Appeal No. 2003-1829 Application No. 08/994,878 Asay may initially store the private key on the user's system, Asay clearly teaches destroying it after it is used, thereby meeting the first claimed alternative. Further, Asay teaches (column 27, lines 32-35) that "technological improvements may render the security of the key pair vulnerable to an attack facilitated by the availability of an accumulating body of ciphertext." Similarly, Asay discusses (column 28, lines 13-15) the risk of compromise of a private key. Therefore, Asay clearly teaches the need to destroy the private key so as to avoid rendering it vulnerable to an attack or to risk of compromise. Consequently, we find appellant's argument unpersuasive. Appellant has not argued the combinability of the references, nor presented any further arguments. Therefore, we will sustain the rejection of claims 5 through 8. CONCLUSION The decision of the examiner rejecting claims 5 through 8 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 is affirmed. 5Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 NextLast modified: November 3, 2007