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 .
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) 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102[a][1] as being anticipated by Elliot et al. (US-20210345112).
a. Referring to claims 1, 8, 10 and 15:
Regarding claims 1, 8, 10 and 15, Elliot teaches a method for wireless communication, comprising: transmitting, by an access point (AP), a first frame, wherein the first frame contains identity information, and the identity information is determined based on first secret information (Para 126 and 97…. management frame comprising secure token (tokenBS) which is determined based on a secret key); wherein the identity information is used by a station (STA) to associate with the AP (Para 146… using the security token to make the association).
a. Referring to claims 2, 11 and 16:
Regarding claims 2, 11 and 16, Elliot teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the identity information is further used by the STA to determine whether the AP is masqueraded by another device (Para 123… using tokenBS to determine evil twin AP); wherein the case that the identity information is used by the STA to determine whether the AP is masqueraded by the another device comprises that: in a case where verification information is the same as the identity information, the AP is determined by the STA not to be masqueraded by the another device; and/or in a case where the verification information is different from the identity information, the AP is determined by the STA to have been masqueraded by the another device (Para 123 and 124… the tokenBS is verified/validated to determine an evil twin AP); wherein the verification information is determined based on the first secret information (Para 123 and 124… secret key K).
a. Referring to claims 3, 12, 17 and 18:
Regarding claims 3, 12, 17 and 18, Elliot teaches the method of claim 2, further comprising: in a case where the AP is determined by the STA not to be masqueraded by the another device, receiving, by the AP, an association request frame from the STA (Para 146… trusted association).
a. Referring to claims 4, 13 and 19:
Regarding claims 4, 13 and 19, Elliot teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the case that the identity information is used by the STA to associate with the AP comprises that: in a case where verification information is the same as the identity information, the STA associates with the STA by directly transmitting an association request frame (Para 146… trusted association); and/or in a case where the verification information is different from the identity information, the STA associates with the AP through initial access (Para 146… if token is invalid, trusted association is halted and AP goes thru standard connection); wherein the verification information is determined based on the first secret information (Para 123 and 124… secret key K).
a. Referring to claims 5, 14 and 20:
Regarding claims 5, 14 and 20, Elliot teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the first secret information is a secret value shared between the AP and an associated STA (Para 122… secret key shared between the AP and client).
a. Referring to claim 6:
Regarding claim 6, Elliot teaches the method of claim 5, wherein: the first secret information is a preshared key (PSK) or a simultaneous authentication of equals (SAE) key; or the first secret information is a key derived from the PSK or the SAE key (Para 74 and 122…. pre-shared key).
a. Referring to claim 7:
Regarding claim 7, Elliot teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the first secret information is predefined by a protocol, or the first secret information is determined by negotiation between the STA and the AP, or the first secret information is configured by the AP (Para 145…. provisioning of the secret key).
a. Referring to claim 9:
Regarding claim 9, Elliot teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the first frame is a beacon frame, or the first frame is a probe response frame (Para 93…. trusted beacon frame).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to IZUNNA OKEKE whose telephone number is (571)270-3854. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 8 - 4 EST.
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/IZUNNA OKEKE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2497