Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/968,454

SECURE AUTHENTICATION AND TRANSACTION SYSTEM AND METHOD

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Dec 04, 2024
Examiner
LEE, CLAY C
Art Unit
3699
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Multiple Shift Key Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
54%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
4y 1m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 54% of resolved cases
54%
Career Allow Rate
117 granted / 216 resolved
+2.2% vs TC avg
Strong +57% interview lift
Without
With
+57.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
4y 1m
Avg Prosecution
60 currently pending
Career history
276
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
32.7%
-7.3% vs TC avg
§103
45.9%
+5.9% vs TC avg
§102
8.2%
-31.8% vs TC avg
§112
10.5%
-29.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 216 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION Claim Status This is first office action on the merits in response to the application filed on 12/4/2024. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claim 1 is currently pending and have been examined. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 12/4/2024 is(are) in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Claim Objections Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 1, lines 15-16, “the user authentication-enabling data” should read --user authentication-enabling data--. Claim 1, lines 18-19, “the client authentication-enabling data” should read --the user authentication-enabling data--. 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) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Labrou (US 20050027543 A1). Regarding Claim 1, Labrou teaches A secure user authentication system, operable over a client-server communications network to authenticate a system user, comprising (Labrou: Abstract; Paragraph(s) 0158 teach(es) the device such as a mobile phone requests user authentication, either by the user entering a PIN and/or through a biometric method (i.e., authentication-enabling data); another authentication should be requested before authorizing any transaction): an application server, in the client-server communications network, which includes a site, wherein the site is able to be enabled to comprise an enabled application server site (Labrou: Paragraph(s) 0198, 0200, 0494 teach(es) the actions of each of the Consumer (using UPTD), Merchant (using the Merchant Transaction Server) (i.e., application server) and Secure Transaction Server (STS) (i.e., authentication server), and their respective communication (messages and other information exchanged between the involved parties) (i.e., secure communication) during the performance of the described workflow; “Merchant” stands for either the merchant's device (merchant UPTF device, or MTS), or the combination of the MTS and its registered (i.e., registering) owner's (merchant, the person, or its representatives) interaction with it; The agreement data sent between the agreement parties and the verification party is protected through the use of an encryption signature (i.e., using a signature) so that no party can alter the data sent by other parties without a high degree of detection); an authentication server, in the client-server communications network, which is able to enable the application server site to comprise the enabled application server site, which authentication server includes a core database, and which receives and stores user authentication enabling data in the core database (Labrou: Paragraph(s) 0161-0162, 0231-0235, 0494 teach(es) the device optionally presents to the user only “authenticated” services, that is services offered by an approved and authorized merchant that have been themselves been approved and authenticated; The security framework executes the following functions: Authenticates user identity, merchant identity (i.e., merchant information) and transaction identity; The agreement data sent between the agreement parties and the verification party is protected through the use of an encryption signature (i.e., based on the signature) so that no party can alter the data sent by other parties without a high degree of detection); a client, in the client-server communications network (Labrou: Paragraph(s) 0044 teach(es) The WIM module (with the inserted WIM chip) of mobile phones is essentially a wallet embedded on the client device (the mobile phone) and provides a single banking account (i.e., client account number) associated with the mobile phone); and a client program, which is able to be actuated in the client, which includes the user authentication-enabling data, and which, upon actuation thereof, automatically directly connects to the authentication server and sends the client authentication-enabling data to the authentication server for secure user authentication by the authentication server, and which does not send the user authentication-enabling data to the enabled application server site (Labrou: Paragraph(s) 0050 teach(es) the mobile phone's owner will receive a transaction (sometimes sent as a SMS) for a physical POS transaction initiated by the merchant, which the consumer will have to authorize by entering a PIN (i.e., authentication-enabling data) that authorizes processing of the payment at a server-side wallet account; it requires the physical exchange of some account identification (e.g., phone number or some other unique ID) (i.e., client account number) between merchant and consumer and keying this ID into the POS or mobile phone, along with other transaction-related information). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Kramer (US 20030140007 A1) teaches Third Party Value Acquisition For Electronic Transaction Settlement Over A Network, including VPN, IP, token, authenticating, merchant ID, payment, transaction, and encryption key. Sarcanin (US 20050246292 A1) teaches Method and system for a virtual safe, including authentication, web page, IP address, VPN, payment, transaction, encrypt, and secure connection with the merchant server. Engberg (WO 2001090968 A1) teaches A System And Method For Establishing A Privacy Communication Path, including VPN, IP address, authentication, website, and comparing. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CLAY LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-3309. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8-5pm EST. 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, Neha Patel can be reached at (571)270-1492. 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. /CLAY C LEE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3699
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 04, 2024
Application Filed
Oct 29, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12597019
Post-Provisioning Authentication Protocols
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12591639
RESOURCE BASED LICENSING
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12572907
UNIVERSAL PAYMENT CHANNEL
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 10, 2026
Patent 12561654
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR EXECUTING REAL-TIME ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS USING A ROUTING DECISION MODEL
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 24, 2026
Patent 12561712
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2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 24, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
54%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+57.1%)
4y 1m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 216 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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