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 the Claims
This Office Action is in response to Applicant’s initially filed application dated 8/16/2024. Claims 1-20 are currently pending and being examined in this reply.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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, 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 1-6 and 8-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over United States Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0325728 A1 to Bialostok (“Bialostok”), in view of United States Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0013128 A1 to Benkreira (“Benkreira”), in view of United States Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0307139 A1 to Mardikar et al. (“Mardikar”), in view of United States Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0026478 A1 to Raduchel (“Raduchel”), in view of Official Notice
In regards to claims 1 , 8, and 12, Bialostok teaches the following limitations:
A secure notary system configured for assisting an authorized notary user, the authorized notary user having an active notary license status, with notarial processes, the system comprising: (see at least Bialostok Abstract, Figure 1 and 3A, and ¶ 0015)
a centralized database configured to store information relating to the notarial processes assisted by the secure notary system, the centralized database comprising: (see at least Bialostok ¶ 0015 “The present methods and systems are advantageously capable of using the mobile application housed on the mobile device to query or "call up" to a government data bank to verify--in real time--during the notarial act the current commission status and commission number of the notary performing the notarial act and permanently recording that information together with other proof of the notarial act.”)
(see at least Bialostok ¶ 0015 “The present methods and systems are advantageously capable of using the mobile application housed on the mobile device to query or "call up" to a government data bank to verify--in real time--during the notarial act the current commission status and commission number of the notary performing the notarial act and permanently recording that information together with other proof of the notarial act.”)
a notarization application configured to be accessible by the authorized notary user, and configured to operate on a mobile device having a camera, the notarization application being programmed to: Bialostok teaches a notarization application accessed by a primary user (notary) that includes a camera, microphone, bluetooth, wifi, and a touchscreen display. See at least Figure 1 and Figure 2)
perform a verification process of the active notary license status by screening through the state databases of the centralized database, wherein the authorized notary user does not obtain authorized use of the notarization application until completion of the verification process of the active notary license status; (Bialostok ¶ 0015 “The present methods and systems are advantageously capable of using the mobile application housed on the mobile device to query or "call up" to a government data bank to verify--in real time--during the notarial act the current commission status and commission number of the notary performing the notarial act and permanently recording that information together with other proof of the notarial act.”, and Bialostok Figure 3 steps 308a-308e, and ¶ 0014 “using the mobile application housed on the mobile device to query or "call up" to a government data bank to receive information (government ID data) associated with the particular individual whose signature is being notarized in order to verify--in real time--during the notarial act the authenticity of the identification presented to the notary.”)
perform a verification process of an identity of a signer prior to the signer producing a signed document during a notarization; (Bialostok ¶ 0015 “The present methods and systems are advantageously capable of using the mobile application housed on the mobile device to query or "call up" to a government data bank to verify--in real time--during the notarial act the current commission status and commission number of the notary performing the notarial act and permanently recording that information together with other proof of the notarial act.”, and Bialostok Figure 3 steps 308a-308e, and ¶ 0014 “using the mobile application housed on the mobile device to query or "call up" to a government data bank to receive information (government ID data) associated with the particular individual whose signature is being notarized in order to verify--in real time--during the notarial act the authenticity of the identification presented to the notary.”)
digitally scan and generate a digital image of identification documents of the signer and authenticate the identification documents by screening through a global database, the global database comprising a list of known and valid identification documents; (See at least Bialostok Figure 3 steps 308a-308e, and ¶ 0013- 0014 “ using a mobile electronic device to capture, within a mobile application, records of date, time, and GPS-generated location, as well as magnetic stripe reading (or 2d/3d/QR barcode scan) of the signer's government-issued identification, a digital picture of the identification held next to the signature of the individual whose signature is being authenticated, an electronic signature of the signer impressed on a touchscreen of the mobile device, an audio recording of the notary obtaining an audio oath or acknowledgment from the signer, and/or other notations in a free or structured format received and recorded to memorialize and verify the physical presence before the notary of the individual whose signature was notarized.”; “using the mobile application housed on the mobile device to query or "call up" to a government data bank to receive information (government ID data) associated with the particular individual whose signature is being notarized in order to verify--in real time--during the notarial act the authenticity of the identification presented to the notary.” And Figure 3A)
digitally scan (see at least Bialostok ¶¶ 0028 and 0047 “mobile device 120 to capture biometric data of signer 142…and/or thumb print impression of the signer”; “may cooperate with mobile application 140 to capture biometric details about signer 142, such as a fingerprint, to record in memory 136” and Figure 3A)
digitally generate a memorialized final tamper-evident document of the certification of the notarization, the signed document, the fingerprint, and the identification documents for storage within the centralized database; and (Bialostok discloses placing an official seal on relevant documents and digitally storing all the evidence of the notary event as in Figure 3A (k-m) and (310-318) and ¶¶ 0061 and 0076)
digitally generate a unique bar code for each individual notarial process carried out using the secure notary system. (see at least Bialostok ¶ 0020)
capture and record live video (see at least Bialostok ¶ 0043)
Bialostok does not appear to specifically disclose the following limitations:
a plurality of partitions, each partition configured to store information relating to a state within a state database
perform a verification process of an identity of the authorized notary user using a biometric identifier, wherein the verification process of the identity of the authorized notary user is performed to allow access to the notarization application on the mobile device; and;
digitally generate a notarization endorsement and cause a printing of the notarization endorsement onto a tamper-resistant sticker via an external device;
digitally generate a certificate of a notarization certifying a date on, a location at, and a time at which the notarization occurred;
The Examiner provides Benkeira to teach the following limitations:
digitally generate a notarization endorsement and cause a printing of the notarization endorsement onto a tamper-resistant sticker via an external device; (Benkreira teaches a notarization printer that causes printing/embossing of a document to be notarized after biometric verification of the user and signing of the document. Further, Benkreira teaches digitizing a user’s fingerprint. See at least Benkreira Abstract, Figure 4, ¶¶ 0037, 0047, and 0068)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention to include in the system and method of Bialostok the teachings of Benkreira in order to allow for the quick and convenient printing of notary jobs by the mobile notary, and since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
The Examiner provides Raduchel to teach the following limitations:
digitally generate a certificate of a notarization certifying a date on, a location at, and a time at which the notarization occurred; (Raduchel teaches saving and presenting the final document including all the information used to verify the identity of the user. See at least Figure 3 and ¶ 0038 “The indication of notarization may be an electronic seal or watermark, for example. The indication of notarization may include a thumbnail of the user's photograph 216, a date time stamp, and/or the location information 218 where the document was submitted for notarization.”)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention to include in the system and method of Bialostok the teachings of Raduchel since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
perform a verification process of an identity of the authorized notary user using a biometric identifier, wherein the verification process of the identity of the authorized notary user is performed to allow access to the notarization application on the mobile device; and; (see at least Mardikar Claim 7 “wherein the inputting of a biometric trait of the user to the phone is operable to unlock the phone for use.”)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention to include in the system and method of Bialostok the teachings of Mardikar in order to provide increased security of the mobile device, and since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable
The Examiner takes Official Notice that it is old and well known in the art to split/partition data in large databases such as a centralized government database in order to speed up data retrieval. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention to include in the system and method of Bialostok the teachings of Official Notice since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable
In regards to claim 2 and 13, Bialostok discloses the following limitations:
wherein the unique bar code allows an authorized user to access the memorialized final tamper-evident document. (see at least Bialostok ¶ 0020)
In regards to claim 3 and 14, Bialostok discloses the following limitations:
wherein the unique bar code allows an authorized user to access information relating to time and location of the notarial process associated with the unique bar code. (see at least Bialostok ¶ 0020)
Claims 4-5 and 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over United States Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0325728 A1 to Bialostok (“Bialostok”), in view of United States Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0013128 A1 to Benkreira (“Benkreira”), in view of United States Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0307139 A1 to Mardikar et al. (“Mardikar”), in view of United States Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0026478 A1 to Raduchel (“Raduchel”), in view of Official Notice.
In regards to claims 4-5 and 10-11, Bialostok discloses verifying the notary via license number and other documents, see previous citations, however does not appear to specifically disclose the following limitations:
wherein the verification process of the active notary license status is carried out by obtaining an image of license documents of the authorized notary user through the application, and sending the image to a third party for authentication. wherein the verification process of the active notary license status further comprises manual confirmation of the active notary license status by a live person.
The Examiner takes Official Notice that it is old and well known in the art to verify identity of a user via an image of a license, either by a live person, automatically via digital computing methods, or by trusted 3rd party identity verification companies. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention to include in the system and method of Bialostok the teachings of Official Notice in order to provide multiple ways for a user to access the system, and since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
In regards to claim 6, Bialostok discloses the following limitations:
wherein the notarization application is configured for capturing and recording live video. (see at least Bialostok ¶ 0043)
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over United States Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0325728 A1 to Bialostok (“Bialostok”), in view of United States Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0013128 A1 to Benkreira (“Benkreira”), in view of United States Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0307139 A1 to Mardikar et al. (“Mardikar”), in view of United States Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0026478 A1 to Raduchel (“Raduchel”), in view of Official Notice, in view of (“KYC”) (“https://web.archive.org/web/20230606123819/https://withpersona.com/blog/video-kyc-verification”)
In regards to claim 7, Bialostok does not appear to specifically disclose the following limitations:
wherein the verification process of an identity of the authorized notary user and the verification process of an identity of the signer comprises video capture with liveness detection
The Examiner provides KYC (“https://web.archive.org/web/20230606123819/https://withpersona.com/blog/video-kyc-verification”) to teach the following limitations:
wherein the verification process of an identity of the authorized notary user and the verification process of an identity of the signer comprises video capture with liveness detection (KYC teaches a system and method by which video capture is used in conjunction with liveness detection to verify a user.)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention to include in the system and method of Bialostok the teachings of KYC in order to “better able to identify and mitigate a variety of different types of fraud” (KYC) since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
In regards to claim 9, Bialostok discloses the following limitations:
wherein the primary user is the notary and the secondary user is a signer (see at least Bialostok Figure 1 (142 and 150) signer and notary)
Claims 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over United States Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0325728 A1 to Bialostok (“Bialostok”), in view of United States Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0013128 A1 to Benkreira (“Benkreira”), in view of United States Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0307139 A1 to Mardikar et al. (“Mardikar”), in view of United States Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0026478 A1 to Raduchel (“Raduchel”)
In regards to claim 15, Bialostok teaches the following limitations
A method of assisting a notary with the notarization of a document, the method comprising providing a notarization application having an electronic log (e-log), (see at least Bialostok9 Abstract and Figure 1, and Figure 3A)
the notarization application being programmed to: validate a notary license number of the notary; (Bialostok ¶ 0015 “The present methods and systems are advantageously capable of using the mobile application housed on the mobile device to query or "call up" to a government data bank to verify--in real time--during the notarial act the current commission status and commission number of the notary performing the notarial act and permanently recording that information together with other proof of the notarial act.”)
verify the identity of a signer by digitally reading and extracting identification information from an identification card of the signer, the identification card being received via the operating device, the extracted identification information being electronically stored in the e-log; (See at least Bialostok Figure 3 steps 308a-308e, and ¶ 0014 “using the mobile application housed on the mobile device to query or "call up" to a government data bank to receive information (government ID data) associated with the particular individual whose signature is being notarized in order to verify--in real time--during the notarial act the authenticity of the identification presented to the notary.” And Figure 3A)
digitally scan (see at least Bialostok ¶¶ 0028 and 0047 “mobile device 120 to capture biometric data of signer 142…and/or thumb print impression of the signer”; “may cooperate with mobile application 140 to capture biometric details about signer 142, such as a fingerprint, to record in memory 136” and Figure 3A)
While Bialostok teaches using a printer to print notary jobs and using a fingerprint for validation purposes, collecting date/time/location data of the notarization act, as well as placing a notarization endorsement on the document (see at least ¶¶ 0028, 0047, and 0081-0083, and figure 3A step 308 (i)), Bialostok does not appear to disclose the following limitations:
and generate a digital image of a fingerprint of the signer
digitally generate a notarization endorsement and cause a printing of the notarization endorsement onto a tamper-resistant sticker via an external device; and
digitally generate a certificate of notarization certifying a date on, a location a, and a time at which the notarization occurred.
verify the identity of the notary using a biometric identifier received via an operating device and
The Examiner provides Benkreira to teach the following limitations:
and generate a digital image of a fingerprint of the signer. digitally generate a notarization endorsement and cause a printing of the notarization endorsement onto a tamper-resistant sticker via an external device; (Benkreira teaches a notarization printer that causes printing/embossing of a document to be notarized after biometric verification of the user and signing of the document. Further, Benkreira teaches digitizing a user’s fingerprint. See at least Benkreira Abstract, Figure 4, ¶¶ 0037, 0047, and 0068)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention to include in the system and method of Bialostok the teachings of Benkreira in order to allow for the quick and convenient printing of notary jobs by the mobile notary, and since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
The Examiner provides Raduchel to teach the following limitations:
digitally generate a certificate of notarization certifying a date on, a location a, and a time at which the notarization occurred. (Raduchel teaches saving and presenting the final document including all the information used to verify the identity of the user. See at least Figure 3 and ¶ 0038 “The indication of notarization may be an electronic seal or watermark, for example. The indication of notarization may include a thumbnail of the user's photograph 216, a date time stamp, and/or the location information 218 where the document was submitted for notarization.”)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention to include in the system and method of Bialostok the teachings of Raduchel since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
The Examiner provides Mardikar to teach the following limitations:
verify the identity of the notary using a biometric identifier received via an operating device and (see at least Mardikar Claim 7 “wherein the inputting of a biometric trait of the user to the phone is operable to unlock the phone for use.”)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention to include in the system and method of Bialostok the teachings of Mardikar in order to provide increased security of the mobile device, and since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
In regards to claim 16, Bialostok discloses the following limitations:
wherein the notarization application is configured to be accessible only by the notary, and wherein the operating device is a mobile device on which the notarization application is configured to operate. (Bialostok teaches a notarization application accessed by a primary user (notary) that includes a camera, microphone, bluetooth, wifi, and a touchscreen display. See at least Figure 1 and Figure 2)
In regards to claim 17, Bialostok does not appear to specifically disclose the following limitations:
wherein the external device is a notarization device. (Benkreira teaches a notarization printer that causes printing/embossing of a document to be notarized after biometric verification of the user and signing of the document. Further, Benkreira teaches digitizing a user’s fingerprint. See at least Benkreira Abstract, Figure 4, ¶¶ 0037, 0047, and 0068)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention to include in the system and method of Bialostok the teachings of Benkreira in order to allow for the quick and convenient printing of notary jobs by the mobile notary, and since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
In regards to claim 18, Bialostok discloses the following limitations:
wherein the notarization application is further programmed to: electronically store an image of the signer in the e-log, the image being captured via the mobile device; (see at least Bialostok Figure 3A steps 306-310)
digitally process a payment card received by the card or chip readers of the notarization device; and (Bialostok ¶ 0022 “The mobile application may allow for capture of payment for the notary's services by credit card, for example, utilizing a magnetic stripe reader”)
electronically send a copy of the memorialized final document to an electronic address provided by the signer and upload the copy to a secured cloud-based database. (Bialostok discloses sending the attached files to a specified email address. See at least ¶ 0079 “may send files to web server 102 by: (a) uploading documents through Internet 110 and web application 104; and/or (b) sending an email (not shown) with attached file(s) to a desired specific email address”)
Bialostok discloses digitally storing all the evidence of the notary event as in Figure 3A (k-m) and (310), however does not appear to specifically disclose the following limitations:
digitally generate a memorialized final document using the e-log, the memorialized final document being a flattened, watermarked, conjoined image displaying the notarized document, the certificate of notarization, a copy of the identification card, a copy of the digital image of the fingerprint, and the notarization endorsement;
The Examiner provides Raduchel to teach the following limitations:
digitally generate a memorialized final document, the memorialized final document being a flattened, watermarked, conjoined image displaying the notarized document, the certificate of notarization, a copy of the identification card, a copy of the digital line drawing of the fingerprint, and the notarization endorsement.
Raduchel teaches saving and presenting the final document including all the information used to verify the identity of the user. See at least Figure 3 and ¶ 0038 “The indication of notarization may be an electronic seal or watermark, for example. The indication of notarization may include a thumbnail of the user's photograph 216, a date time stamp, and/or the location information 218 where the document was submitted for notarization.”)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention to include in the system and method of Bialostok the teachings of Raduchel since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
In regards to claim 19, Bialostok discloses the following limitations:
wherein the biometric identifier is a facial pattern or a fingerprint. (see at least Bialostok ¶¶ 0028 and 0047 “mobile device 120 to capture biometric data of signer 142…and/or thumb print impression of the signer”; “may cooperate with mobile application 140 to capture biometric details about signer 142, such as a fingerprint, to record in memory 136”)
In regards to claim 20, Bialostok discloses the following limitations:
wherein the notary license number is validated by screening through a state database, the state database comprising a list of known and licensed notaries in a particular state of practice, and the identification card is authenticated by screening through a global database, the global database comprising a list of known and valid identification cards. practice (Bialostok ¶ 0015 “The present methods and systems are advantageously capable of using the mobile application housed on the mobile device to query or "call up" to a government data bank to verify--in real time--during the notarial act the current commission status and commission number of the notary performing the notarial act and permanently recording that information together with other proof of the notarial act.”, and Bialostok Figure 3 steps 308a-308e, and ¶ 0014 “using the mobile application housed on the mobile device to query or "call up" to a government data bank to receive information (government ID data) associated with the particular individual whose signature is being notarized in order to verify--in real time--during the notarial act the authenticity of the identification presented to the notary.”)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH M MUTSCHLER whose telephone number is (313)446-6603. The examiner can normally be reached 0600-1430.
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/JOSEPH M MUTSCHLER/Examiner, Art Unit 3627
/A. Hunter Wilder/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627