DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
1. The following is a Final office action in response to the communication received on January 30, 2026. Claims 1, 9, and 15 are amended. Claims 1-20 are pending and examined herein.
Priority
2. The examiner acknowledges priority benefits being claimed by the Applicant for U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/625,603 filed on February 02, 2018.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
3. 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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more. Next using the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance (hereinafter 2019 PEG) will explain his position as set forth below.
Under step 1, claims 1-8 are a non-transitory computer readable medium (CRM); claims 9-14 are also a non-transitory CRM; and claim 15-20 are a system. Thus, each claim 1-20, on its face, is directed to one of the statutory categories (i.e., useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter) of 35 U.S.C. §101.
Under Step 2A Prong One, per MPEP 2106.04, prong one asks does the claim recite an abstract idea, law of nature, or natural phenomenon? In Prong One examiners evaluate whether the claim recites a judicial exception, i.e. whether a law of nature, natural phenomenon, or abstract idea is set forth or described in the claim. While the terms "set forth" and "described" are thus both equated with "recite", their different language is intended to indicate that there are two ways in which an exception can be recited in a claim. For instance, the claims in Diehr, 450 U.S. at 178 n. 2, 179 n.5, 191-92, 209 USPQ at 4-5 (1981), clearly stated a mathematical equation in the repetitively calculating step, and the claims in Mayo, 566 U.S. 66, 75-77, 101 USPQ2d 1961, 1967-68 (2012), clearly stated laws of nature in the wherein clause, such that the claims "set forth" an identifiable judicial exception. Alternatively, the claims in Alice Corp., 573 U.S. at 218, 110 USPQ2d at 1982, described the concept of intermediated settlement without ever explicitly using the words "intermediated" or "settlement."
Next, per 2019 PEG, to determine whether a claim recites an abstract idea in Prong One, examiners are now to: (I) Identify the specific limitation(s) in the claim under examination (individually or in combination) that the examiner believes recites an abstract idea; and (II) determine whether the identified limitation(s) falls within the subject matter groupings of abstract ideas enumerated in Section I of the 2019 PEG. If the identified limitation(s) falls within the subject matter groupings of abstract ideas enumerated in Section I, analysis should proceed to Prong Two in order to evaluate whether the claim integrates the abstract idea into a practical application.
(I) Based on abstract recitation per claims 1, 9, and 15 (i.e. recitation with the exception of additional elements which are explicitly noted in prong two). (II) The claims recite an abstract idea of redeeming loyalty points earned by a user at a first merchant loyalty program where user is a member to an exchange specific currency, said exchange specific currency is then utilized to obtain loyalty points of a second merchant loyalty program where the user is not a member which is certain methods of organizing human activity.
The phrase "Certain methods of organizing human activity" applies to fundamental economic principles or practices (including hedging, insurance, mitigating risk); commercial or legal interactions (including agreements in the form of contracts; legal obligations; advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors; business relations); managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people (including social activities, teaching, and following rules or instructions). Similarly user purchases and other interactions earn loyalty points (a marketing concept) such points are to be manipulated or organized or managed via an exchange specific that facilitates loyalty points exchange.
Therefore, the identified limitations fall within the subject matter groupings of abstract ideas enumerated in Section I of 2019 PEG, thus analysis now proceeds to Prong Two in order to evaluate whether the claim integrates the abstract idea into a practical application.
Under Step 2A Prong Two, per MPEP 2106.04, prong two asks does the claim recite additional elements that integrate the judicial exception into a practical application? In Prong Two, examiners evaluate whether the claim as a whole integrates the exception into a practical application of that exception. If the additional elements in the claim integrate the recited exception into a practical application of the exception, then the claim is not directed to the judicial exception (Step 2A: NO) and thus is eligible at Pathway B. This concludes the eligibility analysis. If, however, the additional elements do not integrate the exception into a practical application, then the claim is directed to the recited judicial exception (Step 2A: YES), and requires further analysis under Step 2B (where it may still be eligible if it amounts to an ‘‘inventive concept’’).
Next, per 2019 PEG, Prong Two represents a change from prior guidance. The analysis under Prong Two is the same for all claims reciting a judicial exception, whether the exception is an abstract idea, a law of nature, or a natural phenomenon. Examiners evaluate integration into a practical application by: (I) Identifying whether there are any additional elements recited in the claim beyond the judicial exception(s); and (II) evaluating those additional elements individually and in combination to determine whether they integrate the exception into a practical application, using one or more of the considerations laid out by the Supreme Court and the Federal Circuit.
Accordingly, the examiner will evaluate whether the claims recite one or more additional element(s) that integrate the exception into a practical application of that exception by considering them both individually and as a whole.
The claim elements in addition to the abstract idea, i.e. additional elements, as recited in claim 1 note "non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions embodied therein that when executed causes a computer system to perform a method for utilizing a centralized exchange specific to manage a point exchange from a plurality of different reward programs maintained at a plurality of different reward management systems" and "authenticating comprising: performing a hash of data"; claim 9 note "at least are a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, the instructions comprising: one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a centralized exchange specific, cause the one or more processors to" and "authentication comprising: a hash of plurality of metrics", and claim 15 "system comprising: one or more computing devices to" and "validation comprising: a hash of said data"; and location of computing device of the user (per claims 1, 9, and 15). Remaining claims, namely 2-8; 10-14; and 16-20, either recite the same additional element(s) as already noted above or simply lack recitation of an additional element, in which case note prong one as set forth above.
As would be readily apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art (hereinafter PHOSITA), the additional elements are generic computing components, for instance see Fig. 5 and its associated disclosure. The additional elements are simply utilized as generic tools to implement the abstract idea or plan as "apply it" instructions (see MPEP 2106.05(f)), for instance see Fig. 5 and its associated disclosure. The additional elements are described at a high level of generality, for instance see Fig. 5 and its associated disclosure; and at least see as-filed spec. paras. [0020]-[0024], [0029]-[0030], and, [0080]-[0090]. Furthermore, hashing is also being simply applied to one or more piece of information or data as "apply it" instructions as it is described at a high level of generality, see at least see as-filed spec. paras. [0049] and [0054]. Further, the claims appear to be implementing a commercial solution to a commercial problem of managing loyalty points, see at least as-filed spec. para. [0002]; [0012], not a technical one which can be implemented as human analog steps using additional elements as tools (s). The abstract idea is intended to be carried out in a technical environment note using a network based centralized exchange specific or central exchange, which manages and/or facilitates loyalty exchange by receiving points from an entity and obtaining client device location automatically (which is insignificant extra solution activity such as pre-solution activity e.g. data gathering - see MPEP 2106.05(g)) at a centralized exchange specific, authenticating said points, converting points to exchange specific currency (based on exchange specific's own conversion scheme or rules), and facilitates request to exchange specific currency to points of a second loyalty program however fail to contain meaningful limitations beyond generally linking the use of an abstract idea to a particular technological environment (see MPEP 2106.05(h)), for instance see Fig. 1-2 and their associated disclosure.
Accordingly, viewed as a whole, these additional claim element(s) do not provide meaningful limitation(s) to integrate the abstract idea (prong one), into a practical solution (prong two) upon considering the additional elements both individually and as a combination or as a whole as they fail to provide: an additional element reflects an improvement in the functioning of a computer, or an improvement to other technology or technical field; or an additional element applies or uses the judicial exception, again, in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment, such that the claim as a whole is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception as explained above.
Thus, the abstract idea of redeeming loyalty points earned by a user at a first merchant loyalty program where user is a member to an exchange specific currency, said exchange specific currency is then utilized to obtain loyalty points of a second merchant loyalty program where the user is not a member which is certain methods of organizing human activity and implemented using mathematical concepts (prong one) is not integrated into a practical application upon consideration of the additional element(s) both individually and as a combination (prong two).
Therefore, the additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application, accordingly the claims are directed to the abstract idea, and require further analysis under Step 2B.
Under step 2B, per MPEP 2106.05, as it applies to claims 1-20, the Examiner will evaluate whether the foregoing additional elements analyzed under prong two, when considered both individually and as a whole provide an inventive concept (i.e., whether the additional elements amount to significantly more than the exception itself). The abstract idea of redeeming loyalty points earned by a user at a first merchant loyalty program where user is a member to an exchange specific currency, said exchange specific currency is then utilized to obtain loyalty points of a second merchant loyalty program where the user is not a member which is certain methods of organizing human activity and implemented using mathematical concepts - has not been applied in an eligible manner. The claim elements in addition to the abstract idea are described at a high level of generality (Id. or note step 2A prong two). The claims here appear to be automating mental tasks such as human exchange specific can perform the steps that are intended to be performed by a processor situated at centralized exchange specific, i.e. processor situated at centralized exchange specific is merely executing "apply it" instructions. As, such the abstract idea is intended to be merely carried out in a technical environment, however fail to contain meaningful limitations beyond generally linking the use of an abstract idea to a particular technological environment.
The Examiner provides citation to one or more of the court decisions as noting the well-understood, routine, conventional nature of insignificant extra solution activity such as pre-solution activity e.g. data gathering of loyalty rewards as follows:
i. Receiving or transmitting data over a network, e.g., using the Internet to gather data, Symantec, 838 F.3d at 1321, 120 USPQ2d at 1362 (utilizing an exchange specific computer to forward information); TLI Communications LLC v. AV Auto. LLC, 823 F.3d 607, 610, 118 USPQ2d 1744, 1745 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (using a telephone for image transmission); OIP Techs., Inc., v. Amazon.com, Inc., 788 F.3d 1359, 1363, 115 USPQ2d 1090, 1093 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (sending messages over a network); buySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 765 F.3d 1350, 1355, 112 USPQ2d 1093, 1096 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (computer receives and sends information over a network) [similarly here centralized exchange specific or exchange communicates and/or sends/receives data such as loyalty-rewards through a network such as Internet to facilitate loyalty point management and/or loyalty point exchange transactions]; and
ii. For example, a mere data gathering such as a step of obtaining information about credit card transactions so that the information can be analyzed in order to detect whether the transactions were fraudulent i.e. authentication of transaction. See MPEP 2106.05(g) for more information concerning insignificant extra-solution activity, including a discussion of the exemplar provided herein, which is based on CyberSource, 654 F.3d at 1375 [similarly here loyalty points data is gathered, hashed as part of authentication, and analyzed to facilitate loyalty point exchange transactions].
Next, in view of compact prosecution only, further analysis per the Berkheimer Memo dated April 19, 2018 is being conducted as the additional elements here would be readily apparent as generic to a person having ordinary skill in the art (hereinafter PHOSITA), in other words analysis is similar to Berkheimer claim 1 and not claims 4-7 where there was "a genuine issue of material fact in light of the specification," nevertheless the Examiner finds the additional elements when considered both individually and as a combination to be well-understood, routine or conventional and expressly supports in writing as follows:
The Examiner provides citation to one or more court decision(s) and/or publications as noting the well-understood, routine, conventional nature of (A) authenticating data; (B) Hashing; (C) client device location as follows:
(A) Authenticating or validating data: (a) US7702918B2 see col 20 line 15-col 21 line 16; (b) 2004/0249710 [0069]; (c) 2014/0304054 [0025], [0043]; (d) 2016/0092904 see [0089], [0095]-[0097]; (e) 2016/0150078 [0040]; (f) collecting and comparing known information (Classen); and (g) obtaining and comparing intangible data (CyberSource).
(B) Hashing data: (a) Samdadiya Patent No.: US 9,690,901 note Fig. 5; col 2 lines 19-40 note "hash algorithm on an input comprising the unique identifier and the advertiser identifier. The unique identifier uniquely identifies a particular browser"; col 9 line 34 - col 10 line 42; (b) Henkin Pub. No.: 2011/0213655 note well known hashing functions [0214] note "the SourcePage ID may be generated using different types of hashing function such as, for example, one or more of the well known hashing functions: elf64; RAVAL; MD2; MD4; MD5; Radio Gatlin; RIPEMD-64; RIPEMD-160; RIPEMD-320; SHA!; SHA256; SHA384; SHA512; Skein; Tiger; Whirlpool; Pearson hashing; Fowler-NollVo; Zobrist hashing; JenkinsHash; Java hashCode; Bernstein hash; etc."; (c) Pub. No. US 2004/0103160 note [0056]-[0057]; (d) Pub. No. US 2008/0281756 note Abstract, [0029]-[0030]; (e) Pub. No. US 2014/0032265 note [0046] "The consumer data 503 may include an email address 504 or other communication identifier. In an embodiment, email address 504 may be anonymized by being hashed, encrypted, check summed and/or otherwise obfuscated by communicators and/or the data exchange system to protect the identity of the consumer.", [0063], [0089]; (f) Pub. No. US 2015/0058119 see [0038]; (g) creating an index, and using that index to search for and retrieve data (Int. Ventures v. Erie Indemnity I: ‘434 patent); encoding and decoding image data (RecogniCorp).
(C) Regarding location of consumer mobile device, it is simply being gathered from what appears to be a built in component of consumer device somehow automatically (which examiner interprets from the state of the art as it is not described in the as-filed spec. of the instant application), nevertheless, in view of compact prosecution the Examiner provides evidence that it is well-known or well-understood, routine, conventional activity see the following publications:
- (a) Pub. No.: US 2010/0273452 paras. [0073] note "The location determination routine 94 is operable to determine a geographic location of the target device 14 using GPS sensors or any other conventional means of determining geographic location."; and [0091] note "In one aspect, a recovery module 116 may further include a parental control module. In such an aspect, the parental control module may allow for disablement of the wireless device at specific locations (e.g. school, church, etc.). Further, the parental control module may provide for a web-based interface to control at least a portion of data/voice interactions with specific wireless devices. For example, specific web content may be restricted and/or specific numbers may be blocked. Still further, the parental control module may allow for detection of whether specific locations have been visited. For example, the module may determine if the device (and presumably the child) visited a library or a mall after school, or if the child left the service coverage area. In another aspect, the parental control module may be used to remotely disable at least a portion of the functionalities of an associated wireless device."
- (b) Pub. No.: US 2009/0288012 note [0148] note "If at any time during the initialization of any of these transaction configurations a step fails, for example one party uses the conveyed transaction identifier with the transaction authority, but the authority has no record of the transaction, or the transaction is not in the correct pending state, or there are some other conditions on the transaction which cannot be met such as the transaction violating the conditions of parental controls put in place by the guardian of a user who is a minor, then the violations are stored at the transaction authority 102 for security and debugging purposes and appropriate messages are sent to the parties."; and [0298] note "The user's location can be determined by the system using one or more well-understood methods such as GPS, triangulation, or by determining if they are near parts of the system such as short range transmitter access points which have had their locations determined, either by some automated means such as global positioning system (GPS) or by having had its location entered into the system manually."
- (c) Pub. No.: US 2012/0101881 paras. [0254] note "In some implementations, the app may include an indication of the location (e.g., name of the merchant store, geographical location, information about the aisle within the merchant store, etc.) of the user, e.g., loll. The app may provide an indication of a pay amount due for the purchase of the product, e.g., 1012. In some implementations, the app may provide various options for the user to pay the amount for purchasing the product( s ). For example, the app may utilize the GPS coordinates to determine the merchant store within the user is present, and direct the user to a website of the merchant."; [0258] note "In some implementations, the app may provide the L-PROMO with the GPS location of the user. Based on the GPS location of the user, the L-PROMO may determine the context of the user (e.g., whether the user is in a store, doctor's office, hospital, postal service office, etc.). Based on the context, the user app may present the appropriate fields to the user, from which the user may select fields and/or field values to send as part of the purchase order transmission."
- (d) Pub. No.: US 2011/0029370 paras. [0060] note "Various techniques may be employed to reduce the probability of fraud in the reporting of presence at a store. In some embodiments, an assertion of presence at a store may be validated against various criteria such as the last known location of the mobile phone and the time since the last known location and/or error radius of the mobile phone (which in some embodiments may be required to be instantaneous and/ or received within a short time threshold, such as ten seconds). If it is determined that it is unlikely that the mobile phone traveled from the last known location since the time of the last report, the assertion may be rejected. In some embodiments, multiple sequential locational reports and/or assertions of presence in stores, and the times thereof, may be analyzed to determine whether it is plausible that the reports are accurate, and the assertion may be rejected if it is determined not to be plausible, e.g. if it requires a rapidity of transit that is infeasible, for example a velocity in excess of 80 miles per hour for over short (e.g. less than two hour) periods of time."; also see [0021]; [0030]-[0034]; and [0037].
- (e) Roeding Pub. No.: US 2011/0029370 Al [0021] note "determine where the consumers are based upon the locations of their mobile phones 101. Many mobile phones 101 are equipped with global positioning system (GPS) units 212 that provide precise location information. The cell phones can transmit this information to the system and the server can determine how close a consumer is to a store 301. The system can also determine if the consumer is within the store 301. If GPS is not available, various other location detection mechanisms can be used to determine the location of the consumer and distance 309 from the store 301"; [0027]-[0032]; [0037]
Therefore the claims here fail to contain any element or combination of elements that would be considered significantly more and the claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 for lacking eligible subject matter.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 - Examiner's Reason(s) For Withdrawal
4. Claims 1-20 were previously rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Paintin et al. (Pub. No.: US 2010/0042517) referred to hereinafter as Paintin, in view of Hattikudru et al. (see Patent No.: US 9,367,856), referred to hereinafter as Hattikudru, and in view of Hage (Pub. No.: US 2014/0195324).
In view of the amendments as filed on 03/09/2022, which pertain to authenticating loyalty points, namely - authenticate each first reward program point of the plurality of first reward program points to determine a total number of authenticated first reward program points, said authentication comprising: a hash of said data included with each point of the plurality of first reward program points; and a removal of any of said plurality of first reward program points that fail said authentication, the Examiner finds the following prior art to be the closest, see as follows:
- Pub. No.: US 2016/0358200 see [0047] "The transaction data transmitting unit 124 transmits the transaction data attached with the rewards (the amount of points) to the mobile device 20. The transaction data transmitting unit 124 encrypts the transaction data using the key stored in the key storage 115 and attaches the amount of points to the encrypted transaction data before the transmission."; [0048] "The redemption section 113 executes processes to redeem the rewards. The redemption section 113 includes a token receiving unit 131, a token verifying unit 132, a redemption processing unit 133, and a completion data transmitting unit 134."; [0049] "The token receiving unit 131 receives from the mobile device 20 a token which is issued by the server 30 and indicates the redemption is available. As described later, the token is generated and encrypted by the server 30 and is forwarded by the mobile device 20 to the ePOS 10. In this embodiment, the token includes the amount of points to redeem."; [0050] "The token verifying unit 132 verifies the token received from the mobile device 20. The token verifying unit 132 decrypts the token using the key stored in the key storage 115. The token verifying unit 132 may determine that the token is valid when the token is successfully decrypted. Further, the token verifying unit 132 may use general technique to verify data such as computing hash code of the token and comparing the hash code attached with the token and so forth. In this embodiment, the token includes the datetime of issuance and the token verifying unit 132 checks if the datetime is within a predetermined terms to determine if the token is valid. When the token is successfully verified, the redemption to the user is permitted." [0051] "The redemption processing unit 133 executes processes related to the redemption. For example, the redemption processing unit 133 may display on the display 12 that the user should be rewarded so that the clerk at the shop provided with the ePOS 10 may give gifts to the user. Further, for example, the redemption processing unit 133 may display the amount of points to be redeemed on the display 12 so that the clerk sees the amount and makes a discount. Further for example, the redemption processing unit 133 may send a command for discount in which the amount of points is included to the POS unit 114 so that the POS unit 114 makes a discount according to the amount of points."; [0077] "The transaction data verifying unit 322 verifies the transaction data received from the mobile device 20. As described above, the transaction data is encrypted in the ePOS 10. The transaction data verifying unit 322 decrypts the transaction data using the key stored in the key storage 344. The transaction data verifying unit 322 may determine that the transaction data is valid when the transaction data is successfully decrypted. Further, the transaction data verifying unit 322 may use general techniques to verify data such as computing hash code of the transaction data and comparing the hash code attached with the transaction data. The transaction data verifying unit 322 stores the decrypted transaction data to the transaction database 341 along with the user ID attached to the transaction data. The transaction data verifying unit 322 adds the amount of points attached to the transaction data to the amount stored in the customer database 342 corresponding to the user ID included in the transaction data."; [0078] "The reward data transmitting unit 323 transmits the reward data to the mobile device 20 when the transaction data is successfully verified. In this embodiment, the reward data transmitting unit 323 also transmits the decrypted transaction data with the reward data to the mobile device 20. When the transaction data is successfully verified, the reward data transmitting unit 323 also adds the amount of points which was attached to the transaction data to the amount in the customer database 342 corresponding to the user ID attached to the transaction data. Further, the reward data transmitting unit 323 stores the decrypted transaction data along with the user ID attached to the transaction data. When the verification of the transaction data fails, the reward data transmitting unit 323 transmits an error to the mobile device 20."; and [0079] "The redemption storage 243 stores the redemption data. FIG. 13 shows an example of a configuration of the redemption data stored in the redemption storage 243. As shown in FIG. 13, the redemption data includes columns of user ID, datetime, brand, and points. The column of the user ID is an identification of the user to which the points are redeemed. The column of datetime is when the points are redeemed. The column of the brand is the brand information broadcasted by the ePOS 10 when establishing connection. The column of points is the amount of points which is redeemed. The redemption section 312 executes processes to redeem the rewards. The redemption section 312 includes a redeem request receiving unit 331, a redemption verifying unit 332, a token generating unit 333, a token transmitting unit 334, a completion data receiving unit 335, and a redemption data transmitting unit 336."
- Pub. No.: US 20120123845 Systems and/or methods for fraud detection in award point programs see [0049] "It sometimes is desirable for an ER system to track product information and not information about individual customers. Accordingly, in certain exemplary embodiments, the ER system may not store any personal customer information. Rather, in certain exemplary embodiments, the manufacturer may forward anonymous unique identifiers for new members. One example that may be used is a “HASH ID Number,” which may be generated by applying a hash algorithm to a member's e-mail address (or other unique information) so that only the original forwarding party (e.g., the manufacturer) can decode this essentially encrypted data. The Hash-ID number may be used by the third party ER system as an account number or secondary account number to group all items purchased by a particular member."; and [0050] "Indeed, in certain illustrative implementations, because the ER system operated by the assignee of the instant invention services many manufacturers, these manufacturers may provide to the ER system the serial number (and/or other product information) once the item is registered and the points posted, along with the individual's HASH ID Number (derived from the member's email address and/or other information). For privacy concerns, the supplier need not necessarily share the actual email address with the ER system. Instead, the Hash-ID Number may be shared and linked with the individual if fraud is detected and an investigation ensues. It will be appreciated that fraudulent acts may be identified and traced across multiple suppliers and retailers in exemplary embodiments where a Hash ID Number is provided to the ER database. It will be appreciated that the hash algorithm may be unknown to the ER system and known only to manufacturer or rewards program system in different exemplary embodiments."; and
- JP 2005203846 A see [0008] "After establishing a session with the base station, each node attaches a message authenticator to the transmission data and inspects it when it passes through the base station to identify the transmission / forwarding node and move the reward point of the transmitting node to the forwarding node . At the time of transfer from the base station to the receiving node, the receiving node notifies the base station of reception. Because of the common key encryption base, the load on the node is small, but there is a restriction that a source routing method that always passes through a base station is assumed in communication between nodes."; [0014] "An embodiment of the present invention is a reward point module issuance management system having an authority to increase reward points of a reward point module, issues a reward point module configured by a tamper resistant module, and relays a wireless terminal by a cellular network system The wireless terminal is registered as an exchange specific node, the transmitting wireless terminal transmits an encrypted message with reward points, and the forwarding wireless terminal receives the encrypted message with reward points. This is a security mechanism that receives and decrypts an encrypted message to which reward points are added at a receiving wireless terminal."; [0016] "It has a reward point module composed of an arbitrary node certificate and its private key, an arbitrary certificate authority certificate (CA certificate), and a tamper resistant module (TRM)."; [0031] "Fifth, a reward point management method of a reward point module configured with a tamper resistant module (TRM), which is a premise of the incentive function, will be described. The mediation node registered by each node may be different from the mediation node that mediates reward points. Here, for simplification, both are assumed to be mediation nodes j. The node i can extract the reward point information RPi_X_O of X (? Y) points from the reward point information RPi_Y of the reward point module Cardi configured with its own TRM. The meaning of the reward point information RPi_Y is that the reward point information of the node i for Y points. The meaning of the reward point information RPi_X_O is that X points are extracted from the points owned by the node i. At this time, the reward point module Cardi decreases the point data of the reward point information RPi_Y by X points. As a result, the reward point information is RPi_Y-X. Sending reward point information may be simply sending reward points."; and [0039] "Fifth, a reward point management method of a reward point module configured with a tamper resistant module (TRM), which is a premise of the incentive function, will be described. The mediation node registered by each node may be different from the mediation node that mediates reward points. Here, for simplification, both are assumed to be mediation nodes j. The node i can extract the reward point information RPi_X_O of X (? Y) points from the reward point information RPi_Y of the reward point module Cardi configured with its own TRM. The meaning of the reward point information RPi_Y is that the reward point information of the node i for Y points. The meaning of the reward point information RPi_X_O is that X points are extracted from the points owned by the node i. At this time, the reward point module Cardi decreases the point data of the reward point information RPi_Y by X points. As a result, the reward point information is RPi_Y-X. Sending reward point information may be simply sending reward points."
However, the above noted references fail to clearly teach authenticate each first reward program point of the plurality of first reward program points to determine a total number of authenticated first reward program points, said authentication comprising: a hash of said data included with each point of the plurality of first reward program points; and a removal of any of said plurality of first reward program points that fail said authentication, as such, a prima facie case of obviousness cannot be established against the claims as claimed as a whole without relying upon improper hindsight. Therefore, the Examiner finds the claims non-obvious over prior art of record.
Response to Applicant's Remarks/Arguments
5. As per "35 U.S.C. §101 Rejection", the Applicant merely reiterates what the Non-Final Rejection states on pages 15-24 and 35-38 of the response filed by the Applicant on 01/30/2026. The arguments are on pages 25-34 of the response filed by the Applicant on 01/30/2026.
The 35 U.S.C. 101 rejection has been updated in view of filed claim amendments and the Examiner respectfully disagrees with the Applicant's arguments after considering them in their entirety for the reasons provided below.
No dispute regarding step 1 as the claims fall in one of the statutory categories.
Regarding step 2A prong one, the Examiner has consistently identified the claim as a whole as invoking certain methods of organizing human activity and had further highlighted which of the sub-groupings under certain methods of organizing activity the abstract recitation of the claim invokes, for instance note “based on the foregoing abstract recitation, the claims recite an abstract idea of redeeming loyalty points earned by a user at a first merchant loyalty program where user is a member to an exchange specific currency, said exchange specific currency is then utilized to obtain loyalty points of a second merchant loyalty program where the user is not a member which is certain methods of organizing human activity.
The phrase "Certain methods of organizing human activity" applies to fundamental economic principles or practices (including hedging, insurance, mitigating risk); commercial or legal interactions (including agreements in the form of contracts; legal obligations; advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors; business relations); managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people (including social activities, teaching, and following rules or instructions). Similarly user purchases and other interactions earn loyalty points (a marketing concept) such points are to be manipulated or organized or managed via an exchange specific that facilitates loyalty points exchange” and had previously explained such BRI in light of the as-filed specification paras. [0012]-[0013] as being proper. The Applicant has erred in arguing because the Examiner has not invoked mathematical concepts, yet, the Applicant in quotes notes that mathematical concepts grouping has been invoked. Further, the Examiner does not agree with the limiting characterization of certain methods of organizing human activity, what the Applicant notes on page 29 of the response 01/30/2026 is how a PHOSITA would interpret loyalty points. The Examiner’s explanation should not be truncated, rather should be read and understood by considering in its entirety. The Applicant interpreting only a small excerpt has resulted in erroneous interpretation by the Applicant. Thus, squarely, based on the abstract recitation when considered as a whole, under prong one, claim invoke certain methods of organizing human activity.
The Examiner has clearly noted the additional elements under prong two, which logically leaves the remainder recitation as the abstract recitation. The Applicant is also reminded to note “In Prong One examiners evaluate whether the claim recites a judicial exception, i.e. whether a law of nature, natural phenomenon, or abstract idea is set forth or described in the claim. While the terms "set forth" and "described" are thus both equated with "recite", their different language is intended to indicate that there are two ways in which an exception can be recited in a claim. For instance, the claims in Diehr, 450 U.S. at 178 n. 2, 179 n.5, 191-92, 209 USPQ at 4-5 (1981), clearly stated a mathematical equation in the repetitively calculating step, and the claims in Mayo, 566 U.S. 66, 75-77, 101 USPQ2d 1961, 1967-68 (2012), clearly stated laws of nature in the wherein clause, such that the claims "set forth" an identifiable judicial exception. Alternatively, the claims in Alice Corp., 573 U.S. at 218, 110 USPQ2d at 1982, described the concept of intermediated settlement without ever explicitly using the words "intermediated" or "settlement.".” Thus, contrary to the Applicant’s assertions, the Examiner has clearly noted what is to be considered as abstract recitation. The Examiner respectfully disagrees with the Applicant’s characterization of additional elements as noted on pages 31-33 of the response filed 01/30/2026.
Next, the Applicant argues against step 2B in view of erroneously determined additional elements and DDR. The Examiner finds no correlation between the unique facts of the instant application and DDR. The Examiner had clearly explained obtaining user data such as location data automatically is considered insignificant extra solution activity such as pre-solution activity e.g. data gathering. Further, the Examiner provided evidence that determining client device location is indeed well-understood, routine, or conventional, for instance note as follows:
“ii. For example, a mere data gathering such as a step of obtaining information about credit card transactions so that the information can be analyzed in order to detect whether the transactions were fraudulent i.e. authentication of transaction. See MPEP 2106.05(g) for more information concerning insignificant extra-solution activity, including a discussion of the exemplar provided herein, which is based on CyberSource, 654 F.3d at 1375 [similarly here loyalty points data is gathered, hashed as part of authentication, and analyzed to facilitate loyalty point exchange transactions].
Next, in view of compact prosecution only, further analysis per the Berkheimer Memo dated April 19, 2018 is being conducted as the additional elements here would be readily apparent as generic to a person having ordinary skill in the art (hereinafter PHOSITA), in other words analysis is similar to Berkheimer claim 1 and not claims 4-7 where there was "a genuine issue of material fact in light of the specification," nevertheless the Examiner finds the additional elements when considered both individually and as a combination to be well-understood, routine or conventional and expressly supports in writing as follows:
The Examiner provides citation to one or more court decision(s) and/or publications as noting the well-understood, routine, conventional nature of (A) authenticating data; (B) Hashing; (C) client device location as follows:
(A) Authenticating or validating data: (a) US7702918B2 see col 20 line 15-col 21 line 16; (b) 2004/0249710 [0069]; (c) 2014/0304054 [0025], [0043]; (d) 2016/0092904 see [0089], [0095]-[0097]; (e) 2016/0150078 [0040]; (f) collecting and comparing known information (Classen); and (g) obtaining and comparing intangible data (CyberSource).
(B) Hashing data: (a) Samdadiya Patent No.: US 9,690,901 note Fig. 5; col 2 lines 19-40 note "hash algorithm on an input comprising the unique identifier and the advertiser identifier. The unique identifier uniquely identifies a particular browser"; col 9 line 34 - col 10 line 42; (b) Henkin Pub. No.: 2011/0213655 note well known hashing functions [0214] note "the SourcePage ID may be generated using different types of hashing function such as, for example, one or more of the well known hashing functions: elf64; RAVAL; MD2; MD4; MD5; Radio Gatlin; RIPEMD-64; RIPEMD-160; RIPEMD-320; SHA!; SHA256; SHA384; SHA512; Skein; Tiger; Whirlpool; Pearson hashing; Fowler-NollVo; Zobrist hashing; JenkinsHash; Java hashCode; Bernstein hash; etc."; (c) Pub. No. US 2004/0103160 note [0056]-[0057]; (d) Pub. No. US 2008/0281756 note Abstract, [0029]-[0030]; (e) Pub. No. US 2014/0032265 note [0046] "The consumer data 503 may include an email address 504 or other communication identifier. In an embodiment, email address 504 may be anonymized by being hashed, encrypted, check summed and/or otherwise obfuscated by communicators and/or the data exchange system to protect the identity of the consumer.", [0063], [0089]; (f) Pub. No. US 2015/0058119 see [0038]; (g) creating an index, and using that index to search for and retrieve data (Int. Ventures v. Erie Indemnity I: ‘434 patent); encoding and decoding image data (RecogniCorp).
(C) Regarding location of consumer mobile device, it is simply being gathered from what appears to be a built in component of consumer device somehow automatically (which examiner interprets from the state of the art as it is not described in the as-filed spec. of the instant application), nevertheless, in view of compact prosecution the Examiner provides evidence that it is well-known or well-understood, routine, conventional activity see the following publications:
- (a) Pub. No.: US 2010/0273452 paras. [0073] note "The location determination routine 94 is operable to determine a geographic location of the target device 14 using GPS sensors or any other conventional means of determining geographic location."; and [0091] note "In one aspect, a recovery module 116 may further include a parental control module. In such an aspect, the parental control module may allow for disablement of the wireless device at specific locations (e.g. school, church, etc.). Further, the parental control module may provide for a web-based interface to control at least a portion of data/voice interactions with specific wireless devices. For example, specific web content may be restricted and/or specific numbers may be blocked. Still further, the parental control module may allow for detection of whether specific locations have been visited. For example, the module may determine if the device (and presumably the child) visited a library or a mall after school, or if the child left the service coverage area. In another aspect, the parental control module may be used to remotely disable at least a portion of the functionalities of an associated wireless device."
- (b) Pub. No.: US 2009/0288012 note [0148] note "If at any time during the initialization of any of these transaction configurations a step fails, for example one party uses the conveyed transaction identifier with the transaction authority, but the authority has no record of the transaction, or the transaction is not in the correct pending state, or there are some other conditions on the transaction which cannot be met such as the transaction violating the conditions of parental controls put in place by the guardian of a user who is a minor, then the violations are stored at the transaction authority 102 for security and debugging purposes and appropriate messages are sent to the parties."; and [0298] note "The user's location can be determined by the system using one or more well-understood methods such as GPS, triangulation, or by determining if they are near parts of the system such as short range transmitter access points which have had their locations determined, either by some automated means such as global positioning system (GPS) or by having had its location entered into the system manually."
- (c) Pub. No.: US 2012/0101881 paras. [0254] note "In some implementations, the app may include an indication of the location (e.g., name of the merchant store, geographical location, information about the aisle within the merchant store, etc.) of the user, e.g., loll. The app may provide an indication of a pay amount due for the purchase of the product, e.g., 1012. In some implementations, the app may provide various options for the user to pay the amount for purchasing the product( s ). For example, the app may utilize the GPS coordinates to determine the merchant store within the user is present, and direct the user to a website of the merchant."; [0258] note "In some implementations, the app may provide the L-PROMO with the GPS location of the user. Based on the GPS location of the user, the L-PROMO may determine the context of the user (e.g., whether the user is in a store, doctor's office, hospital, postal service office, etc.). Based on the context, the user app may present the appropriate fields to the user, from which the user may select fields and/or field values to send as part of the purchase order transmission."
- (d) Pub. No.: US 2011/0029370 paras. [0060] note "Various techniques may be employed to reduce the probability of fraud in the reporting of presence at a store. In some embodiments, an assertion of presence at a store may be validated against various criteria such as the last known location of the mobile phone and the time since the last known location and/or error radius of the mobile phone (which in some embodiments may be required to be instantaneous and/ or received within a short time threshold, such as ten seconds). If it is determined that it is unlikely that the mobile phone traveled from the last known location since the time of the last report, the assertion may be rejected. In some embodiments, multiple sequential locational reports and/or assertions of presence in stores, and the times thereof, may be analyzed to determine whether it is plausible that the reports are accurate, and the assertion may be rejected if it is determined not to be plausible, e.g. if it requires a rapidity of transit that is infeasible, for example a velocity in excess of 80 miles per hour for over short (e.g. less than two hour) periods of time."; also see [0021]; [0030]-[0034]; and [0037].
- (e) Roeding Pub. No.: US 2011/0029370 Al [0021] note "determine where the consumers are based upon the locations of their mobile phones 101. Many mobile phones 101 are equipped with global positioning system (GPS) units 212 that provide precise location information. The cell phones can transmit this information to the system and the server can determine how close a consumer is to a store 301. The system can also determine if the consumer is within the store 301. If GPS is not available, various other location detection mechanisms can be used to determine the location of the consumer and distance 309 from the store 301"; [0027]-[0032]; [0037]
Therefore the claims here fail to contain any element or combination of elements that would be considered significantly more and the claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 for lacking eligible subject matter.”
Thus, the advance lies entirely in the realm of abstract ideas, with no plausible alleged innovation in the non-abstract application realm. An advance of this nature is ineligible for patenting (SAP v. Investpic: Page 2, line 22 through Page 3, line 13); and “Even if a process of collecting and analyzing information is limited to particular content, or a particular source, that limitations does not make the collection and analysis other than abstract (SAP v. Investpic: Page 10, lines 18-24).”
Therefore based on a proper 2019 PEG based analysis of the claim as a whole through prong one, prong two, and step 2B it was determined that the claims are directed to an abstract idea without significantly more and, as such, the Examiner respectfully maintains the rejection.
Conclusion
6. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and all the references on PTO-892 Notice of Reference Cited should be duly noted by the Applicant as they can be subsequently used during prosecution.
*Previously provided
- WO2017/136956
[0095] For example, a user may be able to pay with points for any recurring payments, and a dynamic exchange of the points across merchants loyalty programs, and clients may be provided.
[0096] The system backend may manage point liquidity and pricing, market risks supporting the exchange, and introduce regulatory checks, and data analytics features that are used to facilitate client engagement, such as customer segmentation, in order to provide offers, recommend additional products etc. The ledger platform can be utilized to provide the necessary data to more complex analytics engine, which may produce and support various analytic models. [0097] The interface layer 204 may provide multiple systems, including a consumer rewards administration system, a merchant rewards administration system, an operational administration system, and a blockchain rewards ledger system, according to some embodiments. For example, the consumer rewards administration system may be configured to provide an ability to inquire regarding point balances, an ability to redeem points, an ability to transfer points to another entity, an ability to request refunds/returns, integration into the merchant portals, to allow consumers to pay with their rewards currency, as in some scenarios, the consumer is already authenticated either through online banking or merchant portal. For example, the merchant rewards administration system may be configured to provide an ability to inquire regarding point balances, an ability to transfer points to another entity, an ability to accept/reject consumer requests, and an ability to merchants to publish and manage their redemption rules. For example, the operational administration system may be configured to provide complex rewards reports by merchants and consumers, to service the consumer and merchant requests, and to support inquiries regarding the exchange rate between merchant points and rewards currency.
[00100] The product and channel layer represented by 202 and 203 may provide functionality associated with various accounts through transaction channels. For example, clients may be provided with a new multiple currency account, which holds balances in various currencies types, such as government backed currencies,: CAD, USD, EUR etc. , and also digital currencies such as a digital rewards currency, bitcoin, XRP, etc. The multiple currency account may be adapted for currency exchange, via traded or tiered rates etc. For example, the system 200 may be utilized to provide functionality to exchange merchant specific reward points, government backed currencies (CAD, USD) and digital currencies in a "digital rewards exchange", using the new digital currency. Merchants can trade their specific rewards points to and from the digital currency.
[001 14] A potential benefit may be an increased ease of adding new merchants, taking into account a blockchain's distributed nature, its ability to scale well (e.g., by virtue of being a distributed, decentralized platform), and its inherent security (e.g., via cryptographic techniques). While reconciliation for point / reward earning and redemption synchronized batches may be conducted on a periodic (e.g., monthly) basis, some embodiments allow for real-time or near real-time reconciliation. In some embodiments, the system 200 is configured to provide settlement with point (e.g., virtual reward) redemption in real-time for a payment transaction through a payment channel. [001 15] In accordance with some embodiments, the use of the system 200 permits conflict prevention natively through transaction propagation and automatic validation in a network. For example, this may be achieved by providing rules that reject inconsistent transactions, such as delete a row that has already been deleted by a previous transaction. An in-built approach is provided for transaction verification and guaranteed integrity through the consensus process between entities. In the blockchain infrastructure 206, for example, the hash of each block of transactions may be linked to the next, by forming a chain, where transactions contained in these blocks cannot be altered. Utilizing a peer-to-peer approach, each node may have a copy of all the data (or as close to it as possible), and updates are shared across nodes. A suitable consensus mechanism may be implemented, for example, by utilizing a longest chain rule or selecting a trusted validator.
[00141] The distributed ledgers 304a-304e may be used such that various merchants and/or other parties may have a finite number of rewards points (e.g., tokens) in an account (or online wallet). Rewards account corresponding to various clients may be accessed and/or managed, and in some cases, already authenticated through various portals and/or authentication tokens. Reward accounts may be held not only by customers, but also merchants and/or other institutions. For example, when a customer makes a transaction and the merchant wishes to provide reward points to the customer, the merchant may record a transaction wherein the merchant's balance is debited and the customer's balance is credited.
[00165] In some embodiments, the merchant itself may operate one or more nodes that is connected via network to other nodes. [00166] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrative of use cases 900 and 902 where payments and rewards are conducted in multiple currencies (e.g., CAD and rewards points). Where the user choose to pay in rewards points, a conversion may be applied, and an exchange rate may be applied. In some embodiments, the exchange rate may be fixed, and in other embodiments, the exchange rate may be dynamically determined. [00167] Conversion may be conducted in various different processes and situations, for example, in a base case, between a merchant and a consumer wherein the user sends an order (ask) for selling a first reward currency and buying merchant reward point(s), with an exchange rate. The merchant's computing systems may then sends an order (bid) for buying reward point(s) and selling the first reward currency. A system may be used to match the 2 orders above and facilitates the exchange between merchant and user.
[00168] In another embodiment where a user engages in an exchange, the first user may send an order (ask) for selling the first reward currency and buying merchant X reward point (s), with an exchange rate. Another second user sends an order (bid) for buying merchant x reward point (s) and selling the reward currency. A reward system matches the 2 orders above and facilitates the exchange between the first and second user.
[00169] In another embodiment, merchants may also utilize reward currency to convert between reward points associated with each of their own reward point systems (e.g., merchant x reward points and merchant y reward points. Merchant x sends an order (ask) for selling reward currency and buying merchant x reward point (s), with an exchange rate. Merchant y sends an order (bid) for buying merchant y reward point (s) and selling reward currency. A reward system matches the 2 orders above and facilitates the exchange between merchants x and y. [00170] A cross-platform transfer mechanism for processing transactions between a first digital wallet and a second digital wallet, the first digital wallet corresponding to a first merchant, and the second digital wallet corresponding to a second merchant may be provided to support this transaction.
- Pub. No.: US2013/0218657
[0046] " the universal value exchange controller 103 may obtain the cross-ecosystem currency exchange instructions from user 101a. The universal value exchange controller may determine the sources of currency, and determine the types of
currency available at the sources of the currencies. The universal value exchange controller may determine exchange rates for each of the source currencies, for example, relative to a standard currency (e.g., U.S. dollar, Euro, Yen,
privately created currency standard, and/or the like). The universal value exchange controller may also determine whether there are any restrictions or conditions at each of the sources of the currencies, as well as the destinations of
the currencies. For example, a rewards points program may have a restriction against converting its rewards points into rewards points of another rewards points program; a condition that conversion can only take place"
[0052] "FIGS. 1C and 1D show data flow diagrams illustrating UVE program configuration embodiment of the UVE. In one embodiment, the UVE may behave as a loyalty broker creating a marketplace or an exchange for converting points, rewards and
virtual currencies to real world currencies. The loyalty broker embodiment may allow any point provider partner to establish their own price for points/currencies. The loyalty broker may, in some embodiments, allow a consumer to enroll
and exchange points/currencies to a proprietary currency (e.g., Visa Points+) or even cash. The proprietary currency may then be used in inline or other purchases."
[0144] "When the exchange option 801 is selected from the left UI, the exchange UI (right) may be displayed. The exchange UI may display various options for selecting a source currency. For example, a user may select the loyalty tab
806a as a source currency. When the loyalty tab is selected a loyalty panel 806b may be displayed. As shown, the loyalty panel may include a listing of loyalty cards or accounts. The user may select one or more of these loyalty accounts
as a source currency. Further for each selected account, the user may view the total available points/currency as well as select the amount of currency the user would like to exchange. Also shown in the right UI is a value equivalent
selection panel 806c. The user may select any of the options as the destination into which the loyalty currencies may be converted to. The back button 806d allows the user to go back to the left UI, while the exchange button 806e allows the user to initiate the exchange."
- Pub. No.: US2010/0042517
[0031] "Alternatively, the consumer may be provided the option of converting account specific rewards/points into universal rewards/points. Once the account specific rewards/points have been converted into universal rewards/points, the
consumer is able to use the universal rewards/points to redeem rewards from any account specific rewards program; thus, affording the consumer with an added level of flexibility."
- WO2015/016780
page 9 of 71 "to the first embodiment .a system allows for accumulated points from a plurality of merchant reward programs to be exchanged for "universal points" that may be stored in an independent account stored on an independent server from the
plurality of merchant reward programs. This allows the consolidation of the accumulated points from different merchant reward programs to UP in a single universal points account. The accumulated points may be from different merchant
reward programs from the same country belonging to a single consumer or the accumulated points may be from the same merchant reward program but from different countries belonging to a single consumer. These accumulated reward points
from various merchant reward programs belonging to a single consumer may be converted to UP that may then be used to redeem goods or services that are not restricted by geographical or industrial differences. This system allows for the
consolidation of the reward points from various merchant reward programs with various terms and conditions to a single universal point system with possibly only one set of restrictions making the process of collecting and redeeming
reward points more convenient and efficient for the consumer"
-2006/0208065
[0066] "The consumer earned rewards database 345 maintains up-to-date information on rewards earned by the consumer 355a-355e accessing registered credit card accounts through the use of the compilation card 305. The consumer rewards
database 345 may be accessed by vendors such as department stores 380, hotels 385, airlines 390, and casinos 395 for redemption of the rewards by the consumer 355a-355e, or to determine offers to be presented to the consumer 355a-355e.
The compilation card 305 may also be used as an automated teller machine (ATM) card or debit card to retrieve cash from an ATM 399 that the consumer 355a-355e accumulated using the compilation card 305. The compilation card service
provider 330 can also convert or exchange non-cash rewards, such as frequent flyer miles, into cash which can then be accessed through ATM 399 or used as a method of payment for merchandise through at a premium exchange rate the
Internet 350 or when visiting a merchant/vendor 396a-396b. Special deals or incentives providing higher exchange rates for rewards earned through the use of the compilation card may be negotiated by the compilation card service
provider 330 on behalf of the consumer 355a-355e. As mentioned above, in order to convert the awards points such as frequent flier miles, to a rewards-currency , that can be redeemed as cash or redeemed at other business entities 380,
385, 390, 395, the preferred embodiments may utilize a computer-implemented method of using one of a plurality of existing loyalty/rewards accounts A1-LN belonging to a consumer 355a-355e to calculate and track such a conversion."
- US2019/0050888
[0056] "the system may also address the problem of retaining control over customers during affiliate purchase transactions, using a system for co-marketing the “look and feel” of the host web page with the product-related content information of the advertising merchant's web page. The system can be operated by a third-party outsource provider, who acts as a broker between multiple hosts and merchants. Prior to implementation, a host places links to a merchant's webpage on the host's web page. The links are associated with product-related content on the merchant's web page. Additionally, the outsource provider system stores the “look and feel” information from each host's web pages in a computer data store, which is coupled to a computer server. The “look and feel” information includes visually perceptible elements such as logos, colors, page layout, navigation system, frames, mouse-over effects or other elements that are consistent through some or all of each host's respective web pages. A customer who clicks on an advertising link (e.g., for an item recommended via scoring system 184 and/or notification system 180) is not transported from the host web page to the merchant's web page, but instead is re-directed to a composite web page that combines product information associated with the selected item and visually perceptible elements of the host web page. The outsource provider's server responds by first identifying the host web page where the link has been selected and retrieving the corresponding stored “look and feel” information. The server constructs a composite web page using the retrieved “look and feel” information of the host web page, with the product-related content embedded within it, so that the composite web page is visually perceived by the customer as associated with the host web page. The server then transmits and presents this composite web page to the customer so that she effectively remains on the host web page to purchase the item without being redirected to the third party merchant affiliate. Because such composite pages are visually perceived by the customer as associated with the host web page, they give the customer the impression that she is viewing pages served by the host. Further, the customer is able to purchase the item without being redirected to the third party merchant affiliate, thus allowing the host to retain control over the customer. This system enables the host to receive the same advertising revenue streams as before but without the loss of visitor traffic and potential customers. More particularly, the system may be useful in an outsource provider serving web pages offering commercial opportunities. The computer store containing data, for each of a plurality of first web pages, defining a plurality of visually perceptible elements, which visually perceptible elements correspond to the plurality of first web pages; wherein each of the first web pages belongs to one of a plurality of web page owners; wherein each of the first web pages displays at least one active link associated with a commerce object associated with a buying opportunity of a selected one of a plurality of merchants; and wherein the selected merchant, the outsource provider, and the owner of the first web page displaying the associated link are each third parties with respect to one other; a computer server at the outsource provider, which computer server is coupled to the computer store and programmed to: receive from the web browser of a computer user a signal indicating activation of one of the links displayed by one of the first web pages; automatically identify as the source page the one of the first web pages on which the link has been activated; in response to identification of the source page, automatically retrieve the stored data corresponding to the source page; and using the data retrieved, automatically generate and transmit to the web browser a second web page that displays: information associated with the commerce object associated with the link that has been activated, and the plurality of visually perceptible elements visually corresponding to the source page."
- US 2014/0278894 A1
[0037] At stage 308, the loyalty server 102 receives the purchase information and locates the corresponding customer loyalty account and verifies the account validity. The loyalty server 102 also verifies that the merchant (based on
the merchant identifier) is a participant in the loyalty program. The loyalty server 102 then applies rules to determine the amount of reward points that should be issued to the customer account as a result of the purchase. The rules
may be customized based on various criteria, such as the identity of the participating merchant or the date/time of the purchase. For example, the customer may receive a certain percentage of the purchase price as reward points for
purchases made at a first participating merchant, and a different percentage of the purchase price as reward points for purchases made at a second participating merchant. As another example, the customer may receive a larger percentage
of reward points for larger purchase amounts (e.g., over a certain dollar amount), and a smaller percentage of reward points for smaller purchase amounts.
[0046] At stage 410, the loyalty server 102 inspects the merchant identifier and determines whether the merchant is a participant in the loyalty program. If the merchant is a participant, the loyalty server 102 determines whether there
is a sufficient available point balance to pay for the purchase. If there is a sufficient balance, a confirmation will be sent to the merchant POS station 122 or server 103 and the needed amount of points is deducted from the
customer's available point balance. Also, if the merchant is a participant, additional rewards may be earned based on the transaction. If the merchant is not a participant in the loyalty program, the available point balance may be used
to pay for the transaction, however, an "out of network" fee may be optionally charged to the customer's account as part of the redemption and the customer will not earn points on the transaction. Also, if the redemption is being made
at a participating merchant, the amount of points that must be redeemed for a given purchase may be less than the amount required at nonparticipating merchants. This encourages customers to make redemptions at participant merchants,
while still providing the flexibility of being able to redeem at non-participant merchants when needed.
- Pub. No.: US2017/0330217
[0065] "Each of these accounts A1-A6 represents separate loyalty accounts that U1 and U2 have with each of these merchants individually. For example, A1 may represent U1's loyalty points with BEST BUY; A2 may be his loyalty points with
CIRCUIT CITY, and A3 may be his loyalty points with BLOCKBUSTER, all of which were earned as a result of purchase at those merchants with the credit card issued by IB1. U1 and U2 may utilize these loyalty accounts separately for
redemption at those or other related merchants, as described below. Either user may aggregate or combine their loyalty reward points into an exchange account for increased purchasing power, also as described below."
[0093] "Loyalty points aggregation is undertaken using an exchange server, which may an independent entity or which may be in association with the reward account database at the issuing bank computer the acquiring bank computer, or the
central reward server. For example, an independent third party reward exchange server is shown communicating with various reward point accounts at various acquiring banks in FIG. 18. Also, the exchange account may be on the same
computer as the central reward server that stores the loyalty point records for each merchant and user in the third embodiment. The exchange server allows a user to view his loyalty points portfolio easily (such as on a web page), it
allows the user to manage the exchange of loyalty points from any of his individual merchant accounts into his exchange account, and it allows the user to execute purchase transactions with his aggregated loyalty points. For example,
user John Doe may establish an exchange account with VISA directly, and VISA will use his account number (with appropriate security procedures) to determine all of the loyalty database records on the central server. John Doe will not
need to enter dozens or even hundreds of account numbers, since his loyalty accounts will be tied directly to his credit card number. Once the central exchange server obtains his loyalty points information from the various databases and
separate accounts, it will generate a web page to display the account totals to the user. The user can then instruct the central exchange server to exchange points into his exchange account from selected accounts as desired.
Consideration will be provided from the merchant to the central server that correlates to the number of points exchanged. So, for example, if the user requests that 5,000 points be transferred from his Smith Pizzeria loyalty account to
his VISA exchange account, then the Smith Pizzeria account will be reduced by 5,000 points and the acquiring bank will transfer $50 (minus a merchant exchange fee) to the VISA server. The Smith Pizzeria acquiring bank will invoice the
merchant by the reduced amount, which may for example be $30. The purchaser will no longer be able to obtain a direct loyalty discount for those points with the merchant since he has exchanged them into his central exchange account.
(He may still be able to redeem his exchange points with that merchant as part of a network-based transaction, described elsewhere)."; [0094]-[0098].
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DIPEN M PATEL whose telephone number is (571)272-6519. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 08:30-17:00 EST.
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/DIPEN M PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3621