Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/887,357

End-to-end verifiable multi-factor authentication service

Non-Final OA §102§DP
Filed
Sep 17, 2024
Examiner
TRAN, VU V
Art Unit
2491
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Akamai Technologies, Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
90%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 5m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 90% — above average
90%
Career Allow Rate
353 granted / 394 resolved
+31.6% vs TC avg
Strong +18% interview lift
Without
With
+17.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
15 currently pending
Career history
409
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
10.0%
-30.0% vs TC avg
§103
46.8%
+6.8% vs TC avg
§102
16.8%
-23.2% vs TC avg
§112
16.1%
-23.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 394 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §DP
DETAILED ACTION This Office Action is in response to application 18/887357 filed on September 29, 2024. 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. Claims 1-10 are pending and herein considered. 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 04/15/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Double Patenting The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969). A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b). The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp. Claims 1, 10 and 14 rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 10 14 the following U.S. Patent No. 12,095 753 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. (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 1, 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Tie al. (Tie) U.S. Pub. Number 2024056423. Regarding claim 1, 15; Tie discloses A method of authenticating a user requesting access to a network-accessible resource, the user associated with a client and having an associated public-private key pair, the key pair comprising a private key, and an associated public key, comprising: at the network-accessible resource: an identity authentication method. When a request device and an authentication access controller perform identity verification on the basis of an authentication mechanism of a pre-shared key, identity information of a verified party is transmitted in the form of a ciphertext, thereby preventing the identity information of the verified party from being directly exposed during transmission, and ensuring that an attacker cannot obtain private and sensitive information. Two-way or one-way identity authentication between the authentication access controller and the request device is realized, receiving an access request from the user; generating a first nonce; transmitting an authentication request and the first nonce to an authentication service; in response to the authentication request, receiving from the authentication service an authentication decision together with a proof that the user approved the authentication request, the authentication decision and the proof having been generated as a result of the authentication service using the public key to verify that a data string received from the client included the first nonce, together with a second nonce generated by the authentication service, the first and second nonces having been encrypted into the data string using the private key; para.[0111] One string of key data is used as the message encryption key, and the other string of key data is used as the message integrity check key. The REQ may use the key derivation algorithm to derive a string of key data as in the embodiment in FIG. 2. The key data can be used as at least one of the message encryption key or the message integrity check key. Alternatively, a part of the key data is used as the message encryption key, and the rest part of the key data is used as the message integrity check key. and upon receipt of the authentication decision and the proof, granting access to the network-accessible resource. para. [0003] In a communication network, a requesting device may access the network through an authentication access controller. In some cases where security requirements are relatively high, the authentication access controller needs to authenticate the identity of the requesting device, and sometimes the requesting device also needs to authenticate the identity of the authentication access controller, to ensure at least one of the following: the requesting device accessing the network is a legal user, or the network that is to be accessed by the requesting device is a legal network. Related Art The following prior art made of record and cited on PTO-892, but not relied upon, is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure: Diettrich et al. (US Pub No. 2024/0323171 A1, hereinafter “Diettrich”) teaches a method for personalising a security applet installed on a first security element of a mobile terminal device using a first ID token and a personalization server. An ID application program to which the security applet is assigned is installed on the mobile terminal. The first attributes of a user are stored in the first ID token. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VU V TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-1708. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 8 AM- 4 PM. 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, Ashok Patel can be reached on 571-272-3972. 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. /VU V TRAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2491
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 17, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §DP (current)

Precedent Cases

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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
90%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+17.8%)
2y 5m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 394 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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