DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to Applicants Application filed on March 25, 2025. Claims 1-19 are pending and presented for examination.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on March 25, 2025 has been considered by the examiner.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: the status of the related applications in paragraph 0001 needs to be updated.
Appropriate correction is required.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
Claims 1-19 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S Pat. No. 12,284,272. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1-19 of the present application encompasses the subject matter already claimed in allowed of U.S. Pat. No. 12,284,272.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Tang (U.S. Pub. No. 11,418,364) discloses establishing a secure session between a device and a server. The device and the server may establish a session key. The session key may be used for encrypting data. After authenticating the session key, the server may transmit secure session data to the device, and the device may store the secure session data. The server may transmit information for deriving, based on secure session data, the session key to a different server. The device may transmit the secure session data to the server, or to the different server, to re-establish the secure session. The different server may derive, using the information and based on the secure session data, the session key. The different server may re-establish, using the session key, the secure session.
Skuratovich et al (U.S. Pat. No. 10,432,590) discloses a communication event is established between an initiating device and a responding device under the control of a remote communications controller. In a pre-communication event establishment phase, a secure connection is established between the initiating device and the communications controller, and session key negotiation messages are exchanged between the initiating device and the communications controller via the secure connection to obtain session key data in an electronic storage location accessible to the initiating device. The secure connection terminates once the session key data has been obtained. In a subsequent communication event establishment phase after the session key data has been obtained and the secure connection has terminated in the pre-establishment phase a communication event request is transmitted from the initiating device to the communications controller comprising a payload encrypted with the session key data.
7. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LASHONDA T JACOBS-BURTON whose telephone number is (571)272-4004. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 am - 5:00 pm.
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, Ario Etienne can be reached on 571-272-4001. 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.
/LASHONDA JACOBS-BURTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2457
ljb
June 12, 2026
Prosecution Insights