DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Status of Claims
This is a first office action on the merits in response to the application filed on July 29, 2024, a continuation of U.S. Application No.16/554,002.
Claims 1-20 are pending and have been examined.
Priority
The applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 5, 16, and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 1, 16, and 20 recite “control[ling] the transfer of the amount of cryptocurrency corresponding to the amount of the futures instrument from the central clearing cryptocurrency wallet to a buyer cryptocurrency wallet associated with the buyer computer system.” The phrasing, “the transfer of,” should be changed to “a transfer of.” Transfer of the amount of cryptocurrency from the central clearing cryptocurrency to a buyer cryptocurrency wallet is cited for first time in these claims.
Claim 5 recites “wherein the central clearing computer system is further configured to store a snapshot record containing an account balance of the ledger account.” Claim 1 recites “the deposit address record comprising a first field storing an identifier of a ledger account of the seller computer system.” For more clarity, the phrasing, “the ledger account,” should be changed to “the ledger account of the seller computer system.”
Appropriate correction is required.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claim 1-3, 8-11, and 13-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 4-15, and 20 of U.S. Patent No.12,062,090. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other.
The mapping of claims 1-3, 8-11, and 13-20 of this application with claims 1, 4-15, and 20 of the ’090 patent is as follows:
This Application
Patent No. 12,062,090
Claim 1:
A central clearing computer system comprising one or more processors configured to:
obtain data indicative of a match between a buy instruction associated with a buyer computer system and a sell instruction associated with a seller computer system for an amount of a futures instrument associated with an amount of cryptocurrency;
receive authentication data from the seller computer system for verification of the seller computer system;
control a transfer of the amount of cryptocurrency corresponding to the amount of the futures instrument from a seller cryptocurrency wallet associated with the seller computer system to a central clearing cryptocurrency wallet associated with the central clearing computer system by:
receiving a deposit address associated with a blockchain from the central clearing cryptocurrency wallet, wherein the deposit address is generated by retrieving a last address index from a memory and incrementing the last address index;
creating a deposit address record in a ledger account database, the deposit address record comprising a first field storing an identifier of a ledger account of the seller computer system, and a second field storing the deposit address;
providing a string or a quick response (QR) code representing the deposit address to the seller computer system;
receiving a notification from the central clearing cryptocurrency wallet informing the amount of cryptocurrency recorded at the deposit address indicated in the deposit address record, in response to a transaction signed by the seller cryptocurrency wallet using a private wallet signing key and submitted to a blockchain network that verifies and mines the signed transaction into a block of the blockchain, wherein the notification includes the amount of cryptocurrency and a number of mined blocks following the transaction in the blockchain; and
in response to expiration of the futures instrument, control the transfer of the amount of cryptocurrency corresponding to the amount of the futures instrument from the central clearing cryptocurrency wallet to a buyer cryptocurrency wallet associated with the buyer computer system.
Claim 1:
A blockchain enabled electronic futures trading system comprising: a central clearing computer system comprising one or more processers configured to:
obtain data indicative of a match between a buy instruction associated with a buyer computer system and a sell instruction associated with a seller computer system from a trade determination system for a futures instrument represented by futures instrument data stored in a futures instrument database, wherein said futures instrument is a future based on a value of a bitcoin;
transmit a first notification to the seller computer system to indicate the central clearing computer system is enabled to accept an electronic transfer of bitcoin from a seller bitcoin wallet associated with the seller computer system to a central clearing bitcoin wallet associated with the central clearing computer system;
receive authentication data from the seller computer system for verification;
accept, through the central clearing bitcoin wallet from the seller bitcoin wallet, an amount of bitcoin equal to the amount of bitcoin represented by the futures instrument data;
perform the electronic transfer using a blockchain by:
receiving a deposit address associated with the blockchain from the central clearing bitcoin wallet, wherein the deposit address is generated by retrieving a last address index from a memory and incrementing the last address index;
creating a deposit address record comprising a first field storing an identifier of a ledger account associated with the deposit address, and a second field storing the deposit address;
providing a string or a quick response (QR) code representing the deposit address to the seller computer system;
receiving a second notification from the central clearing bitcoin wallet informing the amount of bitcoin recorded at the deposit address indicated in the deposit address record, in response to a transaction signed by the seller bitcoin wallet using a private wallet signing key and submitted to a blockchain network that verifies and mines the signed transaction into a block of the blockchain, wherein the second notification includes the amount of bitcoin and a number of mined blocks following the transaction in the blockchain;
in response to the number of mined blocks being larger than a predefined threshold, generating a deposit journal that is saved in a ledger transaction database, wherein the deposit journal includes the amount of bitcoin and time of the transaction; and in
response to expiration of the futures instrument, controlling transfer of the amount of bitcoin represented by the futures instrument data from the central clearing bitcoin wallet to a buyer bitcoin wallet associated with the buyer computer system.
Claim 2:
The central clearing computer system of claim 1 wherein the central clearing computer system is further configured to transmit a first notification to the seller computer system to indicate that the central clearing computer system is enabled to control the transfer of the amount of cryptocurrency from the seller cryptocurrency wallet associated with the seller computer system to the central clearing cryptocurrency wallet associated with the central clearing computer system.
Claim 1:
a central clearing computer system comprising one or more processers configured to:
…
transmit a first notification to the seller computer system to indicate the central clearing computer system is enabled to accept an electronic transfer of bitcoin from a seller bitcoin wallet associated with the seller computer system to a central clearing bitcoin wallet associated with the central clearing computer system;
Claim 3:
The central clearing computer system of claim 1, wherein the central clearing computer system is further configured to generate a deposit journal that is saved in a ledger transaction database in response to the number of mined blocks being larger than a predefined threshold, wherein the deposit journal includes the amount of cryptocurrency and time of the transaction.
Claim 1:
a central clearing computer system comprising one or more processers configured to:
…
in response to the number of mined blocks being larger than a predefined threshold, generating a deposit journal that is saved in a ledger transaction database, wherein the deposit journal includes the amount of bitcoin and time of the transaction;
Claim 8:
The central clearing computer system of claim 1, wherein the central clearing computer system additionally includes a deposited cryptocurrency amount representing the amount of cryptocurrency previously transmitted to the central clearing cryptocurrency wallet by the seller computer system, wherein the cryptocurrency comprises a digital currency in which a record of transaction is maintained.
Claim 4:
The system of claim 1 wherein the central clearing computer system additionally includes a seller computer system deposited bitcoin amount representing bitcoin previously transmitted to the central clearing bitcoin wallet by the seller computer system.
Claim 9:
The central clearing computer system of claim 8, wherein, in response to obtaining the data indicative of the match between the buy instruction associated with the buyer computer system and the sell instruction associated with the seller computer system, the central clearing computer system is configured to deduct from the deposited cryptocurrency amount an amount of cryptocurrency equal to the amount of cryptocurrency corresponding to the amount of the futures instrument, wherein the digital currency comprises bitcoin.
Claim 5:
The system of claim 4 wherein, in response to obtaining data indicative of the match between the buy instruction and the sell instruction from the trade determination system, the central clearing computer system is configured to deduct from the deposited bitcoin amount an amount of bitcoin equal to the amount of bitcoin represented by the futures instrument data.
Claim 10:
The central clearing computer system of claim 1, wherein the deposit address is rendered into a QR code and provided to the seller computer system.
Claim 6:
The system of claim 1, wherein the deposit address is rendered into the QR code and provided to the seller computer system.
Claim 11:
The central clearing computer system of claim 1, wherein the deposit address is a destination address of the transaction on the blockchain.
Claim 7:
The system of claim 1, wherein the deposit address is a destination address of the transaction on the blockchain.
Claim 13:
The central clearing computer system of claim 1, wherein in response to a cryptocurrency withdrawal request from the buyer computer system, the central clearing computer system is further configured to generate a withdrawal journal that is stored as an immutable record in a ledger transaction database.
Claim 8:
The system of claim 1, wherein in response to a bitcoin withdrawal request from the buyer computer system, the trade determination system is configured to decrease a trading limit.
Claim 9:
wherein the central clearing computer system is configured to generate a withdrawal journal that is stored as an immutable record in the ledger transaction database.
Claim 14:
The central clearing computer system of claim 1, wherein in response to the transfer of the amount of cryptocurrency from the central clearing cryptocurrency wallet to the buyer cryptocurrency wallet, the central clearing computer system is configured to return a collateral for the amount of cryptocurrency.
Claim 10:
The system of claim 1, wherein in response to transferring the amount of bitcoin from the central clearing bitcoin wallet to the buyer bitcoin wallet, the central clearing computer system is configured to return a collateral for the amount of bitcoin.
Claim 15:
The central clearing computer system of claim 1, wherein in response to obtaining the data indicative of the match between the buy instruction and the sell instruction, the central clearing computer system is configured to produce a trade journal that is recorded in a ledger transaction database, wherein the trade journal includes a journal identifier, a trade time, a buyer account identifier, a seller account identifier, an instrument identifier, a trade capture report, a trade price, and trade quantity.
Claim 11:
The system of claim 1, wherein in response to obtaining data indicative of the match between the buy instruction and the sell instruction, the central clearing computer system is configured to produce a trade journal that is recorded in the ledger transaction database, wherein the trade journal includes a journal identifier, a trade time, a buyer account identifier, a seller account identifier, an instrument identifier, a trade capture report, a trade price, and trade quantity.
Claim 16:
A futures instrument trading method, comprising:
obtaining data indicative of a match between a buy instruction associated with a buyer computer system and a sell instruction associated with a seller computer system for an amount of a futures instrument associated with an amount of cryptocurrency; receiving authentication data from the seller computer system for verification of the seller computer system;
controlling a transfer of the amount of cryptocurrency corresponding to the amount of the futures instrument from a seller cryptocurrency wallet associated with the seller computer system to a central clearing cryptocurrency wallet associated with the central clearing computer system by:
receiving a deposit address associated with a blockchain from the central clearing cryptocurrency wallet, wherein the deposit address is generated by retrieving a last address index from a memory and incrementing the last address index;
creating a deposit address record comprising a first field storing an identifier of a ledger account associated with the deposit address, and a second field storing the deposit address;
providing a string or a quick response (QR) code representing the deposit address to the seller computer system;
receiving a notification from the central clearing cryptocurrency wallet informing the amount of cryptocurrency recorded at the deposit address indicated in the deposit address record, in response to a transaction signed by the seller cryptocurrency wallet using a private wallet signing key and submitted to a blockchain network that verifies and mines the signed transaction into a block of the blockchain, wherein the notification includes the amount of cryptocurrency and a number of mined blocks following the transaction in the blockchain; and
in response to expiration of the futures instrument, controlling the transfer of the amount of cryptocurrency corresponding to the amount of the futures instrument from the central clearing cryptocurrency wallet to a buyer cryptocurrency wallet associated with the buyer computer system.
Claim 12:
A futures trading method, comprising:
receiving, by a central clearing computer system, authentication data from a seller computer system for verification; in response to obtaining data indicative of a match between a buy instruction associated with a buyer computer system and a sell instruction associated with the seller computer system from a trade determination system for a futures instrument represented by futures instrument data stored in a futures instrument database, wherein the futures instrument is a future based on a value of a bitcoin,
performing, by the central clearing computer system, an electronic transfer of an amount of bitcoin equal to the amount of bitcoin represented by the futures instrument data, from a seller bitcoin wallet associated with the seller computer system to a central clearing bitcoin wallet using a blockchain by:
receiving a deposit address associated with the blockchain from the central clearing bitcoin wallet, wherein the deposit address is generated by retrieving a last address index from a memory and incrementing the last address index;
creating a deposit address record comprising a first field storing an identifier of a ledger account associated with the deposit address, and a second field storing the deposit address;
providing a string or a quick response (QR) code representing the deposit address to the seller computer system;
receiving a notification from the central clearing bitcoin wallet informing the amount of bitcoin recorded at the deposit address indicated in the deposit address record, in response to a transaction signed by the seller bitcoin wallet using a private wallet signing key and submitted to a blockchain network that verifies and mines the signed transaction into a block of the blockchain, wherein the notification includes the amount of bitcoin and a number of mined blocks following the transaction in the blockchain;
in response to the number of mined blocks being larger than a predefined threshold, generating a deposit journal that is saved in a ledger transaction database, wherein the deposit journal includes the amount of bitcoin and time of the transaction; and
in response to expiration of the futures instrument, controlling transfer, by the central clearing computer system, of the amount of bitcoin represented by the futures instrument data from the central clearing bitcoin wallet to a buyer bitcoin wallet associated with the buyer computer system.
Claim 17:
The futures instrument trading method of claim 16, further comprising: automatically denying sell instructions from the seller computer system when the sell instructions exceed a seller trading limit associated with the seller computer system.
Claim 13:
The futures trading method of claim 12, further comprising: automatically denying sell instructions from the seller computer system when the sell instructions exceed a seller trading limit associated with the seller computer system.
Claim 18:
The futures instrument trading method of claim 16, wherein in response to obtaining the data indicative of the match between the buy instruction and the sell instruction, deducting, from a deposited cryptocurrency amount in the central clearing cryptocurrency wallet, an amount of cryptocurrency equal to the amount of cryptocurrency corresponding to the amount of the futures instrument, wherein the cryptocurrency comprises a digital currency in which a record of transaction is maintained.
Claim 14:
The futures trading method of claim 12, wherein in response to obtaining data indicative of the match between the buy instruction and the sell instruction, deducting, from a deposited bitcoin amount in the central clearing bitcoin wallet, an amount of bitcoin equal to the amount of bitcoin represented by the futures instrument data.
Claim 19:
The futures instrument trading method of claim 18, wherein the deposit address is a destination address of the transaction on the blockchain, and the deposit address is rendered into a QR code and provided to the seller computer system, wherein the digital currency comprises bitcoin.
Claim 12:
…
wherein the futures instrument is a future based on a value of a bitcoin,
Claim 15:
The futures trading method of claim 12, wherein the deposit address is a destination address of the transaction on the blockchain, and the deposit address is rendered into the QR code and provided to the seller computer system.
Claim 20:
A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a central clearing computer system included in a blockchain enabled electronic futures trading system, cause the central clearing computer system to perform operations, comprising:
obtaining data indicative of a match between a buy instruction associated with a buyer computer system and a sell instruction associated with a seller computer system for an amount of a futures instrument associated with an amount of cryptocurrency; receiving authentication data from the seller computer system for verification of the seller computer system;
controlling a transfer of the amount of cryptocurrency corresponding to the amount of the futures instrument from a seller cryptocurrency wallet associated with the seller computer system to a central clearing cryptocurrency wallet associated with the central clearing computer system by:
receiving a deposit address associated with the blockchain from the central clearing cryptocurrency wallet, wherein the deposit address is generated by retrieving a last address index from a memory and incrementing the last address index; creating a deposit address record comprising a first field storing an identifier of a ledger account associated with the deposit address, and a second field storing the deposit address;
providing a string or a quick response (QR) code representing the deposit address to the seller computer system;
receiving a notification from the central clearing cryptocurrency wallet informing the amount of cryptocurrency recorded at the deposit address indicated in the deposit address record, in response to a transaction signed by the seller cryptocurrency wallet using a private wallet signing key and submitted to a blockchain network that verifies and mines the signed transaction into a block of the blockchain, wherein the notification includes the amount of cryptocurrency and a number of mined blocks following the transaction in the blockchain; and
in response to expiration of the futures instrument, controlling the transfer of the amount of cryptocurrency corresponding to the amount of the futures instrument from the central clearing cryptocurrency wallet to a buyer cryptocurrency wallet associated with the buyer computer system.
Claim 20:
A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a central clearing computer system included in a blockchain enabled electronic futures trading system, cause the central clearing computer system to perform operations, comprising:
receiving, by the central clearing computer system, authentication data from a seller computer system for verification; in response to obtaining data indicative of a match between a buy instruction associated with a buyer computer system and a sell instruction associated with the seller computer system from a trade determination system for a futures instrument represented by futures instrument data stored in a futures instrument database, wherein the futures instrument is a future based on a value of a bitcoin,
performing, by the central clearing computer system, an electronic transfer of an amount of bitcoin equal to the amount of bitcoin represented by the futures instrument data, from a seller bitcoin wallet associated with the seller computer system to a central clearing bitcoin wallet using a blockchain by:
receiving a deposit address associated with the blockchain from the central clearing bitcoin wallet, wherein the deposit address is generated by retrieving a last address index from a memory and incrementing the last address index; creating a deposit address record comprising a first field storing an identifier of a ledger account associated with the deposit address, and a second field storing the deposit address;
providing a string or a quick response (QR) code representing the deposit address to the seller computer system;
receiving a notification from the central clearing bitcoin wallet informing the amount of bitcoin recorded at the deposit address indicated in the deposit address record, in response to a transaction signed by the seller bitcoin wallet using a private wallet signing key and submitted to a blockchain network that verifies and mines the signed transaction into a block of the blockchain, wherein the notification includes the amount of bitcoin and a number of mined blocks following the transaction in the blockchain;
in response to the number of mined blocks being larger than a predefined threshold, generating a deposit journal that is saved in a ledger transaction database, wherein the deposit journal includes the amount of bitcoin and time of the transaction; and
in response to expiration of the futures instrument, controlling transfer, by the central clearing computer system, of the amount of bitcoin represented by the futures instrument data from the central clearing bitcoin wallet to a buyer bitcoin wallet associated with the buyer computer system.
Claims 4-5 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of U.S. Patent No.12,062,090 in view of Davis (US 20160342989 A1).
Per Claim 4:
Claim 1 of the ’090 patent discloses the deposit journal. However, Davis discloses generating one or more postings associated with the deposit journal and the transaction, and storing the one or more postings in the ledger transaction database. (See paragraphs [0059]-[0060], “[i]n some instances, transaction data entries 214 may be stored in an account profile 210 related to a transaction account involved in the associated payment transaction.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the subject matter of Davis in the ’090 patent system. Moreover, in order to improve the flexibility of the ’090 patent system, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to generate one or more data entries associated with transactions and to store the data entries in a database, so that the stored data entries can provide useful information associated with the transactions.
Per Claim 5:
Davis discloses storing a snapshot record containing an account balance of the ledger account. (See paragraph [0054], “[e]ach account profile 210 may include data related to a consumer (e.g., the payer 102, payee 104, etc.) or a transaction account associated thereof, including at least an account identifier, a fiat currency amount, and one or more blockchain currency amounts. Each blockchain currency amount may be associated with a blockchain network 106.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the subject matter of Davis in the ’090 patent system. Moreover, in order to improve the efficiency of the ’090 patent system, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to store the account balances in a database, so that transactions can be effectively validated based on the stored account balances.
Claim 6 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of U.S. Patent No.12,062,090 in view of Toll et al. (US 20180006831 A1).
Per Claim 6:
Claim 1 of the ’090 patent discloses the futures instrument and cryptocurrency. However, Toll discloses retrieving a position associated with the futures instrument from a ledger transaction database; and determining the amount of cryptocurrency based on the position. (See paragraph [0023], “[t]he clearing housing computer system interfaces with a blockchain (e.g., plural distributed computer nodes that each possess part or all of a distributed cryptographic ledger) and stores trade and/or position information regarding the trades onto the blockchain”; paragraphs [0060]-[0061].)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the subject matter of Toll in the ’090 patent system. Moreover, in order to improve the efficiency of the ’090 patent system, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to retrieve position information and to determine an amount of assets needed for the trade, so that the trade can be effectively processed.
Claims 7 and 12 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of U.S. Patent No.12,062,090 in view of Dvorak et al. (US 20150324789 A1).
Per Claim 7:
Claim 1 of the ’090 patent discloses receiving the deposit address associated with the blockchain. However, Dvorak discloses receiving a cryptocurrency request from a computer system; determining that no existing deposit address records in a ledger account database include the deposit address corresponding to the identifier of the ledger account of the computer system. (See Fig. 11; paragraphs [0122]-[0123], “[w]allet server 46 also retrieves from the wallet database 48 in the child public key at least the highest recorded index. Alternatively, if the index is zero, if no key is in the wallet database 48 for the desired branch. … At step 208 secure device 10 receives the ‘receive_address_index’ and the receive address from API server 50. Step 208 further involves generating a receive address from the receive_address_index and caching the new receive address index. From step 208, secure device 10 continues to step 212 to display the QR code of the receive address. At step 214, secure device 10 presumes that coins have been received.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the subject matter of Dvorak in the ’090 patent system. Moreover, in order to improve the flexibility of the ’090 patent system, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to generate an address for receiving cryptocurrency, so that the transaction for depositing cryptocurrency can be effectively processed.
Per Claim 12:
Claim 1 of the ’090 patent discloses receiving authentication data from the seller computer system for verification of the seller computer system. However, Dvorak discloses wherein the authentication data comprises an identifier and a password from a user of a computer system. (See paragraph [0057], “[t]his challenge is then signed using the embedded encryption key and the signed challenge can either be sent to the server in order to provide a second authentication factor in addition to the username and password already entered on the web portal login page, or as a second and third authentication factor if the signed challenge is sent along with a fingerprint scan to provide both possession and inheritance authentication”; paragraph [0098], “[d]evice database 54 may also include a web table storing a person's name which may be defined as an email address for the user to force uniqueness, identification of the secure device 10 associated with the user's account, and a password salt for checking password correctness is included in the web table.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the subject matter of Dvorak in the ’090 patent system. Moreover, in order to improve the security of the ’090 patent system, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to authenticate a user or a user device based on a unique identifier and password, so as to prevent the unauthenticated user or the unauthenticated user device from accessing the system.
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 8-9 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 8 recites “wherein the central clearing computer system additionally includes a deposited cryptocurrency amount representing the amount of cryptocurrency previously transmitted to the central clearing cryptocurrency wallet by the seller computer system.” There is insufficient antecedent basis for the amount of cryptocurrency preciously transmitted to the central clearing cryptocurrency wallet in the claim.
Claim 9 is rejected because it depends on the rejected claim 8.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
In this instance, claims 1-15 are directed to a system comprising one or more processors, claims 16-19 are directed to a method, and claim 20 is directed to a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Therefore, claims 1-20 fall within the four statutory categories of invention.
Claim 1 as a whole is directed to trading futures instrument. In particular, the claim recites obtaining data associated with a trading, receiving authentication data, and transferring an amount of cryptocurrency. In other words, the claim falls under the “Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity” grouping of abstract ideas in Step 2A Prong One (MPEP 2106.04(a)(d)) because the claim involves the steps for trading futures instrument, which is a process related to fundamental economic practices and/or commercial interactions. More specifically, the following underlined claim elements recite an abstract idea while the non-underlined claim elements recite additional elements according to MPEP 2106.04(a).
Claim 1 recites “[a] central clearing computer system comprising one or more processors configured to: obtain data indicative of a match between a buy instruction associated with a buyer computer system and a sell instruction associated with a seller computer system for an amount of a futures instrument associated with an amount of cryptocurrency; receive authentication data from the seller computer system for verification of the seller computer system; control a transfer of the amount of cryptocurrency corresponding to the amount of the futures instrument from a seller cryptocurrency wallet associated with the seller computer system to a central clearing cryptocurrency wallet associated with the central clearing computer system by: receiving a deposit address associated with a blockchain from the central clearing cryptocurrency wallet, wherein the deposit address is generated by retrieving a last address index from a memory and incrementing the last address index; creating a deposit address record in a ledger account database, the deposit address record comprising a first field storing an identifier of a ledger account of the seller computer system, and a second field storing the deposit address; providing a string or a quick response (QR) code representing the deposit address to the seller computer system; receiving a notification from the central clearing cryptocurrency wallet informing the amount of cryptocurrency recorded at the deposit address indicated in the deposit address record, in response to a transaction signed by the seller cryptocurrency wallet using a private wallet signing key and submitted to a blockchain network that verifies and mines the signed transaction into a block of the blockchain, wherein the notification includes the amount of cryptocurrency and a number of mined blocks following the transaction in the blockchain; and in response to expiration of the futures instrument, control the transfer of the amount of cryptocurrency corresponding to the amount of the futures instrument from the central clearing cryptocurrency wallet to a buyer cryptocurrency wallet associated with the buyer computer system.”
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because, when analyzed under Step 2A Prong Two (MPEP 2106.04(d)), the non-underlined additional elements — computers, one or more processors, cryptocurrency wallets, a blockchain, a blockchain network, and a ledger account database in claim 1 — perform trading futures instrument. These additional elements are recited at a high level of generality such that they amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. Merely adding generic computer components to perform the abstract idea does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. The additional elements of a blockchain and a ledger account database are merely recited as databases for storing data associated with trading futures instrument. The additional elements do not involve improvements to the functioning of a computer, or to any other technology or technical field (MPEP 2106.05(a)); the claim does not apply the abstract idea with, or by use of, a particular machine (MPEP 2106.05(b)); and the claim does not apply or use the abstract idea in some other meaningful ways beyond generally linking the use of the abstract idea to a particular technological environment, such that the claim as a whole is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception (MPEP 2106.05(e) and Vanda Memo). Therefore, the claim does not, for example, purport to improve the functioning of a computer. Nor does it effect an improvement in any other technology or technical field. Accordingly, the additional elements do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. Claim 1 as a whole, judging from the additional elements individually and in combination, does not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application. Therefore, claim 1 as a whole fails to recite a practical application of the abstract idea.
Claim 1 does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because, when analyzed under Step 2B (MPEP 2106.05), using computers, one or more processors, cryptocurrency wallets, a blockchain, a blockchain network, and a ledger account database to perform trading futures instrument amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. Mere instructions to apply an exception using generic computer components cannot provide an inventive concept beyond the recited abstract idea. The additional elements of a blockchain and a ledger account database are merely recited as databases for storing data associated with trading futures instrument. As discussed above, taking the additional elements separately, these additional elements perform the steps or functions that correspond to the actions required to perform the abstract idea. Therefore, the additional claim elements, when considered individually and in combination, fail to recite significantly more than the abstract idea.
Accordingly, claim 1 is rejected as being directed toward patent-ineligible subject matter.
Claim 16 recites the abstract idea similar to that discussed above in connection with claim 1. As analyzed above, the additional elements of computers, cryptocurrency wallets, a blockchain, a blockchain network, and a ledger account database are recited at a high level of generality such that they amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. These additional elements do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application and fail to recite significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 20 recites the abstract idea similar to that discussed above in connection with claim 1. As analyzed above, the additional elements of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, computers, cryptocurrency wallets, a blockchain, a blockchain network, and a ledger account database are recited at a high level of generality such that they amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. These additional elements do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application and fail to recite significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claims 2-15 and 17-19 have also been considered for subject-matter eligibility. However, these claims fail to recite patent-eligible subject matter for the following reasons:
Claim 2 recites transmitting a first notification to the seller system to indicate that the central clearing system is enabled to control the transfer of the amount of cryptocurrency from the seller associated with the seller system to the central clearing associated with the central clearing system, which falls under the “Certain Method of Organizing Human Activity” grouping of abstract ideas. The additional elements of computers and cryptocurrency wallets are recited at a high level of generality such that they amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. These additional elements do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application and fail to recite significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 3 recites generating a deposit journal that is saved in response to the number of mined blocks being larger than a predefined threshold, wherein the deposit journal includes the amount of cryptocurrency and time of the transaction, which falls under the “Certain Method of Organizing Human Activity” grouping of abstract ideas. The additional element of a computer is recited at a high level of generality such that it amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. The additional element does not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application and fails to recite significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 4 recites generating one or more postings associated with the deposit journal and the transaction, and storing the one or more postings, which falls under the “Certain Method of Organizing Human Activity” grouping of abstract ideas. The additional elements of a computer and a ledger transaction database are recited at a high level of generality such that they amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. These additional elements do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application and do not offer significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 5 recites storing a snapshot record containing an account balance of the ledger account, which falls under the “Certain Method of Organizing Human Activity” grouping of abstract ideas. The additional element of a computer is recited at a high level of generality such that it amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception a using generic computer component. The additional element does not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application and fails to recite significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 6 recites retrieving a position associated with the futures instrument and determining the amount of cryptocurrency based on the position, which falls under the “Certain Method of Organizing Human Activity” grouping of abstract ideas. The additional elements of a computer and a ledger transaction database are recited at a high level of generality such that they amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. These additional elements do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application and fail to recite significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 7 recites: prior to receiving the deposit address, receive a cryptocurrency deposit request from the seller system; determine that no existing deposit address records include the deposit address corresponding to the identifier of the ledger account of the seller system, which falls under the “Certain Method of Organizing Human Activity” grouping of abstract ideas. The additional elements of a computer, a blockchain, and a ledger transaction database are recited at a high level of generality such that they amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. These additional elements do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application and fail to recite significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 8 recites including a deposited cryptocurrency amount representing the amount of cryptocurrency previously transmitted to the central clearing by the seller system, wherein the cryptocurrency comprises a digital currency in which a record of transaction is maintained, which falls under the “Certain Method of Organizing Human Activity” grouping of abstract ideas. The additional elements of computers and a cryptocurrency wallet are recited at a high level of generality such that they amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. These additional elements do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application and fail to recite significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claims 9 recites: in response to obtaining the data indicative of the match between the buy instruction associated with the buyer system and the sell instruction associated with the seller system, deduct from the deposited cryptocurrency amount an amount of cryptocurrency equal to the amount of cryptocurrency corresponding to the amount of the futures instrument, wherein the digital currency comprises bitcoin, which falls under the “Certain Method of Organizing Human Activity” grouping of abstract ideas. The additional elements of computers are recited at a high level of generality such that they amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. These additional elements do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application and fail to recite significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 10 recites an additional element of wherein the deposit address is rendered into a QR code and provided to the seller computer system. The additional element fails to recite patent-eligible subject matter as it simply describes the characteristics of the deposit address included in the abstract idea. The additional element is insufficient to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application and does not offer significantly more than the abstract idea because the additional element merely recites add