DETAILED ACTION
In response to a communication received on 12 March 2026, the applicants amended claims 1, 2, 4-9, 11-16, and 18-23 and cancelled claims 3, 10 and 17.
Claims 1, 2, 4-9, 11-16 and 18-23 are pending.
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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 8, and 15 been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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, 8, 15 and 21-23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kommula et al. (US 2010/0082787 A1) in view of Doshi et al. (US 2018/0225732 A1), and further in view of Peterson et al. (US 20050187860 A1).
With respect to claim 1, Kommula discloses: a method comprising:
receiving, from a user device (i.e., client requesting a resource via a URL in Kommula, ¶0017),
a first credit request to allocate resources to the operator through the webpage (i.e., client requests a web resource at a URL corresponding to an IP address in Kommula, ¶0017),
wherein the first credit request is received at a waterfall gateway (i.e., a query to resolve the URL into an IP address is received at a global server load balancing switch in Kommula, ¶0017),
wherein providing the resources to the operator enables a transmission of an acquired object to a user of the user device (i.e., client receives the hosted webpage based on the DNS server receiving and resolving the host name to an IP address of a server in Kommula, ¶0017)
and (request includes) an identification of the acquired object provided by the operator (i.e., client request for a URL such as a webpage at the host server in Kommula, ¶0017);
determining, by the waterfall gateway, a geolocation of the user device based on the first credit request (i.e., client location is determined by client IP address corresponding to the user request; IP address prefixes correspond to specific geographical region; preference is that client machine and host server have the same geographical region in Kommula, ¶0027);
identifying, by the waterfall gateway, two or more client devices configured to provide the credit to the user (i.e., determining a list of IP addresses and ranking or ordering them based on geographic location and RTT corresponding to a distance from the user location in Kommula, ¶0024-0027).
Kommula discloses determining a list of IP addresses and ranking or ordering them based on geographic location and RTT corresponding to a distance from the user location (¶0024-0027). Kommula do(es) not explicitly disclose the following. Doshi, in order to adapt to business needs as they change and products evolve by implementing APIs to transform and convert between specific products to a general architecture (¶0029),
(receiving) via a webpage associated with an operator (i.e., user interface for browsing, ordering, and managing business services offered by multiple marketplaces in Doshi, ¶0024), and
translating, by the waterfall gateway, user-interface data of the first client device into a native representation of the waterfall gateway (i.e., transformations of outputs returned by product-specific API into a representation used by the federated marketplace portal in Doshi, ¶0030-0031)
dynamically modifying, by the waterfall gateway, the webpage by embedding a user-interface corresponding to the translated user-interface data into the webpage according to the request type (i.e., rendering in the portal the marketplace data corresponding to catalog for browsing in the marketplace in Doshi, ¶0030-0031),
wherein the user-interface includes the application programming interface which translates inputs from the user device into the native protocol of the first client device (i.e., dynamically constructing invocation of product-specific APIs in Doshi, ¶0030),
wherein the user-interface uses the application programming interface to enable the user device to interact directly with the first client device through the webpage to complete the second credit request (i.e., federated marketplace portal as common integration point for user experience to browser order and manage from the multiple coupled marketplaces in Doshi, ¶0030).
Based on Kommula in view of Doshi, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Doshi to improve upon those of Kommula in order to adapt to business needs as they change and products evolve by implementing APIs to transform and convert between specific products to a general architecture.
Kommula discloses determining a list of IP addresses and ranking or ordering them based on geographic location and RTT corresponding to a distance from the user location (¶0024-0027). Kommula and Doshi do(es) not explicitly disclose the following. Peterson, in order to streamlining the process of procuring loans and matching consumers to lenders in the selection process (¶0005), discloses:
first credit request (i.e., consumer requesting loan in Peterson, ¶0018);
second credit request (i.e., consumer request is provided to a second lender after a first lender declines in Peterson, ¶0062-65);
wherein the first credit request includes a user identifier associated with the user (i.e., requesting in the form of application process, providing name, and personal identification in Peterson, ¶0018);
denying, by the waterfall gateway, the first credit request (i.e., initial user application could be rejected by the system; denials can come via lender decisions which initiate process of finding next best lender in Peterson, ¶0032, ¶0064, ¶0065);
wherein the two or more client devices are selected based on the geolocation of the user device (i.e., consumer's application criteria compared with each lender including State a location of the user; decision waterfall for top four ranked lenders where in response to a decline the next lender is tried in Peterson, ¶0045-0046, ¶0061, ¶0064, ¶0065)
and a request type associated with the first credit request, wherein the request type is defined based on an identification of the acquired object (i.e., consumer indicating type of loan: purchase, refinance, individual, joint in Peterson, ¶0018)
and a quantity of resources requested by the operator (i.e., information submitted in placement form includes loan type, loan amount in Peterson, ¶0019);
generating, by the waterfall gateway, a request waterfall that includes a sequence of client devices (i.e., prioritized and ranked lender systems to feed application to in Peterson, ¶0061)
selected based on the geolocation of the user device, wherein the request waterfall is configured to facilitate request transmissions to one or more client devices according to the sequence of client devices (i.e., determining business licensing to service the applicant's identified state, transmitting the application in a sequence in Peterson, ¶0024, ¶0026, ¶0033-0041, ¶0064-0065);
facilitating a transmission, by the waterfall gateway, of a second credit request to a first client device in the sequence of client devices (i.e., forwarding consumer application to the first in a sequence of lenders in Peterson, ¶0064-0065),
wherein facilitating the transmission is in response to denying the first credit request, wherein the second credit request includes the request type (i.e., initial filtering of a request at the operator, rejecting the application, indicating reasons and information to reapply in Peterson, ¶0032),
wherein the second credit request is translated prior to transmission into a native protocol of the first client device by an application programming interface associated with the first client device (i.e., consumer application sent in an XML data feed with files corresponding to the selected lender in Peterson, ¶0061-0062),
wherein the first client device is proximate to the geolocation of the user device (i.e., criteria corresponding to whether the operator / lender is licensed to do business in the state designated by user in Peterson, ¶0024, ¶0026, ¶0033).
Based on Kommula in view of Doshi, and further in view of Peterson, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Peterson to improve upon those of Kommula in order to streamlining the process of procuring loans and matching consumers to lenders in the selection process.
With respect to claim 8, the limitation(s) of claim 8 are similar to those of claim(s) 1. Therefore, claim 8 is rejected with the same reasoning as claim(s) 1.
With respect to claim 15, the limitation(s) of claim 15 are similar to those of claim(s) 1. Therefore, claim 15 is rejected with the same reasoning as claim(s) 1.
With respect to claim 21, Kommula discloses determining a list of IP addresses and ranking or ordering them based on geographic location and RTT corresponding to a distance from the user location (¶0024-0027). Kommula, Doshi do(es) not explicitly disclose the following. Peterson, in order to streamlining the process of procuring loans and matching consumers to lenders in the selection process (¶0005), discloses: the method of claim 1, wherein the allocation object is configured to be transmitted from the first client device to the operator in response to completing the second request (i.e., lender decision communicated in XML to server and consumer in Peterson, ¶0066).
Based on Kommula in view of Doshi, and further in view of Peterson, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Peterson to improve upon those of Kommula in order to streamlining the process of procuring loans and matching consumers to lenders in the selection process.
With respect to claim 22, the limitation(s) of claim 22 are similar to those of claim(s) 21. Therefore, claim 22 is rejected with the same reasoning as claim(s) 21.
With respect to claim 23, the limitation(s) of claim 23 are similar to those of claim(s) 21. Therefore, claim 23 is rejected with the same reasoning as claim(s) 21.
Claim(s) 2, 6, 9, 13, 16 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kommula et al. (US 2010/0082787 A1) in view of Doshi et al. (US 2018/0225732 A1) and Peterson et al. (US 20050187860 A1), and further in view of Kim et al. (US 2013/0091558 A1).
With respect to claim 2, Kommula discloses: determining a list of IP addresses and ranking or ordering them based on geographic location and RTT corresponding to a distance from the user location (¶0024-0027). Kommula, Doshi, and Peterson do(es) not explicitly disclose the following. Kim, in order to maintain state without additional transmission layer or relying on a cookie (¶0059), discloses: the method of claim 1, wherein an indication that the first credit request was denied is received using a representational state transfer interface (i.e., making a REST API call in Kim, ¶0051).
Based on Kommula in view of Doshi and Peterson, and further in view of Kim, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Kim to improve upon those of Kommula in order to maintain state without additional transmission layer or relying on a cookie.
With respect to claim 6, Kommula discloses determining a list of IP addresses and ranking or ordering them based on geographic location and RTT corresponding to a distance from the user location (¶0024-0027). Kommula, Doshi, and Peterson do(es) not explicitly disclose the following. Kim, in order to maintain state without additional transmission layer or relying on a cookie (¶0059), discloses: the method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from a new client device, a request to be added to a set of service providers (i.e., registering of devices, includes device management module adding, deleting, or modifying information regarding cloud devices in Kim, ¶0037-0039)
modifying a second application programming interface to translate representational state transfer communications into a protocol that is native to the new client device (i.e., process a REST API call to parse and convert the REST call into a platform API call in Kim, ¶0051).
Based on Kommula in view of Doshi, and Peterson, and further in view of Kim, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Kim to improve upon those of Kommula in order to maintain state without additional transmission layer or relying on a cookie.
With respect to claim 9, the limitation(s) of claim 9 are similar to those of claim(s) 2. Therefore, claim 9 is rejected with the same reasoning as claim(s) 2.
With respect to claim 13, the limitation(s) of claim 13 are similar to those of claim(s) 6. Therefore, claim 13 is rejected with the same reasoning as claim(s) 6.
With respect to claim 16, the limitation(s) of claim 16 are similar to those of claim(s) 2. Therefore, claim 16 is rejected with the same reasoning as claim(s) 2.
With respect to claim 20, the limitation(s) of claim 20 are similar to those of claim(s) 6. Therefore, claim 20 is rejected with the same reasoning as claim(s) 6.
Claim(s) 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kommula et al. (US 2010/0082787 A1) in view of Doshi et al. (US 2018/0225732 A1), and Peterson et al. (US 20050187860 A1), and further in view of Kisel et al. (US 2010/0250656 A1).
With respect to claim 4, Kommula discloses determining a list of IP addresses and ranking or ordering them based on geographic location and RTT corresponding to a distance from the user location (¶0024-0027). Kommula, Doshi, and Peterson do(es) not explicitly disclose the following. Kisel, in order to improve robustness of a content delivery system by providing multiple CoD servers to attempt a request (¶0012), discloses: the method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving, in response to transmitting the first credit request, an indication that the second credit request was denied by the first client device (i.e., repeating the process of requesting a sequence of servers to reserve resources for a request until one provides an acknowledgement in Kisel, ¶0031-0032); and
transmitting a third request to a next client device in the sequence of client devices (i.e., after an unsuccessful request to a server, transmit a request to the next server on the list in Kisel, ¶0031-0032).
Based on Kommula in view of Doshi, and Peterson, and further in view of Kisel, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Kisel to improve upon those of Kommula in order to improve robustness of a content delivery system by providing multiple CoD servers to attempt a request.
With respect to claim 5, Kommula discloses determining a list of IP addresses and ranking or ordering them based on geographic location and RTT corresponding to a distance from the user location (¶0024-0027). Kommula, Doshi, and Peterson do(es) not explicitly disclose the following. Kisel, in order to improve robustness of a content delivery system by providing multiple CoD servers to attempt a request (¶0012), discloses: the method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving, in response to transmitting the first credit request, an indication of an allocation of resources corresponding to the first credit request (i.e., a reservation acknowledgement message that resources were reserved in Kisel, ¶0032); and
terminating, in response to receiving the indication of the allocation, the request waterfall (i.e., in response to acknowledgement, send indication of the chosen server for user terminal to send to the chosen without requesting the next server in Kisel, ¶0032-0033).
Based on Kommula in view of Doshi, and Peterson, and further in view of Kisel, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Kisel to improve upon those of Kommula in order to improve robustness of a content delivery system by providing multiple CoD servers to attempt a request.
With respect to claim 11, the limitation(s) of claim 11 are similar to those of claim(s) 4. Therefore, claim 11 is rejected with the same reasoning as claim(s) 4.
With respect to claim 12, the limitation(s) of claim 12 are similar to those of claim(s) 5. Therefore, claim 12 is rejected with the same reasoning as claim(s) 5.
With respect to claim 18, the limitation(s) of claim 18 are similar to those of claim(s) 4. Therefore, claim 18 is rejected with the same reasoning as claim(s) 4.
With respect to claim 19, the limitation(s) of claim 19 are similar to those of claim(s) 5. Therefore, claim 19 is rejected with the same reasoning as claim(s) 5.
Claim(s) 7 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kommula et al. (US 2010/0082787 A1) in view of Doshi et al. (US 2018/0225732 A1), and Peterson et al. (US 20050187860 A1), and further in view of Li et al. (US 2010/0161755 A1).
With respect to claim 7, Kommula discloses: the method of claim 1, further comprising:
generating a set of client devices using the user identifier and the request type (i.e., a set of IP addresses can be ordered based on multiple factors with respect to the host server and also includes a location determination corresponding to the user's identifier or IP address in Kommula, ¶0027)
selecting the two or more client devices from the set of client devices (i.e., presenting the best host server and the next best server ordered by a least geographical location proximity in Kommula, ¶0027).
Kommula discloses determining a list of IP addresses and ranking or ordering them based on geographic location and RTT corresponding to a distance from the user location (¶0024-0027). Kommula, Doshi, and Peterson do(es) not explicitly disclose the following. Li, in order to reduce the burden of peer-to-peer traffic on ISPs by selecting peers intelligently (¶0024-0025), discloses: determining a request type associated with the first credit request (i.e., providing a list of peers corresponding to a type of service requested, providing an address of the peers to request services from in Li, ¶0031-0032).
Based on Kommula, in view of Doshi and Peterson, and further in view of Li, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Li to improve upon those of Kommula in order to reduce the burden of peer-to-peer traffic on ISPs by selecting peers intelligently.
With respect to claim 14, the limitation(s) of claim 14 are similar to those of claim(s) 7. Therefore, claim 14 is rejected with the same reasoning as claim(s) 7.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHERMAN L LIN whose telephone number is (571)270-7446. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM (Eastern).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joon Hwang can be reached on 571-272-4036. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Sherman Lin
4/4/2026
/S. L./Examiner, Art Unit 2447
/JOON H HWANG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2447
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