Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 19/060,897

Improved Communication Between a Digital Key Device and a Vehicle

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Feb 24, 2025
Priority
Mar 01, 2024 — DE 10 2024 105 933.8
Examiner
BAYOU, YONAS A
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
84%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 5m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 84% — above average
84%
Career Allowance Rate
728 granted / 864 resolved
+24.3% vs TC avg
Strong +15% interview lift
Without
With
+15.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
18 currently pending
Career history
879
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.8%
-37.2% vs TC avg
§103
56.0%
+16.0% vs TC avg
§102
29.7%
-10.3% vs TC avg
§112
1.7%
-38.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 864 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION This Office Action is in response to the application 19/060,897 filed on 02/24/2025. Claims 1-19 have been examined and are pending in this application. 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 For the record, the Examiner acknowledges that NO restrictions warranted at applicants initial time of filing for patent. Priority This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 from German Patent Application No. 10 2024 105 933.8, filed March 1, 2024. Information Disclosure Statement For the record, NO information disclosure statement (IDS), submitted on initial time of filing for patent. Oath/Declaration For the record, the Examiner acknowledges that the Oath/Declaration submitted on 03/20/2025 has been accepted. Drawings For the record, the Examiner acknowledges that the drawings filed on 02/24/2025 has been accepted. Specification For the record, the Examiner acknowledges that the Applicant's specification filed on 02/24/2025 has been accepted. Claim Objections Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: Regarding claim 4; the acronyms ‘CCC’ used without spelling out in full at their first occurrences in the claim. Appropriate corrections are required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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. 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 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (1) as being anticipated by Sun, Pub. No.: US 2024/0317179. Referring to claim 1, Sun teaches a method for communicating data between a terminal, which has a first signature key pair for a vehicle, and the vehicle (abstract, para. 0056 communication between a terminal device and a device/vehicle which includes key management/CA signature), the method comprising: providing a vehicle encryption key pair in the vehicle for encrypting the data during transmission between the terminal and the vehicle (paras. 0046-0047, TA element used for data encryption); providing a terminal encryption key pair in the terminal for encrypting the data during transmission between the terminal and the vehicle (paras. 0046-0047, 0051, TA element is for encryption); transmitting a public vehicle encryption key of the vehicle encryption key pair from the vehicle to the terminal (para. 0055 and fig. 5, At step 53, in a case that the key activating condition is satisfied, the vehicle transmits a vehicle public key certificate [F] to the terminal device ); combining a public terminal encryption key of the terminal encryption key pair with an identification feature of the terminal or a third party (para. 0047; TA element can also be used to verify user identity; para. 0100, and fig. 8, step 87, verifying an identity of the vehicle and preventing counterfeit vehicles from obtaining information of the mobile terminal); transmitting the combined public terminal encryption key from the terminal to the vehicle (paras. 0055, 0058, the vehicle transmits a vehicle public key certificate [F] to the terminal device); verifying the identification feature of the combined public terminal encryption key by means of the vehicle (paras. 0047, 0056 and fig. 5, steps 541-543); and encrypting communication between the vehicle and the terminal via the third party based on the vehicle encryption key and the terminal encryption key (abstract, paras. 0046-0047 and fig. 4, 0056 and fig. 5, the communication device comprises an encryption white box element for communication). Referring to claim 2, Sun further teaches wherein the public vehicle encryption key is integrated in a configuration data container of the vehicle for transmission from the vehicle to the terminal (paras. 0046-0047, encryption white box). Referring to claim 3, Sun further teaches wherein the public vehicle encryption key is integrated in a vehicle key certificate for transmission from the vehicle to the terminal (paras. 0046-0047, 0056; vehicle public key certificate to the encryption white box.). Referring to claim 4, Sun further teaches wherein the public vehicle encryption key is integrated in a certificate extension according to the CCC standard for transmission from the vehicle to the terminal (para. 0043, digital vehicle key/CCC). Referring to claim 5, Sun further teaches wherein during the combining, the terminal combines the public terminal encryption key with a public first signature key of the first signature key pair as an identification feature of the terminal in a key certificate, wherein an object identifier for the public first signature key and an object identifier for the public terminal encryption key are integrated in the key certificate, and the key certificate is transmitted to the vehicle for transmission of the public terminal encryption key (abstract, paras. 0055-0058, key management element CA signature). Referring to claim 6, Sun further teaches wherein during the combining, the terminal combines the public terminal encryption key with a public first signature key of the first signature key pair as an identification feature of the terminal in a key certificate, wherein an object identifier for the public first signature key and an object identifier for the public terminal encryption key are integrated in the key certificate, and the key certificate is transmitted to the vehicle for transmission of the public terminal encryption key (abstract, paras. 0055-0058, key management element CA signature). Referring to claim 7, Sun further teaches wherein for combining the public terminal encryption key with the identification feature of the third party, the terminal first sends the public terminal encryption key to the third party, the third party returns an attestation containing the public terminal encryption key to the terminal, and the terminal sends the attestation containing the public terminal encryption key to the vehicle (abstract, paras. 0055-0058, key management element CA signature). Referring to claim 8, Sun further teaches wherein for combining the public terminal encryption key with the identification feature of the third party, the terminal first sends the public terminal encryption key to the third party, the third party returns an attestation containing the public terminal encryption key to the terminal, and the terminal sends the attestation containing the public terminal encryption key to the vehicle (abstract, paras. 0055-0058, key management element CA signature). Referring to claim 9, Sun further teaches wherein the attestation is provided with a signature of the third party (paras. 0055-0058, key management element CA signature). Referring to claim 10, Sun further teaches wherein the attestation is provided with a signature of the third party (paras. 0055-0058, key management element CA signature). Referring to claim 11, This claim is similar in scope to claim 1, and is therefore rejected under similar rationale. Referring to claim 12, Sun further teaches wherein the terminal transmits the public vehicle encryption key in a vehicle configuration file within a key generation request to the second device (paras. 0046-0047, encryption white box). Referring to claim 13, Sun further teaches wherein a) after verifying the public second signature key and the public second device encryption key, the third party returns a signed version of the public second device encryption key to the second device, and the second device sends the signed version of the public second device encryption key to the vehicle for verification, and/or b) after verifying the public second signature key and the public second device encryption key, the third party returns a signed version of the public second device encryption key directly to the vehicle for verification (paras. 0056 and fig. 5, after successful verification….). Referring to claim 14, Sun further teaches wherein a) after verifying the public second signature key and the public second device encryption key, the third party returns a signed version of the public second device encryption key to the second device, and the second device sends the signed version of the public second device encryption key to the vehicle for verification, and/or b) after verifying the public second signature key and the public second device encryption key, the third party returns a signed version of the public second device encryption key directly to the vehicle for verification (paras. 0056 and fig. 5, after successful verification….). Referring to claim 15, Sun further teaches wherein the second device sends the signed version of the public second device encryption key, together with a second device signature key of the second device, to the vehicle (paras. 0057, 0060-0061 and fig. 5, steps 581-583). Referring to claim 16, Sun further teaches wherein the second device sends the signed version of the public second device encryption key, together with a second device signature key of the second device, to the vehicle (paras. 0057, 0060-0061 and fig. 5, steps 581-583). Referring to claim 17, Sun further teaches comprising: communicating data between a second device, which has a second signature key pair for the vehicle, and the vehicle (abstract, para. 0056 communication between a terminal device and a device/vehicle which includes key management/CA signature),, including: transmitting the public vehicle encryption key from the terminal to the second device (para. 0055 and fig. 5, At step 53, in a case that the key activating condition is satisfied, the vehicle transmits a vehicle public key certificate [F] to the terminal device ); providing a second device encryption key pair in the second device for encrypting the data during transmission between the second device and the vehicle (paras. 0046-0047, TA element used for data encryption); transmitting a public second signature key of the second signature key pair and a public second device encryption key to a third party (paras. 0055, 0058, the vehicle transmits a vehicle public key certificate [F] to the terminal device); signing the public second device encryption key by the third party; sending the signed public second device encryption key from the third party to the vehicle (paras. 0057, 0060-0061 and fig. 5, steps 581-583); and encrypting communication between the vehicle and the second device via the third party based on the vehicle encryption key and the second device encryption key (abstract, paras. 0046-0047 and fig. 4, 0056 and fig. 5, the communication device comprises an encryption white box element for communication). Referring to claim 18, This claim is similar in scope to claim 1, and is therefore rejected under similar rationale. Referring to claim 19, This claim is similar in scope to claim 1, and is therefore rejected under similar rationale. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See the attached PTO-892. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YONAS A BAYOU whose telephone number is (571)272-7610. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7AM-4PM. 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, Philip Chea can be reached at 571-272-3951. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /YONAS A BAYOU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2499 07/02/2026
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Prosecution Timeline

Feb 24, 2025
Application Filed
Jul 07, 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
84%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+15.3%)
2y 10m (~1y 5m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 864 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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