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 .
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.
This action is in response to the correspondence filed 12/20/2024.
Claims 1-20 are presented 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 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,388,666. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because each of the limitations of claims 1, 10 and 19 of the present application are anticipated by each of the claim limitations of claims 1, 14 and 18 of U.S. Patent No. 12,388,666.
Relevant Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 20210374731 A1 to Kim teaches access control for execution of smart contract functions (methods) through consensus mechanisms are disclosed. A first smart contract is stored on a blockchain network. During execution, the first smart contract performs operations that include: aggregating a threshold number of signed blockchain transactions from authorized blockchain addresses, receiving a set of signed blockchain transactions calling a function of a target smart contract from a set of blockchain addresses, verifying that each blockchain address of the set of authorized blockchain addresses is authorized to make the call, and calling the function of the target smart contract when a number of signed blockchain transactions calling the function exceeds a threshold number.
US 20220012358 A1 to Gaddam et al. teaches a system and techniques for enabling user control over usage of their information by data consumers, even when untrusted parties are involved, while also preventing collusion between the untrusted party and a data consumer. A user's information may be collected by a client device and provided to a host server. An encrypted version of the user' information may be stored at the host server so that it is processed on a private enclave of the host server. When the data is to be provided to multiple data consumers, the data may be encrypted for each of the data consumers and may be released to each of those data consumers simultaneously once confirmation has been received that the data has been made available to each of the data consumers.
US 20210081557 A1 to Thomson-Wood et al. teaches a method of managing access in a collaborative data sharing platform, the platform comprising blockchain nodes. The method comprises receiving a read transaction request and processing the transaction request with a consensus algorithm. The transaction is then recorded onto the blockchain.
US 9087189 B1 to Koeten et al. teaches a method of a cloud service access and information gateway receives, from a user device, a request to access a cloud service. The cloud service access and information gateway compares a security status of the user device to a network access control policy for the cloud service. If the security status satisfies a condition of the network access control policy, the cloud service access and information gateway grants the user device access to the cloud service. If the security status does not satisfy the condition of the network access control policy, the cloud service access and information gateway requests an update to the security status of the user device to satisfy the condition.
US 20080126801 A1 to Lee et al. teaches a method and apparatus for generating a proxy signature on a right object, and a method and apparatus for issuing a proxy signature certificate. The right object proxy signature method includes receiving a proxy signature certificate in which authority for right object conversion is specified, from a right issuer; receiving a right object from a first apparatus; signing the right object; and transmitting the signed right object and the proxy signature certificate to a second apparatus. Accordingly, by allowing a right object to be signed by a third right object proxy signature apparatus, not by a right issuer, users can freely share their own content between a variety of apparatuses, and the right issuer can reduce the load associated with the conversion and signature of right objects.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 10 and 19 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the nonstatutory double patenting rejections set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Independent claims 1, 10 and 19, and their respective dependent claims, are allowable over the prior art of record, including Kim, Gaddam, Thomson-Wood and the remaining references cited by the Examiner and the Applicant’s IDS, since the prior art, taken individually or in combination, fails to particularly disclose, fairly suggest or render obvious the combination of the second autonomous program protocol associated with a ledger that includes records of approved transactions that can be conducted at the first autonomous program protocol and causing the cryptographic signature to be broadcasted to the blockchain to store the cryptographic signature or the hash of the version of the target transaction in the ledger of the second autonomous program protocol as an approval of the target transaction, wherein the approval is retrievable by the first autonomous program protocol before the target transaction is conducted and wherein the first autonomous program protocol verifies whether an upcoming transaction matches detail in the version of the target transaction in the approval stored in the ledger of the second autonomous program protocol, in view of the other limitations of the claim, as specified in the independent claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MALCOLM CRIBBS whose telephone number is (571)270-1566. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 930a-330p; 430p-630p.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Eleni Shiferaw can be reached at (571)272-3867. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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MALCOLM . CRIBBS
Examiner
Art Unit 2497
/MALCOLM CRIBBS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2497
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