Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 19/034,203

USING DISPOSITION INFORMATION IN OWNERSHIP VOUCHERS TO ENABLE ZERO-TOUCH ON-BOARDING OF DEVICES

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jan 22, 2025
Examiner
PATEL, NIMESH G
Art Unit
2176
Tech Center
2100 — Computer Architecture & Software
Assignee
Dell Products L.P.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
77%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 2m
Est. Remaining
85%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 77% — above average
77%
Career Allowance Rate
568 granted / 736 resolved
+22.2% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+7.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
15 currently pending
Career history
756
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.3%
-36.7% vs TC avg
§103
49.6%
+9.6% vs TC avg
§102
24.7%
-15.3% vs TC avg
§112
10.9%
-29.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 736 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . 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. Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fido Device onboard Specification 1.1. Regarding claim 1, Fido discloses a method for onboarding devices, the method comprising: connecting a device to a control plane(Pages 11-12, Owner is an entity that is able to prove ownership to the Device using an Ownership Voucher. The Owner Onboarding Service is an application that executes on some platform already controlled by the Owner); validating, after the connecting, an ownership voucher associated with the device(Page 4, By protocol cooperation between the Device, the Rendezvous server, and the new owner, the device and new owner are able to prove themselves to each other, sufficient to allow the new owner to establish new cryptographic control of the device. When this process is finished, the device is equipped with credentials supplied by the new owner); upon completing the validating, obtaining information about a set of permissible FIDO serviceinfo modules (FSIMs) associated with the device(Page 12, 54, In the Transfer Ownership Protocol 2 (TO2), after mutual trust is proven, and a secure channel is established, key-value pairs are exchanged. During the initial Device ServiceInfo, the device sends the complete list of modules to the Owner); and initiating onboarding of the device using the set of permissible FSIMs, wherein the device comprises a plurality of FSIMs and the set of permissible FSIMs is a subset of the plurality of FSIMs(Pages 53-55, The “devmod” module implements a set of messages to the FIDO Device Onboard Owner that identify the capabilities of the device. In addition, all “devmod” messages are sent by the Device in the first Device ServiceInfo. In some FIDO Device Onboard implementations, multiple modules can perform overlapping functions. Some modules may implement legacy versions of others (e.g., TPM versions) and some modules may control alternative IOT control techniques. The FIDO Device Onboard Owner and FIDO Device Onboard Device need to negotiate to select the right set of modules). Regarding claim 2, Fido discloses the method of claim 1, wherein onboarding of the device using the set of permissible FSIMs results in a first configuration of the device(Page 55, In some FIDO Device Onboard implementations, multiple modules can perform overlapping functions. Some modules may implement legacy versions of others (e.g., TPM versions) and some modules may control alternative IOT control techniques. The FIDO Device Onboard Owner and FIDO Device Onboard Device need to negotiate to select the right set of modules). Regarding claim 3, Fido discloses the method of claim 2, further comprising: connecting a second device to the control plane; validating, after the connecting, a second ownership voucher associated with the second device; upon completing the validating of the second device, obtaining information about a second set of permissible FSIMs associated with the second device; and initiating onboarding of the second device using the second set of permissible FSIMs, wherein the second device comprises the plurality of FSIMs and the second set of permissible FSIMs is a second subset of the plurality of FSIMs. Regarding claim 4, Fido discloses the method of claim 3, wherein onboarding of the second device using the second set of permissible FSIMs results in a second configuration of the device, wherein the second configuration is different than the first configuration(Pages 53-55, The “devmod” module implements a set of messages to the FIDO Device Onboard Owner that identify the capabilities of the device. In addition, all “devmod” messages are sent by the Device in the first Device ServiceInfo. In some FIDO Device Onboard implementations, multiple modules can perform overlapping functions. Some modules may implement legacy versions of others (e.g., TPM versions) and some modules may control alternative IOT control techniques. The FIDO Device Onboard Owner and FIDO Device Onboard Device need to negotiate to select the right set of modules). Regarding claim 5, Fido discloses the method of claim 4, wherein the device and the second device are initially manufactured with the same hardware and software(Pages 1, 4, Device onboarding is the process of installing secrets and configuration data into a device so that the device is able to connect and interact securely with an IoT platform. Due to late binding, the device does not yet know the prospective IOT Platform to which it must connect. One manufactured device may onboard, without modification, to many different IOT platforms. In totality, Fido discloses that devices are manufactured with the same hardware and software, and that different configurations are possible for different functionalities established during onboarding). Regarding claim 6, Fido discloses the method of claim 3, wherein the first set of FSIMs and the second set of FSIMs partially overlaps(Page 55, In some FIDO Device Onboard implementations, multiple modules can perform overlapping functions. Some modules may implement legacy versions of others (e.g., TPM versions) and some modules may control alternative IOT control techniques. The FIDO Device Onboard Owner and FIDO Device Onboard Device need to negotiate to select the right set of modules). Regarding claim 7, Fido discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the device is connected to the control plane using a trusted key(Page 12, 54, In the Transfer Ownership Protocol 2 (TO2), after mutual trust is proven, and a secure channel is established, key-value pairs are exchanged). Claims 8-20 recite substantially similar limitations as claims 9-20 and thus taught by Fido, as explained above. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NIMESH G PATEL whose telephone number is (571)272-3640. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday, 8:15-4:15. 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, Jaweed Abbaszadeh can be reached on 571-270-1640. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see https://ppair-my.uspto.gov/pair/PrivatePair. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /NIMESH G PATEL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2185
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jan 22, 2025
Application Filed
Aug 12, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

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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
77%
Grant Probability
85%
With Interview (+7.4%)
2y 10m (~1y 2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 736 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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