DETAILED ACTION
In response to the communication filed on 12/30/2024 and 07/21/2026, responded in following.
On this Office Action, claims 1-8 and 21-32, consisting of independent claims 1, 21, and 29.
Claims 1-8 and 21-32 are pending.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under the 35 USC § 103.
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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse in the reply filed on 07/21/2026 is acknowledged.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 12/30/2024. These drawings are accepted.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 3, 8, 21, 23, 28, 29 and 31 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 1, 3, 8, 21, 23, 28, 29 and 31 respectively recite “NFC.” The abbreviation needs to be spelled out.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-2,6-8,21-22 and 26-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Van Wiemeersch et al. (US 20190034915 A1, hereinafter “VW”) in view of Bernsen (US 20150271667 A1).
Regarding claim 1, (Original) VW discloses a system, comprising (VW: Fig.4, wireless communication system 400 includes multiple wireless interfaces and transceivers such as NFC):
a first client device comprising a processor and a memory (VW: Fig.4 a bank ATM 402);
a first NFC device in data communication with the processor of the first client device (VW: Fig.4, a smart watch 404); and
machine-readable instructions stored in the memory that, when executed by the processor, cause the first client device to at least (VW:Fig.4 a bank ATM 402; [0013] it is recognized that any circuit or other electrical device disclosed herein may include any number of microprocessors, integrated circuits, memory devices (e.g., FLASH, random access memory (RAM)):
initiate an interactive session with a session service (VW: [0035] In step 412, a nomadic device such as the smart watch 404 (“first client device including first NFC device”) is placed in close proximity to the ATM 402. The close proximity is a close range such as 10 cm or some length less than 20 cm, in some embodiments, the close range may be 5 cm or less. When the smart watch 404 is placed within this close range, an NFC based communication session may be initiated (“initiate an interactive session”));
determine that the interactive session with the session service is to be transferred to a second client device (VW: [0036] In step 414, the ATM 402 sends a long range session ID to the smart watch 404 over the close range communication protocol. … In step 416A, the long range session ID is sent by the smart watch 404 directly to the in-vehicle infotainment system 406. In step 416B and 416C, the long range session ID is sent by the smart watch 404 to an intermediary device (mobile phone 408 (“second client device”)) and then the intermediary device (mobile phone 408 (“second client device”)) sends the long range session ID to the in-vehicle infotainment system 406);
VW discloses that “the smart watch 404 may be paired with the mobile phone 408 such that communication 410B occurs” however, VW does not disclose, Bernsen, in a same field of endeavor, teaches the first client device, wherein generate a session tag with session data associated with the interactive session (Bernsen: [0030] Devices equipped with an NFC writer can write such NFC tags (“session tag”) wirelessly using NFC or through wired connections; [0031] The WSC specification allows for NFC Peer mode to also be used for the transfer of the device PIN, device Password and network Credentials (“session data associated with the interactive session”), using the same formatting of the messages as used in an NFC tag (“session tag”); [0216] the NFC tag may comprise the public key of e.g. the first communication unit 101 stored in a permanent form such that the data cannot be changed).
transfer the session tag with the session data to the second client device via a NFC peer-to-peer communication between the first NFC device and a second NFC device associated with the second client device (Bernsen: [0031] The WSC specification allows for NFC Peer mode (“NFC peer-to-peer communication”) to also be used for the transfer of the device PIN, device Password and network Credentials, using the same formatting of the messages as used in an NFC tag (“session tag”), which means that the device PIN, device Password and network Credentials are not encrypted during these transfers; [0215] two NFC tags may e.g. be used, or a tag may be used in one direction with direct peer-to-peer communication being used in the other direction).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the system providing telematics services disclosed by VW with the teachings of Bernsen to generate a session tag with session data associated with the interactive session; and transfer the session tag with the session data to the second client device via a NFC peer-to-peer communication between the first NFC device and a second NFC device associated with the second client device. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because this allows for NFC Peer mode to be used for the transfer of the device PIN, device Password and network Credentials, using the same formatting of the messages as used in an NFC tag. Using NFC is very easy for the user (para. [0031]-[0032]). Therefore, this eliminates remote eavesdropping, stops keylogging or shoulder surfing, and prevents human memory or typing errors during initial device pairing.
Regarding claim 2, (Original) the combination of VW and Bernsen discloses all elements of the current invention as stated above. Bernsen discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the session data comprises one or more session keys, a session identifier, a session state, or session context data (Bernsen: [0031] The WSC specification allows for NFC Peer mode to also be used for the transfer of the device PIN, device Password and network Credentials (“session data associated with the interactive session”), using the same formatting of the messages as used in an NFC tag (“session tag”); [0216] the NFC tag may comprise the public key of e.g. the first communication unit 101 stored in a permanent form such that the data cannot be changed).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the system providing telematics services disclosed by VW with the teachings of Bernsen to include session data comprising one or more session keys, a session identifier, a session state, or session context data. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because this allows for NFC Peer mode to be used for the transfer of the device PIN, device Password and network Credentials, using the same formatting of the messages as used in an NFC tag. Using NFC is very easy for the user (para. [0031]-[0032]). Therefore, this eliminates remote eavesdropping, stops keylogging or shoulder surfing, and prevents human memory or typing errors during initial device pairing.
Regarding claim 6, (Original) the combination of VW and Bernsen discloses all elements of the current invention as stated above. VW discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the interactive session comprises one or more user interactions of a user interacting with a user interface associated with the session service (VW: [0035] a nomadic device such as the smart watch 404 is placed in close proximity to the ATM 402. The close proximity is a close range such as 10 cm or some length less than 20 cm, in some embodiments, the close range may be 5 cm or less. When the smart watch 404 is placed within this close range, an NFC based communication session may be initiate (See “a secure connection may from the ATM 304 to a specific vehicle 306C” in para.[0033] and “user interaction after the session is succeed” in para.[0038-40])).
Regarding claim 7, (Original) the combination of VW and Bernsen discloses all elements of the current invention as stated above. VW discloses the system of claim 6, wherein, when executed, the machine-readable instructions further cause the first client device to
detect a selection of a transfer component via a user interaction with the user interface, the interactive session with the session service being determined to be transferred to the second client device based at least in part on the selection (VW: [0035] a nomadic device such as the smart watch 404 is placed in close proximity to the ATM 402. The close proximity is a close range such as 10 cm or some length less than 20 cm, in some embodiments, the close range may be 5 cm or less. When the smart watch 404 is placed within this close range, an NFC based communication session may be initiate (See “a secure connection may from the ATM 304 to a specific vehicle 306C” in para.[0033] and “user interaction after the session is succeed” in para.[0038-40])).
Regarding claim 8, (Original) the combination of VW and Bernsen discloses all elements of the current invention as stated above. Bernsen discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the session data is generated as an NFC tag for transfer via the NFC peer-to-peer communication (Bernsen: [0031] The WSC specification allows for NFC Peer mode (“NFC peer-to-peer communication”) to also be used for the transfer of the device PIN, device Password and network Credentials, using the same formatting of the messages as used in an NFC tag (“session tag”), which means that the device PIN, device Password and network Credentials are not encrypted during these transfers; [0215] two NFC tags may e.g. be used, or a tag may be used in one direction with direct peer-to-peer communication being used in the other direction).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the system providing telematics services disclosed by VW with the teachings of Bernsen to include the session data that is generated as an NFC tag for transfer via the NFC peer-to-peer communication. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because this allows for NFC Peer mode to be used for the transfer of the device PIN, device Password and network Credentials, using the same formatting of the messages as used in an NFC tag. Using NFC is very easy for the user (para. [0031]-[0032]). Therefore, this eliminates remote eavesdropping, stops keylogging or shoulder surfing, and prevents human memory or typing errors during initial device pairing.
Regarding claims 21 and 29, they are a method and a non-transitory readable storage medium having a plurality of computer executable instructions that respectively corresponds to claim 1. Therefore, the claims are rejected for at least the same reasons.
Regarding claims 22 and 30, they are a method and a non-transitory readable storage medium having a plurality of computer executable instructions that respectively corresponds to claim 2. Therefore, the claims are rejected for at least the same reasons.
Regarding claim 26, it is a method claim that corresponds to claim 6. Therefore, the claim is rejected for at least the same reasons.
Regarding claim 27, it is a method claim that corresponds to claim 7. Therefore, the claim is rejected for at least the same reasons.
Regarding claim 28, it is a method claim that corresponds to claim 8. Therefore, the claim is rejected for at least the same reasons.
Claims 3-5, 23-25 and 31-32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Van Wiemeersch et al. (US 20190034915 A1, hereinafter “VW”) in view of Bernsen (US 20150271667 A1) as applied to claims above, and further in view of Hurry et al. (US 20250278732 A1, hereinafter “Hurry”).
Regarding claim 3, (Original) the combination of VW and Bernsen discloses all elements of the current invention as stated above. Bernsen discloses the system of claim 1, wherein, when executed, the machine-readable instructions further cause the first client device to at least receive a transfer request token from the second client device via the NFC peer-to-peer communication (Bernsen: [0030]-[0031] Devices equipped with an NFC writer can write such NFC tags. The WSC specification allows for NFC Peer mode to also be used for the transfer of the device PIN, device Password and network Credentials).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the system providing telematics services disclosed by VW with the teachings of Bernsen to receive a transfer request token from the second client device via the NFC peer-to-peer communication. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because this allows for NFC Peer mode to be used for the transfer of the device PIN, device Password and network Credentials, using the same formatting of the messages as used in an NFC tag. Using NFC is very easy for the user (para. [0031]-[0032]). Therefore, this eliminates remote eavesdropping, stops keylogging or shoulder surfing, and prevents human memory or typing errors during initial device pairing.
However, the combination does not discloses, Hurry, in a same field of endeavor, teaches the system of claim 1, wherein the transfer request token being digitally signed by the second client device (Hurry: [0070] The token confirmation request may include a first indication that the validation completed during step S212 was successful. The token confirmation request may include a second indication of whether the signature of the digital certificate was validated during step S218 (See para.[0064]-[0067])).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the system providing telematics services disclosed by VW with the teachings of Hurry to include the transfer request token being digitally signed by the second client device. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because digital signatures offer high-level security, legal validity, and time savings by using cryptographic encryption to authenticate a signer's identity and ensure files are not changed.
Regarding claim 4, (Original) the combination of VW, Bernsen and Hurry discloses all elements of the current invention as stated above. Hurry discloses the system of claim 3, wherein, when executed, the machine-readable instructions further cause the first client device to at least verify the transfer request token based at least in part on a digital signature(Hurry: [0070] The token confirmation request may include a first indication that the validation completed during step S212 was successful. The token confirmation request may include a second indication of whether the signature of the digital certificate was validated during step S218 (See para.[0064]-[0067])).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the system providing telematics services disclosed by VW with the teachings of Hurry to verify the transfer request token based at least in part on a digital signature. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because digital signatures offer high-level security, legal validity, and time savings by using cryptographic encryption to authenticate a signer's identity and ensure files are not changed.
Regarding claim 5, (Currently Amended) the combination of VW, Bernsen and Hurry discloses all elements of the current invention as stated above. Hurry discloses the system of claim 3, wherein, when executed, the machine-readable instructions further cause
the first client device to at least send the transfer request token to the session service to notify the session service of a transfer of the interactive session from the first client device to the second client device (Hurry: [0052] The authorizing entity computer 112 is operated by an authorizing entity. An example of an authorizing entity can be an issuer, which can be an entity (e.g., a bank) which issues and maintains user accounts for its users; [0070] The token confirmation request may include a first indication that the validation completed during step S212 was successful. The token confirmation request may include a second indication of whether the signature of the digital certificate was validated during step S218; [0071] At step S224, the processing network computer 110, may transmit the token confirmation request to the authorizing entity computer 112).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the system providing telematics services disclosed by VW with the teachings of Hurry to send the transfer request token to the session service to notify the session service of a transfer of the interactive session from the first client device to the second client device. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because digital signatures offer high-level security, legal validity, and time savings by using cryptographic encryption to authenticate a signer's identity and ensure files are not changed.
Regarding claims 23 and 31, they are a method and a non-transitory readable storage medium having a plurality of computer executable instructions that respectively corresponds to claim 3. Therefore, the claims are rejected for at least the same reasons.
Regarding claim 24, it is a method claim that corresponds to claim 4. Therefore, the claim is rejected for at least the same reasons.
Regarding claims 25 and 32, they are a method and a non-transitory readable storage medium having a plurality of computer executable instructions that respectively corresponds to claim 5. Therefore, the claims are rejected for at least the same reasons.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kathiresan (US 20260044590 A1) [0087] The device authentication system may then generate a prompt (e.g., similar to the prompt 338 in FIG. 3 ) and transmit the prompt to an additional user device (e.g., similar to user device 336 in FIG. 3 ) with NFC capabilities. The additional user device may, in some cases, be the same user device the user performed the login attempt, or may be a different user device. For example, the user may login to the user account on a personal computer and the device authentication system may transmit the prompt to the user's mobile phone).
SINGH et al. (US 20230216693 A1): [0108] When the payload is received, the digital signature verification process 526 is performed by creating a hash for each of the identity claims, followed by individually verifying of the signature(s), using the relevant identity issuers' public keys (note, each identity issuer has its own unique public key.
Neafsey et al. (US 20190059122 A1):[0011] The system 100 also includes a reader device 108. The reader device 108 may be a reader, a lock, a payment terminal, and/or any other type of device that is configured to communicate with a mobile device 102 to receive a credential or secure data 103 for processing. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the reader device 108 is an electronic lock with an NFC reader. The reader device 108 may include a transceiver 110 that allows the mobile device 102 and the reader device 108 to communicate with one another. In some embodiments, the transceiver 110 is m NFC transceiver that allows the mobile device 102 and the reader device 108 to communicate over an NFC peer-to-peer connection. NFC peer-to-peer devices, such as the mobile device 102 and the reader device 108, may push or beam various forms of clear-text data, which is not secure, between them. The reader device 108 also includes an application 112 that processes data related to authenticating the mobile device 102 over an NFC peer-to-peer connection. It is contemplated that die application 106 may include more than one application to carry out the various operations described in the present application.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW SUH whose telephone number is (571)270-5524. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 AM- 5:00 PM.
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, Carl Colin can be reached at (571) 272-3862. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANDREW SUH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2493