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 .
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Velusamy et al. (US-20160154982-A1, published: 2016-06-02) hereinafter Velusamy in view of Rodriguez Bravo et al (US-20210218751-A1, published 2021-07-15) hereinafter Rodriguez.
For examination purposes, claims 1-9 referring to an apparatus, claims 10-17 referring to a method and claims 18-20 referring to system are henceforth grouped together for claims mirroring the same limitations or which disclose analogous art to the invention as claimed.
Regarding Claims 1, 10 and 18, Velusamy discloses a mobile device, method, and system comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the mobile device to (Velusamy, fig.2, par. 29: The user device 102 may include a communication interface 202, one or more sensors 204, user interface 206, one or more processors 208, memory 210, and other device hardware 212): receive an indication of a full device reset of the mobile device (Velusamy, fig.4, step 406, par. 60; the presence of the factory reset token 126 on the user device may indicate that anti-theft protection module 118 of the user device 102 is configured to request an input of anti-theft protection credentials prior to permitting a reset of the user device 102 to a default factory setting); present, in response to the indication of the full device reset, a key query requesting a recovery key for the mobile device (Velusamy, fig. 4, step 406, par. 60; Alternatively, the presence of the factory reset token 126 may indicate that the anti-theft protection module 118 is configured to request an input of anti-theft protection during a subsequent device setup initiated by a reset to the factory default setting. Thus, if the recovery application 120 determines that the factory reset token 126 is present (“yes” at decision block 406), the process 400 may proceed to decision block 408) see also par.58; and execute a recovery mode in response to an incorrect response to the key query, the recovery mode including causing the mobile device to (Velusamy, fig. 4, step 406, par. 60; the recovery application 120 may determine whether the factory reset token 126 is present on the user device 102) see also fig. 5 steps 506-508, fig. 6 steps 610-618: obtain location data for a location of the mobile device; and transmit the location data using user contact information stored on the mobile device (Velusamy, fig. 4, step 414, par. 64; the recovery application 120 may send a registration request message to the anti-theft recovery server 112).
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Velusamy does not explicitly disclose the transmission of positioning data upon detection of an incorrect key response. However, in analogous art Rodriguez discloses a method for preventing unauthorized access to user equipment, by locking device functionality on response to a theft or devise lost query (Rodriguez, fig.3, par. 36; Protection program 300 detects an initiating action of a privileged operation of a mobile device (step 310)) and transmitting the device’s location to a predetermined recipient (Rodriguez, fig. 3, par. 42; For the case in which protection program 300 determines that a connection condition between smartphone 110 and an authorized device does not exist (decision step 350, “NO” branch), protection program 300 sends the current location of smartphone 110 in a message to a predetermined recipient (step 360)).
Therefore a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention seeking to improve theft deterrence of mobile devices would be motivated to combine Velusamy’s teachings for an anti-theft recovery tool with Rodriguez’s methods for preventing unauthorized access to wireless devices to enhance recovery of lost or stolen devices.
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Regarding claims 2 and 11, the combination of Velusamy and Rodriguez teach the apparatus and method of claims 1 and 10, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the mobile device to generate a recovery account for the mobile device, wherein the recovery account comprises a correct key that corresponds to the key query (Velusamy, fig. 4, step 408, par. 61; At decision block 408, the recovery application 120 may determine whether a cloud messaging service account is present on the user device 102. The cloud messaging service account may be an account that is established to use the cloud messaging application 218. Thus, if the recovery application 120 determines that no cloud messaging service account is present on the user device 102 (“no” at decision block 408), the process 400 may proceed to decision block 410), see also par. 71 and steps 412-416 and Rodriguez par. 42.
Regarding claims 3 and 12, the combination of Velusamy and Rodriguez teach the apparatus and method of claims 2 and 11, wherein the recovery account further comprises the user contact information (Rodriguez, fig. 3, par. 42; For the case in which protection program 300 determines that a connection condition between smartphone 110 and an authorized device does not exist (decision step 350, “NO” branch), protection program 300 sends the current location of smartphone 110 in a message to a predetermined recipient (step 360)) see also, Velusamy pars. 37, 50, and 66-67.
Regarding claims 4 and 13, the combination of Velusamy and Rodriguez teach the apparatus and method of claims 2 and 11, wherein the recovery account and the recovery mode are managed, at least in part, by a kernel module of the mobile device. (Rodriguez, fig. 1, par. 22; User interface 115 provides an interface to access features and functions of smartphone 110. In some embodiments of the present invention, user interface 115 provides access to protection program 300, operating on smartphone 110) examiner notes, although a kernel is not explicitly mention, the security application mentioned by Rodriguez or Velusamy uses a smart device where the security program uses the GUI or operating system of the device to manage the security features, it is known in the art that GUI and operating systems use kernels.
Regarding claims 5 and 14, the combination of Velusamy and Rodriguez teach the apparatus and method of claims 2 and 11, wherein the recovery account is stored on the mobile device in a read-only permission state (Rodriguez, fig. 4, par. 50; protection program 300 is stored in persistent storage 408 for execution by one or more of the respective computer processors 404 via one or more memories of memory 406), see also Velusamy, par. 22. Examiner notes, it is known in the art that security programs store information in read only state to protect the information and prevent tampering.
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Regarding claim 6, the combination of Velusamy and Rodriguez teach the apparatus claim 1, wherein the location data comprises one or more of geographical location data or network location data. (Rodriguez, par. 14; enablement of highly restrictive tasks or privileged operations of the smartphone depend on one or a combination of geographic location-based security, and connection conditions to one or more authorized devices) see also, Rodriguez fig. 3 steps 320-360 and Velusamy par. 30.
Regarding claims 7 and 15, the combination of Velusamy and Rodriguez teach the apparatus and method of claims 1 and 10, wherein the user contact information comprises one or more of an email associated with a registered user of the mobile device or a phone number associated with the registered user of the mobile device (Velusamy, fig. 2, par, 39; The recovery application 120 may include a registration module 222, an interface module 224, a disablement module 226, and a reboot trigger module 228. The registration module 222 may register the recovery application 120 with a cloud messaging service via the cloud messaging application 218 or the binary messaging application 220), Examiner notes, the use of SMS or cloud messaging subscription inherently discloses the data comprises at least an email or phone number.
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Regarding claims 8, 16, and 19, the combination of Velusamy and Rodriguez teach the apparatus, method and system of claims 1, 10 and 18, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the mobile device to boot into a normal operating state in response to a correct response to the key query such that the recovery mode is not executed (Velusamy, fig. 5, steps 502-518, par. 75; At block 518, the anti-theft recovery server 112 may formulate a registration response message to indicate that registration is complete) see also fig. 2, par. 46.
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Regarding claim 9, the combination of Velusamy and Rodriguez teach the apparatus claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the mobile device to: transmit a recovery query requesting whether to maintain the recovery mode in an active state (Velusamy, par. 18; the anti-theft recovery server may transmit an anti-theft disablement command to a third-party computing device. The anti-theft disablement command may be a one-time use command. The anti-theft disablement command may contain coded information that directs the anti-theft functionalities of the user device to be disabled); receive a query response indicating to maintain the recovery mode in an active state or to not maintain the recovery mode in an active state (Velusamy, par. 18; The anti-theft recovery server may transmit such a command upon a request from a trusted administrative party or upon a request from a user that is validated to be an authorized user of the user device); and control the recovery mode based at least in part on the query response (Velusamy, par. 18; Subsequently, the third-party computing device may deliver the anti-theft disablement command to the user device. In such instances, the third-party computing device may deliver the data via a communication connection between the third-party computing device and the user device) see also pars. 27, 35, 37 and 42 and figs. 4-10.
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Velusamy and Rodriguez teach the apparatus claim 10, further comprising: receiving a recovery mode disable indication from a different device (Velusamy, par. 18; the anti-theft recovery server may transmit an anti-theft disablement command to a third-party computing device. The anti-theft disablement command may be a one-time use command. The anti-theft disablement command may contain coded information that directs the anti-theft functionalities of the user device to be disabled; and disabling execution of the recovery mode (Velusamy fig. 8, par. 93; At block 802, the recovery application 120 on a user device 102 may send an anti-theft disablement request message to an anti-theft recovery server 112).
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Regarding claim 20, the combination of Velusamy and Rodriguez teach the system claim 18, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the system to receive, from the mobile device, one or more location notifications indicating a location of the mobile device (Rodriguez, par. 14; enablement of highly restrictive tasks or privileged operations of the smartphone depend on one or a combination of geographic location-based security, and connection conditions to one or more authorized devices) see also, Rodriguez fig. 3 steps 320-360 and Velusamy par. 30.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Yan et al. (US-20160314323-A1), Method And Device For Processing Stolen Terminal. The invention provides multiple methods and devices for processing a stolen terminal. Therein, a method for processing a stolen terminal comprises: receiving a state modification message from a sending party, wherein the state modification message carries the current state of the terminal; and in a case where the state modification message is legal, forwarding the state modification message to a server, so that the server modifies the state information of the terminal stored in the server to be the current state according to the state modification message. By employing embodiments of the invention, the state information of a terminal can be modified, which solves the problem in the prior art that other identification cannot be provided to indicate whether the terminal is stolen or not, and can achieve the beneficial effects of increasing the probability of recovering a stolen terminal and effectively curbing the stealing acts
Wang et al. (US-20140329500-A1), Anti-Theft Protection Method And Device For Cellular Phone. An anti-theft protection method and device for a cellular phone is provided. The method includes: judging whether the cellular phone satisfies a pre-set condition for starting an anti-theft mode, if so, starting the anti-theft mode; and transmitting anti-theft protection information to a designated contact to instruct the designated contact to perform anti-theft processing for the cellular phone. The device comprises a judgment module, a starting module, and a transmission module.
Jia et al. (US-20260067639-A1), Tracking And Protecting Lost Or Stolen Mobile Devices Via A Dedicated Network Slice. In one example, a method includes receiving a report indicating that a mobile device has been lost or stolen, sending, in response to the report, an instruction to the mobile device that causes the mobile device to connect to a network slice that is dedicated for protecting and tracking lost and stolen mobile devices, sending, in response to determining that the mobile device has connected to the network slice, a second instruction to the mobile device that causes the mobile device to modify a setting of the mobile device to limit a functionality of the mobile device and to permit tracking of the mobile device, receiving, via the network slice, a message from the mobile device indicating a current physical location of the mobile device, and reporting the current physical location of the mobile device
Fitzgerald et al. (US-20120237908-A1), Systems And Methods For Monitoring And Managing Use Of Mobile Electronic Devices. Certain embodiments are directed to systems and methods for monitoring and/or managing a device with respect to a rule or set of rules and/or altering the functionality of the device in response. In one embodiment, a method includes monitoring a mobile user's equipment with respect to a rule. The method also includes applying at least one consequence to the mobile user equipment when the rule is at least one of followed or violated. The at least one consequence comprises at least one of a reward or a punishment. The at least one consequence pertains to use of the mobile user equipment.
Lalande et al. (US-12445273-B2), Sharing Keys For A Wireless Accessory. Embodiments described herein provide for a non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions to cause one or more processor to perform operations to share a set of keys used to communicate with a wireless accessory device. By sharing the set of keys, functionality of the wireless accessory device can be delegated by an owner to other individuals.
Sankey (US-20210203661-A1), Autonomously Generated Portable Accounts. Systems and methods are described that include a plurality of devices triggered to be configured with a portable user account to synchronize account events to a distributed log. The plurality of devices includes at least one device configured to trigger a query to determine access rights for the at least one other device. In response to receiving an approval response to the query, the at least one device assigns a provision status to the at least one other device, provides, for the at least one other device, access to at least a subset of the portable user account according to the assigned provision status, and updates the distributed log to include the at least one other device based on the provision status.
Mahaffey et al. (US 8467768 B2), System And Method For Remotely Securing Or Recovering A Mobile Device. The present invention provides a system and method for remotely securing, accessing, and managing a mobile device or group of mobile devices. The invention enables a remote access web page to be generated by a server and displayed on a client computer. The server receives requested actions from the client computer and interacts with the mobile device to perform the actions. In the case of a lost or stolen device, the invention enables a user to take actions leading to the recovery or destruction of the device and data stored on it. The invention enables multiple types of remote access, including: locking the device, backing up data from the device, restoring data to the device, locating the device, playing a sound on the device, and wiping data from the device. The invention may be used to provide both self-help and administrator-assisted security for a device or group of devices.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARIO R CAMPERO MIRAMONTES whose telephone number is (571)272-5792. The examiner can normally be reached Monday -Thursday 0600 - 1600.
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, Yuwen (Kevin) Pan can be reached at (571) 272-7855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MARIO R CAMPERO MIRAMONTES/Examiner, Art Unit 2649
/YUWEN PAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2649
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