DETAILED ACTION
Notice of 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
This action is in reply to the application filed on August 18, 2025.
Claims 1–20 are currently pending and have been examined.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statements filed on November 18, 2025 and December 2, 2025 have been considered. Initialed copies of the Forms 1449 are enclosed herewith.
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. 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 1–20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1–12 and 14–20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,417,434 (“reference patent”).
For claim 1, although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claim 1 of the reference patent discloses a narrower scope that is encompassed by claim 1 of the present application. Claim 1 of the reference patent discloses an identical information communication method as claim 1 of the present application, but additionally discloses a user interface at a server, requesting a response, a health dashboard, and further expands on the self-contained network. Claim 1 of the reference patent therefore discloses all of the limitations of the present application, even if it further requires these features. Thus, claim 1 of the reference patent anticipates claim 1 of the present application.
For claim 2, claim 2 of the reference patent discloses a method identical to claim 2 of the present application.
For claim 3, claim 3 of the reference patent discloses a method identical to claim 3 of the present application.
For claim 4, claim 4 of the reference patent discloses a method identical to claim 4 of the present application.
For claim 5, claim 5 of the reference patent discloses a method identical to claim 5 of the present application.
For claim 6, claim 6 of the reference patent discloses a method identical to claim 6 of the present application.
For claim 7, claim 7 of the reference patent discloses a method identical to claim 7 of the present application.
For claim 8, claim 8 of the reference patent discloses a method identical to claim 8 of the present application.
For claim 9, claim 9 of the reference patent discloses a method identical to claim 9 of the present application.
For claim 10, claim 10 of the reference patent discloses a method identical to claim 10 of the present application.
For claim 11, although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claim 11 of the reference patent discloses a narrower scope that is encompassed by claim 11 of the present application. Claim 11 of the reference patent discloses an identical information communication system as claim 11 of the present application, but additionally discloses a user interface at a server, requesting a response, a health dashboard, and further expands on the self-contained network. Claim 11 of the reference patent therefore discloses all of the limitations of the present application, even if it further requires these features. Thus, claim 11 of the reference patent anticipates claim 11 of the present application.
For claim 12, claim 12 of the reference patent anticipates the system of claim 12 of the present application.
For claim 13, claim 14 of the reference patent disclose a system identical to claim 13 of the present application.
For claim 14, claim 15 of the reference patent disclose a system identical to claim 14 of the present application.
For claim 15, claim 16 of the reference patent discloses a system identical to claim 15 of the present application.
For claim 16, claim 17 of the reference patent discloses a system identical to claim 16 of the present application.
For claim 17, claim 18 of the reference patent disclose a system identical to claim 17 of the present application.
For claim 18, claim 19 of the reference patent disclose a system identical to claim 18 of the present application.
For claim 19, although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claim 20 of the reference patent discloses a narrower scope that is encompassed by claim 19 of the present application. Claim 20 of the reference patent discloses an identical information communication system as claim 19 of the present application, but additionally discloses a user interface at a server, requesting a response, a health dashboard, and further expands on the self-contained network. Claim 20 of the reference patent therefore discloses all of the limitations of the present application, even if it further requires these features. Thus, claim 20 of the reference patent anticipates claim 19 of the present application.
For claim 20, claim 2 of the reference patent discloses a method identical to the system in claim 20 of the present application.
Prior Art Not Relied Upon
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure. The following references are pertinent for disclosing various features relevant to the invention, but not all the features or combination of features of the invention, for at least the following reasons:
Nice et al., U.S. Patent App. No. 2006/0178983, discloses matching lender criteria with borrower information.
Thomas, U.S. Patent App. No. 2019/0333142, discloses encrypting loan criteria with a lender key.
Raduchel, U.S. Patent App. No. 2016/0050272, discloses containers and jails for isolating information.
Nord et al., U.S. Patent App. No. 2014/0164774, discloses user-specific credentials for restricting administrator access to vault information.
Pawlusiak et al., U.S. Patent App. No. 2013/0218752, discloses credit approval based on pre-qualifying applicant identification information.
These references alone or in combination fail to disclose the following limitations of claim 1:
generating, within the self-contained network, a universally encrypted entity-agnostic composite payload comprising the first response and the second response.
The prior art reference of record that is most closely related to the claim limitation recited above is Srivastava et al., U.S. Patent App. No. 2020/0311808 (“Srivastava”), which discusses encrypting and decrypting customer data. Srivastava, however, discusses decrypting information for sending to a customer, but does not disclose generating this information in a universal format through a composite payload. And, no reference could be found for encrypting responses in this way, nor would it necessarily have been obvious to combine such a reference with the existing references, or to combine so many references, to disclose the claimed limitations. Independent claims 11 and 19 include substantially the same features as claim 1.
Examiner Notes
Claims 1–20 are patent eligible under 35 U.S.C. 101 because they are not directed to an abstract idea.
Claims 1–20 do recite performing a loan transaction, which is the abstract idea of methods of organizing human activity because they recite a commercial interaction. This is further evidenced by specification paragraphs 2, 3, 16, and 17, which indicate that the interaction recited in the claims relates to the commercial transaction of loan financing.
Claims 1–20, however, further recite additional elements that are integrated into a practical application because the specific combination of steps applies the judicial exception in a way that is beyond a general linking to the technological environment. These claims recite “storing, in a self-contained network, the first rule encrypted with a first entity-specific key associated with the first entity and a second rule encrypted with a second entity-specific key associated with the second entity, wherein the self-contained network restricts an entity from accessing any entity-specific rules not associated with the entity”, “generating, within the self-contained network, a universally encrypted entity-agnostic composite payload comprising the first response and the second response”, and “retrieving host and infrastructure metrics regarding a performance of one or more devices of the self-contained network”. The claims therefore involve encrypting loan information with an entity-specific key so that only they have access to the information, and then displaying that information in a universal format so that it is convenient to access, while simultaneously monitoring performance of the self-contained network. Rather than merely applying the claimed invention to a technological environment to improve a loan transaction, the claims instead improve the encryption technology itself, by providing a secure jailed environment and then decrypting information for a specific party in a convenient manner. The claims therefore recite an unconventional arrangement of technology that is more than mere instructions to apply the judicial exception to generic computer technology. Thus, the limitations of claims 1–20, in combination, integrate the abstract idea into a practical application.
For these reasons, claims 1–20 are not rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101.
Conclusion
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/DIVESH PATEL/Examiner, Art Unit 3696
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