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 .
This action is responsive to communication filed on 12 December 2025. Claims 1-21 are pending in the case. Claims 1, 8, and 15 were amended. Claims 1, 8, and 15 are the independent claims. This action is non-final.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on December 12th, 2025 has been entered.
Claim Objections
Claims 8 and 15 are objected to because of the following informalities: All amendments made to independent claims 8 and 15 must be indicated according to section 714 II. C. Amendments to the Claims of the MPEP. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 5-8, 12-15, and 19-21 are being rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wagh et al. (US 2017/0286173 A1) in view of Scarborough et al. (US 2014/0379390 A1) in view of Sussman et al. (US 2012/0215573 A1) in view of Hsu et al. (US 9,430,663 B2), further in view of Lee (US 2016/0063400 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Wagh teaches a computer-implemented method for determining a set of available tickets for admittance to an event, the computer-implemented method comprising:
receiving, by a computer system, a ticket request from a user device associated with a user, the ticket request comprising a series of time periods identifier identifying a first plurality of time periods to utilize a requested set of tickets and a location identifier identifying a location to utilize the requested set of tickets, and a ticket number identifying an amount of tickets within the requested set of tickets, wherein the ticket request is for one or more tickets to the event (see Wagh, Paragraph [0003], “process a request to schedule a resource, the request including a requested resource identifier, date, start time, finish time, and location;” [A request for a resource may be received comprising parameters such as time and location.]);
querying, a ticket database system, based at least in part on the series of time periods identifier and the location identifier to identify a first database object comprising a first plurality of tickets associated with the series of time periods identifier and the location identifier, the first plurality of tickets comprising one or more first events that occur at a first plurality of time periods at a first location, and wherein each database object within the ticket database system is associated with a different plurality of tickets (see Wagh, Paragraphs [0033]-[0034], “The resource scheduling database 14 may be configured to store scheduling availability information for a plurality of resources as described below, and may be in communication with the scheduling server 12 for establishing resource availability and for processing requests to schedule a resource from among the plurality of resources in an efficient manner.” [The scheduling server may be queried for resources.]);
receiving, by the computer system, a ticket parameter identifying one or more ticket restrictions, the one or more ticket restrictions being used to filter the one or more first events included in the first plurality of tickets (see Wagh, Paragraph [0051], “The user interface for scheduling may be configured to limit or filter resource availability by any information available within the resource availability table.” [Parameters may be used to filter the request.]);
filtering, by the computer system, the first plurality of tickets into a second plurality of tickets based at least in part on the one or more ticket restrictions of the ticket parameter, the second plurality of tickets comprising one or more second events that occur at the first plurality of time periods at the first location (see Wagh, Paragraphs [0046], [0051]-[0052], [0069], “the resources required for certain appointments may be determined according to information entered by a user. For example, if a user schedules an appointment with a resource (i.e., a physician) and selects an appointment type of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) session, the availability of the resource may automatically take into consideration the necessity for the availability of an MM machine at the same time.” [The request may be further filtered.]);
However, Wagh does not explicitly teach:
determining, by the computer system, resource history of the user, wherein: the resource history indicates genre of a plurality of ticket request sent by the user in past and one or more locations preferred by the user in past; ranking by the computing system, each of the second plurality of tickets based on the resource history of the user and user availability; determining, by the computer system, a user characteristic-based preferential treatment based on the resource history, the user characteristic-based preferential treatment being one or more improvements provided to the user or the user device based on one or more user characteristics; selecting, by the computer system, a third plurality of tickets based on the user availability from the second plurality of tickets based on a rank of each of the second plurality of tickets, wherein the third plurality of tickets includes a set of highest ranked tickets from the second plurality of tickets;
Scarborough teaches:
determining, by the computer system, resource history of the user, wherein: the resource history indicates genre of a plurality of ticket request sent by the user in past and one or more locations preferred by the user in past; ranking by the computing system, each of the second plurality of tickets based on the resource history of the user and user availability; determining, by the computer system, a user characteristic-based preferential treatment based on the resource history, the user characteristic-based preferential treatment being one or more improvements provided to the user or the user device based on one or more user characteristics; selecting, by the computer system, a third plurality of tickets based on the user availability from the second plurality of tickets based on a rank of each of the second plurality of tickets, wherein the third plurality of tickets includes a set of highest ranked tickets from the second plurality of tickets (see Scarborouh, Paragraphs [0040], [0054]-[0056], [0089], “User identifications can also or alternatively depend on preferences or purchase history favoring a type of event or performer. … account engine 205 can identify a set of users who may be interested in the event (e.g., based on event preferences, residence location, and/or purchase history) … Locator 245 can rank order the users or back-up users or select a subset of users or back-up users based on the estimations such that highly ranked users or users in the subset are those with estimated locations closest to the event location or estimated to be able to arrive at the event before its beginning or faster than other users. … Ticket-offer engine 215 can then iteratively offer the ticket to users in the subset or of highest ranks, progressing to a next subset or rank if the initial users do not accept or respond to the offer. … The event preferences can identify types of events that the user likes to attend, preferred event locations, preferred event times (e.g., times of day, days of week, etc.), or preferred artists or athletes (e.g., sports team).” [Preferences, location, and/or purchase history (i.e., resource history indicating a genre and locations preferred by a user) for a user may be determined. The tickets may be ranked based on the preferences, locations, and/or purchase history (i.e., resource history) of the user. The preferences include preferred event times (i.e., user availability).]);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Wagh (teaching a method, apparatus, and computer program product for scheduling resources) in view of Scarborough (teaching location-based presentations of ticket opportunities), and arrived at a method that incorporates user information. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such a combination for the purposes of identifying potential buyers (see Scarboroguh, Paragraph [0004]). In addition, both the references (Wagh and Scarborough) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as resource availability. The close relation between both of the references highly suggests an expectation of success.
However, the combination of Wagh, and Scarborough do not explicitly teach:
determining, by the computer system, a user characteristic-based preferential treatment based on the resource history, the user characteristic-based preferential treatment being one or more improvements provided to the user or the user device based on one or more user characteristics;
Sussman teaches:
determining, by the computer system, a user characteristic-based preferential treatment based on the resource history, the user characteristic-based preferential treatment being one or more improvements provided to the user or the user device based on one or more user characteristics (see Sussman, Paragraphs [0064]-[0065], “tickets may be allocated based on the frequency with which a user has purchased tickets via the ticket system. For example, in order to reward frequent ticket purchaser, the greater the user ticket purchase frequency, the higher priority the user will have in being allocated tickets.” [The user may receive priority (i.e., user characteristic-based preferential treatment) based on the frequency with which the user has purchased tickets.]);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Wagh (teaching a method, apparatus, and computer program product for scheduling resources) in view of Scarborough (teaching location-based presentations of ticket opportunities), further in view of Sussman (teaching methods and systems for reducing burst usage of a networked computer system), and arrived at a method that incorporates preferential treatment. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such a combination for the purposes of reducing peak usage (see Sussman, Paragraph [0010]). In addition, the references (Wagh, Scarborough, and Sussman) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as resource availability. The close relation between the references highly suggests an expectation of success.
The combination of Wagh, Scarborough, and Sussman further teaches:
generating, by the computer system, an access token to simultaneously access the at least two or more tickets from the third plurality of tickets at a time from the first plurality of time periods (see Scarborough, Paragraphs [0035], [0079], “The electronic ticket can include one that can be presented on a display of the user's mobile device, can include a file that can be printed, can include a token that can be electronically read (e.g., via an RF read, such as an NFC reader). … an offer is simultaneously presented to multiple potential ticket holders, and the ticket is assigned to the first potential ticket holder that accepts the offer.” [An access token may be generated to simultaneously access the tickets.]),
However, the combination of Wagh, Scarborough, and Sussman do not explicitly teach:
wherein the access token is generated upon meeting of a bot-detection condition; and determining priority level for the user to receive access token based on identifying if the ticket request is associated with inputs from a bot;
Hsu teaches:
wherein the access token is generated upon meeting of a bot-detection condition; and determining priority level for the user to receive access token based on identifying if the ticket request is associated with inputs from a bot (see Hsu, [Column 23, Lines 27-42], [Column 28, Lines 22-28], “request management engine 512 prioritizes requests, such as requests for overlapping, similar or same access rights (e.g., requests for access rights associated with a same section) received within a defined time period. The prioritization can be based on, for example, … and/or whether requests were associated with inputs indicative of a bot initiating the request (e.g., shorter inter-click intervals, failed CAPTCHA tests, purchase history departing from a human profile). … At block 625, resource scheduling engine 514 assigns the requested one or more access rights to the user. The assignment can be conditioned on receipt of all required information, confirmation that the access right(s) have remained available for assignment, determining using data corresponding to the request that a bot-detection condition is not satisfied, fee provision and/or other defined conditions.” [The access rights (i.e., access token) may be generated based on a bot-detection condition. The access rights (i.e., access token) may be prioritized based on a bot initiation the request (i.e., inputs from a bot).]);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Wagh (teaching a method, apparatus, and computer program product for scheduling resources) in view of Scarborough (teaching location-based presentations of ticket opportunities) in view of Sussman (teaching methods and systems for reducing burst usage of a networked computer system), further in view of Hsu (teaching dynamic filtering and precision alteration of query responses responsive to request load), and arrived at a method that prioritizes requests based on a bot. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such a combination for the purposes of improving access to resources (see Hsu, [Column 1, Lines 24-38]). In addition, the references (Wagh, Scarborough, Sussman and Hsu) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as resource availability. The close relation between the references highly suggests an expectation of success.
The combination of Wagh, Scarborough, Sussman, and Hsu further teaches:
modifying one or more attributes of communication between the computer system and the user device based on the one or more improvements (see Sussman, Paragraphs [0064]-[0065], “tickets may be allocated based on the frequency with which a user has purchased tickets via the ticket system. For example, in order to reward frequent ticket purchaser, the greater the user ticket purchase frequency, the higher priority the user will have in being allocated tickets.” [The tickets may be allocated (i.e., modifying one or more attributes of communication between the computer system and the user device) based on the frequency with which the user has purchased tickets.]);
and transmitting, by the computer system, an indication of the third plurality of tickets to the user device associated with the ticket request (see Wagh, Paragraphs [0046], [0051]-[0053], “Any available fields may be used to help schedule resources and to facilitate a user interface to more easily determine resource availability that meets the needs of a user.” [The system indicates the available resources to the user after using the parameters.]),
However, the combination of Wagh, Scarborough, Sussman, and Hsu do not explicitly teach:
wherein each ticket of the third plurality of tickets is associated with a demand indicating a number of communications received for each ticket, and wherein the demand defines a length of a duration during which the number of communications received for each ticket exceeds a threshold of a plurality of thresholds, after start of a public on sale for the third plurality of tickets, wherein: where the demand is high, the length is decreased, where the demand is low, the length is increased,
Lee teaches:
wherein each ticket of the third plurality of tickets is associated with a demand indicating a number of communications received for each ticket, and wherein the demand defines a length of a duration during which the number of communications received for each ticket exceeds a threshold of a plurality of thresholds, after start of a public on sale for the third plurality of tickets, wherein: where the demand is high, the length is decreased, where the demand is low, the length is increased (see Lee, Paragraph [0038], “the predetermined value corresponding to the timer 122 can be adjusted by a quantity of the client devices connected to the object reservation server 120. For example, the quantity of the client devices connected to the object reservation server 120 may be determined by a ratio of a connection number and the number of available tickets. If the number of the connected client device is more than 50% of all available tickets, then the predetermined value is set as 5 minutes which is relatively small to prevent the tickets from being occupied by the spare users, and it can increase a rate of successful reservation. If the number of the client devices connected to the object reservation server 120 is less than 50% of all available tickets, then the predetermined value is set as 10 minutes to keep the continuous connection between the client devices and the object reservation server 120 longer, letting the users have enough time to consider whether to reserve the tickets.” [When the demand increases for the public on sale tickets, the amount of time to make a reservation decrease, and when demand decreases for the public on sale tickets, the amount of time to make a reservation increase, therefore, when demand increases, less resources are available to the user, and when the demand decreases, more resources are available to the user.]),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Wagh (teaching a method, apparatus, and computer program product for scheduling resources) in view of Scarborough (teaching location-based presentations of ticket opportunities) in view of Sussman (teaching methods and systems for reducing burst usage of a networked computer system) in view of Hsu (teaching dynamic filtering and precision alteration of query responses responsive to request load), further in view of Lee (teaching online object reservation system and method), and arrived at a method that increases or decreases the reservation time based on the demand. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such a combination for the purposes of improving the reservation process (see Lee, Paragraph [0008]). In addition, the references (Wagh, Scarborough, Sussman, Hsu and Lee) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as resource availability. The close relation between the references highly suggests an expectation of success.
The combination of Wagh, Scarborough, Sussman, Hsu, and Lee further teaches:
wherein the ticket request is for one or more tickets to the event (see Lee, Paragraph [0033], “the online object reservation system 100 is a reservation system for tickets of a performance, and therefore the objects stored in the database 110 of the online object reservation system 100 are multiple seats. The reservation requirement received from the client device 140 includes a number of the tickets, a ticket price and a field area.” [The request is for tickets to an event.]);
when the demand is greater than a first threshold of the plurality of thresholds, a first set of tickets from the third plurality of tickets and a first version of an interactive resource map are transmitted to the user device, the first version of the interactive resource map displays first graphical details including locations of a first set of resources corresponding to each ticket of the first set of tickets, when the demand is less than the first threshold and greater than a second threshold of the plurality of thresholds, a second set of tickets from the third plurality of tickets and a second version of the interactive resource map are transmitted to the user device, the second set of tickets is greater than the first set of tickets and includes the first set of tickets, the second version of the interactive resource map displays second graphical details including a plurality resources surrounding a second set of resources corresponding to each ticket of the second set of tickets and a timer indicating a time period during which the user device can acquire the second set of tickets, the second graphical details further include entirety of the first graphical details of each ticket of the first set of tickets, when the demand is less than the second threshold and greater than a third threshold of the plurality of thresholds, a third set of tickets from the third plurality of tickets and a third version of the interactive resource map are transmitted to the user device, the third set of tickets is greater than the second set of tickets and includes the second set of tickets, the third version of the interactive resource map displays third graphical details including structures surrounding a third set of resources corresponding to each ticket of the third set of tickets, the third graphical details further include entirety of the second graphical details of each ticket of the second set of tickets, and when the demand is less than the third threshold, the third plurality of tickets are transmitted to the user device (see Lee, Paragraphs [0038], [0057]-[0058], “the predetermined value corresponding to the timer 122 can be adjusted by a quantity of the client devices connected to the object reservation server 120. For example, the quantity of the client devices connected to the object reservation server 120 may be determined by a ratio of a connection number and the number of available tickets. If the number of the connected client device is more than 50% of all available tickets, then the predetermined value is set as 5 minutes which is relatively small to prevent the tickets from being occupied by the spare users, and it can increase a rate of successful reservation. If the number of the client devices connected to the object reservation server 120 is less than 50% of all available tickets, then the predetermined value is set as 10 minutes to keep the continuous connection between the client devices and the object reservation server 120 longer, letting the users have enough time to consider whether to reserve the tickets… In a step S410 the user operates the client device 140 to connect to the object reservation server 120 and to start selecting a seat, and uses a display of the client device 140 to browse a reservation page. The reservation page renders a seat map and a reservation status of a performance field and let the user to input.” [When the demand increases, the amount of time to make a reservation decrease, and when demand decreases, the amount of time to make a reservation increase, therefore, when demand increases, less resources are available to the user, and when the demand decreases, more resources are available to the user. The seat map provides details to the user via an interactive user interface about which seats are available, and updates the map as more seats are reserved.]).
Regarding claim 5, Wagh in view of Scarborough in view of Sussman in view of Hsu, further in view of Lee teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Wagh, and Scarborough further teaches:
receiving, by the computer system from the user device, a selected ticket identifier comprising an indication of at least two or more tickets from the third plurality of tickets and a particular time period identifier of the first plurality of time periods; and generating, by the computer system, the access token to simultaneously access the at least two or more tickets from the third plurality of tickets at a time identified by the particular time period identifier of the first plurality of time periods (see Wagh, Paragraphs [0045], [0046], [0068], “The calendar may depict dates meeting the selected criteria such that a user can select their preferred date. Additional or fewer options may be available for user selection depending upon the configuration, and the availability view may be provided in any manner suitable to convey the necessary information.” [Figure 11 shows identifiers indicating the requested resources.] Also, see Scarborough, Paragraphs [0035], [0079], “The electronic ticket can include one that can be presented on a display of the user's mobile device, can include a file that can be printed, can include a token that can be electronically read (e.g., via an RF read, such as an NFC reader). … an offer is simultaneously presented to multiple potential ticket holders, and the ticket is assigned to the first potential ticket holder that accepts the offer.” [An offer may be simultaneously presented to the user using an access token.]).
Regarding claim 6, Wagh in view of Scarborough in view of Sussman in view of Hsu, further in view of Lee teaches all the limitations of claim 5. Wagh, and Scarborough further teaches:
wherein the selected ticket identifier further comprises a particular location identifier, and wherein one or more access tokens are valid only at particular location identified by the particular location identifier (see Wagh, Paragraphs [0045], [0046], [0068], “The calendar may depict dates meeting the selected criteria such that a user can select their preferred date. Additional or fewer options may be available for user selection depending upon the configuration, and the availability view may be provided in any manner suitable to convey the necessary information.” [Parameters such as location may be used to the filter the request.] Also, see Scarborough, Paragraphs [0034]-[0035], “The electronic ticket can include one that can be presented on a display of the user's mobile device, can include a file that can be printed, can include a token that can be electronically read (e.g., via an RF read, such as an NFC reader). … ticket-offer engine 215 can offer specific tickets to user 105. This specific offer can include one or more seat numbers, one or more seating zones, one or more unique ticket identifiers, one or more event dates and/or times, one or more, event locations, and/or a price due for the ticket(s).” [An access token may only be valid at a specific location.]).
Regarding claim 7, Wagh in view of Scarborough in view of Sussman in view of Hsu, further in view of Lee teaches all the limitations of claim 5. Wagh further teaches:
wherein the selected ticket identifier comprises an indication of at least three or more tickets from the third plurality of tickets (see Wagh, Paragraphs [0045], [0046], [0068], “The calendar may depict dates meeting the selected criteria such that a user can select their preferred date. Additional or fewer options may be available for user selection depending upon the configuration, and the availability view may be provided in any manner suitable to convey the necessary information.” [Figure 11 shows identifiers indicating the requested resources.]).
Regarding claim 8, Wagh teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions for causing at least one computer to determine a set of available resources for admittance to an event, the instructions comprising:
receiving a resource request from a user device associated with a user, the resource request comprising a series of time periods identifier identifying a first plurality of time periods to utilize a requested set of resources and a location identifier identifying a location to utilize the requested set of resources, and a resource number identifying an amount of resources within the requested set of resources, wherein the resource request is for one or more tickets to the event (see Wagh, Paragraph [0003], “process a request to schedule a resource, the request including a requested resource identifier, date, start time, finish time, and location;” [A request for a resource may be received comprising parameters such as time and location.]);
querying, a resource database system, based at least in part on the series of time periods identifier and the location identifier to identify a first database object comprising a first plurality of resources associated with the series of time periods identifier and the location identifier, the first plurality of resources comprising one or more first events that occur at a first plurality of time periods at a first location, and wherein each database object within the resource database system is associated with a different plurality of resources (see Wagh, Paragraphs [0033]-[0034], “The resource scheduling database 14 may be configured to store scheduling availability information for a plurality of resources as described below, and may be in communication with the scheduling server 12 for establishing resource availability and for processing requests to schedule a resource from among the plurality of resources in an efficient manner.” [The scheduling server may be queried for resources.]);
receiving a resource parameter identifying one or more resource restrictions, the one or more resource restrictions being used to filter the one or more first events included in the first plurality of resources (see Wagh, Paragraph [0051], “The user interface for scheduling may be configured to limit or filter resource availability by any information available within the resource availability table.” [Parameters may be used to filter the request.]);
filtering the first plurality of resources into a second plurality of resources based at least in part on the one or more resource restrictions of the resource parameter, the second plurality of resources comprising one or more second events that occur at the first plurality of time periods at the first location (see Wagh, Paragraphs [0046], [0051]-[0052], [0069], “the resources required for certain appointments may be determined according to information entered by a user. For example, if a user schedules an appointment with a resource (i.e., a physician) and selects an appointment type of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) session, the availability of the resource may automatically take into consideration the necessity for the availability of an MM machine at the same time.” [The request may be further filtered.]);
However, Wagh does not explicitly teach:
determining resource history of the user, wherein: the resource history indicates genre of a plurality of resource request sent by the user in past and one or more locations preferred by the user in past; ranking each of the second plurality of resources based on the resource history of the user and user availability; determining a user characteristic-based preferential treatment based on the resource history, the user characteristic-based preferential treatment being one or more improvements provided to the user or the user device based on one or more user characteristics; selecting, a third plurality of resources based on the user availability from the second plurality of resources based on a rank of each of the second plurality of resources, wherein the third plurality of resources includes a set of highest ranked resources from the second plurality of resources;
Scarborough teaches:
determining resource history of the user, wherein: the resource history indicates genre of a plurality of resource request sent by the user in past and one or more locations preferred by the user in past; ranking each of the second plurality of resources based on the resource history of the user and user availability; determining a user characteristic-based preferential treatment based on the resource history, the user characteristic-based preferential treatment being one or more improvements provided to the user or the user device based on one or more user characteristics; selecting, a third plurality of resources based on the user availability from the second plurality of resources based on a rank of each of the second plurality of resources, wherein the third plurality of resources includes a set of highest ranked resources from the second plurality of resources (see Scarborouh, Paragraphs [0040], [0054]-[0056], [0089], “User identifications can also or alternatively depend on preferences or purchase history favoring a type of event or performer. … account engine 205 can identify a set of users who may be interested in the event (e.g., based on event preferences, residence location, and/or purchase history) … Locator 245 can rank order the users or back-up users or select a subset of users or back-up users based on the estimations such that highly ranked users or users in the subset are those with estimated locations closest to the event location or estimated to be able to arrive at the event before its beginning or faster than other users. … Ticket-offer engine 215 can then iteratively offer the ticket to users in the subset or of highest ranks, progressing to a next subset or rank if the initial users do not accept or respond to the offer. … The event preferences can identify types of events that the user likes to attend, preferred event locations, preferred event times (e.g., times of day, days of week, etc.), or preferred artists or athletes (e.g., sports team).” [Preferences, location, and/or purchase history (i.e., resource history indicating a genre and locations preferred by a user) for a user may be determined. The tickets may be ranked based on the preferences, locations, and/or purchase history (i.e., resource history) of the user. The preferences include preferred event times (i.e., user availability).]);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Wagh (teaching a method, apparatus, and computer program product for scheduling resources) in view of Scarborough (teaching location-based presentations of ticket opportunities), and arrived at a machine that incorporates user information. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such a combination for the purposes of identifying potential buyers (see Scarboroguh, Paragraph [0004]). In addition, both the references (Wagh and Scarborough) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as resource availability. The close relation between both of the references highly suggests an expectation of success.
However, the combination of Wagh, and Scarborough do not explicitly teach:
determining a user characteristic-based preferential treatment based on the resource history, the user characteristic-based preferential treatment being one or more improvements provided to the user or the user device based on one or more user characteristics;
Sussman teaches:
determining a user characteristic-based preferential treatment based on the resource history, the user characteristic-based preferential treatment being one or more improvements provided to the user or the user device based on one or more user characteristics (see Sussman, Paragraphs [0064]-[0065], “tickets may be allocated based on the frequency with which a user has purchased tickets via the ticket system. For example, in order to reward frequent ticket purchaser, the greater the user ticket purchase frequency, the higher priority the user will have in being allocated tickets.” [The user may receive priority (i.e., user characteristic-based preferential treatment) based on the frequency with which the user has purchased tickets.]);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Wagh (teaching a method, apparatus, and computer program product for scheduling resources) in view of Scarborough (teaching location-based presentations of ticket opportunities), further in view of Sussman (teaching methods and systems for reducing burst usage of a networked computer system), and arrived at a machine that incorporates preferential treatment. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such a combination for the purposes of reducing peak usage (see Sussman, Paragraph [0010]). In addition, the references (Wagh, Scarborough, and Sussman) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as resource availability. The close relation between the references highly suggests an expectation of success.
The combination of Wagh, Scarborough, and Sussman further teaches:
generating, by the computer system, an access token to simultaneously access the at least two or more tickets from the third plurality of tickets at a time from the first plurality of time periods (see Scarborough, Paragraphs [0035], [0079], “The electronic ticket can include one that can be presented on a display of the user's mobile device, can include a file that can be printed, can include a token that can be electronically read (e.g., via an RF read, such as an NFC reader). … an offer is simultaneously presented to multiple potential ticket holders, and the ticket is assigned to the first potential ticket holder that accepts the offer.” [An access token may be generated to simultaneously access the tickets.]),
However, the combination of Wagh, Scarborough, and Sussman do not explicitly teach:
wherein the access token is generated upon meeting of a bot-detection condition; and determining priority level for the user to receive access token based on identifying if the ticket request is associated with inputs from a bot;
Hsu teaches:
wherein the access token is generated upon meeting of a bot-detection condition; and determining priority level for the user to receive access token based on identifying if the ticket request is associated with inputs from a bot (see Hsu, [Column 23, Lines 27-42], [Column 28, Lines 22-28], “request management engine 512 prioritizes requests, such as requests for overlapping, similar or same access rights (e.g., requests for access rights associated with a same section) received within a defined time period. The prioritization can be based on, for example, … and/or whether requests were associated with inputs indicative of a bot initiating the request (e.g., shorter inter-click intervals, failed CAPTCHA tests, purchase history departing from a human profile). … At block 625, resource scheduling engine 514 assigns the requested one or more access rights to the user. The assignment can be conditioned on receipt of all required information, confirmation that the access right(s) have remained available for assignment, determining using data corresponding to the request that a bot-detection condition is not satisfied, fee provision and/or other defined conditions.” [The access rights (i.e., access token) may be generated based on a bot-detection condition. The access rights (i.e., access token) may be prioritized based on a bot initiation the request (i.e., inputs from a bot).]);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Wagh (teaching a method, apparatus, and computer program product for scheduling resources) in view of Scarborough (teaching location-based presentations of ticket opportunities) in view of Sussman (teaching methods and systems for reducing burst usage of a networked computer system), further in view of Hsu (teaching dynamic filtering and precision alteration of query responses responsive to request load), and arrived at a machine that prioritizes requests based on a bot. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such a combination for the purposes of improving access to resources (see Hsu, [Column 1, Lines 24-38]). In addition, the references (Wagh, Scarborough, Sussman and Hsu) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as resource availability. The close relation between the references highly suggests an expectation of success.
The combination of Wagh, Scarborough, Sussman, and Hsu further teaches:
modifying one or more attributes of communication between the computer system and the user device based on the one or more improvements (see Sussman, Paragraphs [0064]-[0065], “tickets may be allocated based on the frequency with which a user has purchased tickets via the ticket system. For example, in order to reward frequent ticket purchaser, the greater the user ticket purchase frequency, the higher priority the user will have in being allocated tickets.” [The tickets may be allocated (i.e., modifying one or more attributes of communication between the computer system and the user device) based on the frequency with which the user has purchased tickets.]);
and transmitting an indication of the third plurality of resources to the user device associated with the resource request (see Wagh, Paragraphs [0046], [0051]-[0053], “Any available fields may be used to help schedule resources and to facilitate a user interface to more easily determine resource availability that meets the needs of a user.” [The system indicates the available resources to the user after using the parameters.]),
However, the combination of Wagh, Scarborough, Sussman, and Hsu do not explicitly teach:
wherein each resource of the third plurality of resources is associated with a demand indicating a number of communications received for each resource, and wherein the demand defines a length of a duration during which the number of communications received for each resource exceeds a threshold of a plurality of thresholds, after start of a public on sale for the third plurality of resources, wherein: where the demand is high, the length is decreased, where the demand is low, the length is increased,
Lee teaches:
wherein each resource of the third plurality of resources is associated with a demand indicating a number of communications received for each resource, and wherein the demand defines a length of a duration during which the number of communications received for each resource exceeds a threshold of a plurality of thresholds, after start of a public on sale for the third plurality of resources, wherein: where the demand is high, the length is decreased, where the demand is low, the length is increased (see Lee, Paragraph [0038], “the predetermined value corresponding to the timer 122 can be adjusted by a quantity of the client devices connected to the object reservation server 120. For example, the quantity of the client devices connected to the object reservation server 120 may be determined by a ratio of a connection number and the number of available tickets. If the number of the connected client device is more than 50% of all available tickets, then the predetermined value is set as 5 minutes which is relatively small to prevent the tickets from being occupied by the spare users, and it can increase a rate of successful reservation. If the number of the client devices connected to the object reservation server 120 is less than 50% of all available tickets, then the predetermined value is set as 10 minutes to keep the continuous connection between the client devices and the object reservation server 120 longer, letting the users have enough time to consider whether to reserve the tickets.” [When the demand increases for the public on sale tickets, the amount of time to make a reservation decreases, and when demand decreases for the public on sale tickets, the amount of time to make a reservation increases, therefore, when demand increases, less resources are available to the user, and when the demand decreases, more resources are available to the user.]),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Wagh (teaching a method, apparatus, and computer program product for scheduling resources) in view of Scarborough (teaching location-based presentations of ticket opportunities) in view of Sussman (teaching methods and systems for reducing burst usage of a networked computer system) in view of Hsu (teaching dynamic filtering and precision alteration of query responses responsive to request load), further in view of Lee (teaching online object reservation system and method), and arrived at a machine that increases or decreases the reservation time based on the demand. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such a combination for the purposes of improving the reservation process (see Lee, Paragraph [0008]). In addition, the references (Wagh, Scarborough, Sussman, Hsu, and Lee) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as resource availability. The close relation between the references highly suggests an expectation of success.
The combination of Wagh, Scarborough, Sussman, Hsu, and Lee further teaches:
wherein the resource request is for one or more tickets to the event (see Lee, Paragraph [0033], “the online object reservation system 100 is a reservation system for tickets of a performance, and therefore the objects stored in the database 110 of the online object reservation system 100 are multiple seats. The reservation requirement received from the client device 140 includes a number of the tickets, a ticket price and a field area.” [The request is for tickets to an event.]);
when the demand is greater than a first threshold of the plurality of thresholds, a first set of resources from the third plurality of resources and a first version of an interactive resource map are transmitted to the user device, the first version of the interactive resource map displays first graphical details including locations of a first set of resources corresponding to each resources of the first set of resources, when the demand is less than the first threshold and greater than a second threshold of the plurality of thresholds, a second set of resources from the third plurality of resources and a second version of the interactive resource map are transmitted to the user device, the second set of resources is greater than the first set of resources and includes the first set of resources, the second version of the interactive resource map displays second graphical details including a plurality resources surrounding a second set of resources corresponding to each resources of the second set of resources and a timer indicating a time period during which the user device can acquire the second set of resources, the second graphical details further include entirety of the first graphical details of each resource of the first set of resource, when the demand is less than the second threshold and greater than a third threshold of the plurality of thresholds, a third set of resources from the third plurality of resources and a third version of the interactive resource map are transmitted to the user device, the third set of resources is greater than the second set of resources and includes the second set of resources, the third version of the interactive resource map displays third graphical details including structures surrounding a third set of resources corresponding to each resource of the third set of resources, the third graphical details further include entirety of the second graphical details of each resource of the second set of resources, and when the demand is less than the third threshold, the third plurality of resources are transmitted to the