang discloses wherein the apparatus is configured to perform distributed processing within the blockchain network (Abstract; ¶ 55-76).
Regarding claim 30, Hwang discloses wherein execution of the instruction further causes the processor to transmit a response indicating a processing failure to an intermediary server, based on a determination that the user of the communication device does not have authority to process the asset information (¶ 46-52, 78-80).
Regarding claims 31 and 38, Hwang discloses the non-transitory memory stores, for each type of user, first information in association with second information, the first information indicates whether the user has authority to request processing of the asset information, and the second information indicates whether the user has authority to change the asset information (¶ 22-29, 40-67).
Regarding claims 32 and 39, Hwang discloses wherein the transaction information indicates a time at which a transfer of electricity is intermediated, an owner of the electricity after the transfer is completed, information specifying the asset information corresponding to the electricity subject to the transfer, and a consumed amount of the electricity (¶ 55-66).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Mayne et al., (US 20190164236) electricity and blockchains.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
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