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
1. This action is responsive to the communication filed on 9/20/2024.
Information Disclosure Statement
2. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 6/5/2025 was filed after the mailing date of the instant application. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Double Patenting
3. A rejection based on double patenting of the “same invention” type finds its support in the language of 35 U.S.C. 101 which states that “whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process... may obtain a patent therefor...” (Emphasis added). Thus, the term “same invention,” in this context, means an invention drawn to identical subject matter. See Miller v. Eagle Mfg. Co., 151 U.S. 186 (1894); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Ockert, 245 F.2d 467, 114 USPQ 330 (CCPA 1957).
A statutory type (35 U.S.C. 101) double patenting rejection can be overcome by canceling or amending the claims that are directed to the same invention so they are no longer coextensive in scope. The filing of a terminal disclaimer cannot overcome a double patenting rejection based upon 35 U.S.C. 101.
4. Claims 1-20 are provisionally rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as claiming the same invention as that of claims 1-20, respectively of co-pending Application No. 19/368921 (see table below).
This is a provisional statutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Instant Application 18/891538
Application No. 19/368,921
Claim 1:
A cryptographic transmission system for making secure transmissions between users of the cryptographic transmission system, the cryptographic transmission system comprising:
at least one validation unit comprising:
memory storing, for each of a set of users, a plurality of balances of a unified transmission medium, the plurality of balances of the unified transmission medium representing amounts of different resources belonging to the user; and
at least one processor configured to:
receive, from a device, a request for a first transmission of a first amount of a first resource from a particular user of the set of users to a set of one or more recipients;
identify, from among a plurality of balances of the unified transmission medium stored in the memory for the first user, a first balance of the unified transmission medium representing an amount of the first resource belonging to the particular user;
determine whether the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission of the first amount of the first resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients; and
when it is determined that the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission:
sign a first message with a cryptographic signature indicating that first transmission is valid; and transmit the first message signed with the signature to the device.
2. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
receive, from a device, a request for a second transmission of a second amount of a second resource from the particular user to a second set of one or more recipients;
identify, from among the plurality of balances of the unified transmission medium stored in the memory for the user, a second balance of the unified transmission medium representing an amount of the second resource belonging to the particular user; determine whether the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the second transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the second set of one or more recipients; and when it is determined that the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the second transmission:
sign a second message with the cryptographic signature indicating that second transmission is valid; and transmit the second message signed with the cryptographic signature to the device.
3. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 1, wherein the at least one validation unit comprises a plurality of validation units and the system further comprises the device, the device configured to: receive, from the plurality of validation units, messages including validation unit signatures indicating that the first transmission is valid; and after receiving a threshold number of validation unit signatures indicating that the first transmission is valid: generate a validation message; and transmit, to the plurality of validation units, the validation message, wherein transmission of the validation message triggers execution of the first transmission.
4. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 3, wherein at least one processor is further configured to: in response to receiving the validation message: transmit, from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients, the first amount of the unified transmission medium.
5. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 3, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: after receipt of the validation message: transmit, from the user and/or the set of one or more recipients to at least one user associated with the at least one validation unit, a particular amount of the unified transmission medium representing a particular amount of the first resource.
6. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of operator units each associated with a particular one of a plurality of resources, the plurality of operator units comprising a first operator unit associated with the first resource, the first operator unit configured to: receive an indication of the amount of the first resource belonging to the particular user; determine an amount of the unified transmission medium representing the amount of the first resource belonging to the particular user; and transmit, to the at least one validation unit, a message to issue, to the particular user, the amount of the unified transmission medium representing the amount of the first resource belonging to the user.
7. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 6, wherein the at least one processor of the at least one validation unit is further configured to: receive, from the first operator unit, the message indicating the amount of the unified transmission medium to issue to the user; and in response to receiving the message indicating the amount of the unified transmission medium to issue to the user, updating the first balance of the unified transmission medium representing the amount of the first resource belonging to the particular user.
8. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 6, wherein the plurality of operator units comprise a second operator unit associated with a second resource, the second operator unit configured to: receive an indication of an amount of a second resource belonging to the particular user; determine an amount of the unified transmission medium representing the amount of the second resource belonging to the particular user; and transmit, to the at least one validation unit, a message to issue, to the particular user, the amount of the unified transmission medium representing the amount of the second resource belonging to the particular user.
9. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor of the at least one validation unit is further configured to: receive, from the second operator unit, the message indicating the amount of the unified transmission medium to issue to the particular user; and in response to receiving the message indicating the amount of the unified transmission medium to issue to the particular user, updating a second balance of the unified transmission medium representing the amount of the second resource belonging to the particular user.
10. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 1, wherein the request for the first transmission comprises a message indicating: one or more identifiers of one or more resources to be transmitted in the first transmission, the one or more identifiers including a first identifier of the first resource; and one or more amounts of the one or more resources to be transmitted in the first transmission, the one or more amounts including the first amount of the first resource.
11. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 1, wherein: the first transmission further comprises a transmission of a second amount of a second resource, different from the first resource, from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients; and the at least one processor is further configured to :identify, from among the plurality of balances of the unified transmission stored in the memory for the user, a second balance of the unified transmission medium representing an amount of the second resource belonging to the user; and determine whether the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients; and sign the first message with the cryptographic signature indicating that the first transmission is valid when it is determined that the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients.
12. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 11, wherein the request for the first transmission comprises a first message from the user indicating a current nonce of the user, identifiers of the first and second resources, and amounts of the first and second resources to be transmitted by the user; and a set of one or more messages from the set of one or more recipients, each of the set of one or more messages indicating a current nonce of a respective recipient, identifiers of the first and second resources, and amounts of the first and second resources to be received by the respective recipient.
13. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 12, wherein the set of one more recipients comprises multiple recipients and the set of one or more messages comprises multiple messages.
14. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 1, wherein:
the request for the first transmission comprises a first message from the user and a set of one or more messages from the set of one or more recipients.
15. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 14, wherein the first message indicates:
a current nonce of the user, a first resource identifier of the first resource, and the first amount of the first resource to be transmitted.
16. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 13, wherein each of the set of one or more messages indicates: a current nonce of a respective recipient, the first resource identifier of the first resource, and the first amount of the first resource to be received by the respective recipient.
17. A method for making secure transmissions between users of a cryptographic transmission system, the cryptographic transmission system comprising a network of validation storing, for each of a set of users, a plurality of balances of a unified transmission medium, the method comprising: using at least one validation unit of the network of validation units to perform: receiving, from a device, a request for a first transmission of a first amount of a first resource from a particular user of the set of users to a set of one or more recipients; identifying, from among a plurality of balances of the unified transmission medium stored in the memory for the first user, a first balance of the unified transmission medium representing an amount of the first resource belonging to the particular user; determining whether the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission of the first amount of the first resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients; and when it is determined that the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission: signing a first message with a cryptographic signature indicating that first transmission is valid; and transmitting the first message signed with the signature to the device.
18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: receiving, from a device, a request for a second transmission of a second amount of a second resource from the particular user to a second set of one or more recipients; identifying, from among the plurality of balances of the unified transmission medium stored in the memory for the user, a second balance of the unified transmission medium representing an amount of the second resource belonging to the particular user; determining whether the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the second transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the second set of one or more recipients; and when it is determined that the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the second transmission: signing a second message with the cryptographic signature indicating that second transmission is valid; and transmitting the second message signed with the cryptographic signature to the device.
19. The method of claim 17, wherein: the first transmission further comprises a transmission of a second amount of a second resource, different from the first resource, from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients; and the method further comprises: identifying, from among the plurality of balances of the unified transmission stored in the memory for the user, a second balance of the unified transmission medium representing an amount of the second resource belonging to the user; and determining whether the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients; and signing the first message with the cryptographic signature indicating that the first transmission is valid when it is determined that the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients.
20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a network of validation units of a cryptographic transmission system, causes the at least one processor to perform a method for making secure transmissions between users of the cryptographic transmission system, the network of validation units storing, for each of a set of users, a plurality of balances of a unified transmission medium, the method comprising: receiving, from a device, a request for a first transmission of a first amount of a first resource from a particular user of the set of users to a set of one or more recipients; identifying, from among a plurality of balances of the unified transmission medium stored in the memory for the first user, a first balance of the unified transmission medium representing an amount of the first resource belonging to the particular user; determining whether the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission of the first amount of the first resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients; and when it is determined that the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission: signing a first message with a cryptographic signature indicating that first transmission is valid; and transmitting the first message signed with the signature to the device.
Claim 1:
A cryptographic transmission system for making secure transmissions between users of the cryptographic transmission system, the cryptographic transmission system comprising:
at least one validation unit comprising:
memory storing, for each of a set of users, a plurality of balances of a unified transmission medium, the plurality of balances of the unified transmission medium representing amounts of different resources belonging to the user; and
at least one processor configured to:
receive, from a device, a request for a first transmission of a first amount of a first resource from a particular user of the set of users to a set of one or more recipients;
identify, from among a plurality of balances of the unified transmission medium stored in the memory for the first user, a first balance of the unified transmission medium representing an amount of the first resource belonging to the particular user;
determine whether the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission of the first amount of the first resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients; and
when it is determined that the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission:
sign a first message with a cryptographic signature indicating that first transmission is valid; and transmit the first message signed with the signature to the device.
2. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
receive, from a device, a request for a second transmission of a second amount of a second resource from the particular user to a second set of one or more recipients;
identify, from among the plurality of balances of the unified transmission medium stored in the memory for the user, a second balance of the unified transmission medium representing an amount of the second resource belonging to the particular user; determine whether the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the second transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the second set of one or more recipients; and when it is determined that the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the second transmission: sign a second message with the cryptographic signature indicating that second transmission is valid; and transmit the second message signed with the cryptographic signature to the device.
3. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 1, wherein the at least one validation unit comprises a plurality of validation units and the system further comprises the device, the device configured to: receive, from the plurality of validation units, messages including validation unit signatures indicating that the first transmission is valid; and after receiving a threshold number of validation unit signatures indicating that the first transmission is valid: generate a validation message; and transmit, to the plurality of validation units, the validation message, wherein transmission of the validation message triggers execution of the first transmission.
4. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 3, wherein at least one processor is further configured to: in response to receiving the validation message: transmit, from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients, the first amount of the unified transmission medium.
5. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 3, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: after receipt of the validation message: transmit, from the user and/or the set of one or more recipients to at least one user associated with the at least one validation unit, a particular amount of the unified transmission medium representing a particular amount of the first resource.
6. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of operator units each associated with a particular one of a plurality of resources, the plurality of operator units comprising a first operator unit associated with the first resource, the first operator unit configured to: receive an indication of the amount of the first resource belonging to the particular user; determine an amount of the unified transmission medium representing the amount of the first resource belonging to the particular user; and transmit, to the at least one validation unit, a message to issue, to the particular user, the amount of the unified transmission medium representing the amount of the first resource belonging to the user.
7. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 6, wherein the at least one processor of the at least one validation unit is further configured to: receive, from the first operator unit, the message indicating the amount of the unified transmission medium to issue to the user; and in response to receiving the message indicating the amount of the unified transmission medium to issue to the user, updating the first balance of the unified transmission medium representing the amount of the first resource belonging to the particular user.
8. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 6, wherein the plurality of operator units comprise a second operator unit associated with a second resource, the second operator unit configured to: receive an indication of an amount of a second resource belonging to the particular user; determine an amount of the unified transmission medium representing the amount of the second resource belonging to the particular user; and transmit, to the at least one validation unit, a message to issue, to the particular user, the amount of the unified transmission medium representing the amount of the second resource belonging to the particular user.
9. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor of the at least one validation unit is further configured to: receive, from the second operator unit, the message indicating the amount of the unified transmission medium to issue to the particular user; and in response to receiving the message indicating the amount of the unified transmission medium to issue to the particular user, updating a second balance of the unified transmission medium representing the amount of the second resource belonging to the particular user.
10. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 1, wherein the request for the first transmission comprises a message indicating: one or more identifiers of one or more resources to be transmitted in the first transmission, the one or more identifiers including a first identifier of the first resource; and one or more amounts of the one or more resources to be transmitted in the first transmission, the one or more amounts including the first amount of the first resource.
11. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 1, wherein: the first transmission further comprises a transmission of a second amount of a second resource, different from the first resource, from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients; and the at least one processor is further configured to: identify, from among the plurality of balances of the unified transmission stored in the memory for the user, a second balance of the unified transmission medium representing an amount of the second resource belonging to the user; and determine whether the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients; and sign the first message with the cryptographic signature indicating that the first transmission is valid when it is determined that the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients.
12. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 11, wherein the request for the first transmission comprises: a first message from the user indicating a current nonce of the user, identifiers of the first and second resources, and amounts of the first and second resources to be transmitted by the user; and a set of one or more messages from the set of one or more recipients, each of the set of one or more messages indicating a current nonce of a respective recipient, identifiers of the first and second resources, and amounts of the first and second resources to be received by the respective recipient.
13. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 12, wherein the set of one more recipients comprises multiple recipients and the set of one or more messages comprises multiple messages.
14. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 1, wherein:
the request for the first transmission comprises a first message from the user and a set of one or more messages from the set of one or more recipients.
15. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 14, wherein the first message indicates: a current nonce of the user, a first resource identifier of the first resource, and the first amount of the first resource to be transmitted.
16. The cryptographic transmission system of claim 13, wherein each of the set of one or more messages indicates: a current nonce of a respective recipient, the first resource identifier of the first resource, and the first amount of the first resource to be received by the respective recipient.
17. A method for making secure transmissions between users of a cryptographic transmission system, the cryptographic transmission system comprising a network of validation storing, for each of a set of users, a plurality of balances of a unified transmission medium, the method comprising: using at least one validation unit of the network of validation units to perform: receiving, from a device, a request for a first transmission of a first amount of a first resource from a particular user of the set of users to a set of one or more recipients; identifying, from among a plurality of balances of the unified transmission medium stored in the memory for the first user, a first balance of the unified transmission medium representing an amount of the first resource belonging to the particular user; determining whether the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission of the first amount of the first resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients; and when it is determined that the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission: signing a first message with a cryptographic signature indicating that first transmission is valid; and transmitting the first message signed with the signature to the device.
18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: receiving, from a device, a request for a second transmission of a second amount of a second resource from the particular user to a second set of one or more recipients; identifying, from among the plurality of balances of the unified transmission medium stored in the memory for the user, a second balance of the unified transmission medium representing an amount of the second resource belonging to the particular user; determining whether the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the second transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the second set of one or more recipients; and when it is determined that the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the second transmission: signing a second message with the cryptographic signature indicating that second transmission is valid; and transmitting the second message signed with the cryptographic signature to the device.
19. The method of claim 17, wherein: the first transmission further comprises a transmission of a second amount of a second resource, different from the first resource, from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients; and the method further comprises: identifying, from among the plurality of balances of the unified transmission stored in the memory for the user, a second balance of the unified transmission medium representing an amount of the second resource belonging to the user; and determining whether the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients; and signing the first message with the cryptographic signature indicating that the first transmission is valid when it is determined that the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients.
20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a network of validation units of a cryptographic transmission system, causes the at least one processor to perform a method for making secure transmissions between users of the cryptographic transmission system, the network of validation units storing, for each of a set of users, a plurality of balances of a unified transmission medium, the method comprising: receiving, from a device, a request for a first transmission of a first amount of a first resource from a particular user of the set of users to a set of one or more recipients; identifying, from among a plurality of balances of the unified transmission medium stored in the memory for the first user, a first balance of the unified transmission medium representing an amount of the first resource belonging to the particular user; determining whether the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission of the first amount of the first resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients; and when it is determined that the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission: signing a first message with a cryptographic signature indicating that first transmission is valid; and transmitting the first message signed with the signature to the device.
Claim Rejections – 35 USC 103
5. 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.
6. Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Micali et al (US 2022/0374886) in view of Pen (US 2019/0279210).
Regarding claim 1, Micali et al teaches a cryptographic transmission system for making secure transmissions between users of the cryptographic transmission system (par [0047], which discloses processing transactions between two users in a blockchain environment), the cryptographic transmission system comprising:
at least one validation unit (par [0012], lines 1-5, “validator devices”) comprising:
memory storing, for each of a set of users, a plurality of balances of a unified transmission medium (par [0043], lines 6-8, which discloses a plurality of balances being stored in blockchain nodes), the plurality of balances of the unified transmission medium representing amounts of different resources belonging to the user (par [0049], lines 1-6, “balances of assets for each co-chain”); and at least one processor configured to:
receive, from a device, a request for a first transmission of a first amount of a first resource from a particular user of the set of users to a set of one or more recipients (par [0024], which discloses an entity transmitting a request to another party for a disclosed amount of cryptoassets); and
identify, from among a plurality of balances of the unified transmission medium stored in the memory for the first user, a first balance of the unified transmission medium representing an amount of the first resource belonging to the particular user (par [0024], which discloses each account showing the current balance for each particular cryptoasset).
Micali et al does not explicitly teach determining whether the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission of the first amount of the first resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients; when it is determined that the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission: sign a first message with a cryptographic signature indicating that first transmission is valid; and transmit the first message signed with the signature to the device.
However, Pen teaches determining whether the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission of the first amount of the first resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients (par [0111], which discloses determining if a user’s account balance is large enough to cover payment for a transaction to pay another blockchain user);
when it is determined that the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission (par [0111], which discloses verifying that the user’s account balance is large enough to cover payment for a transaction to pay the other blockchain user):
sign a first message with a cryptographic signature indicating that first transmission is valid (par [0050], lines 1-10 & claim 8, lines 15-25, which disclose a transaction payment related-messages being singed, upon determining that the transaction is valid when a client account has a sufficient balance to cover a payment); and
transmit the first message signed with the signature to the device (par [0060] & claim 8, lines 1-15, “sending the signed cryptocurrency transaction message”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to be motivated to combine the teachings of Pen within the disclosure of Micali et al in order to provide the predictive result of increasing payment-related assurance in a blockchain transaction environment by ensuring and requiring that requesting clients have sufficient funds before completing blockchain-based asset requests with another using containing the asset (as disclosed in par [0113] of Pen) because this feature would prevent blockchain users containing desired assets from engaging in transaction requests with requesting users that have insufficient funds and cancelling potential transactions upon determining that a requesting blockchain user contains insufficient funds.
Regarding claim 2, Micali et al teaches wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
receive, from a device, a request for a second transmission of a second amount of a second resource from the particular user to a second set of one or more recipients (par [0046], lines 11-14, which discloses requesting a second cryptoasset); and
identify, from among the plurality of balances of the unified transmission medium stored in the memory for the user, a second balance of the unified transmission medium representing an amount of the second resource belonging to the particular user (par [0043], lines 5-8, “the second commitment corresponds to other balances within the co-chain”).
Micali et al does not explicitly teach determining whether the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the second transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the second set of one or more recipients; and when it is determined that the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the second transmission: sign a second message with the cryptographic signature indicating that second transmission is valid; and transmit the second message signed with the cryptographic signature to the device.
However, Pen teaches determining whether the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the second transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the second set of one or more recipients (claim 8, lines 14-25, “if the first client account has sufficient balance to cover the cryptocurrency payment and the transaction payment message is valid, data entries are written to the next block of the particular blockchain”); and
when it is determined that the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the second transmission:
sign a second message with the cryptographic signature indicating that second transmission is valid (claim 4, lines 10-11, “where the data in the messages is hashed and signed”); and
transmit the second message signed with the cryptographic signature to the device (claim 10, “second signed message”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to be motivated to combine the teachings of Pen within the disclosure of Micali et al according to the motivation disclosed regarding claim 1.
Regarding claim 3, Micali et al and Pen teach the limitations of claim 1.
Micali et al further teaches receive, from the plurality of validation units, messages including validation unit signatures indicating that the first transmission is valid (par [0033], lines 7-9, “validators determine whether the data is valid”); and
after receiving a threshold number of validation unit signatures indicating that the first transmission is valid (par [0017], lines 1-4, “threshold signature scheme”):
generate a validation message (par [0012], lines 6-8); and
transmit, to the plurality of validation units, the validation message, wherein transmission of the validation message triggers execution of the first transmission (par [0100], lines 12-16, “authenticated transaction authorizes a transfer of the asset”).
Regarding claim 4, Micali et al and Pen teach the limitations of claim 1.
Micali et al further teaches in response to receiving the validation message:
transmit, from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients, the first amount of the unified transmission medium (par [0022], lines 1-5, “transferring amounts of cryptocurrency”).
Regarding claim 5, Micali et al and Pen teach the limitations of claim 1.
Micali et al further teaches after receipt of the validation message:
transmit, from the user and/or the set of one or more recipients to at least one user associated with the at least one validation unit, a particular amount of the unified transmission medium representing a particular amount of the first resource (par [0023], lines 1-5, “amount of a cryptoasset”).
Regarding claim 6, Micali et al and Pen teach the limitations of claim 1.
Micali et al further teaches a plurality of operator units each associated with a particular one of a plurality of resources (par [0082], lines 1-4, “each co-chain registers with the public blockchain if it wishes to transfer assets between them”), the plurality of operator units comprising a first operator unit associated with the first resource (par [0083], lines 1-6, “each asset class is registered”), the first operator unit configured to:
receive an indication of the amount of the first resource belonging to the particular user (par [0096], lines 6-8, “a first amount of a first cryptoasset from a first cryptoasset account”);
determine an amount of the unified transmission medium representing the amount of the first resource belonging to the particular user (par [0099], lines 1-4); and
transmit, to the at least one validation unit, a message to issue, to the particular user, the amount of the unified transmission medium representing the amount of the first resource belonging to the user (par [0099], lines 10-13, “reflect that the first amount of the first cryptoasset is being transferred”).
Regarding claim 7, Micali et al and Pen teach the limitations of claim 1.
Micali et al further teaches wherein the at least one processor of the at least one validation unit is further configured to:
receive, from the first operator unit, the message indicating the amount of the unified transmission medium to issue to the user (par [0056], which discloses assigning the cryptoasset amount to a key that represents the cryptoasset amount to be transferred); and
in response to receiving the message indicating the amount of the unified transmission medium to issue to the user, updating the first balance of the unified transmission medium representing the amount of the first resource belonging to the particular user (par [0049], which discloses updating the remaining cryptoasset balance after payment of the asset has been made).
Regarding claim 8, Micali et al and Pen teach the limitations of claim 1.
Micali et al further teaches wherein the plurality of operator units comprise a second operator unit associated with a second resource (par [0029], lines 1-5, “second entity asserts that it is a validator”), the second operator unit configured to:
receive an indication of an amount of a second resource belonging to the particular user (par [0038], lines 22-24, “second amount of a second cryptoasset”);
determine an amount of the unified transmission medium representing the amount of the second resource belonging to the particular user (par [0036], lines 10-11, “entire balance of each entity”); and
transmit, to the at least one validation unit, a message to issue, to the particular user, the amount of the unified transmission medium representing the amount of the second resource belonging to the particular user (par [0045], “balance table of assets”).
Regarding claim 9, Micali et al and Pen teach the limitations of claim 1.
Micali et al further teaches wherein the at least one processor of the at least one validation unit is further configured to:
receive, from the second operator unit, the message indicating the amount of the unified transmission medium to issue to the particular user (par [0056], lines 1-10, “instantiates a cryptoasset transaction to transfer the amount of the cryptoasset”); and
in response to receiving the message indicating the amount of the unified transmission medium to issue to the particular user, updating a second balance of the unified transmission medium representing the amount of the second resource belonging to the particular user (par [0049], lines 1-5, “updates a balance table… with the second amount of the second cryptoasset”).
Regarding claim 10, Micali et al and Pen teach the limitations of claim 1.
Micali et al further teaches wherein the request for the first transmission comprises a message indicating:
one or more identifiers of one or more resources to be transmitted in the first transmission, the one or more identifiers including a first identifier of the first resource (par [0083], lines 1-6, “AssetClassID”); and
one or more amounts of the one or more resources to be transmitted in the first transmission, the one or more amounts including the first amount of the first resource (par [0096], which discloses cryptoasset amounts to be transferred, including the first amount).
Regarding claim 11, Micali et al teaches wherein: the first transmission further comprises a transmission of a second amount of a second resource, different from the first resource, from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients (par [0038], lines 23-27, “second amount of a second cryptoasset”); and
the at least one processor is further configured to:
identify, from among the plurality of balances of the unified transmission stored in the memory for the user, a second balance of the unified transmission medium representing an amount of the second resource belonging to the user (par [0036], lines 9-11, “entire balance of each entity owning an asset at a given point”).
Micali et al does not explicitly teach determine whether the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients; and sign the first message with the cryptographic signature indicating that the first transmission is valid when it is determined that the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients.
However, Pen teaches determine whether the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients (par [0111], lines , “enough account balance to cover the transaction”); and
sign the first message with the cryptographic signature indicating that the first transmission is valid when it is determined that the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients (par [0111], lines 1-5, which discloses a signature being provided corresponding to the blockchain asset-related transaction message).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to be motivated to combine the teachings of Pen within the disclosure of Micali et al according to the motivation disclosed regarding claim 1.
Regarding claim 12, Micali et al and Pen teach the limitations of claim 1.
Micali et al further teaches wherein the request for the first transmission comprises:
a first message from the user indicating a current nonce of the user (par [0041], “one time key”), identifiers of the first and second resources, and amounts of the first and second resources to be transmitted by the user (par [0038], which discloses data identifying first and second amounts of crypto-assets to be provided); and
a set of one or more messages from the set of one or more recipients, each of the set of one or more messages indicating a current nonce of a respective recipient (par [0038], “assigns the first amount of the first cryptoasset to the first one-time key”), identifiers of the first and second resources (par [0083], lines 1-6, “each record is uniquely identified by an index I”), and amounts of the first and second resources to be received by the respective recipient (par [0054], lines 1-3, “amount of a cryptoasset”).
Regarding claim 13, Micali et al and Pen teach the limitations of claim 1.
Micali et al further teaches wherein the set of one more recipients comprises multiple recipients (par [0093], line 8, “mappings between users”) and the set of one or more messages comprises multiple messages (par [0111], line 1, “messages sent from the co-chain and the main chain”).
Regarding claim 14, Micali et al and Pen teach the limitations of claim 1.
Micali et al further teaches wherein: the request for the first transmission comprises a first message from the user (par [0035], lines 1-3, “message indicating a desired transfer of the cryptoasset”) and a set of one or more messages from the set of one or more recipients (par [0035], lines 14-16, “message passing architecture”).
Regarding claim 15, Micali et al and Pen teach the limitations of claim 1.
Micali et al further teaches wherein the first message indicates: a current nonce of the user (par [0038], lines 8-10, “associated with a first one-time key”), a first resource identifier of the first resource (par [0083], lines 1-5, “AssetClassID”), and the first amount of the first resource to be transmitted (par [0096], lines 6-7, “first amount of a first cryptoasset”).
Regarding claim 16, Micali et al and Pen teach the limitations of claim 1.
Micali et al further teaches wherein each of the set of one or more messages indicates: a current nonce of a respective recipient (par [0097], lines 1-3, “one-time key”), the first resource identifier of the first resource (par [0085], lines 1-3, “asset ‘i’ from AssetClassID”), and the first amount of the first resource to be received by the respective recipient (par [0099], lines 1-3, “the first amount of the first cryptoasset to the first one-time key”).
Regarding claim 17, Micali et al teaches a method for making secure transmissions between users of a cryptographic transmission system (par [0047], which discloses processing transactions between two users in a blockchain environment), the cryptographic transmission system comprising a network of validation (par [0012], lines 1-5, “validators”) storing, for each of a set of users, a plurality of balances of a unified transmission medium (par [0049], lines 1-6, “balances of assets for each co-chain”), the method comprising:
using at least one validation unit of the network of validation units to perform:
receiving, from a device, a request for a first transmission of a first amount of a first resource from a particular user of the set of users to a set of one or more recipients (par [0024], which discloses an entity transmitting a request to another party for a disclosed amount of cryptoassets); and
identifying, from among a plurality of balances of the unified transmission medium stored in the memory for the first user, a first balance of the unified transmission medium representing an amount of the first resource belonging to the particular user (par [0024], which discloses each account showing the current balance for each particular cryptoasset).
Micali et al does not explicitly teach determining whether the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission of the first amount of the first resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients; when it is determined that the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission: sign a first message with a cryptographic signature indicating that first transmission is valid; and transmit the first message signed with the signature to the device.
However, Pen teaches determining whether the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission of the first amount of the first resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients (par [0111], which discloses determining if a user’s account balance is large enough to cover payment for a transaction to pay another blockchain user);
when it is determined that the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission (par [0111], which discloses verifying that the user’s account balance is large enough to cover payment for a transaction to pay the other blockchain user):
signing a first message with a cryptographic signature indicating that first transmission is valid (par [0050], lines 1-10 & claim 8, lines 15-25, which disclose a transaction payment related-messages being singed, upon determining that the transaction is valid when a client account has a sufficient balance to cover a payment); and
transmitting the first message signed with the signature to the device (par [0060] & claim 8, lines 1-15, “sending the signed cryptocurrency transaction message”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to be motivated to combine the teachings of Pen within the disclosure of Micali et al in order to provide the predictive result of increasing payment-related assurance in a blockchain transaction environment by ensuring and requiring that requesting clients have sufficient funds before completing blockchain-based asset requests with another using containing the asset (as disclosed in par [0113] of Pen) because this feature would prevent blockchain users containing desired assets from engaging in transaction requests with requesting users that have insufficient funds and cancelling potential transactions upon determining that a requesting blockchain user contains insufficient funds.
Regarding claim 18, Micali et al teaches wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
receive, from a device, a request for a second transmission of a second amount of a second resource from the particular user to a second set of one or more recipients (par [0046], lines 11-14, which discloses requesting a second cryptoasset); and
identify, from among the plurality of balances of the unified transmission medium stored in the memory for the user, a second balance of the unified transmission medium representing an amount of the second resource belonging to the particular user (par [0043], lines 5-8, “the second commitment corresponds to other balances within the co-chain”).
Micali et al does not explicitly teach determining whether the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the second transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the second set of one or more recipients; and when it is determined that the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the second transmission: sign a second message with the cryptographic signature indicating that second transmission is valid; and transmit the second message signed with the cryptographic signature to the device.
However, Pen teaches determining whether the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the second transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the second set of one or more recipients (claim 8, lines 14-25, “if the first client account has sufficient balance to cover the cryptocurrency payment and the transaction payment message is valid, data entries are written to the next block of the particular blockchain”); and
when it is determined that the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the second transmission:
signing a second message with the cryptographic signature indicating that second transmission is valid (claim 4, lines 10-11, “where the data in the messages is hashed and signed”); and
transmitting the second message signed with the cryptographic signature to the device (claim 10, “second signed message”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to be motivated to combine the teachings of Pen within the disclosure of Micali et al according to the motivation disclosed regarding claim 17.
Regarding claim 19, Micali et al teaches wherein: the first transmission further comprises a transmission of a second amount of a second resource, different from the first resource, from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients (par [0038], lines 23-27, “second amount of a second cryptoasset”); and
the at least one processor is further configured to:
identifying, from among the plurality of balances of the unified transmission stored in the memory for the user, a second balance of the unified transmission medium representing an amount of the second resource belonging to the user (par [0036], lines 9-11, “entire balance of each entity owning an asset at a given point”).
Micali et al does not explicitly teach determine whether the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients; and sign the first message with the cryptographic signature indicating that the first transmission is valid when it is determined that the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients.
However, Pen teaches determining whether the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients (par [0111], lines , “enough account balance to cover the transaction”); and
signing the first message with the cryptographic signature indicating that the first transmission is valid when it is determined that the second balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the transmission of the second amount of the second resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients (par [0111], lines 1-5, which discloses a signature being provided corresponding to the blockchain asset-related transaction message).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to be motivated to combine the teachings of Pen within the disclosure of Micali et al according to the motivation disclosed regarding claim 17.
Regarding claim 20, Micali et al teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (par [0120], lines 1-3) storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a network of validation units of a cryptographic transmission system (par [0012], lines 1-5, “validators”), causes the at least one processor to perform a method for making secure transmissions between users of a cryptographic transmission system (par [0047], which discloses processing transactions between two users in a blockchain environment), the network of validation units storing, for each of a set of users, a plurality of balances of a unified transmission medium (par [0049], lines 1-6, “balances of assets for each co-chain”), the method comprising:
receiving, from a device, a request for a first transmission of a first amount of a first resource from a particular user of the set of users to a set of one or more recipients (par [0024], which discloses an entity transmitting a request to another party for a disclosed amount of cryptoassets); and
identifying, from among a plurality of balances of the unified transmission medium stored in the memory for the first user, a first balance of the unified transmission medium representing an amount of the first resource belonging to the particular user (par [0024], which discloses each account showing the current balance for each particular cryptoasset).
Micali et al does not explicitly teach determining whether the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission of the first amount of the first resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients; when it is determined that the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission: sign a first message with a cryptographic signature indicating that first transmission is valid; and transmit the first message signed with the signature to the device.
However, Pen teaches determining whether the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission of the first amount of the first resource from the particular user to the set of one or more recipients (par [0111], which discloses determining if a user’s account balance is large enough to cover payment for a transaction to pay another blockchain user);
when it is determined that the first balance of the unified transmission medium is sufficient to complete the first transmission (par [0111], which discloses verifying that the user’s account balance is large enough to cover payment for a transaction to pay the other blockchain user):
signing a first message with a cryptographic signature indicating that first transmission is valid (par [0050], lines 1-10 & claim 8, lines 15-25, which disclose a transaction payment related-messages being singed, upon determining that the transaction is valid when a client account has a sufficient balance to cover a payment); and
transmitting the first message signed with the signature to the device (par [0060] & claim 8, lines 1-15, “sending the signed cryptocurrency transaction message”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to be motivated to combine the teachings of Pen within the disclosure of Micali et al in order to provide the predictive result of increasing payment-related assurance in a blockchain transaction environment by ensuring and requiring that requesting clients have sufficient funds before completing blockchain-based asset requests with another using containing the asset (as disclosed in par [0113] of Pen) because this feature would prevent blockchain users containing desired assets from engaging in transaction requests with requesting users that have insufficient funds and cancelling potential transactions upon determining that a requesting blockchain user contains insufficient funds.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Randy A. Scott whose telephone number is (571) 272-3797. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday 7:30 am-5:00 pm, second Fridays 7:30 am-4pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, 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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/RANDY A SCOTT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2439 20260409
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