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 .
This office action is in response to application filed on December 15, 2025, in which claims 1 and 3-25 are presented for further examination.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed on December 15, 2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-25 under Li et al. (US 11847180 B2) (hereinafter Li) in view of Rice (US 20210279695 A1) (hereinafter Rice) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Buccafurri et al. (Smart-contract based Access Control on Distributed Information in a Smart-City scenario) (hereinafter Buccafurri).
The previous 101 rejection has been withdrawn based on the current amendment to the claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 19 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claim 19 purports to depend from claim 1; however claim 19, does not further limit the subject matter of claim 1 because it fails to incorporate all of the limitations of the base claim. Specifically, claim 19 recites additional elements that are inconsistent with, or do not include, the limitations required by claim 1. Therefore, claim 19is not a proper dependent claim as required by 35 USC 112(d), which states that a dependent claim must contain a reference to a previous claim and specify a further limitation of the subject matter claim. Accordingly, claim 19 is indefinite and must be amended to properly depend from claim the claim it references and to include all limitations of the parent claim.
Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 1, 15 and 19 are rejected under 35 USC 103(a) as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US 11847080 B2) (hereinafter Li) in view of Buccafurri et al. (Smart-contract based Access Control on Distributed Information in a Smart-City scenario) (hereinafter Buccafurri).
As per claims 1, 15 and 19, Li discloses determining a location of the user identifying a digital content [a system for recommending a location-based digital content, Col. 1, line 49] virtually arranged in the region of the location of the user providing the digital content for retrieval to the user [The system provides the browser program that is executed in a user device for connecting with the serving system and browsing the location-based digital contents provided by the serving system, Col. 1, line 59]. However Li does not disclose wherein the digital content is provided via at least one smart contract set up on a digital ledger technology (DLT), wherein before the digital content is called up or played back, a user interaction with the smart contract takes place in that a desire to retrieve the digital content is announced by sending a DLT transaction to a write function of the smart contract from an interface device assigned to the user and wherein a result of this interaction with the smart contract decides whether or not the digital content is provided to the user for use. On the other hand, Buccafurri discloses wherein the digital content is provided via at least one smart contract set up on a digital ledger technology (DLT), wherein before the digital content is called up or played back, a user interaction with the smart contract takes place in that a desire to retrieve the digital content is announced by sending a DLT transaction to a write function of the smart contract from an interface device assigned to the user and wherein a result of this interaction with the smart contract decides whether or not the digital content is provided to the user for use [an access control mechanism should satisfy, among the others, the following properties: it does not have to allow nonauthorized people to access the resource and it does not have to deny authorized people not to access the resource. The type of access must be subject of authorizations as well; ETHU sends a transaction to ASC calling a function in which she/he puts the hashed identifier of the assertion and the nonce as input. The smart contract, now, has to verify the validity of the assertion and, as a consequence, the real possession of the attribute required by the policy p, If the check succeeds, ASC emits an event in which it con rms the satisfaction of the policy. page 6]. Both reference Li and Buccafurri are in the field of endeavor of recommending digital content for recommending location based digital content. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the receiving position information generated by a browser program executed in a user device, where the browser program is used to browse a digital content with the position information as disclosed in Li with the public blockchain-based platform that allows the development of decentralized applications as taught by Buccafurri to interact with each other in a secure and fast way and to improve the cyber defense.
Claims 3-14, 16-18 and 20-25 are rejected under 35 USC 103(a) as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US 11847080 B2) (hereinafter Li) in view of Buccafurri et al. (Smart-contract based Access Control on Distributed Information in a Smart-City scenario) (hereinafter Buccafurri) and further in view of Rice (US 20210279695 A1) (hereinafter Rice).
As per claim 3, As per claim 3, the rejection of claim 3 is incorporated by claim 1 above. However the combination of references cited do not teach or suggest wherein at least one digital asset, such as e.g. a message, information or a DLT token, is appended to the DLT transaction for the write function, in particular in addition to the call parameters for the write function. On the other hand Rice discloses wherein at least one digital asset, such as e.g. a message, information or a DLT token, is appended to the DLT transaction for the write function, in particular in addition to the call parameters for the write function [As referred to herein, a “non-fungible token” (NFT) is a unique digital file stored on a digital ledger called a blockchain. An NFT is a cryptographic token, but unlike cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and many network or utility tokens, which are not mutually interchangeable, and thus not fungible. An NFT is created by uploading a file, such as an artwork, to an NFT auction market., paragraph 38]. The references Li, Buccafurri and Rice are in the field of endeavor of recommending digital content for recommending location based digital content. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the receiving position information generated by a browser program executed in a user device, where the browser program is used to browse a digital content with the position information as disclosed in Li with the public blockchain-based platform that allows the development of decentralized applications as taught by Buccafurri and the selecting virtual object place for facilitating item acquisition by selection of virtual object placed in digital environment as taught by Rice to allow the user to browse and search for the digital contents of interest on the platform, and to interact with other users through posts and replies.
As per claim 4, the rejection of claim 4 is incorporated by claim 1 above. However the combination of references cited does not teach wherein a release of the digital content is at least triggered by a DLT response transaction of the smart contract. On the other hand, Rice discloses, wherein a release of the digital content is at least triggered by a DLT response transaction of the smart contract [a “smart contract” is a self-executing contract with the terms of the agreement between buyer and seller being directly written into lines of code. The code and the agreements contained therein exist across a distributed, decentralized blockchain network., paragraph 39]. The references Li, Buccafurri and Rice are in the field of endeavor of recommending digital content for recommending location based digital content. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the receiving position information generated by a browser program executed in a user device, where the browser program is used to browse a digital content with the position information as disclosed in Li with the public blockchain-based platform that allows the development of decentralized applications as taught by Buccafurri and the selecting virtual object place for facilitating item acquisition by selection of virtual object placed in digital environment as taught by Rice to allow the user to browse and search for the digital contents of interest on the platform, and to interact with other users through posts and replies.
As per claim 5, Rice discloses wherein the digital content is released specifically for at least one interface device to which a DLT receive address of the DLT response transaction is assigned or to which a DLT address is assigned which is specified in the DLT response transaction [FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example system 200 for item acquisition by selection of a virtual object placed in a digital environment in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 2, the system 200 includes a server 202, which may be any type of computing device capable of communicating via one or more networks 204 (e.g., the Internet, wired networks, wireless networks, and the like). Particularly, the server 202 includes an input/output (I/O) module 206 or any other suitable communication interface configured to communicate with the network 204 and any devices communicatively connected thereto, paragraph 85].
As per claim 6, Li discloses wherein the DLT response transaction is flanked by at least one DLT response accompanying transaction, in particular of the smart contract, which comprises at least sending at least one digital asset, such as e.g. a message, an information or a DLT token, to at least one third-party DLT address, in particular not assigned to the user with the desire to retrieve [a serving system 12 is provided for serving digital contents to various user devices 101 and 103 via a network 10. The serving system 12 allows the user devices 101 and 103 to obtain links of the digital contents via the network 10. In each of the user devices 101 and 103, a software procedure is executed to dynamically display digital contents with the change of locations. The software procedure is able to link to the serving system 12 to receive the links of the digital contents, obtain the digital contents according to requirements, so that the digital contents can be browsed and played, col. 4, line 16].
As per claim 7, Rice discloses wherein at least one third-party DLT address which is the target of at least one DLT response accompanying transaction is assigned to an originator of at least a part of the digital content [FIG. 1 is a view of a person holding a smartphone for viewing a virtual object 104 within a digital environment and for user in acquiring an item associated with the virtual object, paragraph 7].
As per claim 8, Li discloses wherein at least one third-party DLT address which is the target of at least one DLT response accompanying transaction is assigned to an administrator and/or provider of the digital content [browsing records collected by the serving system can be cookies, copies, and history records kept in a web browser. The activities on the social media are such as acts of check-ins, search records, likes, shares, follows, and replies. The information relating to the activities may include records of geographic locations, Col. 7, line 17].
As per claim 9, Rice discloses wherein at least one third-party DLT address which is the target of at least one DLT response accompanying transaction is assigned to an owner and/or producer of the interface devices which can be assigned to the users [discovering or acquiring 804 the object(s) by users. The method also includes API calls 806 to authenticate, validate, and assign to a user account., paragraph 122].
As per claim 10, Rice discloses wherein at least one third-party DLT address which is the target of at least one DLT response accompanying transaction is assigned to at least one further smart contract [provides access control and user privileges, tracks and records all activity and transactions, maintains geolocal blockchain records and history, maintains one or more databases, and acts as a server for all geolocated augmented reality, virtual world, and virtual reality experiences specific to that location, paragraph 178].
As per claim 11, Rice discloses wherein a write function of the further smart contract is executed by the DLT response accompanying transaction [All activity and transactions may be recorded to blockchain specific for that location and nearby areas. Local nodes act as consensus parties to verify transactions before committing to the blockchain, paragraph 184].
As per claim 12, the rejection of claim 12 is incorporated by claim 1 above. However the combination of references cited does not teach wherein a desire to submit a digital content which is provided for retrieval, in particular after the submitting, is announced by sending a DLT transaction to a further write function of the smart contract, in particular by means of an interface device assigned to an originator and/or a submitter. On the other hand, Rice discloses wherein a desire to submit a digital content which is provided for retrieval, in particular after the submitting, is announced by sending a DLT transaction to a further write function of the smart contract, in particular by means of an interface device assigned to an originator and/or a submitter [The server or node also communicates with other local nodes, sharing necessary data in a distributed and partially decentralized fashion. Each node works with other nearby nodes for load balancing. In a non-limiting example, if too much user activity is happening at a location, a node may share some of the processing with other nearby nodes, paragraph 183]. The references Li, Buccafurri and Rice are in the field of endeavor of recommending digital content for recommending location based digital content. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the receiving position information generated by a browser program executed in a user device, where the browser program is used to browse a digital content with the position information as disclosed in Li with the public blockchain-based platform that allows the development of decentralized applications as taught by Buccafurri and the selecting virtual object place for facilitating item acquisition by selection of virtual object placed in digital environment as taught by Rice to allow the user to browse and search for the digital contents of interest on the platform, and to interact with other users through posts and replies.
As per claim 13, Rice discloses wherein the provided digital contents are linked to a non-fungible token (NFT) of the DLT [a “non-fungible token” (NFT) is a unique digital file stored on a digital ledger called a blockchain., paragraph 38].
As per claim 14, Rice discloses wherein at least some of the provided digital contents are stored in a decentralized manner, for example in the DLT [FIG. 15 illustrates a diagram showing an example distributed and decentralized architecture, paragraph 182].
As per claim 16, the rejection of claim 16 is incorporated by claim 15 above. However the combination of references cited do no teach or suggest Rice discloses wherein each of the digital contents is linked to at least one smart contract set up on the DLT, wherein the digital content is provided to users via the at least one smart contract. On the other hand, Rice discloses wherein each of the digital contents is linked to at least one smart contract set up on the DLT, wherein the digital content is provided to users via the at least one smart contract [the non-fungible token (NFT) is generally stored in a crypto wallet and is evidenced by an immutable ledger entry that is a reference link to something else. This something else can be any number of items including but not limited to a digital photo or image or a real-world physical piece of artwork., paragraph 60]. The references Li, Buccafurri and Rice are in the field of endeavor of recommending digital content for recommending location based digital content. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the receiving position information generated by a browser program executed in a user device, where the browser program is used to browse a digital content with the position information as disclosed in Li with the public blockchain-based platform that allows the development of decentralized applications as taught by Buccafurri and the selecting virtual object place for facilitating item acquisition by selection of virtual object placed in digital environment as taught by Rice to allow the user to browse and search for the digital contents of interest on the platform, and to interact with other users through posts and replies.
As per claim 17, the rejection of claim 17 is incorporated by claim 15 above. However the combination of references cited does not teach wherein the real three-dimensional addition space is formed so as to span the globe. On the other hand Rice discloses wherein the real three-dimensional addition space is formed so as to span the globe [location specific with one or more servers acting in a federated manner providing consensus verification using multiple private or public blockchains, or other implementations with one or more regional or global blockchains, paragraph 92]. The references Li, Buccafurri and Rice are in the field of endeavor of recommending digital content for recommending location based digital content. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the receiving position information generated by a browser program executed in a user device, where the browser program is used to browse a digital content with the position information as disclosed in Li with the public blockchain-based platform that allows the development of decentralized applications as taught by Buccafurri and the selecting virtual object place for facilitating item acquisition by selection of virtual object placed in digital environment as taught by Rice to allow the user to browse and search for the digital contents of interest on the platform, and to interact with other users through posts and replies.
As per claim 18, the rejection of claim 18 is incorporated by claim 15 above. However the combination of references cited does not teach wherein the DLT addresses assigned to the volume segments are additionally assigned to time intervals. On the other hand Rice discloses wherein the DLT addresses assigned to the volume segments are additionally assigned to time intervals [a user must be at or within certain distance of a specific location (geolocal), a time or date condition must be met, paragraph 134]. The references Li, Buccafurri and Rice are in the field of endeavor of recommending digital content for recommending location based digital content. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the receiving position information generated by a browser program executed in a user device, where the browser program is used to browse a digital content with the position information as disclosed in Li with the public blockchain-based platform that allows the development of decentralized applications as taught by Buccafurri and the selecting virtual object place for facilitating item acquisition by selection of virtual object placed in digital environment as taught by Rice to allow the user to browse and search for the digital contents of interest on the platform, and to interact with other users through posts and replies.
As per claim 20, the rejection of claim 20 is incorporated by claim 19 above. The combination of references cited does not teach having at least one localization device for determining an instantaneous position of the user of the localization device and at least one interface device for communicating with the DLT. On the other hand Rice discloses having at least one localization device for determining an instantaneous position of the user of the localization device and at least one interface device for communicating with the DLT [an application may be installed and run on a user's home desktop computer or dedicated computing device. It stores all 3D mapping data, the location of any/all 3D objects, geospatial positions of IoT, sensor, and other devices, maintains the states of the content, controls access to content, in a non-limiting example, known as privilege-based access system, tracks all activity and or transactions, records all activity and or transactions to one or more blockchains, paragraph 180]. The references Li, Buccafurri and Rice are in the field of endeavor of recommending digital content for recommending location based digital content. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the receiving position information generated by a browser program executed in a user device, where the browser program is used to browse a digital content with the position information as disclosed in Li with the public blockchain-based platform that allows the development of decentralized applications as taught by Buccafurri and the selecting virtual object place for facilitating item acquisition by selection of virtual object placed in digital environment as taught by Rice to allow the user to browse and search for the digital contents of interest on the platform, and to interact with other users through posts and replies.
As per claim 21, Rice discloses a content creation device [These objects can be used to create interactive augmented reality and virtual reality content and scenes that are placed on the User's personal channel and divided or allocated to different content layers within the channel., paragraph 223].
As per claim 22, Rice discloses a content playback [User2 may interact with the system through the user interface on a mobile device or may don a virtual reality head-mounted display and begins to explore the environment. As User2 is exploring the environment, the 3D world shows an avatar representing him moving around. User1, at the location, sees this avatar, life-size, maneuvering around the room through augmented/mixed reality, while User2 sees a 3D representation of User1 in the virtual environment, paragraph 192].
As per claim 23, Rice discloses a content playback device, and wherein the content creation device is identical to the content playback device [User2 may interact with the system through the user interface on a mobile device or may don a virtual reality head-mounted display and begins to explore the environment. As User2 is exploring the environment, the 3D world shows an avatar representing him moving around. User1, at the location, sees this avatar, life-size, maneuvering around the room through augmented/mixed reality, while User2 sees a 3D representation of User1 in the virtual environment, paragraph 192].
As per claim 24, Rice discloses wherein the localization device is identical to the interface device [the AR manager 210 can control the display 106 to display the virtual object when a position corresponding the received coordinate is within a field of view of the image capture device, paragraph 98].
As per claim 25, Rice discloses one or more anchor stations which enable a determination, independent of navigation satellite systems, of a location of the user and/or of the virtually arranged digital contents, e.g. by local triangulation or by local time-of-flight measurements [Localization is the process where the user has a device and an application, which may be a smartphone or other device with an app, to determine their location (i.e., GPS, wifi-triangulation, beacon, etc.), then downloading or accessing the 3D mapping data for that location, then determining the position and orientation of the user and their device by analyzing the downloaded mapping data and comparing it to real-time data created by the app and computer vision techniques, paragraph 216].
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Noosha Arjomandi whose telephone number is (571) 272-9784. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday, 8:30am - 6:00pm. E.S.T..
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sanjiv Shah can be reached on (571)272-4098. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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February 15, 2026
/NOOSHA ARJOMANDI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2166