Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
1. 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/17/2025 has been entered.
This office action is responsive to RCE filed on 12/17/2025. Claims 1, 7, and 13 are amended. Claims 1, 3-7, 9-14, and 16-23 are pending examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
2. 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, 3-7, 9-14, and 16-23 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.
Claim(s) 1, 7, and 13 is/are drawn to method (i.e., a process). As such, claims 1, 7, and 13 is/are drawn to one of the statutory categories of invention.
Claims 1, 3-7, 9-14, and 16-23 are directed to granting an offer inexchange for the network device to access a portion of the user data associated with a content delivery service. Specifically, claim(s) 1, 7, and 13 recite(s) a content delivery service, wherein the request comprises an offer in exchange for access to at least a portion of the user data; requesting, based on a value of the offer and a type of user data, access to the at least the portion of the user data that is in exchange for acceptance of the offer; generating, based on a response from the user indicating access to the at least the portion of the user data is to be granted, an access key that provides access to the at least the portion of the user data for a time period; providing, access key and the at least the portion of the user data for the time period; and sending, to the user, data indicative of the value of the offer, which is grouped within the Methods Of Organizing Human Activity and is similar to the concept of (commercial or legal interactions including agreements in the form of contracts, legal obligations, advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors business relations) grouping of abstract ideas in prong one of step 2A of the Alice/Mayo test (See 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. 50, 52, 54 (January 7, 2019)). Accordingly, the claims recite an abstract idea (See pages 7, 10, Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank International, et al., US Supreme Court, No. 13-298, June 19, 2014; 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. 50, 53-54 (January 7, 2019)).
The Claim limitations are listed under Methods Of Organizing Human Activity, and grouped as following:
a content delivery service, wherein the request comprises an offer in exchange for access to at least a portion of the user data; which is similar to the concept of (advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors business relations),
requesting, based on a value of the offer and a type of user data, access to the at least the portion of the user data that is in exchange for acceptance of the offer; generating, based on a response from the user indicating access to the at least the portion of the user data is to be granted, an access key that provides access to the at least the portion of the user data for a time period; which is similar to the concept of (advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors business relations),
providing, access key and the at least the portion of the user data for the time period; and sending, to the user, data indicative of the value of the offer; which is similar to the concept of (advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors business relations).
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because, when analyzed under prong two of step 2A of the Alice/Mayo test (See 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. 50, 54-55 (January 7, 2019)), the additional element(s) of the claim(s) such as user device, network device merely use(s) a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea and/or generally link(s) the use of a judicial exception to a particular technological environment. Specifically, the user device, network device perform(s) the steps or functions of a content delivery service, wherein the request comprises an offer in exchange for access to at least a portion of the user data; requesting, based on a value of the offer and a type of user data, access to the at least the portion of the user data that is in exchange for acceptance of the offer; generating, based on a response from the user indicating access to the at least the portion of the user data is to be granted, an access key that provides access to the at least the portion of the user data for a time period; providing, access key and the at least the portion of the user data for the time period; and sending, to the user, data indicative of the value of the offer. The use of a processor/computer as a tool to implement the abstract idea and/or generally linking the use of the abstract idea to a particular technological environment does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it requires no more than a computer performing functions that correspond to acts required to carry out the abstract idea. The additional elements do not involve improvements to the functioning of a computer, or to any other technology or technical field (MPEP 2106.05(a)), the claims do not apply or use the abstract idea to effect a particular treatment or prophylaxis for a disease or medical condition (Vanda Memo), the claims do not apply the abstract idea with, or by use of, a particular machine (MPEP 2106.05(b)), the claims do not effect a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing (MPEP 2106.05(c)), and the claims do not apply or use the abstract idea in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking the use of the abstract idea to a particular technological environment, such that the claim as a whole is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception (MPEP 2106.05(e) and Vanda Memo). Therefore, the claims do not, for example, purport to improve the functioning of a computer. Nor do they effect an improvement in any other technology or technical field. Accordingly, the additional elements do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea, and the claims are directed to an abstract idea.
The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because, when analyzed under step 2B of the Alice/Mayo test (See 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. 50, 52, 56 (January 7, 2019)), the additional element(s) of using a user device, network device to perform the steps amounts to no more than using a computer or processor to automate and/or implement the abstract idea of granting an offer inexchange for the network device to access a portion of the user data associated with a content delivery service. As discussed above, taking the claim elements separately, the user device, network device perform(s) the steps or functions of a content delivery service, wherein the request comprises an offer in exchange for access to at least a portion of the user data; requesting, based on a value of the offer and a type of user data, access to the at least the portion of the user data that is in exchange for acceptance of the offer; generating, based on a response from the user indicating access to the at least the portion of the user data is to be granted, an access key that provides access to the at least the portion of the user data for a time period; providing, access key and the at least the portion of the user data for the time period; and sending, to the user, data indicative of the value of the offer. These functions correspond to the actions required to perform the abstract idea. Viewed as a whole, the combination of elements recited in the claims merely recite the concept of granting an offer inexchange for the network device to access a portion of the user data associated with a content delivery service. Therefore, the use of these additional elements does no more than employ the computer as a tool to automate and/or implement the abstract idea. The use of a computer or processor to merely automate and/or implement the abstract idea cannot provide significantly more than the abstract idea itself (MPEP 2106.05(I)(A)(f) & (h)). Therefore, the claim is not patent eligible.
As for dependent claims 2-6, 8-12, and 14-20 further describe the abstract idea of Granting an offer inexchange for the network device to access a portion of the user data associated with a content delivery service. Claim(s) 2-6, 8-12, and 14-20 does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because, when analyzed under step 2B of the Alice/Mayo test (See 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. 50, 52, 56 (January 7, 2019)), the additional element(s) of using a user device, a mobile device, a set-top-box, or a computing device to perform the steps amounts to no more than using a computer or processor to automate and/or implement the abstract idea of granting an offer inexchange for the network device to access a portion of the user data associated with a content delivery service. As discussed above, taking the claim elements separately, the user device, a mobile device, a set-top-box, or a computing device perform(s) the steps or functions of wherein the user data comprises at least one of: a user location, a viewing history, demographic data, a brand preference, a market segment, or a purchasing history; wherein the at least the portion of the user data comprises market segment data. These functions correspond to the actions required to perform the abstract idea. Viewed as a whole, the combination of elements recited in the claims merely recite the concept of Granting an offer inexchange for the network device to access a portion of the user data associated with a content delivery service. Therefore, the use of these additional elements does no more than employ the computer as a tool to automate and/or implement the abstract idea. The use of a computer or processor to merely automate and/or implement the abstract idea cannot provide significantly more than the abstract idea itself (MPEP 2106.05(I)(A)(f) & (h)). Therefore, the claim is not patent eligible.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
3. In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-7, 9-14, and 16-23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Igoe et al. (U.S. Patent No. US8635087B1) in view of Hatakeda, (U.S. Patent No. US8806218B1).
As to Claim 1, Igoe teaches a method, comprising:receiving, from a network device, a request to access user data associated with usage of a content delivery service (Col.6 lines 19-28: a Personal Information Aggregator (PIA) provides a user with the ability to store, organize and control personal information. The user controls access to the personal information stored in the PIA by authorizing access by other entities to subsets of the personal information stored in the PIA.), (Col.12 lines 25-35: the PIA can upload data from the user's television.), and (Col. 55 lines 9-20: in order to access the data feeds from a PIA 100, the analyzing component 130 may need to request access from the PIA 100. Authorization may be requested for single-use, limited-use or ongoing-use of the data), wherein the request comprises an offer in exchange for access to at least a portion of the user data; (Col. 17 lines 63-67: FIG. 23 is an example of a user interface 612 that displays a request for access to a particular output data feed. The entity making the request, "Wal-Mart", is requesting access to the user's entertainment purchase history in exchange for a coupon which has redeemable value.) ,requesting, from a user device based on a value of the offer and a type of user data (Col. 17 lines 63-67, and Fig. 23: is an example of a user interface 612 that displays a request for access to a particular output data feed. The entity making the request, "Wal-Mart", is requesting access to the user's entertainment purchase history in exchange for a coupon which has redeemable value, access to the at least the portion of the user data that is associated with the user device in exchange for acceptance of the offer (Col.52 lines 15-40: the PIA is connected to the set-top box and the data stored in the STB 1140 mayinclude programs watched, advertisements watched, viewing times, fast-forwarded segments, rewound segments and channel changes); (Claim 1: an authorization request from a requestor requesting access to at least an authorized portion of the individual's personal information in exchange for one or more incentives to participate in one or more future transactions; establishing, by the personal information aggregator, a data destruction agreement with the requestor requiring the requestor to destroy, upon notification by the individual of the occurrence of a condition, any received copy of the authorized portion of the individual's personal information; authorizing, by the personal information aggregator, access to at least the authorized portion of the individual's personal information based on the data destruction agreement; transmitting, by the personal information aggregator, a copy of at least the authorized portion of the individual's personal information to the requestor; and receiving, by the personal information aggregator, a first incentive, of the one or more incentives, to participate in the one or more future transactions generated based on the copy of at least the authorized portion of the individual's personal information.), and (Col. 8 lines 1-6, the user 250 can authorize the request using one of the access type use cases 957 (e.g., Allow Single use Access, Allow Ongoing Access, Allow Limited Access) of the Authorize use case 950.), and (Col. 14 lines 48-54: a user-initiated authorization request may also be for ongoing, single or limited use.), and (Claim 1: an authorization request from a requestor requesting access to at least an authorized portion of the individual's personal information in exchange for one or more incentives to participate in one or more future transactions; establishing, by the personal information aggregator, a data destruction agreement with the requestor requiring the requestor to destroy, upon notification by the individual of the occurrence of a condition, any received copy of the authorized portion of the individual's personal information; authorizing, by the personal information aggregator, access to at least the authorized portion of the individual's personal information based on the data destruction agreement; transmitting, by the personal information aggregator, a copy of at least the authorized portion of the individual's personal information to the requestor; and receiving, by the personal information aggregator, a first incentive, of the one or more incentives, to participate in the one or more future transactions generated based on the copy of at least the authorized portion of the individual's personal information.),sending, to the user device, data indicative of the value of the offer; (Col.17 lines 63-67, Fig.23 is an example of a user interface displaying an offer for a coupon that will be sent to a user in exchange for access to the user’s data.).
Igoe does not teach generating, based on a response from the user device indicating access to the at least the portion of the user data is to be granted, an access key that provides access to the at least the portion of the user data for a time period;
providing, access key and the at least the portion of the user data to the network device for the time period.
However Hatakeda teaches generating, based on a response from the user device indicating access to the at least the portion of the user data is to be granted, an access key that provides access to the at least the portion of the user data for a time period; (claim 13: A method of managing personal information in a distributed computing environment, the method comprising: generating, by a computer, an access code for providing access to stored personal, further comprising embedding a leak marker in the personal information for tracking subsequent transfer of the stored personal information, wherein the leak marker is associated with at least one portion of the personal information and identifiable to a personal information owner; generating at least one access rule associated with the access code for providing access to at least one portion of the personal information; applying the at least one access rule to the access code for restricting access to the at least one portion of the personal information, wherein applying the at least one access rule to the access code for restricting access to the at least one portion of personal information comprises restricting access to the at least one portion of personal information for an authorized period of time; providing the access code to a requester of personal information; receiving at the personal information store a request for the at least one portion of the personal information along with a requester access code; when the requested portion of the personal information complies with the at least one applied access rule associated with the requester access code, providing, by a computing device, information corresponding to a transfer site, the transfer site being configured to provide the requester with a service associated with the requested at least one portion of the personal information without revealing the personal information to the requester; and when the request for the portion of the personal information is a request for financial information for a provider of the personal information, providing an encrypted key for allowing the requester of personal information to process a transaction using the encrypted key without receiving the financial information for the provider of the personal information.),providing, access key and the at least the portion of the user data to the network device for the time period; and (claim 13: A method of managing personal information in a distributed computing environment, the method comprising: generating, by a computer, an access code for providing access to stored personal, further comprising embedding a leak marker in the personal information for tracking subsequent transfer of the stored personal information, wherein the leak marker is associated with at least one portion of the personal information and identifiable to a personal information owner; generating at least one access rule associated with the access code for providing access to at least one portion of the personal information; applying the at least one access rule to the access code for restricting access to the at least one portion of the personal information, wherein applying the at least one access rule to the access code for restricting access to the at least one portion of personal information comprises restricting access to the at least one portion of personal information for an authorized period of time; providing the access code to a requester of personal information; receiving at the personal information store a request for the at least one portion of the personal information along with a requester access code; when the requested portion of the personal information complies with the at least one applied access rule associated with the requester access code, providing, by a computing device, information corresponding to a transfer site, the transfer site being configured to provide the requester with a service associated with the requested at least one portion of the personal information without revealing the personal information to the requester; and when the request for the portion of the personal information is a request for financial information for a provider of the personal information, providing an encrypted key for allowing the requester of personal information to process a transaction using the encrypted key without receiving the financial information for the provider of the personal information.),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Igoe to include providing, access key and the at least the portion of the user data to the network device for the time period of Hatakeda. Motivation to do so comes from the knowledge well known in the art that providing, access key and the at least the portion of the user data to the network device for the time period would provide access to users information or data that an advertiser would gain which would help in a better determination of what content to be provided to the user and that would increase the likelihood that the user will review and engage with such content and therefore make the method/system more profitable and more accurate.
As to Claim 3, Igoe and Hatakeda teach the method of claim 1.
Igoe further teaches wherein the user data comprises at least one of: a user location, a viewing history, demographic data, a brand preference, a market segment, or a purchasing history; (Col. 29 lines 4-12, the user's profile, may include information regarding the user's basic personal information, demographics, user attributes, interests, affiliations and other information).
As to Claim 4, Igoe and Hatakeda teach the method of claim 1.
Igoe further teaches wherein the at least the portion of the user data comprises market segment data associated with the user device; (Col.29 lines 4- 12, the user's profile, may include information regarding the user's basic personal information (e.g., name, home address, work address, e-mail addresses and date of birth), demographics (e.g., age, age group, gender, years of education, income, net worth, occupation, marital status, geographic region, religion, ethnicity, etc.), user attributes, interests, affiliations and other information that can be used in the NDSN to characterize the user.).
As to Claim 5, Igoe and Hatakeda teach the method of claim 1.
Igoe further teaches wherein the user device comprises at least one of: a mobile device, a set-top-box, or a computing device; (Col. 52 lines 15-25, the request can be received by the PIA which is connected to the set-top box which stores the data and is managed by a content provider).
As to Claim 6, Igoe and Hatakeda teach the method of claim 1.
Igoe further teaches wherein the offer comprises at least one of: a monetary offer, a product offer, or a discount offer; (col. 38: monetary rewards).
As to Claim 7, Igoe teaches a method, comprising:receiving, from a network device, a request to access user data associated with usage of a content delivery service (Col.6 lines 19-28: a Personal Information Aggregator (PIA) provides a user with the ability to store, organize and control personal information. The user controls access to the personal information stored in the PIA by authorizing access by other entities to subsets of the personal information stored in the PIA.), (Col.12 lines 25-35: the PIA can upload data from the user's television.), and (Col. 55 lines 9-20: in order to access the data feeds from a PIA 100, the analyzing component 130 may need to request access from the PIA 100. Authorization may be requested for single-use, limited-use or ongoing-use of the data), wherein the request comprises an offer in exchange for access to at least a portion of the user data; (Col. 17 lines 63-67: FIG. 23 is an example of a user interface 612 that displays a request for access to a particular output data feed. The entity making the request, "Wal-Mart", is requesting access to the user's entertainment purchase history in exchange for a coupon which has redeemable value.) ,requesting, from a user device based on a value of the offer and an amount of the user data (Col. 17 lines 63-67, and Fig. 23: is an example of a user interface 612 that displays a request for access to a particular output data feed. The entity making the request, "Wal-Mart", is requesting access to the user's entertainment purchase history in exchange for a coupon which has redeemable value), access to the at least the portion of the user data that is associated with the user device in exchange for acceptance of the offer (Col.52 lines 15-40: the PIA is connected to the set-top box and the data stored in the STB 1140 may include programs watched, advertisements watched, viewing times, fast-forwarded segments, rewound segments and channel changes); (Claim 1: an authorization request from a requestor requesting access to at least an authorized portion of the individual's personal information in exchange for one or more incentives to participate in one or more future transactions; establishing, by the personal information aggregator, a data destruction agreement with the requestor requiring the requestor to destroy, upon notification by the individual of the occurrence of a condition, any received copy of the authorized portion of the individual's personal information; authorizing, by the personal information aggregator, access to at least the authorized portion of the individual's personal information based on the data destruction agreement; transmitting, by the personal information aggregator, a copy of at least the authorized portion of the individual's personal information to the requestor; and receiving, by the personal information aggregator, a first incentive, of the one or more incentives, to participate in the one or more future transactions generated based on the copy of at least the authorized portion of the individual's personal information.), and (Col. 8 lines 1-6, the user 250 can authorize the request using one of the access type use cases 957 (e.g., Allow Single use Access, Allow Ongoing Access, Allow Limited Access) of the Authorize use case 950.), and (Col. 14 lines 48-54: a user-initiated authorization request may also be for ongoing, single or limited use.), and (Claim 1: an authorization request from a requestor requesting access to at least an authorized portion of the individual's personal information in exchange for one or more incentives to participate in one or more future transactions; establishing, by the personal information aggregator, a data destruction agreement with the requestor requiring the requestor to destroy, upon notification by the individual of the occurrence of a condition, any received copy of the authorized portion of the individual's personal information; authorizing, by the personal information aggregator, access to at least the authorized portion of the individual's personal information based on the data destruction agreement; transmitting, by the personal information aggregator, a copy of at least the authorized portion of the individual's personal information to the requestor; and receiving, by the personal information aggregator, a first incentive, of the one or more incentives, to participate in the one or more future transactions generated based on the copy of at least the authorized portion of the individual's personal information.),sending, to the user device, data indicative of the value of the offer; (Col.17 lines 63-67, Fig.23 is an example of a user interface displaying an offer for a coupon that will be sent to a user in exchange for access to the user’s data.).
Igoe does not teach generating, based on a response from the user device indicating access to the at least the portion of the user data is to be granted, an access key that provides access to the at least the portion of the user data for a time period;
providing, the access key and the at least the portion of the user data to the network device for a time period.
However Hatakeda teaches generating, based on a response from the user device indicating access to the at least the portion of the user data is to be granted, an access key that provides access to the at least the portion of the user data for a time period; (claim 13: A method of managing personal information in a distributed computing environment, the method comprising: generating, by a computer, an access code for providing access to stored personal, further comprising embedding a leak marker in the personal information for tracking subsequent transfer of the stored personal information, wherein the leak marker is associated with at least one portion of the personal information and identifiable to a personal information owner; generating at least one access rule associated with the access code for providing access to at least one portion of the personal information; applying the at least one access rule to the access code for restricting access to the at least one portion of the personal information, wherein applying the at least one access rule to the access code for restricting access to the at least one portion of personal information comprises restricting access to the at least one portion of personal information for an authorized period of time; providing the access code to a requester of personal information; receiving at the personal information store a request for the at least one portion of the personal information along with a requester access code; when the requested portion of the personal information complies with the at least one applied access rule associated with the requester access code, providing, by a computing device, information corresponding to a transfer site, the transfer site being configured to provide the requester with a service associated with the requested at least one portion of the personal information without revealing the personal information to the requester; and when the request for the portion of the personal information is a request for financial information for a provider of the personal information, providing an encrypted key for allowing the requester of personal information to process a transaction using the encrypted key without receiving the financial information for the provider of the personal information.),providing, the access key and the at least the portion of the user data to the network device for a time period; and (claim 13: A method of managing personal information in a distributed computing environment, the method comprising: generating, by a computer, an access code for providing access to stored personal, further comprising embedding a leak marker in the personal information for tracking subsequent transfer of the stored personal information, wherein the leak marker is associated with at least one portion of the personal information and identifiable to a personal information owner; generating at least one access rule associated with the access code for providing access to at least one portion of the personal information; applying the at least one access rule to the access code for restricting access to the at least one portion of the personal information, wherein applying the at least one access rule to the access code for restricting access to the at least one portion of personal information comprises restricting access to the at least one portion of personal information for an authorized period of time; providing the access code to a requester of personal information; receiving at the personal information store a request for the at least one portion of the personal information along with a requester access code; when the requested portion of the personal information complies with the at least one applied access rule associated with the requester access code, providing, by a computing device, information corresponding to a transfer site, the transfer site being configured to provide the requester with a service associated with the requested at least one portion of the personal information without revealing the personal information to the requester; and when the request for the portion of the personal information is a request for financial information for a provider of the personal information, providing an encrypted key for allowing the requester of personal information to process a transaction using the encrypted key without receiving the financial information for the provider of the personal information.),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Igoe to include providing, the access key and the at least the portion of the user data to the network device for a time period of Hatakeda. Motivation to do so comes from the knowledge well known in the art that providing, the access key and the at least the portion of the user data to the network device for a time period would provide access to users information or data that an advertiser would gain which would help in a better determination of what content to be provided to the user and that would increase the likelihood that the user will review and engage with such content and therefore make the method/system more profitable and more accurate.
As to Claim 9, Igoe and Hatakeda teach the method of claim 7.
Igoe further teaches wherein the user data comprises at least one of: a user location, a viewing history, demographic data, a brand preference, a market segment, or a purchasing history; (Col. 29 lines 4-12, the user's profile, may include information regarding the user's basic personal information, demographics, user attributes, interests, affiliations and other information).
As to Claim 10, Igoe and Hatakeda teach the method of claim 7.
Igoe further teaches wherein the at least the portion of the user data comprises market segment data associated with the user device; (Col.29 lines 4- 12, the user's profile, may include information regarding the user's basic personal information (e.g., name, home address, work address, e-mail addresses and date of birth), demographics (e.g., age, age group, gender, years of education, income, net worth, occupation, marital status, geographic region, religion, ethnicity, etc.), user attributes, interests, affiliations and other information that can be used in the NDSN to characterize the user.).
As to Claim 11, Igoe and Hatakeda teach the method of claim 7.
Igoe further teaches wherein the user device comprises at least one of: a mobile device, a set-top-box, or a computing device; (Col. 52 lines 15-25, the request can be received by the PIA which is connected to the set-top box which stores the data and is managed by a content provider).
As to Claim 12, Igoe and Hatakeda teach the method of claim 77.
Igoe further teaches wherein the offer comprises at least one of: a monetary offer, a product offer, or a discount offer; (col. 38: monetary rewards).
As to Claim 13, Igoe teaches a method, comprising:receiving, from a network device (Col.6 lines 19-28: a Personal Information Aggregator (PIA) provides a user with the ability to store, organize and control personal information. The user controls access to the personal information stored in the PIA by authorizing access by other entities to subsets of the personal information stored in the PIA.), (Col.12 lines 25-35: the PIA can upload data from the user's television.), and (Col. 55 lines 9-20: in order to access the data feeds from a PIA 100, the analyzing component 130 may need to request access from the PIA 100. Authorization may be requested for single-use, limited-use or ongoing-use of the data), a request to access user data associated with usage of a content delivery service, wherein the request comprises an offer in exchange for access to at least a portion of the user data; (Col. 17 lines 63-67: FIG. 23 is an example of a user interface 612 that displays a request for access to a particular output data feed. The entity making the request, "Wal-Mart", is requesting access to the user's entertainment purchase history in exchange for a coupon which has redeemable value.) ,requesting, from a user device based on a value of the offer and a user preference (Col. 17 lines 63-67, and Fig. 23: is an example of a user interface 612 that displays a request for access to a particular output data feed. The entity making the request, "Wal-Mart", is requesting access to the user's entertainment purchase history in exchange for a coupon which has redeemable value), access to the at least the portion of the user data that is associated with the user device in exchange for acceptance of the offer, wherein the user preference is associated with at least one characteristic (Col.52 lines 15-40: the PIA is connected to the set-top box and the data stored in the STB 1140 mayinclude programs watched, advertisements watched, viewing times, fast-forwarded segments, rewound segments and channel changes); (Claim 1: an authorization request from a requestor requesting access to at least an authorized portion of the individual's personal information in exchange for one or more incentives to participate in one or more future transactions; establishing, by the personal information aggregator, a data destruction agreement with the requestor requiring the requestor to destroy, upon notification by the individual of the occurrence of a condition, any received copy of the authorized portion of the individual's personal information; authorizing, by the personal information aggregator, access to at least the authorized portion of the individual's personal information based on the data destruction agreement; transmitting, by the personal information aggregator, a copy of at least the authorized portion of the individual's personal information to the requestor; and receiving, by the personal information aggregator, a first incentive, of the one or more incentives, to participate in the one or more future transactions generated based on the copy of at least the authorized portion of the individual's personal information.), and (Col. 8 lines 1-6, the user 250 can authorize the request using one of the access type use cases 957 (e.g., Allow Single use Access, Allow Ongoing Access, Allow Limited Access) of the Authorize use case 950.), and (Col. 14 lines 48-54: a user-initiated authorization request may also be for ongoing, single or limited use.), and (Claim 1: an authorization request from a requestor requesting access to at least an authorized portion of the individual's personal information in exchange for one or more incentives to participate in one or more future transactions; establishing, by the personal information aggregator, a data destruction agreement with the requestor requiring the requestor to destroy, upon notification by the individual of the occurrence of a condition, any received copy of the authorized portion of the individual's personal information; authorizing, by the personal information aggregator, access to at least the authorized portion of the individual's personal information based on the data destruction agreement; transmitting, by the personal information aggregator, a copy of at least the authorized portion of the individual's personal information to the requestor; and receiving, by the personal information aggregator, a first incentive, of the one or more incentives, to participate in the one or more future transactions generated based on the copy of at least the authorized portion of the individual's personal information.),sending, to the user device, data indicative of the value of the offer; (Col.17 lines 63-67, Fig.23 is an example of a user interface displaying an offer for a coupon that will be sent to a user in exchange for access to the user’s data.).
Igoe does not teach generating, based on a response from the user device indicating access to the at least the portion of the user data is to be granted, an access key that provides access to the at least the portion of the user data for a time period;
providing, the at least the portion of the user data to the network device for the time period; and sending, to the user device, data indicative of the value of the offer.
However Hatakeda teaches generating, based on a response from the user device indicating access to the at least the portion of the user data is to be granted, an access key that provides access to the at least the portion of the user data for a time period; (claim 13: A method of managing personal information in a distributed computing environment, the method comprising: generating, by a computer, an access code for providing access to stored personal, further comprising embedding a leak marker in the personal information for tracking subsequent transfer of the stored personal information, wherein the leak marker is associated with at least one portion of the personal information and identifiable to a personal information owner; generating at least one access rule associated with the access code for providing access to at least one portion of the personal information; applying the at least one access rule to the access code for restricting access to the at least one portion of the personal information, wherein applying the at least one access rule to the access code for restricting access to the at least one portion of personal information comprises restricting access to the at least one portion of personal information for an authorized period of time; providing the access code to a requester of personal information; receiving at the personal information store a request for the at least one portion of the personal information along with a requester access code; when the requested portion of the personal information complies with the at least one applied access rule associated with the requester access code, providing, by a computing device, information corresponding to a transfer site, the transfer site being configured to provide the requester with a service associated with the requested at least one portion of the personal information without revealing the personal information to the requester; and when the request for the portion of the personal information is a request for financial information for a provider of the personal information, providing an encrypted key for allowing the requester of personal information to process a transaction using the encrypted key without receiving the financial information for the provider of the personal information.),providing, the at least the portion of the user data to the network device for the time period; and sending, to the user device, data indicative of the value of the offer; and (claim 13: A method of managing personal information in a distributed computing environment, the method comprising: generating, by a computer, an access code for providing access to stored personal, further comprising embedding a leak marker in the personal information for tracking subsequent transfer of the stored personal information, wherein the leak marker is associated with at least one portion of the personal information and identifiable to a personal information owner; generating at least one access rule associated with the access code for providing access to at least one portion of the personal information; applying the at least one access rule to the access code for restricting access to the at least one portion of the personal information, wherein applying the at least one access rule to the access code for restricting access to the at least one portion of personal information comprises restricting access to the at least one portion of personal information for an authorized period of time; providing the access code to a requester of personal information; receiving at the personal information store a request for the at least one portion of the personal information along with a requester access code; when the requested portion of the personal information complies with the at least one applied access rule associated with the requester access code, providing, by a computing device, information corresponding to a transfer site, the transfer site being configured to provide the requester with a service associated with the requested at least one portion of the personal information without revealing the personal information to the requester; and when the request for the portion of the personal information is a request for financial information for a provider of the personal information, providing an encrypted key for allowing the requester of personal information to process a transaction using the encrypted key without receiving the financial information for the provider of the personal information.),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Igoe to include providing, the at least the portion of the user data to the network device for the time period; and sending, to the user device, data indicative of the value of the offer of Hatakeda. Motivation to do so comes from the knowledge well known in the art that providing, the at least the portion of the user data to the network device for the time period; and sending, to the user device, data indicative of the value of the offer would provide access to users information or data that an advertiser would gain which would help in a better determination of what content to be provided to the user and that would increase the likelihood that the user will review and engage with such content and therefore make the method/system more profitable and more accurate.
As to Claim 14, Igoe and Hatakeda teach the method of claim 13.
Igoe further teaches wherein the at least one characteristic comprises at least one of: a type of offer, an amount of the offer, a type of user data, a vendor providing the offer, or a type of party requesting the user data; (Col. 29 lines 4-12, the user's profile, may include information regarding the user's basic personal information, demographics, user attributes, interests, affiliations and other information).
As to Claim 16, Igoe and Hatakeda teach the method of claim 13.
Igoe further teaches wherein the user data comprises at least one of: a user location, a viewing history, demographic data, a brand preference, a market segment, or a purchasing history; (Col.29 lines 4- 12, the user's profile, may include information regarding the user's basic personal information (e.g., name, home address, work address, e-mail addresses and date of birth), demographics (e.g., age, age group, gender, years of education, income, net worth, occupation, marital status, geographic region, religion, ethnicity, etc.), user attributes, interests, affiliations and other information that can be used in the NDSN to characterize the user.).
As to Claim 17, Igoe and Hatakeda teach the method of claim 13.
Igoe further teaches wherein the at least the portion of the user data comprises market segment data associated with the user device; (Col.29 lines 4- 12, the user's profile, may include information regarding the user's basic personal information (e.g., name, home address, work address, e-mail addresses and date of birth), demographics (e.g., age, age group, gender, years of education, income, net worth, occupation, marital status, geographic region, religion, ethnicity, etc.), user attributes, interests, affiliations and other information that can be used in the NDSN to characterize the user.).
As to Claim 18, Igoe and Hatakeda teach the method of claim 13.
Igoe further teaches wherein the user device comprises at least one of: a mobile device, a set-top-box, or a computing device; (Col. 52 lines 15-25, the request can be received by the PIA which is connected to the set-top box which stores the data and is managed by a content provider).
As to Claim 19, Igoe and Hatakeda teach the method of claim 13.
Igoe further teaches wherein the offer comprises at least one of: a monetary offer, a product offer, or a discount offer; (col. 38: monetary rewards).
As to Claim 20, Igoe and Hatakeda teach the method of claim 13.
Igoe further teaches wherein the content delivery service comprises at least one of:a cable television service, a video-on-demand service, or a digital video recording service; (Col. 38 lines 33-38: In addition, information provided to the PRS could be obtained from Internet sites devoted to the presentation of popular content, such as YouTube.com.TM. (video), Upto11.net (music) and digg.com (which has separate communities for technology, science, world & business, sports, videos, entertainment and gaming).
As to Claim 21, Igoe and Hatakeda teach the method of claim 1.
Igoe further teaches wherein the request to access user data is received from a third party, wherein the request comprises the value of the offer from the third party; (Col. 8 lines 1-18: referring to FIG. 1, an entity 207 requests authorization for access to a user's PIA. An entity 207 may have authorization to concurrently access one or more input data feeds and provide data to one or more input data feeds. Col. 56 lines 8-9.).
As to Claim 22, Igoe and Hatakeda teach the method of claim 1.
Igoe further teaches further comprising receiving, from the user device, the response indicating access to the at least the portion of the user data is to be granted; (Col. 17 lines 63-col. 18 line 3, the user can allow or deny the request, view the coupon, view more information or additional offers by selecting one of the buttons.).
As to Claim 23, Igoe and Hatakeda teach the method of claim 1.
Igoe further teaches further comprising determining the value of the offer satisfies a threshold value associated with the type of user data requested in the portion of the user data, wherein requesting, from the user device, access to the at least the portion of the user data is based on the value of the offer satisfying the threshold value associated with the type of user data requested in the portion of the user data; (Col. 8 lines 1-6: Referring to FIG. 1, an entity 207 requests authorization for access to a user's PIA 400 by using the Request Authorization use case 954. The user 250 can authorize the request using one of the access type use cases 957 (e.g., Allow Single-use Access, Allow Ongoing Access, Allow Limited Access) of the Authorize use case 950. If authorized, the entity 207 may access the requested output data feed of personal information if the request was for access by using the Access Information use case 956. Similarly, the entity 207 may provide information to the requested input data feed of the PIA if the request was to provide data by using the Provide information use case 955. It should be noted that an entity 207 is not limited to authorization for a single feed, nor is an entity 207 limited to an exclusively input or output role. Rather, an entity 207 may have), and (Col.14 lines 48-54: In an alternate embodiment, the user 250, instead of the external entity, might initiate the authorization. FIG. 8 depicts the interactions associated with a PIA authorization request for such a situation. Although an ongoing authorization request is shown in the example of FIG. 8, it is understood that a user-initiated authorization request may also be for single or limited use. In FIG. 8, the User 250 initiates the authorization by sending an authorize message to the PIA 400, with arguments that specify the entity's ID (EntityID), the nature of the authorization (authorizationType), and the data feed (FeedID) for which authorization is granted. Upon receiving the authorization from the User 250, the PIA 400 notifies the External Entity 207 of the authorization by sending a accessGranted message with an argument specifying the nature of the authorization and identifying the authorized data feed.).
NPL Reference
6. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The NPL “Promotion Methods in Consumer Sales” describes “A coupon is a ticket or document that can be exchanged for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product. Show how and why coupons are used as part of sales promotion methods Key Takeaways Coupons gain popularity during tough economic times. Coupons are an inexpensive form of marketing. Coupons offer marketers both advantages and disadvantages. An effective coupon program can be measured and entices consumers to use the coupons”.
Pertinent Art
7. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Reference# US9635028B2 teaches similar invention which describes receiving, by an operating system of the first computing device and from a client application executing on the first computing device, a first request for accessing a set of data associated with a user of the first computing device, wherein the set of data is managed by a second computing device; sending, by the operating system and to the second computing device, a second request for accessing the set of data; receiving, by the operating system and from the second computing device, a response to the second request; and if the response to the second request grants the client application access to the set of data, then forwarding, by the operating system and to the client application, an access token to be used by the client application for accessing the set of data with the second computing device. A method comprising: by an operating system of a client computing device, receiving from a software application executing on the client computing device a first request to access a first portion of user data stored at a remote host; by the operating system, in response to receiving the first request from the software application, sending to the remote host a proxy authentication request enabling the operating system to act as a proxy for the software application to request access to the first portion of the user data stored at the remote host, wherein the proxy authentication request specifies one or more types of access permissions, the types of access permissions comprising read permissions and write permissions; at the operating system, receiving from the remote host, an access token granting the software application access to the user data stored at the remote host, wherein the access is granted in accordance with the specified types of access permissions; by the operating system, in response to receiving the access token, then forwarding the received access token to the software application; and by the operating system, upon receiving a second request to access a second portion of the user data, authenticating a source of the second request and (1) if the source is the software application that previously received the access token, then granting access and transmitting a request for the second portion of the user data to the remote host using the access token, (2) else if the source is another software application, then denying access to the second portion of the user data.
Response to Arguments
6. Applicant's arguments filed 12/17/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
A. With regards to applicant's arguments with respect to 35 U.S.C 102 arguments has been fully considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
B. Applicant argues that the claims are not directed to a judicial exception under Step 2A Prong One. Examiner respectfully disagrees. As for Step 2A Prong One, of the Abstract idea is directed towards the abstract idea of granting an offer inexchange for the network device to access a portion of the user data associated with a content delivery service which is grouped within the Methods Of Organizing Human Activity and is similar to the concept of (commercial or legal interactions including agreements in the form of contracts, legal obligations, advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors business relations) grouping of abstract ideas in prong one of step 2A of the Alice/Mayo test (See 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. 50, 52, 54 (January 7, 2019)). Accordingly, the claims recite an abstract idea (See pages 7, 10, Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank International, et al., US Supreme Court, No. 13-298, June 19, 2014; 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. 50, 53-54 (January 7, 2019)), (MPEP § 2106.04).
C. Applicant argues that the claims are not directed to a judicial exception under Step 2A Prong Two. Examiner respectfully disagrees. As for Step 2A Prong Two, the claim limitations do not include additional elements in the claim that apply, rely on, or use the judicial exception in a manner that imposes a meaningful limit on the judicial exception, and the claim is not more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the judicial exception and the claim limitation simply describe the abstract idea. The limitation directed to granting an offer inexchange for the network device to access a portion of the user data associated with a content delivery service does not add technical improvement to the abstract idea. The recitations to “user device, network device” perform(s) the steps or functions of a content delivery service, wherein the request comprises an offer in exchange for access to at least a portion of the user data; requesting, based on a value of the offer and a type of user data, access to the at least the portion of the user data that is in exchange for acceptance of the offer; generating, based on a response from the user indicating access to the at least the portion of the user data is to be granted, an access key that provides access to the at least the portion of the user data for a time period; providing, access key and the at least the portion of the user data for the time period; and sending, to the user, data indicative of the value of the offer. The use of a processor/computer as a tool to implement the abstract idea and/or generally linking the use of the abstract idea to a particular technological environment does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it requires no more than a computer performing functions that correspond to acts required to carry out the abstract idea. The additional elements do not involve improvements to the functioning of a computer, or to any other technology or technical field (MPEP 2106.05(a)), the claims do not apply or use the abstract idea to effect a particular treatment or prophylaxis for a disease or medical condition (Vanda Memo), the claims do not apply the abstract idea with, or by use of, a particular machine (MPEP 2106.05(b)), the claims do not effect a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing (MPEP 2106.05(c)), and the claims do not apply or use the abstract idea in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking the use of the abstract idea to a particular technological environment, such that the claim as a whole is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception (MPEP 2106.05(e) and Vanda Memo). Therefore, the claims do not, for example, purport to improve the functioning of a computer. Nor do they effect an improvement in any other technology or technical field. Accordingly, the additional elements do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea, and the claims are directed to an abstract idea.
D. Applicant argues that the claims are not directed to a judicial exception under Step 2B.
Examiner respectfully disagrees. As for Step 2B, The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because, when analyzed under step 2B of the Alice/Mayo test (See 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. 50, 52, 56 (January 7, 2019)), the limitation directed to granting an offer inexchange for the network device to access a portion of the user data associated with a content delivery service does not add significantly more to the abstract idea. Furthermore, using well-known computer functions to execute an abstract idea does not constitute significantly more. The recitations to “user device, network device” are generically recited computer structure. These functions correspond to the actions required to perform the abstract idea. Viewed as a whole, the combination of elements recited in the claims merely recite the concept of granting an offer inexchange for the network device to access a portion of the user data associated with a content delivery service. Therefore, the use of these additional elements does no more than employ the computer as a tool to automate and/or implement the abstract idea. The use of a computer or processor to merely automate and/or implement the abstract idea cannot provide significantly more than the abstract idea itself (MPEP 2106.05(I)(A)(f) & (h)). Therefore, the claim is not patent eligible.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TAREK ELCHANTI whose telephone number is (571) 272-9638. The examiner can normally be reached on Flex Mon - Thur 7-7:00 and Fri 7-4:00.
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/TAREK ELCHANTI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3621B