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 . The following is a Non-Final Office Action. Claims 1-2, 4-20, 22, and 28-35 are rejected below.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 07/01/25 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
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 1-2, 4-20, 22, and 28-35 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.
Claims 1-2, 4-20, 22, and 28-35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. Specifically, Claims 1-2, 4-20, 22, and 28-35 are directed to an abstract idea without additional elements amounting to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Step 1 of the Alice/Mayo analysis is directed to determining whether or not the claims fall within a statutory class. Based on a facial reading of the claim elements, Claims 1-2, 4-20, 22, and 28-35 fall within a statutory class of process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter.
With respect to Step 2A Prong One of the framework, the claims recite an abstract idea. Claims 1 and 33 includes limitations reciting functionality that manages a supply chain, including limitations:
“a set of adaptive intelligence facilities that are configured to automate a set of capabilities of the platform related to at least one of the set of value chain network entities or the features of the platform”,
“a set of monitoring facilities that are configured to monitor the set of value chain network entities”,
“directing an enterprise to manage the set of value chain network entities from a point of origin of a product of the enterprise to a point of customer use”
“analyze data collected to determine at least one of: a load, an emergent situation, a frequency response, or a diagnosis”
“generate recommendations for adding to the set of monitoring facilities an added camera on and/or in proximity to a value chain network entity...”
which recites certain methods of organizing human activity associated with commercial business relations and/or managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people because the elements describe a process for managing a supply chain. As a result, claims 1 recites an abstract idea under Step 2A Prong One.
Claims 2 and 4-20, 22, 28-35 further describe the process for managing a supply chain. As a result, claims 1-2, 4-20, 22, and 28-35 recite an abstract idea under Step 2A
With respect to Step 2A Prong Two, the claims do not include additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. Claims 1 includes various elements that are not directed to the abstract idea under Step 2A Prong One of the framework. These additional elements include a cloud-based management platform with a micro-services architecture, a set of interfaces, a set of network connectivity facilities, a set of data storage facilities, a set of applications. When considered in view of the claim as a whole, the additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because the additional computing elements are generic computing elements that are merely used as a tool to perform the recited abstract idea.
The artificial intelligence system/machine learning system configured to train a set of machine-learned models...retraining the at least one machine learned-model of the set of machine-learned models...wherein the retraining comprises varying a weight of the at least one machine-learned model of the set of machine-learned models...wherein the retraining comprises reinforcement of the at least one machine-learned models of the set of machine learned models using the received image-derived information” – while increasing the model accuracy, is a general link of the use of the abstract idea to machine learning environment, because these functions do not change machine learning technology is a meaningful way beyond generic and routine machine learning functions.
The recited digital twin also generally links the use of the abstract idea to a particular technological environment or field of use under MPEP 2106.05(h).
The continually collecting an updated first set of inputs including a subset of image-derived information from a camera...and the providing of image-derived information from an image from the added camera to the digital twin is mere data exchange and insignificant extrasolution activities which do not provide a practical application to the abstract idea (See MPEP 2106.05(g)).
As a result, claims 1 and 33 do not include additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application under Step 2A Prong Two.
Claims 2, 4-20, 22, and 28-32, and 34-35 include additional elements that do not recite an abstract idea under Step 2A Prong One. The additional elements of claims 2, 4-20, 22, and 28-32, and 34-35 include a 5G network, an IoT system, a cognitive networking system, a p2p system, an edge intelligence system, a digital twin system, a smart contract system, a robotic process automation system, a data collection system, a distributed data architecture, a graph database, and a sensor system. When considered in view of the claims as a whole, the additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because the additional computing elements do no more than generally link the use of the recited abstract idea to a particular technological environment. As a result, Claims 1-2, 4-20, 22, and 28-35 do not include additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application under Step 2A Prong Two.
With respect to Step 2B of the framework, claims 1 and 33 do not include additional elements amounting to significantly more than the abstract idea. As noted above, claims 1 and 33 include additional elements that do not recite an abstract idea under Step 2A Prong One. These additional elements include a cloud-based management platform with a micro-services architecture, a set of interfaces, a set of network connectivity facilities, a set of data storage facilities, a set of applications. The additional elements do not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea because the additional computing elements are generic computing elements that are merely used as a tool to perform the recited abstract idea.
As stated above - the artificial intelligence system/machine learning system configured to train a set of machine-learned models...retraining the at least one machine learned-model of the set of machine-learned models...wherein the retraining comprises varying a weight of the at least one machine-learned model of the set of machine-learned models...wherein the retraining comprises reinforcement of the at least one machine-learned models of the set of machine learned models using the received image-derived information” – while increasing the model accuracy, is a general link of the use of the abstract idea to machine learning environment, because these functions do not change machine learning technology is a meaningful way beyond generic and routine machine learning functions.
The recited digital twin also generally links the use of the abstract idea to a particular technological environment or field of use under MPEP 2106.05(h).
The continually collecting an updated first set of inputs including a subset of image-derived information from a camera...and the providing of image-derived information from an image from the added camera to the digital twin is mere data exchange and insignificant extrasolution activities which do not provide a practical application to the abstract idea (See MPEP 2106.05(g)), and these limitations are equivalent to receiving/transmitting data and are well-understood routine and conventional which do not provide significantly more to the abstract idea (See MPEP 2106.05(d)).
As a result, claims 1 and 33 do not include additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application under Step 2A Prong Two.
Further, looking at the additional elements as an ordered combination adds nothing that is not already present when considering the additional elements individually. As a result, independent claims 1 and 33 does not include additional elements that amount to significantly more than the abstract idea under Step 2B.
Claims 2, 4-20, 22, and 28-32, and 34-35 include additional elements that do not recite an abstract idea under Step 2A Prong One. The additional elements of claims 2, 4-20, 22, and 28-32, and 34-35 include a 5G network, an IoT system, a cognitive networking system, a p2p system, an edge intelligence system, a digital twin system, a smart contract system, a robotic process automation system, a data collection system, a distributed data architecture, a graph database, and a sensor system. The additional elements do not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea because the additional computing elements do no more than generally link the use of the recited abstract idea to a particular technological environment. Further, looking at the additional elements as an ordered combination adds nothing that is not already present when considering the additional elements individually. As a result, Claims 1-2, 4-20, 22, and 28-35 do not include additional elements that amount to significantly more than the abstract idea under Step 2B.
Therefore, the claims are directed to an abstract idea without additional elements amounting to significantly more than the abstract idea. Accordingly, claims 1-2, 4-20, 22, and 28-35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as being directed to non-statutory subject matter.
Prior Art Section
The independent claims would overcome prior art and would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the 101 Rejection.
Conclusion
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/Scott Ross/
Examiner - Art Unit 3623
/RUTAO WU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3623