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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-7 are pending in this application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement(s) submitted by applicant on 5/23/2025 have been considered. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Form PTO-1449 signed and attached hereto.
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 1-5 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “a hardware secret key included in hardware that implements the isolated region wherein the first circuitry of the data holding apparatus is configured to transmit second ciphertext obtained by encrypting the common key with the public key, to the data processing apparatus”. Claim is indefinite and lacks specificity. It is unclear whether “wherein” clause limits the hardware, isolated region or the claimed apparatus. Therefore, the scope of the claim cannot be determined with reasonable certainty. Applicant is advised to remove the ambiguous “wherein” clause by explicitly stating what element the limitation applies to.
Claims 2-5, dependent on claim 1, follow therewith.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-5 would be allowable, should Applicant overcome the claim rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112 set forth herein, supra.
Claims 6-7 allowed.
USPTO Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HOSUK SONG whose telephone number is (571)272-3857. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 7:30AM-5:00PM.
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/HOSUK SONG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2435
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