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
This Office Action is in response to the U.S. patent application 18875643 filed on December 16, 2024, as well as the Preliminary Amendment also filed on December 16, 2024.
Of original prior claims 1-34: claims 1-15 were canceled; claims 16, 33 and 34 are independent claims. Accordingly, claims 16-34 remain pending, and have been examined in this application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on December 16, 2024, complies with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 16-18, 20-24 and 26-34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Galdo et al. (“Galdo’355”; US20210250355A1)
Per claim 16: Galdo’355 discloses an apparatus for a vehicle (Galdo’355 original claim 15“vehicle”), comprising: interface circuitry (Galdo’355 para. [0075], “cellular interface 1320 … NFC interface 1370”) configured to receive, from a device, a signal comprising information indicative of a digital key protocol to enable a key sharing flow between the apparatus and a device (Galdo’355 para. [0058], “owner device 10 may transmit a sharing invitation (arrow 69) and the friend device 12 may transmit the SE attestation, and the secure element 14 may validate the chain of trust (arrow 70). After successfully validating the SE attestation, the secure element 14 may sign a set of sharing entitlements that the owner 40 wishes to grant to the friend, and the owner device 10 may transmit the signed entitlements to the friend device 12 (arrow 72)”); and storage circuitry configured to store the information (Galdo’355 para. [0023], “the term “secure element” is to be interpreted according to its understood meaning in the art, and refers to circuitry that is configured to store information in a tamper-resistant manner that resists unauthorized extraction of that information.”; Galdo’355 para. [0087], “Memory 1340 is a non-transitory computer readable medium and may generally include the circuitry for storing data.”, “memory 1340”).
Per claim 17: Galdo’355 disclosed the apparatus according to claim 16. Galdo’355 further discloses an arrangement wherein the interface circuitry is further configured to receive the signal from the device via at least one interface using at least one of the group consisting of Bluetooth communication, Bluetooth Low Energy communication, ultra- wide band communication, wireless local-area network communication, and near field communication (Galdo’355 para. [0028], “The communication maybe wireless, … For example, the devices 10 and 12 may be mobile devices such as smart phones, personal digital assistants, tablet computers, laptop computers, etc.”; Galdo’355 para. [0084], “Cellular interface 1320 may be configured to communicate using any of multiple radio access technologies/wireless communication protocols such as GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, LTE, LTE-A, etc.”; Galdo’355 para. [0075], “NFC interface 1370”).
Per claim 18: Galdo’355 disclosed the apparatus according to claim 16. Galdo’355 further discloses an arrangement wherein the signal comprises information indicative of a digital key applet to enable the key sharing flow between the apparatus and the device (Galdo’355 para. [0081], “processor 1382 also executes securely loaded software in order to implement functionality described herein such as applets 1386 stored in memory 1384.”).
Per claim 20: Galdo’355 disclosed the apparatus according to claim 19. Galdo’355 further discloses an arrangement wherein the signal comprises information indicative of a generation for a digital key during a digital key sharing.
Per claim 21: Galdo’355 disclosed the apparatus according to claim 20. Galdo’355 further discloses an arrangement wherein the interface circuitry is further configured to receive the signal from the device via at least one interface using at least one of the group consisting of Bluetooth communication, Bluetooth Low Energy communication, ultra- wide band communication, wireless local-area network communication, and near field communication (Galdo’355 para. [0028], “The communication maybe wireless, … For example, the devices 10 and 12 may be mobile devices such as smart phones, personal digital assistants, tablet computers, laptop computers, etc.”; Galdo’355 para. [0084], “Cellular interface 1320 may be configured to communicate using any of multiple radio access technologies/wireless communication protocols such as GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, LTE, LTE-A, etc.”; Galdo’355 para. [0075], “NFC interface 1370”).
Per claim 22: Galdo’355 disclosed the apparatus according to claim18. Galdo’355 further discloses an arrangement wherein the interface circuitry is further configured to transmit to the device a key signing request comprising a certificate comprising a friend digital key certificate (Galdo’355 para. [0036], “The token server 24 may validate the chain of trust and issue a certificate for the public key (Friend SE PK_Cert in FIG. 2).”).
Per claim 23: Galdo’355 disclosed the apparatus according to claim 22. Galdo’355 further discloses an arrangement further comprising processing configured to generate the digital key and to overwrite an existing digital key in the storage circuitry (Galdo’355 para. [0003], “If access is controlled by secret data, the owner must communicate the secret data to the individual. …Additionally, the secret data must be changed after the individual is finished with access to re-secure the system with respect to the user.”; Galdo’355 para. [0039], “The owner may physically create and change PINs while the device 10 is paired with the property 18,”; [NOTE: a “PIN” is interpretable as a “digital key”]).
Per claim 24: Galdo’355 disclosed the apparatus according to claim 18. Galdo’355 further discloses an arrangement further comprising processing circuitry further configured to generate a digital key and to overwrite an existing digital key in the storage circuitry (Galdo’355 para. [0003], “If access is controlled by secret data, the owner must communicate the secret data to the individual. …Additionally, the secret data must be changed after the individual is finished with access to re-secure the system with respect to the user.”; Galdo’355 para. [0039], “The owner may physically create and change PINs while the device 10 is paired with the property 18,”; [NOTE: a “PIN” is interpretable as a “digital key”]).
Per claim 26: Galdo’355 disclosed the apparatus according to claim 16. Galdo’355 further discloses an arrangement wherein the interface circuitry is further configured to transmit to the device a key signing request comprising a certificate comprising a friend digital key certificate (Galdo’355 para. [0054], “The friend device 12 (and more particularly the secure element 16) may respond to the sharing invitation, and may attest to the security of the secure element 16 by providing a certificate authority (CA)-issued certificate for the secure element 16 along the secure element public key and the chain of trust from a root of trust at the manufacturer of the secure element 16 through any intermediaries (e.g. the manufacturer of the friend device 12) to the present configuration (arrow 70). The certificate may be an Instance CA generated by the friend secure element 16 using its private key. The owner device 12/secure element 14 may validate the attestation and, in response to verification of the attestation, the secure element 14 may select a sharing token from the tokens 50, sign the sharing token, and provide the signed sharing token and to the friend device 12 (arrow 72). The sharing entitlements permitted based on the sharing token may be provided as well, again signed by the owner SE 14.”).
Per claim 27: Galdo’355 disclosed the apparatus according to claim 16. Galdo’355 further discloses an arrangement comprising: device interface circuitry configured to transmit, to the apparatus, a signal comprising information indicative of the digital key protocol to enable the key sharing flow between the apparatus and the device; and device processing circuitry configured to generate the signal (Galdo’355 claim 11, “generating, by an electronically-secured property, a token usable by a first computing device associated with an owner to share access to the electronically-secured property; issuing, by the electronically-secured property, the generated token to the first computing device, wherein the first computing device is configured to transmit the token to a server computing system for storage and to transmit a corresponding indication of the storage to a second computing device, wherein the second computing device is configured to retrieve the token from the server computing system based on the transmitted indication and to securely store the retrieved token in a secure element of the second computing device; receiving, by the electronically-secured property, the securely stored token from the secure element of the second computing device; and permitting, by the electronically-secured property, access in response to a verification of the received token.”).
Per claim 28: Galdo’355 disclosed the apparatus according to claim 27. Galdo’355 further discloses an arrangement wherein the interface circuitry is further configured to transmit a tracking signal to register the digital key to a backend; and the processing circuitry is further configured to generate the tracking signal (Galdo’355 para. [0061], “The secure element 14 may also cause the owner device 10 to transmit the friend SE PK and sharing entitlements to the key tracking server 110 and may request that the key tracking server 110 check a certificate revocation list (CRL) to determine if the friend SE PK has had its certificate revoked (e.g. due to suspicious behavior detected from the key's use, etc.).”; Galdo’355 para. [0051], “a revocation mechanism may be supported between the electronically-secured property 18 and the owner device 10. The owner device 10 may transmit a revocation of a particular sharing token, and the electronically-secured property 18 may refuse to recognize the revoked sharing token if it is presented.”).
Per claim 29: Galdo’355 disclosed the apparatus according to claim 28. Galdo’355 further discloses an arrangement 29. (New) The device according to claim 28, wherein the tracking signal further comprises information indicative of a certificate used for generating a digital key stored on the apparatus (Galdo’355 para. [0061], “The secure element 14 may also cause the owner device 10 to transmit the friend SE PK and sharing entitlements to the key tracking server 110 and may request that the key tracking server 110 check a certificate revocation list (CRL) to determine if the friend SE PK has had its certificate revoked (e.g. due to suspicious behavior detected from the key's use, etc.).”; Galdo’355 para. [0062], “certificate revocations may be available to each owner based on the tracking implemented by the key tracking server 110.”).
Per claim 30: Galdo’355 disclosed the apparatus according to claim 28. Galdo’355 further discloses an arrangement wherein the signal further comprises information indicative of the digital key (Galdo’355 para. [0061], “The secure element 14 may also cause the owner device 10 to transmit the friend SE PK and sharing entitlements to the key tracking server 110 and may request that the key tracking server 110 check a certificate revocation list (CRL) to determine if the friend SE PK has had its certificate revoked (e.g. due to suspicious behavior detected from the key's use, etc.). If the friend SE PK has not been revoked and there are no other issues detected by the key tracking server 110, the key tracking server 110 may sign the friend SE PK and the sharing entitlements.”).
Per claim 31: Galdo’355 disclosed the apparatus according to claim 27. Galdo’355 further discloses an arrangement wherein the signal further comprises information indicative of an invalidation of a digital key stored on the apparatus (Galdo’355 para. [0061], “The secure element 14 may also cause the owner device 10 to transmit the friend SE PK and sharing entitlements to the key tracking server 110 and may request that the key tracking server 110 check a certificate revocation list (CRL) to determine if the friend SE PK has had its certificate revoked (e.g. due to suspicious behavior detected from the key's use, etc.). If the friend SE PK has not been revoked and there are no other issues detected by the key tracking server 110, the key tracking server 110 may sign the friend SE PK and the sharing entitlements.”).
Per claim 32: Galdo’355 disclosed the apparatus according to claim 27. Galdo’355 further discloses an arrangement wherein the device is at least one of user equipment or a smart card reader (Galdo’355 para. [0028], “The communication maybe wireless, for example, although in some cases wired communication may be used for a portion of the communication or even all of the information. For example, the devices 10 and 12 may be mobile devices such as smart phones, personal digital assistants, tablet computers, laptop computers, etc.”).
Per claim 33: Galdo’355 disclosed a method, for an apparatus, comprising: receiving, from a device, a signal comprising information indicative of a digital key protocol to enable a key sharing flow between the apparatus and a device (Galdo’355 para. [0058], “owner device 10 may transmit a sharing invitation (arrow 69) and the friend device 12 may transmit the SE attestation, and the secure element 14 may validate the chain of trust (arrow 70). After successfully validating the SE attestation, the secure element 14 may sign a set of sharing entitlements that the owner 40 wishes to grant to the friend, and the owner device 10 may transmit the signed entitlements to the friend device 12 (arrow 72)”).
Per claim 34: Galdo’355 disclosed a non-transitory computer readable medium having a program code for performing the method according to claim 33, when the computer program is executed on a computer, a processor, or a programmable hardware component (Galdo’355 para. [0081], “processor 1382 also executes securely loaded software in order to implement functionality described herein such as applets 1386 stored in memory 1384”).
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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 19 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Galdo et al. (“Galdo’355,” US20210250355) in view of CN-119172434-A (“CN’434”) – Machine Translation is used for mappings.
Per claim 19: Galdo’355 disclosed the apparatus according to claim 18. Galdo’355 does not explicitly disclose processing circuitry configured to generate a universal instance certificate authority, which can be utilized by a plurality of vehicle original equipment manufacturers.
However, in an analogous art, CN’434 discloses an arrangement further comprising processing circuitry configured to generate a universal instance certificate authority, which can be utilized by a plurality of vehicle original equipment manufacturers (CN’434. Page 8, first full paragraph, “universal certificate management tool”).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Galdo’355 to include, as taught by CN’434, processing circuitry configured to generate a universal instance certificate authority, which can be utilized by a plurality of vehicle original equipment manufacturers. Motivation for modifying would have been to include universal certificate ability in order to increase a greater versatility, and broadened adoption of the Galdo’355/ CN’434 combination within the security field.
Per claim 25: Galdo’355 disclosed the apparatus according to claim 16. Galdo’355 does not explicitly disclose an arrangement further comprising processing circuitry configured to generate a universal instance certificate authority, which can be utilized by a plurality of vehicle original equipment manufacturers.
However, in an analogous art, CN’434 discloses an arrangement further comprising processing circuitry configured to generate a universal instance certificate authority, which can be utilized by a plurality of vehicle original equipment manufacturers (CN’434: page 8, first full paragraph, “universal certificate management tool”).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Galdo’355 to include, as taught by CN’434_Eng, processing circuitry configured to generate a universal instance certificate authority, which can be utilized by a plurality of vehicle original equipment manufacturers. Motivation for modifying would have been to include universal certificate ability in order to increase a greater versatility, and broadened adoption of the Galdo’355/ CN’434 combination within the security field.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Paul J Skwierawski whose telephone number is (571)272-2642. The examiner can normally be reached 6:00am-3:30pm weekdays.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisory primary examiner (SPE) Luu Pham can be reached on (571) 270-5002. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Paul Skwierawski/
Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2439
/LUU T PHAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2439
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