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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. JP2024-048876, filed on 03/26/2024.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: The acronym VCL (see at least Paragraphs 0014-0018) has not been defined.
Appropriate correction is required.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/19/2024 has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Makke et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2023/0177202 A1) hereinafter Makke.
Regarding claim 1, Makke discloses a vehicle [see Paragraph 0016 – discusses a vehicle 102] comprising an information processing device that stores vehicle information including vehicle identification information [see Paragraph 0042 – discusses tagged vehicle data that includes access ID of the vehicle, see Paragraph 0031 – discusses that the access ID includes the VIN, see Paragraph 0016 – discusses that the vehicle data is stored in a storage device], wherein the information processing device is configured to:
before a stage of providing the vehicle information to a management device [see Paragraphs 0031 and 0042 – discusses that the tagged vehicle data is sent to server after a consent determination], acquire user intention information showing whether agreement of a vehicle user to disclosure of the vehicle identification information is present or absent [see Paragraph 0031 - discusses determining whether there is consent for sharing identifiable information of a user (VIN), the vehicle data includes the access ID (VIN)];
when the agreement of the vehicle user is present, provide the vehicle information including the vehicle identification information to the management device [see Paragraph 0042 - discusses that when there is consent, a consented data server receives tagged vehicle data and an access ID (VIN), see Paragraph 0043 - discusses that the tagged vehicle data and access ID are sent through a consented channel to a consented data server]; and
when the agreement of the vehicle user is absent, acquire first identification information that is separate from the vehicle identification information, and provide first corrected vehicle information including the first identification information instead of the vehicle identification information to the management device [see Paragraph 0042 - discusses that when consent is not given, the tagged vehicle data is tagged with a hash of R signifying lack of consent (first identification information) and no access ID (no VIN) (the value is therefore zero and does not include the access ID of the vehicle, so the first identification information is separate from the VIN), an anonymous data server receives first corrected vehicle information (tagged vehicle data with a hash of R without the access ID) through an anonymous channel to an anonymous server (see Paragraph 0023 - discusses that the anonymous server maintains a data pool of vehicle data regardless of consent)].
Regarding claim 2, Makke discloses the invention with respect to claim 1. Makke further discloses wherein the information processing device is configured to, when the agreement of the vehicle user is absent, convert the vehicle identification information into the first identification information by a specific conversion algorithm [see Paragraph 0031 - discusses that R is generated using an algorithm that includes MD5, SHA-1, SHA-2, NTLM, or LANMAN].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Makke in view of in view of Tinsley et al. (U.S. Publication No. US 2022/0109947 A1 A1) hereinafter Tinsley.
Regarding claim 4, Makke discloses the invention with respect to claim 1.
However, Makke fails to disclose wherein: the vehicle information further includes position history information on the vehicle; and the first corrected vehicle information includes not the position history information itself but abstract position history information obtained by abstracting the position history information.
Tinsley discloses wherein: the vehicle information further includes position history information on the vehicle [see Paragraphs 0020 0024 – discusses determining historical locations of a vehicle, for example on Tuesdays the vehicle stops at a coffee shop].
Tinsley suggests using vehicle location information to target advertisements to a user [see Paragraph 0020].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, with a reasonable expectation of success, to modify the vehicle information as taught by Makke to include determining position history information of a vehicle as taught by Tinsley in order to target advertisements to a user [Tinsley, see Paragraph 0020]
Tinsley further discloses the first corrected vehicle information includes not the position history information itself but abstract position history information obtained by abstracting the position history information [see Paragraph 0024 – discusses generating an anonymized location of a vehicle by aggregating locations of other public entities to determine a centralized location (anonymized location), and see Paragraph 0027 – discusses that a server receives the anonymized location].
Tinsley suggests that providing vehicle location information violates privacy laws [see Paragraph 0020].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, with a reasonable expectation of success, to modify the information processing device as taught by Makke to abstract position history information as taught by Tinsley in order to not violate privacy laws [Tinsley, see Paragraph 0020]
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Makke in view of Park et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2023/0098006 A1) hereinafter Park.
Regarding claim 5, Makke discloses a vehicle information management system comprising:
a vehicle that stores vehicle information including vehicle identification information [see Paragraph 0042 – discusses tagged vehicle data that includes access ID of the vehicle, see Paragraph 0031 – discusses that the access ID includes the VIN, see Paragraph 0016 – discusses that the vehicle data is stored in a storage device];
a first device that acquires the vehicle information [see Paragraph 0031 – discusses a VIN]; and
a management device [see Paragraph 0016 – discusses a single server], wherein:
the first device is configured to:
before a stage of providing the vehicle information to the management device [see Paragraphs 0031 and 0042 – discusses that the tagged vehicle data is sent to server after a consent determination],
acquire user intention information showing whether agreement of a vehicle user to disclosure of the vehicle identification information is present or absent [see Paragraph 0031 - discusses determining whether there is consent for sharing identifiable information of a user (VIN), the vehicle data includes the access ID (VIN)];
when the agreement of the vehicle user is present, provide the vehicle information including the vehicle identification information to the management device [see Paragraph 0042 - discusses that when there is consent, a consented data server receives tagged vehicle data and an access ID (VIN), see Paragraph 0043 - discusses that the tagged vehicle data and access ID are sent through a consented channel to a consented data server]; and
when the agreement of the vehicle user is absent, acquire first identification information that is separate from the vehicle identification information, and provide first corrected vehicle information including the first identification information instead of the vehicle identification information to the management device [see Paragraph 0042 - discusses that when consent is not given, the tagged vehicle data is tagged with a hash of R signifying lack of consent (first identification information) and no access ID (no VIN) (the value is therefore zero and does not include the access ID of the vehicle, so the first identification information is separate from the VIN), an anonymous data server receives first corrected vehicle information (tagged vehicle data with a hash of R without the access ID) through an anonymous channel to an anonymous server (see Paragraph 0023 - discusses that the anonymous server maintains a data pool of vehicle data regardless of consent)]
Park discloses a management device that is configured to:
convert the vehicle identification information included in the vehicle information into second identification information [see Paragraph 0055 – discusses that a cloud receives EDR data and VII, see Paragraph 0056 – discusses that link data is generated for maintaining association between the EDR data and VII, see Paragraph 0059 – discusses that the link data is produced using a hash function to create pseudonym identifiers]; and
even when the agreement of the vehicle user is present [see Paragraph 0049 – discuses determining a user request], provide second corrected vehicle information including the second identification information instead of the vehicle identification information to another system [see Paragraphs 0058 and 0010 - discusses storing the link data in a database].
Park suggests protecting personal privacy [see Paragraph 0009].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, with a reasonable expectation of success, to modify the management system as taught by Makke to convert the vehicle identification information included in the vehicle information into second identification information even when the agreement of the vehicle user is present, to provide second corrected vehicle information including the second identification information instead of the vehicle identification information to another system as taught by Park in order to protect personal privacy [Park, see Paragraph 0009]
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 is 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The following reference has been identified as the most relevant prior art to the claimed invention:
Park discloses the vehicle information further includes a total travel distance of the vehicle [see Paragraph 0036 - discusses that vehicle data (EDR) is a travel distance, and see Paragraph 0053 - discusses that the vehicle data (EDR) is provided to a cloud storage system in the server].
However, Park fails to disclose, or make obvious, these features of:
“the first corrected vehicle information includes not the total travel distance itself but a value obtained by rounding the total travel distance.”
The Examiner further emphasizes the claims as a whole and hereby asserts that the totality of the evidence fails to set forth, either explicitly or implicitly, an appropriate rationale for further modification of the evidence at hand to arrive at the claimed invention. The combination of features as claimed would not have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art as combining various references from the totality of the evidence to reach the combination of features as claimed would require a substantial reconstruction of Applicant’s claimed invention relying on improper hindsight bias. It is thereby asserted by the Examiner that, in light of the above and in further deliberation over all of the evidence at hand, that the claims are allowable as the evidence at hand does not anticipate the claims and does not render obvious any further modification of the references to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Shayne M Gilbertson whose telephone number is (571)272-4862. The examiner can normally be reached Tuesday - Friday: 10:30 AM - 9:30 PM EST.
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/SHAYNE M. GILBERTSON/Examiner, Art Unit 3665