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 .
DETAILED ACTION
1. This Final Office action is in reply to the Applicant amendment filed on 08 June 2026.
2. Claims 1, 4, 8-11, 15-18, and 21 have been amended.
3. Claims 1 and 4-21 are currently pending and have been examined.
Response to Amendment
In the previous office action, Claims 1 and 4-21 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter (abstract idea). Applicants have not amended Claims 1 and 4-21 to provide statutory support and the rejection is maintained.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 08 June 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. In the remarks regarding the 35 USC § 101 rejection for Claims 1 and 4-21, Applicant argues that: (1) the claims are not directed to an abstract idea, and even if they were, they would amount to significantly more than the abstract idea. Examiner respectfully disagrees. Still commensurate to the two-part subject matter eligibility framework decision in the Federal court decision in Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. V. CLS Bank International et al., (Alice), 2019 revised patent subject matter eligibility guidance (2019 PEG) and the October 2019 Update: Subject Matter Eligibility (“October 2019 Update), and the new “July 2024 Guidance Update on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Examples, including on Artificial Intelligence”, and the Examiner details the maintained rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101 in the below rejection with further explanation. Applicant argues that as amended, Applicant states: “The Claims are not directed to an abstract idea” (see Remarks/Arguments pages 1-3). However the Examiner respectfully disagrees. The claims recite algorithm (i.e., counting word frequencies, calculating log ratios, and creating mathematical matrices) constitutes manipulation of data. The claims still recite Mathematical concepts – mathematical relationships, mathematical formulas or equations, mathematical calculations by comparing data and computing scores; The claims explicitly recite mathematical formulas, calculations, and algorithms—specifically generating a matrix, computing a "task score," and calculating frequencies. Certain methods of organizing human activity –marketing or sales activities or behaviors; business relations); managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people (including social activities, teaching, and following rules or instructions). Because the invention manages a process (assigning/recommending daily workflow tasks) that represents a fundamental business practice rather than a technological improvement to computer functionality itself. Mental processes – concepts performed in the human mind (including an observation, evaluation, judgment, opinion). The claim recites steps that can be performed in the human mind, such as comparing document summaries and evaluating mood statuses against task scores. Because the underlying action of reading, interpreting, summarizing documents, and evaluating user moods mirrors actions that can be performed practically by the human mind.
In summary as indicated below through Steps 1-2B, the recitation of a computer (one or more processors) to perform the claim limitations amount to no more than mere instruction to apply the exception using generic computer components. Even when considered in combination, these additional elements represent mere instructions to implement an abstract idea or other exception on a computer and insignificant extra-solution activity, which do not provide an inventive concept. For at least these reasons, the rejection is maintained.
Applicants’ amendments have overcome the previous cited prior art rejections.
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, 4-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more. The claims as a whole recite certain grouping of an abstract idea and are analyzed in the following step process for representative Claim 1:
Step 1: Claims 1, 4-21 are each focused to a statutory category of invention, namely “method; computer program product including one or more non-transitory machine-readable mediums; system” sets.
Step 2A: Prong One: Claims 1, 4-21 recite limitations that set forth the abstract ideas, namely, the claims as a whole recite the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claims recite steps for:
“receiving, by a processor and from a task management service, one or more tasks to be performed by a user;
retrieving a plurality of documents corresponding to the one or more tasks; generating a term frequency-inverse document frequency matrix for the plurality of documents by, for each particular document of the plurality of documents and for each particular term of a plurality of terms used in the plurality of documents:
calculating a frequency of the particular term in the particular document; and discounting the frequency of the particular term in the particular document by a frequency of the particular term in one or more different documents of the plurality of documents; generating, based on the term frequency-inverse document frequency matrix, a summary for each of the plurality of documents;
computing, by the processor, a task score for each of the one or more tasks to be performed by the user, by comparing each of the generated summaries to one or more different summaries corresponding to past tasks completed by the user;
determining, by the processor, a mood status associated with the user, wherein determining the mood status includes processing one or more physiological signals received from a user worn device;
comparing, by the processor, the mood status to the task score for each of the one or more tasks to be performed by the user;
determining, by the processor and based on the comparison, a recommended task from among each of the one or more tasks to be performed by the user; and
sending, by the processor, the recommended task to the task management service for display to the user”
Analysis (Prong 1 - Directed To): The claim focuses on "computing, determining; comparing and sending information to recommend a task”. The core of the invention is the cognitive or mental process of basically matching a task to a user based on calculated metrics (familiarity, difficulty, mood) rather than a specific, technical improvement to the way [the] computer (processor) operates, such as improved memory access, power consumption, or processor speed. The use of the "processor" and "user worn device" constitutes standard computer technology and does not transform the abstract idea into a concrete application (see also below continued analysis under Step 2A: Prong 2).
The claims as a whole recite certain groupings under the categories:
(a) Mathematical concepts – [mathematical relationships, mathematical formulas or equations, mathematical calculations] (e.g., computing scores, TF-IDF matrix generation). The invention depends heavily on mathematical calculations, scoring algorithms) to generate the summaries and task scores.
(b) Certain methods of organizing human activity – [managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people (including social activities, teaching, and following rules or instructions)] (e.g., matching a task to a user's mood, organizing workflows. The concept of matching tasks to users based on, inter alia, emotional states and previous task difficulty, which is a method of organizing human activity (see also, mental process/business method). The proposed invention manages a process (assigning/recommending daily workflow tasks) that represents a fundamental business practice rather than a technological improvement to computer functionality itself.
(c) Mental processes – [concepts performed in the human mind (including an observation, evaluation, judgment, opinion]. The core of the invention is the cognitive or mental process of matching a task to a user based on calculated metrics (familiarity, difficulty, mood). The underlying action of reading, interpreting, summarizing documents, and evaluating user moods mirrors actions that can be performed practically by the human mind. While using a "worn device" adds a hardware element, analyzing this data to determine a "mood" to make a decision is arguably a mental step or a mental process of diagnosing a state, rather than a technical transformation. (see also analysis under Step 2A: Prong 2)
See MPEP § 2106.04(a) II C. Hence, the claims are ineligible under Step 2A Prong one. Furthermore, the dependent claims are merely directed to the particulars of the abstract idea and likewise do not add significantly more to the above-identified judicial exception. The limitations of the claims do not transform the abstract idea that they recite into patent-eligible subject matter because the claims simply instruct the practitioner to implement the abstract idea using generally-recited computer components.
Prong Two: Claims 1, 4-21: With regard to this step of the analysis (as explained in MPEP § 2106.04(d)), the judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. Therefore, the claims contain computer components (“a processor operatively coupled to the storage; computer program product including one or more non-transitory machine-readable mediums; user worn device; matrix”, etc.) (e.g., see Applicants’ published Specification ¶’s 2-5, 19-29) that are cited at a high level of generality and are merely invoked as a tool to perform the abstract idea. Simply implementing an abstract idea on a computer is not a practical application of the abstract idea. It is notable that mere physicality or tangibility of an additional element or elements is not a relevant consideration in Step 2A Prong Two. As the Supreme Court explained in Alice Corp., mere physical or tangible implementation of an exception does not guarantee eligibility. Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank Int’l, 573 U.S. 208, 224, 110 USPQ2d 1976, 1983-84 (2014) (“The fact that a computer ‘necessarily exist[s] in the physical, rather than purely conceptual, realm,’ is beside the point”). See also Genetic Technologies Ltd. v. Merial LLC, 818 F.3d 1369, 1377, 118 USPQ2d 1541, 1547 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (steps of DNA amplification and analysis are not “sufficient” to render claim 1 patent eligible merely because they are physical steps). Conversely, the presence of a non-physical or intangible additional element does not doom the claims, because tangibility is not necessary for eligibility under the Alice/Mayo test. Enfish, LLC v. Microsoft Corp., 822 F.3d 1327, 118 USPQ2d 1684 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (“that the improvement is not defined by reference to ‘physical’ components does not doom the claims”). See also McRO, Inc. v. Bandai Namco Games Am. Inc., 837 F.3d 1299, 1315, 120 USPQ2d 1091, 1102 (Fed. Cir. 2016), (holding that a process producing an intangible result (a sequence of synchronized, animated characters) was eligible because it improved an existing technological process). Furthermore, the dependent claims are merely directed to the particulars of the abstract idea and likewise do not add significantly more to the above-identified judicial exception. The limitations of the claims do not transform the abstract idea that they recite into patent-eligible subject matter because the claims simply instruct the practitioner to implement the abstract idea using generally-recited computer components, and furthermore do not amount to an improvement to a computer or any other technology, and thus are ineligible. See MPEP § 2106.05(f) (h).
Step 2B: As explained in MPEP § 2106.05, Claims 1, 4-21 do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the additional elements when considered both individually and as an ordered combination do not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea nor recites additional elements that integrate the judicial exception into a practical application. The additional elements of “a processor operatively coupled to the storage; computer program product including one or more non-transitory machine-readable mediums; user worn device; matrix”) etc. are generically-recited computer-related elements that amount to a mere instruction to “apply it” (the abstract idea) on the computer-related elements (see MPEP § 2106.05 (f) – Mere Instructions to Apply an Exception). These additional elements in the claims are recited at a high level of generality and are merely limiting the field of use of the judicial exception (see MPEP §2106.05 (h) – Field of Use and Technological Environment). There is no indication that the combination of elements improves the function of a computer or improves any other technology. Furthermore, the dependent claims are merely directed to the particulars of the abstract idea and likewise do not add significantly more to the above-identified judicial exception. The limitations of the claims do not transform the abstract idea that they recite into patent-eligible subject matter because the claims simply instruct the practitioner to implement the abstract idea using generally-recited computer components, and furthermore do not amount to an improvement to a computer or any other technology, and thus are ineligible.
Examiner interprets that the steps of the claimed invention both individually and as an ordered combination result in Mere Instructions to Apply a Judicial Exception (see MPEP §2106.05 (f)). These claims recite only the idea of a solution or outcome with no restriction on how the result is accomplished and no description of the mechanism used for accomplishing the result. Here, the claims utilize a computer or other machinery (e.g., see Applicants’ published Specification ¶’s 2-5, 19-29) regarding using existing computer processors as well as program products comprising machine-readable media for carrying or having machine-executable instructions or data structures stored. “system 200” in its ordinary capacity for performing tasks (e.g., to receive, analyze, transmit and display data) and/or use computer components after the fact to an abstract idea (e.g., a fundamental economic practice and certain methods of organization human activities) and does not provide significantly more. See Affinity Labs v. DirecTV, 838 F.3d 1253, 1262, 120 USPQ2d 1201, 1207 (Fed. Cir. 2016)). Software implementations are accomplished with standard programming techniques with logic to perform connection steps, processing steps, comparison steps and decisions steps. These claims are directed to being a commonplace business method being applied on a general-purpose computer (see Alice Corp. Pty, Ltd. V. CLS Bank Int' l, 134 S. Ct. 2347, 1357, 110 USPQ2d 1976, 1983 (2014)); Versata Dev. Group, Inc., v. SAP Am., Inc., 793 D.3d 1306, 1334, 115 USPQ2d 1681, 1701 (Fed. Cir. 2015)) and require the use of software such as via a server to tailor information and provide it to the user on a generic computer. Based on all these, Examiner finds that when viewed either individually or in combination, these additional claim element(s) do not provide meaningful limitation(s) that raise to the high standards of eligibility to transform the abstract idea(s) into a patent eligible application of the abstract idea(s) such that the claim(s) amounts to significantly more than the abstract idea(s) itself. Accordingly, Claims 1, 4-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e. abstract idea exception) without significantly more.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure:
Gonzalez et al. (US 2019/0035503)
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
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THOMAS L. MANSFIELD
Examiner
Art Unit 3623
/THOMAS L MANSFIELD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3624
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