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 .
Claims 1-20 are presented for examination.
Priority
The claim for priority from US Provisional 63/714,884 filed on 1 November 2024 is duly noted.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1, 10, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s) decomposing a graph and generating subproofs, which is a mental process able to be performed in the human mind. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the processor is a generic computer component and does not add a meaningful limitation to the abstract idea because it amounts to simply implementing the abstract idea on a computer. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because they are well-understood, routine, and conventional computer functions.
Claims 2-9, 11-18, and 20 are rejected as being dependent upon a rejected base claim.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 10-13, and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Xu et al. (CN 114006702 A and Xu hereinafter).
As to claims 1, 10, and 19, Xu discloses a system and method for zero-knowledge proof segmentation circuit and information verification, the system and method having:
decomposing, by a system comprising at least one processor, a graph representative of a workflow into respective subgraphs representative of respective portions of the workflow (0013, line 1; 0017, lines 1-5);
based on the respective subgraphs (first and second execution circuits), determining, by the system, respective subproofs (first and second proofs) relating to the respective portions of the workflow and the respective subgraphs (0023, lines 1-2; 0040, line 1); and
based on the respective subproofs, generating, by the system, a proof relating to the workflow (0051; 0053).
As to claim 2, Xu discloses:
wherein the proof is a zero-knowledge proof and the respective subproofs are respective zero-knowledge subproofs (0023, lines 1-2).
As to claim 3, Xu discloses:
wherein the workflow is a data analytics workflow, wherein the graph is a directed acyclic graph, and wherein the respective subgraphs are respective directed acyclic subgraphs (0040, lines 1-2).
As to claims 4 and 12, Xu discloses:
determining, by the system, respective sub-result data items relating to the workflow based on respective computational operations performed within the respective subgraphs, wherein the respective subproofs comprise the respective sub-result data items (0045; 0051; 0052); and
determining, by the system, the proof, comprising result data, relating to the workflow based on the respective subproofs, wherein the result data is determined based on the respective sub-result data items (0045; 0051; 0052).
As to claim 5, Xu discloses:
communicating, by the system, the proof to a verifier device, wherein the proof facilitates verification that the proof, comprising the result data, is correct, without revealing, to the verifier device, underlying data of the workflow that was utilized to determine and generate the proof (0053-0055).
As to claim 11, Xu discloses:
wherein the workflow is a data analytics workflow, wherein the proof is a zero-knowledge proof and the respective subproofs comprise respective zero-knowledge subproofs, and wherein the graph is a directed acyclic graph and the respective subgraphs comprise respective directed acyclic subgraphs (0023, lines 1-2; 0040, lines 1-2).
As to claim 13, Xu discloses:
wherein the proof generator transmits or facilitates transmission of the proof to a verifier device, and wherein the proof facilitates validation that the proof, comprising the result information, is accurate, without divulging, to the verifier device, underlying information of the workflow that was utilized to determine and generate the proof (0053-0055).
As to claim 18, Xu discloses:
wherein the decomposer or the proof generator comprises or utilizes an accelerator unit, a graphics processing unit, a field-programmable gate array, or an application specific integrated circuit (0003, line 1).
As to claim 20, Xu discloses:
wherein the workflow is a data analytics workflow, wherein the proof is a zero-knowledge proof and the respective subproofs comprise respective zero-knowledge subproofs, and wherein the operations further comprise (0023, lines 1-2; 0040, lines 1-2):
determining respective sub-result data items relating to the data analytics workflow based on respective computational tasks performed within the respective directed acyclic subgraphs, wherein the respective zero-knowledge subproofs comprise the respective sub- result data items (0045; 0051; 0052);
determining the zero-knowledge proof, comprising result data, relating to the data analytics workflow based on the respective zero-knowledge subproofs, wherein the result data is determined based on the respective sub-result data items (0045; 0051; 0052); and
transmitting the zero-knowledge proof to a verifier device, wherein the zero- knowledge proof facilitates verification that the zero-knowledge proof, comprising the result data, is accurate, without exposing, to the verifier device, underlying data of the data analytics workflow that was utilized to determine and generate the zero-knowledge proof (0053-0055).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Bai et al. (CN 120896740 A) discloses a system and method for security authentication of Internet of Things.
Dai et al. (US 2023/0351035 A1) discloses a system and method for user-controllable sharing of authorization for private data.
Jakobsson (US 2022/0393892 A1) discloses a system and method for composite cryptographic systems with variable configuration parameters and memory bound functions.
Huang (CN 120934735 A) discloses a system and method for safety guarantee in medical data interaction.
Lai et al. (US 2022/0043688 A1) discloses a system and method for heterogenous scheduling for sequential computer DAG.
Ma et al. (US 2026/0128896 A1) discloses a system and method for enhanced zero-knowledge analysis.
Roling et al. (US 2022/0353086 A1) discloses a system and method for trusted aggregation with data privacy based on zero-knowledge-proofs.
Sniffen et al. (US Patent 8,422,683 B2) discloses a system and method for appraising systems with zero knowledge proofs.
Visegrady et al. (US 2020/0396075 A1) discloses a system and method for hardware security modules for executing zero-knowledge proofs.
Wang et al. (CN 120124677 A) discloses a system and method for veritably generating pre-training model based on zero knowledge proof.
Wang et al. (US 2024/0421998 A1) discloses a system and method for blockchain oracle based on zero-knowledge proof with recursive prover.
Westland et al. (US Patent 11,146,399 B2) discloses a system and method for retrieving zero-knowledge proof cloaked data on distributed ledger-based networks.
Wu et al. (CN 120185817 A) discloses a system and method for vector commitment scheme generation and supporting high-efficiency proof.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SARAH SU whose telephone number is (571)270-3835. The examiner can normally be reached 6:30 AM - 3:00 PM.
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/SARAH SU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2431
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