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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The examiner finds the claims to be self-contradictory.
In particular, it is recited that there is a first set of digital tokens of a single type and a second set of digital tokens of a single type, and the first digital tokens are marked a first way, while the second digital tokens are marked a second way. The first set of tokens then have a first value while the second set of tokens then have a second value.
The contradiction is that once the groups of tokens have been marked differently, they are no longer of the same type.
A relevant example can be seen in the applicant’s own background discussion at paragraph 0006, where it is seen that tokens can represent securities. The examiner understands this to mean stocks.
If a batch of new tokens is divided into two groups, and one group is marked as representing a first stock and a second group is marked representing a second stock, then these two groups will of course have different values, in accordance with being different stocks.
But now, the tokens are no longer of the same type. The first tokens may be stocks for company A while the second tokens may be stocks of company B.
They idea that the tokens are of the same type when they are assigned differently seems meaningless. At that point, they are then of a different type.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL A HESS whose telephone number is (571)272-2392. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, from 9 AM to 5 PM.
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/DANIEL A HESS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876