DETAILED ACTION
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 of Invention I, claims 14-23 and 42-46 in the reply filed on 2 September 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 24-28 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 2 September 2026.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 12 May 2025, 5 February 2026, 10 February 2026 and 2 September 2026 have been considered by the examiner.
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 (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 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 14, 16, 19-20, 22, 42 and 44 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent No. 9,735,970 by Shohat in view of U.S. Patent No. 10,204,627 to Nitz et al.
As to claims 14 and 42, Shohat discloses a method/system comprising:
transmitting a request for an ephemeral encryption key, wherein the transmitting the request for the ephemeral encryption key is transmitted using an outbound portion of the bi-directional audio channel (Shohat: Fig 2; Col 4, Line 4 - Col 5, Line 29; request for ephemeral key part of initiating secured audio communication setup)
receiving in an inbound portion of the bi-directional audio channel, the ephemeral encryption key, wherein the ephemeral encryption key is selected by the second VA based at least in part on reception by the second VA of the request for the ephemeral encryption key (Shohat: Fig 2; Col 4, Line 4, Col 5, Line 29; Ephemeral key exchange protocol exchanges ephemeral keys); and
transmitting data encrypted using the ephemeral encryption key (Shohat: Fig 2; Col 4, Line 4, Col 5, Line 29; encrypted communication established).
As to claim 42 only Shohat further discloses a memory (Shohat; Fig 7); and
control circuitry of a first virtual assistant (VA) (Shohat; Fig 7);
and to store the ephemeral encryption key in the memory (Shohat; Fig 7).
Shohat does not expressly disclose determining by a first virtual assistant (VA) that a bi-directional audio stream session for natural language communication is with a second VA; or that the communication is between a first VA and a second VA.
Nitz discloses determining by a first virtual assistant (VA) that a bi-directional audio stream session for natural language communication is with a second VA and that the communication is between a first VA and a second VA.
(Nitz: Fig 7; Col 20, Line 5 – Col 21, Line 42; Initial VPS determines a second VPS should handle request and transmits request based on that determination).
Shohat is analogous art as it is from the common area of communications secured with an ephemeral key. Nitz is analogous rat because it is from the common area of VA to VA communication.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at or before the effective filing date, to combine the secured communications of Shohat with the VA to VA communication of Nitz to arrive at Applicant’s invention. The rationale would have been to have secure, validated communication between VAs.
As to claims 16 and 44, the modified Shohat/Nitz reference further discloses further comprising: receiving from the second VA, by the first VA, a request for a second ephemeral encryption key; selecting by the first VA, the second ephemeral encryption key based at least in part on reception by the first VA of the request for the second ephemeral encryption key; transmitting to the second VA, by the first VA, the second ephemeral encryption key; and receiving, by the first VA, second data encrypted using the second ephemeral encryption key (Shohat: Fig 2; Col 4, Line 4 - Col 5, Line 29 and Nitz: Fig 7; Col 20, Line 5 – Col 21, Line 42; as above).
As to claim 19, the modified Shohat/Nitz reference further discloses wherein the data encoded using the ephemeral encryption key is transmitted by the first VA using voice communication (Nitz: Fig 7; Col 20, Line 5 – Col 21, Line 42; voice communication between VA’s).
As to claim 20, the modified Shohat/Nitz reference further discloses wherein the ephemeral encryption key is a public encryption key, and a private key corresponding to the public encryption key is saved at the second VA (Shohat: Col 3, Lines 36-39; “Each SAA 115 is an authenticated device that utilizes a set of public and private keys to securely generate ephemeral (e.g., per-session) cryptographic symmetrical keys.”).
As to claim 22, the modified Shohat/Nitz reference further discloses further comprising: requesting, during the voice communication session, a second ephemeral encryption key; using the second ephemeral encryption key to encrypt a second piece of confidential information (Shohat: Fig 2; Col 4, Line 4 - Col 5, Line 29; as above).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15, 17-18, 21, 23, 43 and 45-46 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL S MCNALLY whose telephone number is (571)270-1599. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeffrey L Nickerson can be reached at (469)295-9235. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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MICHAEL S. MCNALLY
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2432
/Michael S McNally/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2432
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