Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 18, 2026
Application No. 18/887,171

METHODS FOR PROTECTING COMPUTER HARDWARE FROM CYBER THREATS

Non-Final OA §101§102
Filed
Sep 17, 2024
Examiner
DADA, BEEMNET W
Art Unit
2435
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Fortifyiq Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
84%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 1m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 84% — above average
84%
Career Allow Rate
776 granted / 920 resolved
+26.3% vs TC avg
Strong +18% interview lift
Without
With
+17.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 1m
Avg Prosecution
13 currently pending
Career history
933
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
14.3%
-25.7% vs TC avg
§103
28.4%
-11.6% vs TC avg
§102
31.7%
-8.3% vs TC avg
§112
5.2%
-34.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 920 resolved cases

Office Action

§101 §102
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on September 17, 2024 has been considered. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Form PTO-1449 is signed and attached hereto. Drawings The drawings filed on September 17, 2024 are accepted. Specification The specification filed September 17, 2024 is accepted. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows: Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title. Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claims do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more. The analysis is guided by the Supreme Court’s two-step framework, described in Mayo and Alice (Alice Corp. Pty Ltd. V. CLS Bank Int’l, 134 S. Ct. 2347, 2354 (2014) and Mayo Collaborative Servs. V. Prometheus Labs, Inc., 132 S. Ct. 1289, 1296-97 (2012)). Step 1: Are the claims directed to a process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter? Answer: Yes, claims 1-11 are directed to a system/device and Claims 12-20 are directed to a method. Step 2A: Are the claims directed to a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea, i.e., judicially recognized exceptions (both individually and as an ordered combination)? Answer: Yes, claims 1 and 12 are directed to the concept of transforming a byte of data from one representation of Galois Field (GF) to another and representing a Galois Field (GF) (i.e., Collection, storage and recognition of data (Smart System) and/or collecting and analyzing information to detect misuse and notifying user when misuse is detected (FairWarning) and/or Collecting, transmitting, analyzing & storing data to detect fraudulent and/or invalid clicks based on the time between two requests by the same device or client (Zuili v. Google) ), and is/are an abstract idea beyond the scope of § 101. Step2B: Do the claims recite additional elements that when analyzed individually and in ordered combinations amount to significantly more than the judicial exception(s)? Answer: No, the claims (both individually and as an ordered combinations) do not transform the nature of the claims into a patent-eligible application of the abstract idea. Claims 1 and 12 do not have any additional limitations outside of the abstract limitations of step 2A. Dependent claims 2-11 and 13-20 further clarify the abstract idea. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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. Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Schepers et al. [WO 2018/015325 A1] (hereinafter Schepers). As pe claim 1, Schepers teaches a semiconductor intellectual property (IP) core comprising a transformation engine accessing different transformation matrices and transforming a byte of data within a block of a block cipher and a cryptographic key from one representation of a Galois Field (GF) to another representation of the GF [page 7, line 22-page 8, line 25]. As per claim 12, Schepers teaches method of building different representations of a Galois Field (GF) implemented by a compact logic comprising: representing a GF(2.sup.8) as an equivalent tower field [page 7, line 22-page 8, line 25]. As per claim 2, Schepers further teaches the IP core wherein said transformation engine accesses a different transformation matrix for each successive round of the block cipher [page 7, line 22-page 8, line 25]. As per claim 3, Schepers further teaches the IP core wherein said transformation engine applies 1 of at least 10 different transformation matrices for each successive round [page 7, line 22-page 8, line 25]. As per claim 4, Schepers further teaches the IP core wherein said transformation engine applies 1 of at least 20 different transformation matrices for each successive round [page 7, line 22-page 8, line 25]. As per claim 5, Schepers further teaches the IP core wherein said transformation engine applies 1 of at least 30 different transformation matrices for each successive round [page 7, line 22-page 8, line 25]. As per claim 6, Schepers further teaches the IP core provided as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design [page 7, line 22-page 8, line 25]. As per claim 7, Schepers further teaches the IP core provided as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) logic designs [page 7, line 22-page 8, line 25]. As per claim 8, Schepers further teaches the IP core wherein said block cipher is selected from the group consisting of AES, SM4, and ARIA [page 7, line 22-page 8, line 25]. As per claim 9, Schepers further teaches the IP core wherein said transformation engine computes X.sup.Y by performing a series of: (i) multiplications of two different elements of the GF and (ii) raising an element of the field to a power Z wherein Z is a power of 2, wherein a number of multiplications (i) is at least two less than a number of ones (1s) in a binary representation of Y [page 7, line 22-page 8, line 25]. As per claim 10, Schepers further teaches the IP core wherein Y=254 [page 7, line 22-page 8, line 25]. As per claim 11, Schepers further teaches the IP core wherein a number of multiplications (i) is 4 or less [page 7, line 22-page 8, line 25]. As per claim 13, Schepers further teaches the method wherein said equivalent tower field is GF(((2.sup.2).sup.2).sup.2) [page 7, line 22-page 8, line 25]. As per claim 14, Schepers further teaches the method, wherein said equivalent tower field is GF((2.sup.4).sup.2) [page 7, line 22-page 8, line 25]. As per claim 15, Schepers further teaches the method wherein said equivalent tower field is represented in a polynomial basis [page 7, line 22-page 8, line 25]. As per claim 16, Schepers further teaches the method wherein said equivalent tower field is represented in a normal basis [page 7, line 22-page 8, line 25]. As per claim 17, Schepers further teaches the method which yields at least 432 different representations of said GF [page 7, line 22-page 8, line 25]. As per claim 18, Schepers further teaches the method comprising computing X.sup.Y by performing a series of: (i) multiplications of two different elements of the field; and (ii) raising an element of the field to a power Z wherein Z is a power of 2, wherein a number of the multiplications (i) is at least two less than a number of ones (1s) in the binary representation of Y [page 7, line 22-page 8, line 25]. As per claim 19, Schepers further teaches the method wherein Y=254 [page 7, line 22-page 8, line 25]. As per claim 20, Schepers further teaches the method wherein a number of multiplications (i) is 4 or less [page 7, line 22-page 8, line 25]. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BEEMNET W DADA whose telephone number is (571)272-3847. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joseph Hirl can be reached at 571-272-3685. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. BEEMNET W. DADA Primary Examiner Art Unit 2435 /BEEMNET W DADA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2435
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Prosecution Timeline

Sep 17, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 14, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §101, §102 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
84%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+17.8%)
3y 1m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 920 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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