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
This is a reply to the application filed on 11/5/2024, in which, claims 1-7 are pending. Claims 1, 6 and 7 are independent.
When making claim amendments, the applicant is encouraged to consider the references in their entireties, including those portions that have not been cited by the examiner and their equivalents as they may most broadly and appropriately apply to any particular anticipated claim amendments.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings filed on 11/5/2024 are accepted.
Specification
The disclosure filed on 11/5/2024 is accepted.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
The claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more. Claim(s) 1-7 is/are directed to a method and system (apparatus). The claim(s) do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., an abstract idea) without significantly more. Based upon consideration of all of the relevant factors with respect to the claims as a whole, claims are held to claim an unpatentable abstract idea, and are therefore rejected as ineligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101.
Inventions for a “new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter” generally constitute patent-eligible subject matter. 35 U.S.C. § 101. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has long interpreted 35 U.S.C. § 101 to include implicit exceptions: “[l]aws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas” are not patentable. Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int’l, 573 U.S. 208,216 (2014).
The Supreme Court, in Alice, reiterated the two-step framework previously set forth in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., 566 U.S. 66 (2012), “for distinguishing patents that claim laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas from those that claim patent-eligible applications of those concepts.” Alice Corp., 573 U.S. at 217. The first step in that analysis is to “determine whether the claims at issue are directed to one of those patent-ineligible concepts.” Id. If the claims are not directed to a patent-ineligible concept, e.g., an abstract idea, the inquiry ends. Otherwise, the inquiry proceeds to the second step where the elements of the claims are considered “individually and ‘as an ordered combination’” to determine whether there are additional elements that “‘transform the nature of the claim’ into a patent-eligible application.” Id. (quoting Mayo, 566 U.S. at 79, 78). This is “a search for an ‘inventive concept’ - i.e., an element or combination of elements that is ‘sufficient to ensure that the patent in practice amounts to significantly more than a patent upon the [ineligible concept] itself.’” Id. at 217-18 (alteration in original).
The USPTO published revised guidance on January 7, 2019, for use by USPTO personnel in evaluating subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101. 2019 REVISED PATENT SUBJECT MATTER ELIGIBILITY GUIDANCE, 84 Fed. Reg. 50 (Jan. 7, 2019) (the “2019 Revised Guidance”). That guidance revised the USPTO's examination procedure with respect to the first step of the Mayo/Alice framework by (1) “[p]roviding groupings of subject matter that [are] considered an abstract idea”; and (2) clarifying that a claim is not “directed to” a judicial exception if the judicial exception is integrated into a practical application of that exception. Id. at 50. 1
The first step, as set forth in the 2019 Revised Guidance (i.e., Step 2A), is, thus, a two-prong test. In Step 2A, Prong One, we look to whether the claim recites a judicial exception, e.g., one of the following three groupings of abstract ideas: (1) mathematical concepts; (2) certain methods of organizing human activity, e.g., fundamental economic principles or practices, commercial or legal interactions; and (3) mental processes. See 2019 Revised Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. at 54; MPEP §§ 2106.04(II)(A)(l), 2106.04(a). If so, we next determine, in Step 2A, Prong Two, whether the claim as a whole integrates the recited judicial exception into a practical application of that exception, i.e., whether the additional elements recited in the claim beyond the judicial exception, apply, rely on, or use the judicial exception in a manner that imposes a meaningful limit on the judicial exception, such that the claim is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the judicial exception. See 2019 Revised Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. at 54-55; MPEP §§ 2106.04(II)(A)(2), 2106.04(d). Only if the claim (1) recites a judicial exception and (2) does not integrate that exception into a practical application do we conclude that the claim is “directed to” the judicial exception, e.g., an abstract idea. See 2019 Revised Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. at 54-55; MPEP § 2106.04(II)(A)(2).
If the claim is determined to be directed to a judicial exception under Step 2A, we next evaluate the additional elements, individually and in combination, in Step 2B, to determine whether they provide an inventive concept, i.e., whether the additional elements or combination of elements amounts to significantly more than the judicial exception itself; only then, is the claim patent eligible. See 2019 Revised Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. at 56; MPEP § 2106.05.
Step One of the Mayo/Alice Framework (2019 Revised Guidance, Step 2A)
2019 Revised Guidance, Step 2A, Prong 1
The abstract idea to which claims 1, 6-7 are directed to is mental process such as concepts performed in the human mind (including an observation, evaluation, judgement, opinion). In particular, the claims recite the following abstract concepts:
(a) “obtaining attack information related to an attack against the monitored object,” (i.e., abstract idea of collecting data/information as found abstract by the Courts in Internet Patents, Content Extraction, Digitech, CyberSource, Electric Power Group, Classen, FairWarning)
(b) “determining, based on the attack information, priorities of a plurality of detection rules used for determining whether an anomaly has occurred in the monitored object when the monitored object is attacked, and” (i.e., abstract idea of mental process of analyzing data as found abstract by the Courts in TLI Comms, Digitech, SmartGene, Bancorp Servs, Electric Power Group, Classen, FariWarning, Cybersource)
(c) “storing the priorities in association with the plurality of detection rules, wherein the priorities indicate at least one of (i) an order in which the plurality of detection rules are used or (ii) whether to use the plurality of detection rules when determining whether an anomaly has occurred in the monitored object” (i.e., abstract idea of mental process of categorizing/classifying data as found abstract by the Courts in Electric Power Group, Classen, FariWarning, TLI Comms),
The Supreme Court and Federal Circuit have identified abstract ideas in patent claims by making comparisons to concepts found in past decisions to be judicial exceptions to eligibility. The 2019 IEG summarizes concepts the courts have considered to be abstract ideas by associating eligibility decisions with judicial descriptors (e.g., “an idea of itself,” “certain methods of organizing human activities”, “mathematical relationships and formulas”) based on common characteristics. These associations define the judicial descriptors in a manner that stays within the confines of the judicial precedent, with the understanding that these associations are not mutually exclusive, i.e., some concepts may be associated with more than one judicial descriptor.
The abstract functions of the claims in the case are claim(s) is/are directed to system and method of data processing for categorizing using rules (i.e., abstract idea mental process of observation, evaluation, judgement, opinion) as defined by the claimed steps above.
The present claims, as a whole, and individual limitations, are reciting abstract concept of data collection to categorize the data using rules. As such the claims are analogous to FairWarning, 839 F.3d at 1093-94 (concluding claims directed to "collecting and analyzing information to detect misuse and notifying a user when misuse is detected" to be mental processes within the abstract-idea category); Electric Power Group; and TLI Comms. Note that merely using well-known and commonly used data processing algorithm to categorize the data does not convert a known abstract idea (i.e., data categorization) into an eligible subject matter. See, Bancorp Servs., L.L. C. v. Sun Life Assur. Co. of Canada (U.S.), 687 F.3d 1266, 1277-78 (Fed. Cir. 2012). Looking at the steps of the claims, for each of the claims, data is simply being collected, analyzed, and categorized which was ruled abstract in:
a. Collecting and comparing known information (Classen);
b. Comparing information regarding a sample or test subject to a control or target data (Ambry/Myriad CAFC);
c. Collecting and analyzing information to detect misuse and notifying a user when misuse is detected (FairWarning);
d. Data recognition and storage (Content Extraction);
e. Obtaining and comparing intangible data (Cybersource);
f. Collecting information, analyzing it, and displaying certain results of the collection and analysis (Electric Power Group);
g. Organizing and manipulating information through mathematical correlations (Digitech);
h. Virus Screening (Int. Ventures v. Symantec ‘610 patent);
i. A mathematical formula for calculating parameters indicating an abnormal condition (Grams);
j. Collecting, selecting, categorizing, analysis, and display results of the analysis (Electric Power Group);
Furthermore, the invention is nothing more than data collecting, categorizing, organizing as described in the claims that can be performed mentally (or with a pen and piece of paper). The steps are similar to concepts and ideas that have been identified as abstract by the courts. For example, collecting information, analyzing it, and displaying certain results of the collection and analysis (Electric Power Group); a mathematical formula for calculating parameters indicating an abnormal condition (Grams); collecting and analyzing information to detect misuse and notifying a user when misuse is detected (FairWarning); and obtaining and comparing intangible data (Cybersource). While the specific facts of the case differ from these cases, the claims are still directed to collecting and categorizing data. Further, each and every step can be performed mentally and with pen and paper. A computer is not necessary to generate, receive and correlate/categorize/organize data. Even further still, any steps that deal with receiving, analyzing are insignificant, extra solution activity because receiving, analyzing and transmitting data, analyzing and processing collected data are all well-known in the computer network security arts.
2019 Revised Guidance, Step 2A, Prong 2
The 2019 Revised Guidance sets forth a non-exhaustive listing of considerations indicative that an additional element or combination of elements may have integrated a recited judicial exception into a practical application. See 2019 Revised Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. at 55; MPEP § 2106.04(d). In particular, the Guidance describes that an additional element may have integrated the judicial exception into a practical application if, inter alia, the additional element reflects an improvement in the functioning of a computer or an improvement to other technology or a technical field. Id. At the same time, the Guidance makes clear that merely including instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, or merely using a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea; adding insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception; or only generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field are not sufficient to integrate the judicial exception into a practical application. Id.
The abstract functions of the claims in the case are claim(s) is/are directed to system and method of data processing for categorizing using rules (i.e., abstract idea mental process of observation, evaluation, judgement, opinion) as defined by the claimed steps. The claims do not require an arguably inventive set of components, methods, or algorithms. The abstract idea is implemented using generic computing elements (“processing device, circuit, storage device”) that do not integrate a practical application of the abstract idea in the claims (step 2A, prong 2). Accordingly, even in combination, these additional generic computing elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claims recite a mental process, i.e., an abstract idea, and that the additional elements recited in the claim beyond the abstract idea are no more than generic computer components used as tools to perform the recited abstract idea and insignificant extra-solution activity. As such, they do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. See Alice Corp., 573 U.S. at 223-24 ("[W]holly generic computer implementation is not generally the sort of ‘additional featur[ e]’ that provides any ‘practical assurance that the process is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the [abstract idea] itself.’” (quoting Mayo, 566 U.S. at 77)); 2019 Revised Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. at 55 (identifying “an additional element adds insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception” and “an additional element does no more than generally link the use of a judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use” as examples in which a judicial exception has not been integrated into a practical application).
Step Two of the Mayo/Alice Framework (2019 Revised Guidance, Step 2B)
The relevant question under Step 2B is whether claim includes an additional element or combination of elements adds specific limitations beyond the judicial exception that are not “well-understood, routine, conventional activity” in the field or simply appends well-understood, routine, conventional activities previously known to the industry to the judicial exception. Here, the additional elements of claim beyond the abstract idea, namely, a “processing device”, “circuit”, “storage device” is a conventional computing equipment used in a well-understood, routine, and conventional manner. These additional elements do not provide an inventive concept; rather, they simply append well-understood, routine, conventional activities previously known to the industry to the judicial exception.
Applying the test to the claims in the application, the structural elements of the claims, which include a processing device when taken in combination with the functional elements claim(s) is/are directed to system and method to collect and categorize data, together do not offer “significantly more” than the abstract idea itself because the claims do not recite an improvement to another technology or technical field, an improvement to the functioning of any computer itself, or provide meaningful limitations beyond generally linking an abstract idea (collecting data) to a particular technological environment (a general purpose computer and/or environment of the user). When considered as an ordered combination, the Examiner does not find any combination of the additional elements that amounts to more than the sum of the parts. The Examiner finds that the individual elements of the claims are performing their intended roles and functions. In most cases, the additional elements are applied merely to carry out data processing, as discussed above, fall under well-understood, routine, and conventional functions of generic computers – in our common day-to-day interactions. Note: Applicant’s disclosure states a generic hardware and/or software is used to execute the algorithms (¶9). Therefore, the claimed interactions of the various generically recited methods / devices lacks an unconventional step that confines the claim to a particular useful application in the sense that the result is equivalent to purely mental activity, e.g., data categorization.
Dependent claims 2-5 do not add an inventive step to the abstract idea of the independent claims and are therefore rejected based on the aforementioned rationale discussed in the rejection.
Dependent claims 2-5, pertain to determining an anomaly has occurred (i.e., abstract idea of mental observation); storing the rules; analyzing information; storing the proof sentences separately for each feature information; without adding any inventive concept or using an unconventional computing element or improving the underlying computer technology.
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.
Claim(s) 1-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 20190371085 A1 (hereinafter ‘Kis’).
As regards claim 1, Kis (US 20190371085 A1) discloses: An information processing method that is executed by an information processing device that detects an attack against a monitored object by communicating with the monitored object, the information processing method comprising: (Kis: ¶8-¶9, ¶41, i.e., a vehicle anomaly detection and monitoring method and system)
obtaining attack information related to an attack against the monitored object; and (Kis: ¶93-¶100, i.e., collecting data associated with attacks)
determining, based on the attack information, priorities of a plurality of detection rules used for determining whether an anomaly has occurred in the monitored object when the monitored object is attacked, and (Kis: Figs. 4-6, 15, 17, ¶41-¶44, ¶183, ¶240, i.e., determining attack information based on priority of rules)
storing the priorities in association with the plurality of detection rules, (Kis: Figs. 3-6, 14-15, 17, ¶41-¶44, ¶87-¶89, ¶115-¶121, ¶139, ¶176-¶183, ¶232, ¶240, i.e., i.e., stored priority rules in ranking for detecting anomaly) wherein the priorities indicate at least one of (i) an order in which the plurality of detection rules are used or (ii) whether to use the plurality of detection rules when determining whether an anomaly has occurred in the monitored object. (Kis: Figs. 3-6, 14-15, 17, ¶41-¶44, ¶87-¶89, ¶115-¶121, ¶139, ¶176-¶183, ¶232, ¶240, i.e., i.e., stored priority rules in ranking for detecting anomaly)
Claim 7 recites substantially the same features recited in claim 1 above and is rejected based on the aforementioned rationale in the rejection.
As regards claim 2, Kis discloses the information processing method according to claim 1, further comprising: determining whether an anomaly has occurred in the monitored object by using the plurality of detection rules in a descending order of the priorities determined, when the monitored object is attacked. (Kis: Figs. 3-6, 14-15, 17, ¶41-¶44, ¶87-¶89, ¶115-¶121, ¶139, ¶176-¶183, ¶232, ¶240, i.e., i.e., priority rules in ranking for detecting anomaly)
As regards claim 3, Kis discloses the information processing method according to claim 1, further comprising: storing one or more detection rules of the plurality of detection rules in a second storage device that is different from a first storage device that stores the plurality of detection rules, the one or more detection rules each having a priority determined to be at least a predetermined value, wherein, when determining whether an anomaly has occurred, the one or more detection rules are used by referring to the second storage device. (Kis: Figs. 3-6, 14-15, 17, ¶41-¶44, ¶87-¶89, ¶115-¶121, ¶139, ¶176-¶183, ¶232, ¶240, ¶261, i.e., i.e., priority rules in ranking for detecting anomaly determined from different sources)
As regards claim 4, Kis discloses the information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the attack information includes at least one of (i) sign information that indicates a sign of an attack against the monitored object or (ii) detection information that indicates a result of detection of the attack that has been made against the monitored object. (Kis: Figs. 3-6, 14-15, 17, ¶41-¶44, ¶87-¶89, ¶115-¶121, ¶139, ¶176-¶183, ¶232, ¶240, ¶261)
As regards claim 5, Kis discloses the information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the attack information includes information related to a plurality of types of attacks, and the information processing method comprises: when the attack information obtained does not include information related to a predetermined type of attack among the plurality of types of attacks for a predetermined period of time, initializing the priorities determined according to the information related to the predetermined type of attack. (Kis: Figs. 3-6, 14-15, 17, ¶41-¶44, ¶87-¶89, ¶99-¶100, ¶115-¶121, ¶139, ¶176-¶183, ¶232, ¶240, ¶261)
As regards claim 6, Kis discloses: An anomaly determination method that is executed by a vehicle that determines an anomaly upon receiving a detection rule for an attack against the vehicle from an information processing device that manages the detection rule, the anomaly determination method comprising: (Kis: ¶8-¶9, ¶41, i.e., a vehicle anomaly detection and monitoring method and system)
receiving a plurality of detection rules from the information processing device based on attack information related to an attack detected in the vehicle, the plurality of detection rules each being the detection rule; (Kis: ¶128, ¶138-¶140, i.e., received/uploaded rules in the storage)
determining, based on priorities, whether an anomaly has occurred in the vehicle due to the attack against the vehicle that has been detected, by using one or more detection rules of the plurality of detection rules, the priorities being determined for the plurality of detection rules; and (Kis: Figs. 4-6, 15, 17, ¶41-¶44, ¶183, ¶240, i.e., determining attack information based on priority of rules)
notifying a result of the determining when the anomaly is determined to have occurred in the vehicle, wherein the priorities indicate at least one of (i) an order in which the plurality of detection rules are used, or (ii) whether to use the plurality of detection rules when determining whether an anomaly has occurred in the monitored object. (Kis: Figs. 3-6, 14-15, 17, ¶41-¶44, ¶87-¶89, ¶99-¶100, ¶115-¶121, ¶139, ¶176-¶183, ¶232, ¶240, ¶261, i.e., the notification of the detected anomaly in association with the priority)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SYED A ZAIDI whose telephone number is (571)270-5995. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday: 5:30AM-5:30PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeffrey Nickerson can be reached at (469) 295-9235. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SYED A ZAIDI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2432
1 The MANUAL OF PATENT EXAMINING PROCEDURE (“MPEP”) incorporates the revised guidance and subsequent updates at § 2106 (9th ed. Rev. 10.2019, rev. June 2020).
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