DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to an application filed on February 27, 2025, in which claims 1-20 are pending, and ready for examination.
Acknowledgement is made of Applicant’s claim for benefit as a Continuation of U.S. Application No. 17/835,801 filed on June 8, 2022, now U.S. Patent No. 12,356,187, that application claiming benefit as a Continuation of PCT/EP2020/086420 filed on December 16, 2020.
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 .
Priority
Acknowledgement is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority based on an application filed with the European Patent Office on or about December 19, 2019.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
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.
Claims 1-8, 10-12, 14, and 16-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Pedersen, et al., U.S. Pub. No. 2018/0160240 (hereinafter referred to as Pedersen).
With regard to claim 1, Pedersen discloses a hearing device (Pedersen, [0002]) comprising: a processing unit (Pedersen, [0012]; [0092]; Fig. 2, Ref. 4) configured to process audio signals for a user of the hearing device, wherein the processing unit comprises hardware (Pedersen, [0005]; [0092]; Fig. 2, Ref. 2); an interface (Pedersen, [0092]; Fig. 2, Ref. 8); and a memory unit (Pedersen, [0092]; Fig. 2, Ref. 6), wherein the memory unit has stored therein: a first customer identifier (Pedersen, [0092]; model name and/or model ID stored in primary security settings if “first customer device identifier”); and model data (Pedersen, [0092]-[0094]; Fig. 3, Ref. 180) comprising a model customer identifier (Pedersen, [0096]-[0098]; [0164]-[0165]; digital signature 188 or model name 190 is “model customer identifier”) and model information data (Pedersen, [0096]-[0098]; model identifier 192 is model information data) indicative of one or more available models for the hearing device (Pedersen, [0096]; [0161]-[0163]; first, second and third model information 186A, 186B, 186C); wherein the processing unit is configured to: verify the model data (Pedersen, [0094]); and upon successful verification of the model data, operate the hearing device based on the model information data (Pedersen, [0103]; Fig. 9).
With regard to claim 2, Pedersen further discloses wherein the processing unit is configured to verify the model data by obtaining a current model identifier and comparing the current model identifier with the model information data of the model data (Pedersen, [0093-0095]).
With regard to claim 3, Pedersen further discloses wherein the processing unit is configured to determine the model data as being successfully verified when the current model identifier satisfies a model criterion (Pedersen, [0093]-[0095]).
With regard to claim 4, Pedersen further discloses , wherein the processing unit is configured to verify the model data by determining if the model customer identifier of the model data corresponds to the first customer identifier (Pedersen, [0098]).
With regard to claim 5, Pedersen further discloses wherein processing unit is configured to determine the model data as being successfully verified when the model customer identifier corresponds to the first customer identifier (Pedersen, [0093]; [0098]).
With regard to claim 6, Pedersen further discloses wherein the memory unit has stored therein a signature (Pedersen, [0012]-[0013]); wherein the processing unit is configured to verify the model data by verifying the signature (Pedersen, [0012]-[0013]).
With regard to claim 7, Pedersen further discloses wherein the processing unit is configured to determine the model data as being successfully verified when the signature is successfully verified (Pedersen, [0012]-[0013]).
With regard to claim 8, Pedersen further discloses a first customer device identifier, and wherein the processing unit is configured to verify the model data by determining if a second customer device identifier corresponds to the first customer device identifier (Pedersen, [0062]-[0066]; [0086]; [0092]).
With regard to claim 10, Pedersen further discloses the memory unit has stored therein a first customer device identifier, and wherein the first customer device identifier is based on a hardware identifier of the hearing device (Pedersen, [0062]-[0066]; [0086]).
With regard to claim 11, Pedersen further discloses wherein the hearing device is configured to operate as a customer hearing device based on the first customer identifier (Pedersen, [0093]-[0095]).
With regard to claim 12, Pedersen further discloses wherein the memory unit has stored therein a first key certificate comprising a first model key (Pedersen, [0092]).
With regard to claim 14, Pedersen further discloses wherein the memory unit has stored therein a second customer identifier, and wherein the processing unit is configured to verify the model data by determining if the model customer identifier of the model data corresponds to the second customer identifier (Pedersen, [0098]).
With regard to claim 16, Pedersen discloses a processing unit of a hearing device, wherein the processing unit comprises hardware (Pedersen, [0012]; [0092]; Fig. 2, Ref. 4), wherein the hearing device comprises a memory unit (Pedersen, [0092]; Fig. 2, Ref. 6), wherein the memory unit has stored therein: a first customer identifier (Pedersen, [0092]; model name and/or model ID stored in primary security settings if “first customer device identifier”), and model data comprising a model customer identifier (Pedersen, [0096]-[0098]; [0164]-[0165]; digital signature 188 or model name 190 is “model customer identifier”) and model information data indicative of one or more available models for the hearing device (Pedersen, [0096]; [0161]-[0163]; first, second and third model information 186A, 186B, 186C), the method comprising: verifying the model data (Pedersen, [0094]); and upon successful verification of the model data, operating the hearing device based on the model information data (Pedersen, [0103]; Fig. 9).
With regard to claim 17, Pedersen further discloses wherein the verifying the model data comprises obtaining a current model identifier, and comparing the current model identifier with the model information data (Pedersen, [0093-0095]); and wherein the method comprises determining the model data as being successfully verified when the current model identifier satisfies a model criterion (Pedersen, [0093]-[0095]).
With regard to claim 18, Pedersen further discloses wherein the verifying the model data comprises determining if the model customer identifier of the model data corresponds to the first customer identifier (Pedersen, [0098]); wherein the method comprises determining the model data as being successfully verified when the model customer identifier of the model data corresponds to the first customer identifier (Pedersen, [0098]).
With regard to claim 19, Pedersen further discloses wherein the memory unit has stored therein a signature, and wherein the verifying the model data comprises verifying the signature (Pedersen, [0012]-[0013]); and wherein the method comprises determining the model data as being successfully verified when the verification of the signature is successful (Pedersen, [0012]-[0013]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9, 13, 15, and 20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: See PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to J. Brant Murphy whose telephone number is (571)272-6433. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8am - 4pm.
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/J. BRANT MURPHY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2435
June 27, 2026
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