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 .
This Office Action is responsive to application 18/924,918 that the Applicant filed on October 23, 2024 and presented 20 claims. In response to the Office Action of March 26, 2026 that required a restriction, independent claims 1, 8, and 15 and dependent claims 2-7 remain open for examination.
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 1-8 and 15 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-8 and 15 of copending Application No. 18/924,928 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they are essentially the same as illustrated below in the claims table.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
18/924,928 Application
18/924,918 Application
1. A system, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising: storing a local copy of an identifier of an application that is configured to execute on customer equipment associated with a customer site that comprises the system; receiving a certificate, wherein the certificate comprises a vendor public key for the customer site, wherein the vendor public key is based on a vendor secret key and a first number that comprises a primitive root modulo of a second prime number; validating the certificate, wherein the validation comprises validating that the certificate was generated by vendor equipment associated with a vendor entity that corresponds to the vendor public key, and wherein the validating comprises validating that the identifier of the application of the customer site in the certificate matches the local copy of the identifier of the application of the customer equipment associated with the customer site; and based on the validating, enabling access to the application of the customer equipment associated with the customer site by the vendor equipment associated with the vendor entity.
1. A system, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising: generating a vendor secret key for a customer site; generating a vendor public key for the customer site based on the vendor secret key and a first number that comprises a primitive root modulo of a second prime number; embedding the vendor public key and an identifier of an application of the customer site in a certificate, wherein the certificate is signed; enabling access to the certificate and the first number via a customer device corresponding to a customer entity that is associated with the customer site, the customer entity validating the certificate via the customer device, wherein the validating comprises validating that the certificate was generated by the system, and wherein the validating comprises validating that the identifier of the application of the customer site in the certificate matches a locally-stored copy of the identifier of the application of the customer site; and based on the validating, accessing the application of the customer site.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: based on initiation of a support user account login session, using the application to generate a session secret key, using the application to generate a first shared secret comprising the vendor secret key and the session secret key, using the application to generate a first hash message authentication code based on the first shared secret and a random session identifier, and using the application to generate a challenge payload based on the random session identifier and the locally-stored copy of the identifier of the application of the customer site; and sending the challenge payload to the vendor equipment associated with the vendor entity, the vendor entity generating a second shared secret based on the challenge payload and the vendor secret key, generating a second hash message authentication code based on the second shared secret and the random session identifier, and generating a password based on the second hash message authentication code and the random session identifier, wherein the access to the application is based further on inputting the password to the application.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: based on initiation of a support user account login session, using the application to generate a session secret key, using the application to generate a first shared secret comprising the vendor secret key and the session secret key, using the application to generate a first hash message authentication code based on the first shared secret and a random session identifier, and using the application to generate a challenge payload based on the random session identifier and the locally-stored copy of the identifier of the application of the customer site; receiving the challenge payload; and based on receiving the challenge payload, generating a second shared secret based on the challenge payload and the vendor secret key, generating a second hash message authentication code based on the second shared secret and the random session identifier, and generating a password based on the second hash message authentication code and the random session identifier, wherein the accessing of the application comprises accessing the application based further on inputting the password to the application.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the using of the application to generate the first hash message authentication code comprises the using of the application to generate a first time-based one-time password based on the first shared secret and the random session identifier, wherein the generating of the second hash message authentication code based on the second shared secret and the random session identifier comprises generating a second time-based one-time password based on the second shared secret and the random session identifier, the vendor entity generating a time-based one-time password token based on the second time-based one-time password, and wherein the time-based one-time password token is valid for a specified amount of time, the application validating that the time-based one-time password token is valid based on the first time-based one-time password.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the using of the application to generate the first hash message authentication code comprises the using of the application to generate a first time-based one-time password based on the first shared secret and the random session identifier, wherein the generating of the second hash message authentication code based on the second shared secret and the random session identifier comprises generating a second time-based one-time password based on the second shared secret and the random session identifier, wherein the operations further comprise: generating a time-based one-time password token based on the second time-based one-time password, and wherein the time-based one-time password token is valid for a specified amount of time, the application validating that the time-based one-time password token is valid based on the first time-based one-time password.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein an output of a function produces the first hash message authentication code and the first time-based one-time password.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein an output of a function produces the first hash message authentication code and the first time-based one-time password.
5. The system of claim 2, wherein the generating of the first hash message authentication code is based on a first value that indicates a number of iterations of the generating to perform, and based on a second value that indicates a key length of the first hash message authentication code.
5. The system of claim 2, wherein the generating of the first hash message authentication code is based on a first value that indicates a number of iterations of the generating to perform, and based on a second value that indicates a key length of the first hash message authentication code.
6. The system of claim 2, wherein the password comprises a session username to the application that comprises the random session identifier and a username, and wherein the password comprises a session password to the application that comprises the password and a time-based one-time password token.
6. The system of claim 2, wherein the accessing of the application based on the inputting of the password to the application comprises: inputting a session username to the application that comprises the random session identifier and a username; and inputting a session password to the application that comprises the password and a time-based one-time password token.
7. The system of claim 6, wherein the password is a first password, wherein the time-based one-time password token is a first time-based one-time password token, wherein the application extracts the random session identifier and the username from the session username, wherein the application extracts the first password and the time-based one-time password token from the session password, wherein the application retrieves the first hash message authentication code and a time-based one-time password based on the random session identifier, wherein the application determines a second password based on the first hash message authentication code and the session username, wherein the application validates the first password based on the second password, and wherein the application validates the first time-based one-time password token based on a second time-based one-time password token.
7. The system of claim 6, wherein the password is a first password, wherein the time-based one-time password token is a first time-based one-time password token, wherein the application extracts the random session identifier and the username from the session username, wherein the application extracts the first password and the time-based one-time password token from the session password, wherein the application retrieves the first hash message authentication code and a time-based one-time password based on the random session identifier, wherein the application determines a second password based on the first hash message authentication code and the session username, wherein the application validates the first password based on the second password, and wherein the application validates the first time-based one-time password token based on a second time-based one-time password token.
8. A method, comprising: receiving, by a system comprising at least one processor, a certificate, wherein the certificate comprises a vendor public key for the customer site, wherein the vendor public key is based on a vendor secret key and a first number that comprises a primitive root modulo of a second prime number; validating, by the system, the certificate, wherein the validating comprises validating that the certificate was generated by a vendor entity that corresponds to the vendor public key, and wherein the validating further comprises validating that the identifier of the application of the customer site in the certificate matches a local copy of the identifier of the application of the customer site; and based on the validating, facilitating, by the system, accessing the application of the customer site by the vendor entity.
8. A method, comprising: generating, by a system comprising at least one processor, a vendor public key for a customer site based on a vendor secret key for the customer site and a first number that comprises a primitive root modulo of a second prime number; embedding, by the system, the vendor public key and an identifier of an application of the customer site in a certificate, wherein the certificate is signed; enabling, by the system, access to the certificate and the first number via customer equipment of a customer entity that is associated with the customer site, the customer entity validating the certificate via the customer equipment, wherein the validating comprises validating that the certificate was generated by the system, and wherein the validating comprises validating that the identifier of the application of the customer site in the certificate matches a locally-stored copy of the identifier of the application of the customer site; and based on the validating, accessing, by the system, the application of the customer site.
15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, in response to execution, cause a system comprising at least one processor to perform operations, comprising: receiving a certificate, wherein the certificate comprises a vendor public key for the customer site, wherein the vendor public key is based on a vendor secret key and a first number that comprises a primitive root modulo of a second prime number; and permitting the application of the customer site to be accessed by the vendor entity based on validating the certificate, wherein the validating comprises validating that the certificate was generated by a vendor entity that corresponds to the vendor public key, and wherein the validating further comprises validating that the identifier of the application of the customer site in the certificate matches a local copy of the identifier of the application of the customer site.
15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, in response to execution, cause a system comprising at least one processor to perform operations, comprising: generating a public key for site equipment associated with a site based on a secret key for the site and a first number that comprises a primitive root modulo of a second prime number; embedding the public key and an identifier of an application of the site equipment in a certificate; enabling access to the certificate and the first number by an entity that is associated with the site equipment, the entity validating the certificate, wherein the validating comprises validating that the certificate was generated by the system, and wherein the validating comprises validating that the identifier of the application of the site equipment in the certificate matches a locally-stored copy of the identifier of the application of the site equipment; and based on the validating, accessing the application of the site equipment.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1, 8, and 15 are allowable. The restriction requirement between Groups I, II, and III , as set forth in the Office action mailed on March 26, 2026 , has been reconsidered in view of the allowability of claims to the elected invention pursuant to MPEP § 821.04(a). The restriction requirement is hereby withdrawn as to any claim that requires all the limitations of an allowable claim. Specifically, the restriction requirement of March 26, 2026 is fully withdrawn. Claims 9-14 and 16-20, directed to Groups II and III, respectively, are no longer withdrawn from consideration because the claims require all the limitations of an allowable claim.
In view of the above noted withdrawal of the restriction requirement, applicant is advised that if any claim presented in a divisional application is anticipated by, or includes all the limitations of, a claim that is allowable in the present application, such claim may be subject to provisional statutory and/or nonstatutory double patenting rejections over the claims of the instant application.
Once a restriction requirement is withdrawn, the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 121 are no longer applicable. See In re Ziegler, 443 F.2d 1211, 1215, 170 USPQ 129, 131-32 (CCPA 1971). See also MPEP § 804.01.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-20 are allowed.
The following is the Examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance. The closest prior-art references identified by the Examiner are 1) “Gerhard” (US 2022/0191041),
2) “Yarabolu” (US 2020/0382483), 3) “Lane” (US 2024/0273428), 4) “Prabhakar” (US 2024/0413982), 5) “Khandani” (US 2019/0104121), 6) “Bomgaars” (US 2013/0332548), and 7) “Lehmann” (US 2018/0063080).
1) Gerhard discloses an authentication system to allow access to a client device via a vendor that relies upon the use of vendor public and private keys. 2) Yarabolu discloses a multi-device authentication system that relies upon the use of an application identifier. 3) Lane discloses a service-request application for mobile devices that is applicable to a vendor-customer service system. 4) Prabhakar discloses a device access management method that relies upon public key certificates that undergo validation procedures. 5) Khandani discloses a method for secure authentication that employs the use of a primitive root modulo of a prime number. 6) Bomgaars discloses a system that provides secure remote access and control between a representative system and customer. 7) Lehmann discloses a system for security and privacy controls for remote-access support services.
What is missing from the prior art is a method, system, and memory device with the following characteristics. The method, system, and memory device include generating a vendor secret key for a customer site, and generating a vendor public key for the customer site based on the vendor secret key and a first number that comprises a primitive root modulo of a second prime number. The vendor public key and an identifier of an application of the customer site is embedded in a certificate that is signed. Access to the certificate and the first number is enabled via a customer device of a customer entity that is associated with the customer site. The customer entity validates the certificate via the customer device by confirming that the certificate was generated by the system and that the identifier of the application of the customer site in the certificate matches a locally-stored copy of the identifier of the application of the customer site. Based upon a successful validation, the application of the customer site is accessed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to D'ARCY WINSTON STRAUB whose telephone number is (303)297-4405. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00-5:00 Mountain Time.
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, WILLIAM KORZUCH can be reached at (571)272-7589. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/D'Arcy Winston Straub/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2491
Prosecution Insights