DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This office action is in response to communication filed on 02/17/2025.
Status of claims in the instant application:
Claims 1-3 are pending.
Priority
This application claims benefit of 63/553,931 filed on 02/15/2024.
Information Disclosure Statement
NO Information Disclosure Statements (IDS) has been filed by the Applicant.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because various texts, legends and marking are not legible. For Example, texts/legends is not legible and readable.
Applicant is requested to check all the figures/drawings, and correct them properly.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claim 2-3 is objected to because of the following informalities.
Claim 3 recites, “… wherein said system includes at least one client, at least one device, a server, a network or system of networks, a cloud computing environment, an Al algorithm, an Al training model, an industry-agnostic set, a fabric network, a chain code, a node, a hash, a distributed ledger, a private channel, a smart contract, a consensus algorithm, a programming language, an application programming interface, a user interface, an edge device, a learning module, and a computation.”
All elements included in the system are there to perform certain function(s). However the last one “a computation” is not an element that performs any function. “a computation” should be corrected tan entity/element that performs a function.
Claim 2 also has similar issue as claim 3 and hence similarly objected.
Appropriate corrections is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "… with execution being protected from the operating system and the hypervisor”
This limitation of claim 1 has missing antecedent basis for “the operating system“ and “the hypervisor”. There is no earlier recitation of an operating system and a hypervisor that the subsequent recitations can refer to, and hence the missing antecedent basis. The missing antecedent basis makes the claim language ambiguous/indefinite, and hence rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claims 2-3 also have similar issues and hence similarly rejected.
Appropriate corrections required.
**** Applicant needs to recite an operating system and a hypervisor before reciting “the operating system“ and “the hypervisor”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claims do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because the claim is directed to a software per se.
Claim 1 recites is directed to a system. However, the main body of the claim does not contain positively claim any hardware element that performs the recited functions. Therefore, the claim is directed to a software which is not a patent eligible subject matter. Therefore, claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claims do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because the claim is directed to a software per se.
Appropriate correction required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 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.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pub. No.: US 20250260565 A1 to Abdelsamie; Maher A (hereinafter “Abdelsamie”) in view of Pub. No.: US 20160171250 A1 to Boivie et al. (hereinafter “Boivie”).
Regarding Claim 1. Abdelsamie discloses A Web 3.0-Enabled cyber-resilient data exchange system (Abdelsamie: FIG. 1), the system configured to perform the steps of:
leveraging permissioned Blockchain (Abdelsamie: Para [0054-0055]: … In embodiments where a blockchain may be utilized, the blockchain may be a permissioned blockchain, public blockchain, or private blockchain. In embodiments where a blockchain may be a permissioned blockchain, the blockchain can only be accessed by participants who are allowed to access the blockchain, where the access may be controlled (e.g., verifying or validating transactions, and viewing data on the blockchain network may require permission) …), edge computing (Abdelsamie: Para [0280]: … In some embodiments, the software application may establish a secure communication channel with nearby edge devices (e.g., machinery, vehicles, or infrastructure components) using a lightweight cryptographic protocol (e.g., Noise Protocol Framework). This channel may enable the exchange of ephemeral identifiers and sensor data between the user's device 110 and the edge devices, facilitating the verification of proximity and interaction events. The edge devices may be equipped with secure elements or trusted execution environments to protect the cryptographic keys and sensitive data during the communication process …), and federated learning technology (Abdelsamie: Para [0230-0232]: … Executing, by the processor 406, one or more secure aggregation protocols on the privacy-protected results; Transmitting, by the processor 406 through the communications interface 408 of the user device 110, the aggregated privacy-preserving model updates to the one or more verifier devices 116; v) Participating in federated learning, comprising: Receiving, by the processor 406 through the communications interface 408, model updates from the one or more verifier devices 116; Executing, by the processor 406, one or more algorithms (e.g., federated averaging algorithms) on the received updates …):
using encryption schemes to improve data security and chaincodes (Abdelsamie, Abstract, Para [0008]: … A computer-implemented method and system for privacy-preserving location verification in distributed networks comprises initializing a multi-modal biometric authentication system on a user device, generating cryptographic keys using a distributed key generation protocol, binding the cryptographic keys to biometric templates using a fuzzy vault scheme, constructing and broadcasting encrypted location beacons, and generating zero-knowledge proofs of location claims. The system includes user devices equipped with biometric sensors and verifier devices configured to validate location claims and maintain consensus in a blockchain network. The method implements real-time liveness detection for multiple biometric input types, executes fault-tolerant consensus algorithms with privacy preservation … According to a second aspect of the invention, a system for secure location verification comprises: one or more user devices, each comprising: a processor; a communications interface; one or more biometric sensors; a secure storage component; and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system to perform operations comprising: implementing a multi-modal biometric authentication system; executing a distributed key generation protocol; broadcasting encrypted location beacons; and participating in a decentralized validation system; and one or more verifier devices configured to validate location claims and maintain consensus in a blockchain network …), which are executed in an enclave (Abdelsamie, Para [0170-0174]: … At step 208, the processor 406 of the user device 110 may encrypt the beacon message using one or more attribute-based encryption schemes. This encryption may comprise one or more steps from the following steps: [0171] a) Retrieving the beacon message (e.g., the beacon message constructed in step 706) from the secure storage component 402 and/or memory 404 of the user device 110; [0172] b) Extracting the biometric verification token from the beacon message for separate encryption; [0173] c) Retrieving the public key (PK) and master secret key (MSK) (e.g., public key and master secret key generated in step 202) from the secure storage component 402 and/or memory 404, secure element, Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) and/or Secure Enclave of the user device 110 …), [with execution being protected from the operating system and the hypervisor];
optimizing data privacy by creating fine-grained attribute-based access control (ABAC),user registration, and user management combined with pub/sub functionality (Abdelsamie, Para [0013-0015, 0088, 0132-0134]: … In further embodiments, the method comprises: implementing an adaptive data collection mechanism based on current context; adjusting data sampling rates dynamically based on user activity and proximity to restricted areas; and synchronizing energy-saving measures across multiple associated devices. In some embodiments, the multi-modal biometric authentication system comprises: pre-capture verification procedures for each biometric modality; continuous post-capture verification; and real-time anomaly detection using supervised and unsupervised learning models. In some embodiments, broadcasting encrypted location beacons comprises: generating attribute-based encryption keys; defining access policies based on temporal and spatial attributes … In some embodiments, the attribute-based encryption comprises: temporal attributes including current date and time periods; spatial attributes including geographic regions and proximity data; device-specific attributes including device type and operating system; and user-specific attributes including role and clearance level. In some embodiments, generating and maintaining location proofs comprises: implementing privacy-preserving proof generation; executing collaborative proof verification; maintaining proof data structures; and participating in blockchain-based verification systems … In some embodiments, the server computer system 124 may receive one or more requests to register one or more users 102, partners 104, verifiers 108, and/or advertisement service providers 127 with the server computer system 124. [0133] In some embodiments, the server computer system 124 may generate or otherwise retrieve from the storage component 402 and/or memory 404 of the server computer system 124 a registration template for registering one or more users 102, partners 104, verifiers 108, and advertisement service providers 127 with the server computer system 124. The registration template may comprise multiple registration steps, each step may require collecting information from the one or more users 102, partners 104, verifiers 108, and/or advertisement service providers 126 and/or their associated devices
…); and
increasing scalability by combining pub/sub functionality with a federated learning model (Abdelsamie, Para [0086, 0366]: … The implementation of the adaptive data collection mechanism described herein may yield multiple technical benefits, including but not limited to energy efficiency, enhanced processing efficiency, improved device longevity, context-aware accuracy, optimized network bandwidth usage, reduced sensor wear, enhanced system scalability, and/or improved user experience …).
However, Abdelsamie does not explicitly teach, but Boivie from same or similar field of endeavor teaches:
“with execution being protected from the operating system and the hypervisor (Boivie, Para [0051]: … In FIG. 5, the software running on an ACM system 470 is shown as a collection of domains 450.sub.n at the top of the figure. Each domain 450.sub.n contains a collection of software modules that have the same security privileges. The first domain 450.sub.0 contains the OS (operating system) code as well as all the ordinary, non-secure processes running on the OS. (In another example, the first domain could contain a Hypervisor 512 (FIG. 6) as well as ordinary, non-secure virtual machines running on that hypervisor.) The second is a secure domain, ACM-SW 450.sub.1, which can perform some ACM functions in software. As stated previously, the ACM can be implemented in hardware or in some combination of hardware and software. The boundaries shown in FIG. 5 can be changed between hardware 432 and software 450.sub.1. “Complex functions” such as the encryption or decryption of memory pages or the generation or validation of integrity values might be implemented in the ACM-SW 450.sub.1. The other domains 450.sub.2 and 450.sub.3 are Secure Objects which can be Secure Applications or Secure Virtual Machines or Secure Containers. The role of the ACM, a combination of 432 and 450.sub.1 in FIG. 5 is to protect the confidentiality and integrity of information in each of these Secure Objects from all the other software on the system including the OS/Hypervisor …)”
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Boivie into the teachings of Abdelsamie, because it discloses that, “a mechanism supporting a Secure Object that comprises information that is protected so that other software on said computer system cannot access or undetectably tamper with said information, thereby protecting both a confidentiality and an integrity of the Secure Object information while making the Secure Object information available to the Secure Object itself during execution of the Secure Object (Boivie, Abstract)”.
Regarding Claim 2 and 3. These claim all the same or similar limitations as claim 1, and hence similarly rejected as claim 1.
Pertinent Prior Art
The following prior arts made of record and not relied upon are considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20240064021 A1; YAN et al.: discloses an access control method, an access control apparatus, a network side device, a terminal and a blockchain node, wherein the access control method includes: receiving relevant information to be verified that is sent by a terminal and corresponds to an access request, wherein the relevant information to be verified includes private key signature information of the terminal and position information of preset information in the blockchain; acquiring the preset information from the blockchain according to the position information; verifying the terminal according to the private key signature information and the preset information; acquiring, in a case that verification is passed, attribute information of the terminal from a blockchain ledger according to the preset information; and feedbacking a request response for access control to the terminal according to the attribute information.
The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to an access control method, an access control apparatus, a network side device, a terminal and a blockchain node.
CN 119561729 A; QI et al.: QI discloses a distributed identity management system and method based on blockchain, using the characteristic of the blockchain to store the identity information of the user on the distributed node, and using the encryption algorithm to protect the security of the information. Each user has a unique identity, which is written into the block of the chain of blocks, and is managed and verified through an intelligent contract. The user can control the access and management of the identity information by the private key without depending on the centralized identity authentication mechanism. In addition, the VC template providing the VC service is subjected to uplink processing to ensure the consistency and compliance of the VC certificate from the source. The invention can solve the problem that the distributed identity management system proves that the information is forged and improve the security and reliability of the identity verification.
The invention takes the blockchain as the basic technology, constructs the anchoring relationship between the D ID identity and the account on the chain, proposes VC template chain, data security trusteeship and access control based on attribute, solves the problem of untrusted storage in the data set, single point fault, it solves the problem of the general distributed identity management system for proving the information forgery and constructs the safer and more reliable distributed identity management system based on the blockchain.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAHABUB S AHMED whose telephone number is (571)272-0364. The examiner can normally be reached on 9AM-5PM EST M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ali Shayanfar can be reached on 571-270-1050. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MAHABUB S AHMED/Examiner, Art Unit 2434
/TESHOME HAILU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2434
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