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 .
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
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 9/2/2026 has been entered.
Claims 1, 8 and 15 are amended
Claims 1-20 are pending
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s amendment to claims 1, 8 and 15 filed on 9/2/2026 regarding, “receiving, wherein the first node and the second node are peer nodes of a peer-to-peer network of the media distribution system, and wherein the third node is a media distribution node that generated the authentication data from the media segment and provided the media segment to a root node of the peer-to-peer network for distribution to the first node via the peer-to-peer network;“ necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Therefore, Applicant's arguments with respect to claims 1-20 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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 of this title, 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.
1.) Claims 1-4, 7-11, 14-18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20010044893, Skemer in view of US 20200394183, Jois
In regards to claim 1, Skemer teach a method, comprising: receiving, via a first data distribution path, by a processor of a first node in a media distribution system, from a second node in the media distribution system, a media segment(US 20010044893, Skemer, para. 0025, This method allows a user network to perform user authentication for an external network at an access control node, such as an integrated access device, the external network being connected to the access control node by means of an access network. The method includes a first step of receiving a data unit at an access control node that is connected to a plurality of user networks.); authenticating, based on the authentication data, the media segment(US 20010044893, Skemer, para. 0025, The step of authenticating may include any combination of interrogating the user for access information, transmitting the access information to an authentication server on an external network, and transmitting an authentication message from the authentication server to the access control node.); and responsive to successfully authenticating the media segment, providing the media segment for consumption by the first node(US 20010044893, Skemer, para. 0048, If the authentication was successful the data unit is transmitted in step 108, and the method returns to step 100.); Skemer does not teach receiving, via a second data distribution path, from a third node in the media distribution system, authentication data related to the media segment, wherein the second data distribution path is different from the first data distribution path However, Jois teaches receiving, via a second data distribution path, from a third node in the media distribution system, authentication data related to the media segment, wherein the second data distribution path is different from the first data distribution path, wherein the first node and the second node are peer nodes of a peer-to-peer network of the media distribution system(US 20200394183, Jois, para. 0022, apparatus and systems enabling a method of executing, confirming and storing a transaction in a serverless decentralized node network comprising a number N of active nodes of at least five active nodes in the absence of a centralized storage server, the decentralized node network enabling peer-to-peer consensus of a transaction including a candidate node, from among the N active nodes for becoming a leader node in a single peer-to-peer, node-to-node transaction,), and wherein the third node is a media distribution node that generated the authentication data from the media segment(US 20200394183, Jois, para. 0083, A decentralized scheme, on which the bitcoin protocol is based, transfers authority and trust to a decentralized virtual network and enables its nodes to continuously and sequentially record transactions on a public “block,” creating a unique “chain”: the blockchain. Each successive block contains a “hash” (a unique fingerprint) of the previous code; therefore, cryptography (via hash codes) is used to secure the authentication of the transaction source) and provided the media segment to a root node of the peer-to-peer network for distribution to the first node via the peer-to-peer network(US 20200394183, Jois, para. 0160, The first hash and the second hash are transmitted to and received by the leader node, which is a node other than first node and the second node. The leader node, active in a machine state, multicasts the node-to-node transaction hash to all active nodes in the network); It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Skemer with the teaching of Jois because a user would have been motivated to look at the majority election consensus, taught by Jois, to apply to the authentication/authorization decision, taught by Skemer, in order to yield predictable results that avoids a single point of failure(Jois, para. 0059)
In regards to claim 2, The combination of Skemer and Jois teach the method of claim 1, wherein authenticating the media segment further comprises: generating validation data of the media segment(US 20010044893, Skemer, fig. 6, step 118, where access control information is transmitted to authentication server); and comparing the validation data to the authentication data(US 20010044893, Skemer,para. 0034, interrogating the user for access control information such as user identification and password[i.e. note: where a password is implicitly compared to password information]).
In regards to claim 3, The combination of Skemer and Jois teach the method of claim 1, further comprising: responsive to failing to successfully authenticate the media segment, performing one or more remedial actions(US 20010044893, Skemer, fig. 5, steps 106, where an authentication failure causes the data to be dropped[110]).
In regards to claim 4, The combination of Skemer and Jois teach the method of claim 1, further comprising: responsive to failing to successfully authenticate the media segment, instructing the third node to perform one or more remedial actions(US 20010044893, Skemer, fig. 5, steps 106, where an authentication failure causes the data to be dropped[110]).
In regards to claim 7, The combination of Skemer and Jois teach the method of claim 1, further comprising: responsive to successfully authenticating the media segment, transmitting the media segment to a fourth node in the media distribution system(US 20010044893, Skemer, para. 0025 and 0048: [0025]- The method includes a first step of receiving a data unit at an access control node that is connected to a plurality of user networks.[0048]- If the authentication was successful the data unit is transmitted in step 108, and the method returns to step 100.[i.e. note: where the data unit may be transmitted to a plurality of networks[e.g. forth node]).
In regards to claim 8, Skemer teaches a system comprising: a memory device(US 20010044893, Skemer, para. 0040, The IAD 7 allows the Access Network 4 to communicate with the telephony networks 11 and the User Devices 10.[i.e. note: where the various devices comprise both memory and processing components]); and a processing device coupled to the memory device(US 20010044893, Skemer, para. 0040, The IAD 7 allows the Access Network 4 to communicate with the telephony networks 11 and the User Devices 10.[i.e. note: where the various devices comprise both memory and processing components]), the processing device to perform operations comprising: receiving, via a first data distribution path, by a first node in a media distribution system, from a second node in the media distribution system, a media segment(US 20010044893, Skemer, para. 0025, This method allows a user network to perform user authentication for an external network at an access control node, such as an integrated access device, the external network being connected to the access control node by means of an access network. The method includes a first step of receiving a data unit at an access control node that is connected to a plurality of user networks.); authenticating, based on the authentication data, the media segment(US 20010044893, Skemer, para. 0025, The step of authenticating may include any combination of interrogating the user for access information, transmitting the access information to an authentication server on an external network, and transmitting an authentication message from the authentication server to the access control node.); and responsive to successfully authenticating the media segment, providing the media segment for consumption by the first node(US 20010044893, Skemer, para. 0048, If the authentication was successful the data unit is transmitted in step 108, and the method returns to step 100.) Skemer does not teach receiving, via a second data distribution path, from a third node in the media distribution system, authentication data related to the media segment, wherein the second data distribution path is different from the first data distribution path; However, Jois teaches receiving, via a second data distribution path, from a third node in the media distribution system, authentication data related to the media segment(US 20200394183, Jois, para. 0083, A decentralized scheme, on which the bitcoin protocol is based, transfers authority and trust to a decentralized virtual network and enables its nodes to continuously and sequentially record transactions on a public “block,” creating a unique “chain”: the blockchain. Each successive block contains a “hash” (a unique fingerprint) of the previous code; therefore, cryptography (via hash codes) is used to secure the authentication of the transaction source), wherein the second data distribution path is different from the first data distribution path, wherein the first node and the second node are peer nodes of a peer-to-peer network of the media distribution system(US 20200394183, Jois, para. 0022, apparatus and systems enabling a method of executing, confirming and storing a transaction in a serverless decentralized node network comprising a number N of active nodes of at least five active nodes in the absence of a centralized storage server, the decentralized node network enabling peer-to-peer consensus of a transaction including a candidate node, from among the N active nodes for becoming a leader node in a single peer-to-peer, node-to-node transaction,), and wherein the third node is a media distribution node that generated the authentication data from the media segment and provided the media segment to a root node of the peer-to-peer network for distribution to the first node via the peer-to-peer network(US 20200394183, Jois, para. 0160, The first hash and the second hash are transmitted to and received by the leader node, which is a node other than first node and the second node. The leader node, active in a machine state, multicasts the node-to-node transaction hash to all active nodes in the network.); It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Skemer with the teaching of Jois because a user would have been motivated to look at the majority election consensus, taught by Jois, to apply to the authentication/authorization decision, taught by Skemer, in order to yield predictable results that avoids a single point of failure(Jois, para. 0059).
In regards to claim 9, The combination of Skemer and Jois teach the system of claim 8, wherein authenticating the media segment further comprises: generating validation data of the media segment(US 20010044893, Skemer, fig. 6, step 118, where access control information is transmitted to authentication server); and comparing the validation data to the authentication data(US 20010044893, Skemer,para. 0034, interrogating the user for access control information such as user identification and password[i.e. note: where a password is implicitly compared to password information]).
In regards to claim 10, The combination of Skemer and Jois teach the system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise: responsive to failing to successfully authenticate the media segment, performing one or more remedial actions(US 20010044893, Skemer, fig. 5, steps 106, where an authentication failure causes the data to be dropped[110]).
In regards to claim 11, The combination of Skemer and Jois teach the system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise: responsive to failing to successfully authenticate the media segment, instructing the third node to perform one or more remedial actions(US 20010044893, Skemer, fig. 5, steps 106, where an authentication failure causes the data to be dropped[110]).
In regards to claim 14, The combination of Skemer and Jois teach the system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise: responsive to successfully authenticating the media segment, transmitting the media segment to a fourth node in the media distribution system(US 20010044893, Skemer, para. 0025 and 0048: [0025]- The method includes a first step of receiving a data unit at an access control node that is connected to a plurality of user networks.[0048]- If the authentication was successful the data unit is transmitted in step 108, and the method returns to step 100.[i.e. note: where the data unit may be transmitted to a plurality of networks[e.g. forth node]).
In regards to claim 15, Skemer teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, responsive to execution by a processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations comprising: receiving, via a first data distribution path, by a first node in a media distribution system, from a second node in the media distribution system, a media segment(US 20010044893, Skemer, para. 0025, This method allows a user network to perform user authentication for an external network at an access control node, such as an integrated access device, the external network being connected to the access control node by means of an access network. The method includes a first step of receiving a data unit at an access control node that is connected to a plurality of user networks.); authenticating, based on the authentication data, the media segment(US 20010044893, Skemer, para. 0025, The step of authenticating may include any combination of interrogating the user for access information, transmitting the access information to an authentication server on an external network, and transmitting an authentication message from the authentication server to the access control node.); and responsive to successfully authenticating the media segment, providing the media segment for consumption by the first node(US 20010044893, Skemer, para. 0048, If the authentication was successful the data unit is transmitted in step 108, and the method returns to step 100.) Skemer does not teach receiving, via a second data distribution path, from a third node in the media distribution system, authentication data related to the media segment, wherein the second data distribution path is different from the first data distribution path receiving, via a second data distribution path, from a third node in the media distribution system, authentication data related to the media segment, wherein the second data distribution path is different from the first data distribution path; However, Jois teaches receiving, via a second data distribution path, from a third node in the media distribution system, authentication data related to the media segment(US 20200394183, Jois, para. 0083, A decentralized scheme, on which the bitcoin protocol is based, transfers authority and trust to a decentralized virtual network and enables its nodes to continuously and sequentially record transactions on a public “block,” creating a unique “chain”: the blockchain. Each successive block contains a “hash” (a unique fingerprint) of the previous code; therefore, cryptography (via hash codes) is used to secure the authentication of the transaction source), wherein the second data distribution path is different from the first data distribution path receiving, via a second data distribution path, from a third node in the media distribution system, authentication data related to the media segment, wherein the second data distribution path is different from the first data distribution path, wherein the first node and the second node are peer nodes of a peer-to-peer network of the media distribution system(US 20200394183, Jois, para. 0022, apparatus and systems enabling a method of executing, confirming and storing a transaction in a serverless decentralized node network comprising a number N of active nodes of at least five active nodes in the absence of a centralized storage server, the decentralized node network enabling peer-to-peer consensus of a transaction including a candidate node, from among the N active nodes for becoming a leader node in a single peer-to-peer, node-to-node transaction,), and wherein the third node is a media distribution node that generated the authentication data from the media segment and provided the media segment to a root node of the peer-to-peer network for distribution to the first node via the peer-to-peer network; It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Skemer with the teaching of Jois because a user would have been motivated to look at the majority election consensus, taught by Jois, to apply to the authentication/authorization decision, taught by Skemer, in order to yield predictable results that avoids a single point of failure(Jois, para. 0059).
In regards to claim 16, The combination of Skemer and Jois teach the non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein authenticating the media segment further comprises: generating validation data of the media segment(US 20010044893, Skemer, fig. 6, step 118, where access control information is transmitted to authentication server); and comparing the validation data to the authentication data(US 20010044893, Skemer,para. 0034, interrogating the user for access control information such as user identification and password[i.e. note: where a password is implicitly compared to password information]).
In regards to claim 17, The combination of Skemer and Jois teach the non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise: responsive to failing to successfully authenticate the media segment, performing one or more remedial actions(US 20010044893, Skemer, fig. 5, steps 106, where an authentication failure causes the data to be dropped[110]).
In regards to claim 18, The combination of Skemer and Jois teach the non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise: responsive to failing to successfully authenticate the media segment, instructing the third node to perform one or more remedial actions(US 20010044893, Skemer, fig. 5, steps 106, where an authentication failure causes the data to be dropped[110]).
In regards to claim 20, The combination of Skemer and Jois teach the non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise: responsive to successfully authenticating the media segment, transmitting the media segment to a fourth node in the media distribution system(US 20010044893, Skemer, para. 0025 and 0048: [0025]- The method includes a first step of receiving a data unit at an access control node that is connected to a plurality of user networks.[0048]- If the authentication was successful the data unit is transmitted in step 108, and the method returns to step 100.[i.e. note: where the data unit may be transmitted to a plurality of networks[e.g. forth node]).
2.) Claims 5, 12, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20010044893, Skemer in view of US 20200394183, Jois and further in view of US 20070101417, Kim
In regards to claim 5, The combination of Skemer and Jois teach the method of claim 1. The combination of Skemer and Jois do not teach wherein the authentication data comprises at least one of a hash value of the media segment or a hash value of one or more frames associated with the media segment However, Kim teaches wherein the authentication data comprises at least one of a hash value of the media segment or a hash value of one or more frames associated with the media segment (US 20070101417, Kim, para. 0040, the controller 240 extracts a hash value from the authentication information stored in the authentication-information storage unit,). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of the combination of Skemer and Jois with the teaching of Kim because a user would have been motivated to provide an automatic data and authentication update method, taught by Kim, in order to provide a means for performing data authentication even when there may be insufficient storage space available on the system taught by the combination of Skemer and Jois(Kim, para. 0009)
In regards to claim 12, The combination of Skemer and Jois teach the system of claim 8. The combination of Skemer and Jois do not teach wherein the authentication data comprises at least one of a hash value of the media segment or a hash value of one or more frames associated with the media segment However, Kim teaches wherein the authentication data comprises at least one of a hash value of the media segment or a hash value of one or more frames associated with the media segment (US 20070101417, Kim, para. 0040, the controller 240 extracts a hash value from the authentication information stored in the authentication-information storage unit,). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of the combination of Skemer and Jois with the teaching of Kim because a user would have been motivated to provide an automatic data and authentication update method, taught by Kim, in order to provide a means for performing data authentication even when there may be insufficient storage space available on the system taught by the combination of Skemer and Jois(Kim, para. 0009)
In regards to claim 19, The combination of Skemer and Jois teach the non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15. The combination of Skemer and Jois do not teach wherein the authentication data comprises at least one of a hash value of the media segment or a hash value of one or more frames associated with the media segment However, Kim teaches wherein the authentication data comprises at least one of a hash value of the media segment or a hash value of one or more frames associated with the media segment (US 20070101417, Kim, para. 0040, the controller 240 extracts a hash value from the authentication information stored in the authentication-information storage unit,). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of the combination of Skemer and Jois with the teaching of Kim because a user would have been motivated to provide an automatic data and authentication update method, taught by Kim, in order to provide a means for performing data authentication even when there may be insufficient storage space available on the system taught by the combination of Skemer and Jois(Kim, para. 0009)
3.) Claims 6 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20010044893, Skemer in view of US 20200394183, Jois and further in view of US 20090187978, Upendran
In regards to claim 6, The combination of Skemer and Jois teach the method of claim 1. The combination of Skemer and Jois do not teach wherein the media segment is with a part of a live media stream However, Upendran teaches wherein the media segment is with a part of a live media stream (US 20090187978, Upendran, para. 0030, The secured data resource can be a real-time media stream, such as, without limitation an audio or video broadcast of a live event,). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of the combination of Skemer and Lutiis with the teaching of Upendran because a user would have been motivated to enhance data security in the system taught by the combination of Skemer and Jois by requiring two requests for content access, taught by Upendran, in order to confirm the content requestor and content identity prior to providing access to the secured content(Upendran, para. 0004)
In regards to claim 13, The combination of Skemer and Jois teach the system of claim 8. The combination of Skemer and Jois do not teach wherein the media segment is with a part of a live media stream However, Upendran teaches wherein the media segment is with a part of a live media stream (US 20090187978, Upendran, para. 0030, The secured data resource can be a real-time media stream, such as, without limitation an audio or video broadcast of a live event,). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of the combination of Skemer and Lutiis with the teaching of Upendran because a user would have been motivated to enhance data security in the system taught by the combination of Skemer and Jois by requiring two requests for content access, taught by Upendran, in order to confirm the content requestor and content identity prior to providing access to the secured content(Upendran, para. 0004)
CONCLUSION
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGORY LANE whose telephone number is (571)270-7469. The examiner can normally be reached on 571 270 7469 from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Taghi Arani, can be reached on 571 272 3787. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GREGORY A LANE/Examiner, Art Unit 2438
/TAGHI T ARANI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2438
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