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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: the first paragraph of the specification should include that SN 18/448,812 is now US Patent Number 12,143,819.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claim(s) 2, 5-9, 12-16, and 19-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Slater, US Patent Application Publication Number 2011/0307695 (hereinafter Slater).
Regarding claims 2, 9, and 16, Slater discloses A system comprising: an interface configured to: provide a request to join a publish group from a client or a point to point communication link of a lattice mesh [paragraphs 0038, 0066]; and receive a group key or a host public key [paragraph 0099]; and one or more processors configured to: determine whether a message stored in a backfill database is available to send [paragraphs 0031-0032, 0104]; and in response to determining the message stored in the backfill database is available to send [paragraph 0100]: encode the message stored in the backfill database using the group key or the host public key [paragraph 0099]; and send the message stored in the backfill database [paragraph 0100].
Regarding claims 5, 12, and 19, Slater discloses wherein the backfill database comprises logged data stored locally on the client [paragraph 0114].
Regarding claims 6, 13, and 20, it is inherent in the art that the group key or the host public key is received from an asset database.
Regarding claims 7, 14 and 21, Slater discloses wherein the group key is used to encrypt and/or decrypt messages [paragraph 0098].
Regarding claims 8, 15, and further regarding claim 21, it is inherent in the art that the host public key is used to sign messages issued by a host.
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.
Claim(s) 4, 11, an 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Slater. Regarding claims 4, 11, and 18, Slater does not specifically disclose wherein the group key or the host public key is time bounded to a window of messages stored in the backfill database. However, the Examiner takes Official Notice that it is well known in the art to limit group keys and public keys to a predetermined window of time. Before the effective filing of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Slater to include this feature. The motivation for this modification would have been to combine prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
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 filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual 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/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 2, 6, 7, 9, 13, 14, 16, 20 and 21 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 2, 5-7, 10-12, and 15 of U.S. Patent No. 11,770,707. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the instant claims are generic to all that is recited in the patented claims and are therefore an obvious variant thereof. Specifically, instant independent claims 2, 9, and 16 are taught in patented claims 1, 6, and 11, respectively. The instant claims omit that the group key includes a shared secret and a public key of an ephemeral keypair. Instant dependent claims 6, 13, and 20 are taught in patented dependent claims 2, 7, and 12, respectively. Instant dependent claims 7, 14, and 21 are taught in patented dependent claims 5, 10, and 15, respectively.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 10, and 17 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Srivastava et al., US Patent Application Publication Number 2005/0044356, disclose a method and apparatus for distributing and updating private keys of multicast group managers using directory replication.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIKA WASHINGTON whose telephone number is (571)272-7841. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday.
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/EAW/
July 20, 2026
/ERIKA A WASHINGTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2644
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