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
This action in response to the amendment filed 7/1/2025. Applicant has amended claims 1-10 and 16. Non-elected claims (6 and 11-15) have been withdrawn. Accordingly, claims 1-5, 7-10 and 16 are pending for examination.
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.
1. Claims 1-5, 7-10 and 16 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.
2. Claim 16 recites the abstract idea of “determining donation recipients using insurance information”, which is grouped under “Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity” such as “fundamental economic principles or practices” (insurance) and “Mathematical Concepts: mathematical relationships (models)”. (MPEP 2016.04(a)). Specifically, claim 16 recites “acquiring insurance type information indicating a type of insurance that a user purchases and pertaining information related to the insurance” and “generating a candidate list of donation recipients including information regarding one or more donation recipients based on the insurance type information and the pertaining information that have been acquired”, “wherein the candidate list is generated based on a model created … using the pertaining information as learning data” and “wherein the pertaining information is…by the user to a … in relation to the purchase of the insurance”. Accordingly, the claim recites an abstract idea.
3. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because, when analyzed under prong two of step 2A (MPEP 2106.04II), the additional elements of claim 16 such as “input…to a terminal device” represent the use of a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea and/or does no more than generally link the abstract idea to a particular technological environment or field of use. With respect to “created by machine learning”, the claim lacks detail regarding what “creating” comprise (MPEP 2106.05(f)(1)) and do not provide a practical application. Merely apply generic machine learning techniques to new data environments without disclosing improvements to the machine learning models are ineligible. Therefore, as Applicant has neither placed a restriction on how “creating” is performed nor describe how the functions are accomplished the limitations do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application as they are no more than “apply it” (MPEP 2106.05(f)(1)).
4. When analyzed under step 2B (MPEP 2106.04II), because the additional elements do no more than represent the use of a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea and/or does no more than generally link the abstract idea to a particular field of use, they do not provide an improvement to computer functionality, or an improvement to another technology or technical field and, therefore, do not amount to significantly more than the judicial exception itself (MPEP 2106.05(I)(A)(f)&(h)).
5. Hence, claim 16 is not patent eligible.
6. Claim 1 is also directed to the abstract idea of the abstract idea of “determining donation recipients using insurance information”, which is grouped under “Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity” such as “fundamental economic principles or practices” (insurance) and “Mathematical Concepts: mathematical relationships (models)”.
7. As in the case of claim 16, the exception is not integrated into a practical application. Claim 1 includes the additional elements such as “server device comprising… circuitry” and “input…to a terminal device” which represent the use of a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea and/or does no more than generally link the abstract idea to a particular technological environment or field of use. Additionally, the claimed “created by machine learning” limitations describe only the result but not how the creating is done other than to say it is by a “machine learning”. Merely apply generic machine learning techniques to new data environments without disclosing improvements to the machine learning models are ineligible. The claimed “circuitry configured to” also only describes the results (acquire and generate) but not how the circuitry is configured to perform acquiring and generating. Therefore, as Applicant has neither placed a restriction on how “creating”, “acquiring” and “generating” are performed nor describe how the functions are accomplished the limitations do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application as they are no more than “apply it” (MPEP 2106.05(f)(1)).
8. When analyzed under step 2B (MPEP 2106.04II), because the additional elements do no more than represent the use of a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea and/or does no more than generally link the abstract idea to a particular field of use, they do not provide an improvement to computer functionality, or an improvement to another technology or technical field and, therefore, do not amount to significantly more than the judicial exception itself (MPEP 2106.05(I)(A)(f)&(h)).
9. Hence, claim 1 is not patent eligible.
10. Depending claims 2-5 and 7-10 further recite “each donation recipient in the candidate list of donation recipients is a public and non-profitable organization (claim 2), “…generates the candidate list by further using preference information indicating preference of the user (claim 3), “generates the candidate list by further using information transmitted from an individual to an …. (claim 4)”, “…accumulates at least insurance type information indicating a type of the insurance purchased by the user and the pertaining information related to the insurance wherein … generates the candidate list based on the accumulated insurance type information and the pertaining information … (claim 7), “…manage premium information indicating a premium to be paid by the user for the insurance and set a part of the premium to a donation money to be donated to a selected donation recipient indicated by information regarding the donation recipient based on the premium information (claim 8), “…manage information regarding each donation recipient in the candidate list of donation recipients and notify the user of execution of the donation to the selected donation recipient, in a case where donation is executed to the selected donation recipient indicated by information regarding the selected donation recipient selected from the candidate list generated on the insurance type information and the pertaining information corresponding to the user (claim 9), “store a ….display….the pertaining information on an item corresponding to the insurance type information to the … and display the candidate list of donation recipients including information regarding one or more donations recipients, the candidate list having been transmitted from the … according to the insurance type information….and the pertaining information …. Second… the insurance type information and pertaining information have been transmitted…” which is grouped under “Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity” such as “fundamental economic principles or practices” (insurance). (MPEP 2016.04(a)).
11. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because, when analyzed under prong two of step 2A (MPEP 2106.04II), the additional elements of claims 2-5 and 7-10, such as “generation section (claims 3, 4, 5, 7)”, “Internet (claim 5)”, “accumulation section (claim 7), “management section (claims 8, 9)”, and “circuitry; web app storage section that stores a web app to be read via a network by a browser application installed in a terminal device…by being executed on the browser application…the web app causes a screen of the terminal device… first/second input region for inputting; …from the server device… to a service device (claim 10)” represent the use of a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea and/or does no more than generally link the abstract idea to a particular technological environment or field of use. Accordingly, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea.
12. When analyzed under step 2B (MPEP 2106.04II), because the additional elements do no more than represent the use of a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea and/or does no more than generally link the abstract idea to a particular field of use, they do not provide an improvement to computer functionality, or an improvement to another technology or technical field and, therefore, do not amount to significantly more than the judicial exception itself (MPEP 2106.05(I)(A)(f)&(h)).
13. Hence, depending claims 2-5 and 7-10 are not patent eligible.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (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.
Claims 1, 4, 5, 7 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kusunoki (US 2013/0132124 A1) in view of Etheridge et al. (US 2021/0334903 A1) and Jain et al. (US 2019/0087746 A1).
As per Claim 1
Kusunoki (‘124) discloses
a server device comprising a circuitry, see at least paragraph 0147 (server or a terminal device), paragraph 0147 (a server or a terminal device of a system such as a large-scale computer), paragraph 0066 (one or more computer programs stored in the system realize functions of these means) and Fig 1
acquire insurance type information indicating a type of insurance and pertaining information related to the insurance, see at least paragraph 0040 (insurance accident information receiving means …receives the insurance accident information from a terminal device), paragraph 0024 (insurance accident receiving means receiving….an insurance accident information indicating the category of the insurance accident or the category of the payment of insurance money for each of the insurance contract)
paragraph 0019 (motor insurance or…. pet insurance; the candidate beneficiaries are associated with the corresponding insurance contract and insurance accident)
generate a candidate list of donation recipients (candidate beneficiaries) including information regarding one or more donation recipients based on the insurance type information and the pertaining information, see at least paragraph 0019 (a system… that can set candidate beneficiaries for each insurance contract, in keeping precisely the correspondence relations, for example, an organization supporting orphans of car accidents for a motor insurance or an organization supporting abandoned pet for a pet insurance, so that the candidate beneficiaries are associated with the corresponding insurance contract and insurance accident), paragraph 0024 (the system displays….insurance of a third field….and a list information comprising a candidate beneficiary for which the …insured person can vote), paragraph 0057 (insured person can donate the money to the beneficiary selected by him), paragraph 0039 (pre-displayed candidate beneficiaries), paragraph 0032 (set different beneficiaries for each of the voting person; set a preferable beneficiary in accordance with the category of insurance), paragraph 0031 (set the beneficiary selected for each insurance accident; it is necessary to distinguish the beneficiary in accordance with the characteristics of the each insurance, because a beneficiary to be ideally supported by the insurance beings a sense of affinity to the insurance contractor), paragraph 0032 (set different beneficiaries….age or the residence area of the voting person of the same motor insurance)
Kusunoki (‘124) discloses acquiring insurance type information indicating a type of insurance and pertaining information related to the insurance, see at least paragraph 0040 (insurance accident information receiving means …receives the insurance accident information from a terminal device), paragraph 0024 (insurance accident receiving means receiving….an insurance accident information indicating the category of the insurance accident or the category of the payment of insurance money for each of the insurance contract), paragraph 0019 (motor insurance or…. pet insurance; the candidate beneficiaries are associated with the corresponding insurance contract and insurance accident), but fails to explicitly disclose acquiring information indicating a type of insurance that a user purchases wherein the information is input by the user to a terminal device in relation to the purchase of the insurance. Etheridge (‘903) teaches acquiring information indicating a type of insurance that a user purchases wherein the information is input by the user to a terminal device in relation to the purchase of the insurance, paragraph 0018 (each channel may allow the customer to purchase one or more types of insurance products), paragraph 0019 (insurance application…. choose how they would like to apply for insurance, enhancing their purchasing experience), paragraph 0048 (enable user interface to display one or more prompts to a user and/or to accept under input, which could include entering data into one or more data fields… enter suitable data to enroll in one or more insurance policies), paragraph 0010 (customer information entered…. to generate an aggregated customer policy profile), paragraph 0035 (customer information that may be used to build completed customer policy profile include any suitable relevant information sued to make a determination regarding a type of insurance policy and details associated with an insurance policy; desired type of policy requested by the customer), paragraph 0036 (details associated with the insurance policy that are determined once the completed customer policy profile is generated may include… insurance type…insurance beneficiary). Both Kusunoki and Etheridge are directed toward insurance contract. Therefore, the Examiner asserts that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kusunoki’s invention to include acquiring information indicating a type of insurance that a user purchases wherein the information is input by the user to a terminal device in relation to the purchase of the insurance. One would have been motivated to do so for the benefit of speeding up the process by acquiring purchasing information.
Kusunoki (‘124) disclose wherein the circuitry generates the candidate list using pertaining information, see at least paragraph 0019 (a system… that can set candidate beneficiaries for each insurance contract) and paragraph 0024 (the system displays…insurance of a third field….and a list information comprising a candidate beneficiary), paragraph 0147 (a server or a terminal device of a system such as a large-scale computer), paragraph 0066 (one or more computer programs stored in the system realize functions of these means) and Fig 1, but fails to explicitly disclose wherein the list is generated based on a model created by machine learning using pertaining information as learning data. Jain (‘746) teaches generating list based on a model created by machine learning using pertaining information as learning data, see at least Abstract of Jain (automatically determine sets of candidate recipients based on outputs of algorithms e.g. machine learning algorithms such as classifiers using the feature vectors as inputs; classifiers may utilize models or algorithms trained with featurization; set of candidate recipients are provided to the user for selection). Both Kusunoki are directed toward determining set of recipients. Therefore, the Examiner asserts that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kusunoki’s invention to include generating list based on a model created by machine learning using pertaining information as learning data. One would have been motivated to do so for the benefit of speeding up process and reducing human error and bias.
As per Claim 4
Kusunoki (‘124) discloses wherein the circuitry generates the candidate list by further using attribute information indicating an attribute of the user, see at least paragraph 0088 (insurance contractor selects a beneficiary from the candidate beneficiaries displayed on the candidate beneficiary display means by the insurance organization), paragraph 0145 (some preferable beneficiaries may be set in accordance with age or residence area of the insurance contractor; uses as a retrieving key one or more of zip code, address, name, sex, age and serial number of the insurance policy of the insurance contractor), paragraph 0147 (a server or a terminal device of a system such as a large-scale computer), paragraph 0066 (one or more computer programs stored in the system realize functions of these means) and Fig 1
As per Claim 5
Kusunoki (‘124) discloses wherein the circuitry generates the candidate list by further using information transmitted from an individual to an Internet, see at least paragraph 0088 (insurance contractor selects a beneficiary from the candidate beneficiaries displayed on the candidate beneficiary display means by the insurance organization), paragraph 0145 (some preferable beneficiaries may be set in accordance with age or residence area of the insurance contractor; ….retrieves a beneficiary corresponding to the category of insurance accident written in the received insurance accident information; uses as a retrieving key one or more of zip code, address, name, sex, age and serial number of the insurance policy of the insurance contractor), paragraph 0132 (insurance contractor sends directly to the system via a network such as internet an insurance accident information), paragraph 0147 (a server or a terminal device of a system such as a large-scale computer), paragraph 0066 (one or more computer programs stored in the system realize functions of these means) and Fig 1
As per Claim 7
Kusunoki (‘124) discloses the circuitry is further configured to accumulate at least insurance type information indicating a type of the insurance of user and the pertaining information related to the insurance wherein circuitry generates the candidate list based on the accumulated insurance type information and the pertaining information, see at least paragraph 0019 (a system… that can set candidate beneficiaries for each insurance contract, in keeping precisely the correspondence relations, for example, an organization supporting orphans of car accidents for a motor insurance or an organization supporting abandoned pet for a pet insurance, so that the candidate beneficiaries are associated with the corresponding insurance contract and insurance accident), paragraph 0024 (the system displays….insurance of a third field….and a list information comprising a candidate beneficiary for which the …insured person can vote), paragraph 0066 (system comprises… insurance accident information receiving means), paragraph 0147 (server or a terminal device), paragraph 0147 (a server or a terminal device of a system such as a large-scale computer), paragraph 0066 (one or more computer programs stored in the system realize functions of these means) and Fig 1, but fails to explicitly disclose the insurance is purchased by the user. Etheridge (‘903) teaches insurance purchased by a user, see at least paragraph 0018 (each channel may allow the customer to purchase one or more types of insurance products), paragraph 0019 (insurance application…. choose how they would like to apply for insurance, enhancing their purchasing experience), paragraph 0017 (current or new insurance policies). Both Kusunoki and Etheridge are directed toward insurance contract. Therefore, the Examiner asserts that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kusunoki’s invention to include the insurance is purchased by the user. One would have been motivated to do so for the benefit of allowing purchased insurance information to be used to make determination.
As per Claim 16
Kusunoki (‘124) discloses insurance type information indicating a type of insurance and pertaining information related to the insurance, and generating a candidate list of donation recipients including information regarding one or more donation recipients based on the insurance type information and the pertaining information, see at least paragraph 0019 (a system… that can set candidate beneficiaries for each insurance contract, in keeping precisely the correspondence relations, for example, an organization supporting orphans of car accidents for a motor insurance or an organization supporting abandoned pet for a pet insurance, so that the candidate beneficiaries are associated with the corresponding insurance contract and insurance accident), paragraph 0024 (the system displays….insurance of a third field….and a list information comprising a candidate beneficiary for which the …insured person can vote), paragraph 0066 (system comprises… insurance accident information receiving means), but fails to explicitly disclose acquiring information indicating a of insurance that the user purchases and pertaining information, the steps being executed by a processor wherein information is input by the user to a terminal device in relation to the purchase of the insurance. Etheridge (‘903) teaches acquiring information indicating a of insurance that the user purchases and pertaining information, the steps being executed by a processor wherein information is input by the user to a terminal device in relation to the purchase of the insurance, paragraph 0018 (each channel may allow the customer to purchase one or more types of insurance products), paragraph 0019 (insurance application…. choose how they would like to apply for insurance, enhancing their purchasing experience), paragraph 0048 (enable user interface to display one or more prompts to a user and/or to accept under input, which could include entering data into one or more data fields… enter suitable data to enroll in one or more insurance policies), paragraph 0010 (customer information entered…. to generate an aggregated customer policy profile), paragraph 0035 (customer information that may be used to build completed customer policy profile include any suitable relevant information sued to make a determination regarding a type of insurance policy and details associated with an insurance policy; desired type of policy requested by the customer), paragraph 0036 (details associated with the insurance policy that are determined once the completed customer policy profile is generated may include… insurance type…insurance beneficiary), paragraph 0010 (processor). Both Kusunoki and Etheridge are directed toward insurance contract. Therefore, the Examiner asserts that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kusunoki’s invention to include acquiring information indicating a of insurance that the user purchases and pertaining information, the steps being executed by a processor wherein the information is input by the user to a terminal device in relation to the purchase of the insurance. One would have been motivated to do so for the benefit of speeding up the generating process by acquiring needed information from user.
Kusunoki (‘124) discloses generating a candidate list of donation recipients, see at least paragraph 0019 (a system… that can set candidate beneficiaries for each insurance contract, in keeping precisely the correspondence relations, for example, an organization supporting orphans of car accidents for a motor insurance or an organization supporting abandoned pet for a pet insurance, so that the candidate beneficiaries are associated with the corresponding insurance contract and insurance accident), but fails to explicitly disclose wherein the list is generated based on a model created by machine learning using the pertaining information as learning data. Jain (‘746) teaches generating list based on a model created by machine learning using pertaining information as learning data, see at least Abstract of Jain (automatically determine sets of candidate recipients based on outputs of algorithms e.g. machine learning algorithms such as classifiers using the feature vectors as inputs; classifiers may utilize models or algorithms trained with featurization; set of candidate recipients are provided to the user for selection). Both Kusunoki are directed toward determining set of recipients. Therefore, the Examiner asserts that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kusunoki’s invention to include generating list based on a model created by machine learning using pertaining information as learning data. One would have been motivated to do so for the benefit of speeding up process and reducing human error and bias.
Claims 2 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kusunoki (US 2013/0132124 A1) in view of Etheridge et al. (US 2021/0334903 A1) and Jain et al. (US 2019/0087746 A1), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Gary, JR, et al. (US 2017/0061507 A1).
As per Claim 2
Kusunoki (‘124) discloses wherein each donation recipient in the candidate list of donation recipients is an organization, see at least paragraph 0078 (fund that the donation is paid to a medical organization, a nature protection organization or a charity organization) and paragraph 0019 (candidate beneficiaries), but fails to explicitly disclose the organization is a public non-profitable organization. Gary (‘507) teaches donation recipient is a public non-profit organization, see at least paragraph 0042 (donor selects a benefactor. the benefactor may be any type of nonprofit entity including a charity… public institution, government entity), paragraph 0098 (donation to benefactor). Both Kusunoki and Gary are directed toward making donation. Therefore, the Examiner asserts that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kusunoki’s invention to include the organization is a public non-profitable organization. One would have been motivated to do so for the benefit of allowing donation to be made to nonprofit public institution.
As per Claim 3
Kusunoki (‘124) discloses wherein the circuitry generates the candidate list, see at least paragraph 0088 (candidate beneficiaries displayed on the candidate beneficiary display means by the insurance organization) and paragraph 0147 (a server or a terminal device of a system such as a large-scale computer), paragraph 0066 (one or more computer programs stored in the system realize functions of these means) and Fig 1, but fails to explicitly disclose the list is generated using preference information indicating preference of the user. Gary (‘507) teaches generating list using preference information indicating preference of user, see at least paragraph 0143 (account may include information about the donor… preferred benefactors), paragraph 0098 (donation to benefactor). Both Kusunoki and Gary are directed toward making donation. Therefore, the Examiner asserts that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kusunoki’s invention to include the list is generated using preference information indicating preference of the user. One would have been motivated to do so for the benefit of allowing the list to be generated based on user preference.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kusunoki (US 2013/0132124 A1) in view of Etheridge et al. (US 2021/0334903 A1) and Jain et al. (US 2019/0087746 A1), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Chasten (US 2013/0346112 A1).
As per Claim 8
Kusunoki (‘124) discloses the circuitry is configured to manages insurance information, see at least paragraph 0024 and paragraph 0157 (computer system managing insurance contracts), paragraph 0066 (one or more computer programs stored in the system realize functions of these means) and Fig 1, but fails to explicitly disclose manages premium information indicating a premium to be paid by the user for the insurance and set a part of the premium to a donation money to be donated to a selected donation recipient indicated by information regarding the donation recipient based on of the premium information. Chasten (‘112) discloses manages premium information indicating a premium to be paid by the user for the insurance and set a part of the premium to a donation money to be donated to a selected donation recipient indicated by information regarding the donation recipient based on of the premium information, see at least paragraph 0023 (a sum in the amount of the difference between the original premium transferred by the policyholder and the new premium transferred to the insurance company is placed into a client donation umbrella account), paragraph 0034 (paying insurance premiums and for transferring a surplus into the client donation umbrella account), paragraph 0021 (net saving….channeled to a client fundraising entity as a donation). Both Kusunoki and Chasten are directed toward managing insurance. Therefore, the Examiner asserts that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kusunoki’s invention to include manages premium information indicating a premium to be paid by the user for the insurance and set a part of the premium to a donation money to be donated to a selected donation recipient indicated by information regarding the donation recipient based on of the premium information. One would have been motivated to do so for the benefit of allowing premium surplus to be donated.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kusunoki (US 2013/0132124 A1) in view of Etheridge et al. (US 2021/0334903 A1) and Jain et al. (US 2019/0087746 A1), as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Gary, JR, et al. (US 2017/0061507 A1).
As per Claim 9
Kusunoki (‘124) discloses the circuitry is further configured manage information and selecting donation recipient from the candidate list generated based on the insurance type information and the pertaining information corresponding to the user, see at least paragraph 0157 (computer system managing…), paragraph 0024 (the system displays home page of an insurance organization...list information comprising a candidate beneficiary), paragraph 0067 (storage means…. accident-beneficiary database), paragraph 0088 (insurance contractor selects a beneficiary from the candidate beneficiaries displayed on the candidate beneficiary display means by the insurance organization) and paragraph 0019 (a system… that can set candidate beneficiaries for each insurance contract, in keeping precisely the correspondence relations, for example, an organization supporting orphans of car accidents for a motor insurance or an organization supporting abandoned pet for a pet insurance, so that the candidate beneficiaries are associated with the corresponding insurance contract and insurance accident) and paragraph 0145 (some preferable beneficiaries may be set in accordance with age or residence area of the insurance contractor; uses as a retrieving key one or more of zip code, address, name, sex, age and serial number of the insurance policy of the insurance contractor), but fails to explicitly disclose manages information regarding each donation recipient and notify the user of execution of the donation to the selected donation recipient, in a case where donation is executed to the selected donation recipient indicated by information regarding the selected donation recipient. Gary (‘507) teaches manages information regarding each donation recipient and notify the user of execution of the donation to the selected donation recipient, in a case where donation is executed to the selected donation recipient indicated by information regarding the selected donation recipient, see at least paragraph 0068 (notify a donor as to the status of the donation transaction), paragraph 0093 (provide substantive communications to donor), paragraph 0094 (thank you message that includes an impact statement to the donor), paragraph 0066 (impact stamen may be transmitted to and displayed on the user device; identifies one or more benefactors).Both Kusunoki and Gary are directed toward making donation. Both Kusunoki and Gary are directed toward making donation. Therefore, the Examiner asserts that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kusunoki’s invention to include manages information regarding each donation recipient and notify the user of execution of the donation to the selected donation recipient, in a case where donation is executed to the selected donation recipient indicated by information regarding the selected donation recipient. One would have been motivated to do so for the benefit of allowing user to know when donation is made.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kusunoki (US 2013/0132124 A1) in view of Etheridge et al. (US 2021/0334903 A1) and Jain et al. (US 2019/0087746 A1), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Lee (US 2012/0066004 A1).
As per Claim 10
Kusunoki (‘124) discloses communicating via a network using a terminal device and to display a candidate list of donation recipients including information regarding one or more donation recipients, see at least paragraph 0069 (insured person can access the system connected with a network such as internet by using a terminal device to communicate with the system), paragraph 0088 (insurance contractor selects a beneficiary from the candidate beneficiaries displayed on the candidate beneficiary display means by the insurance organization; the terminal device of the insurance contractor transmits the selected beneficiary to the system via internet)fails to explicitly disclose circuitry is further configured to store a web app to be read by a browser application installed in a terminal device wherein, when the web app is executed on the browser application, for inputting the insurance type information, for inputting pertaining information on an item corresponding to the insurance type information having been input. Etheridge (‘903) teaches circuitry is further configured to store a web app to be read by a browser application installed in a terminal device wherein, when the web app is executed on the browser application, for inputting the insurance type information, for inputting pertaining information on an item corresponding to the insurance type information having been input, see at least paragraph 0026 (web-based application interface that may connect to a remote server via a connection to the internet), paragraph 0025 (customer channel interface….install and/or execute an application…. that facilitates the collection of customer information and sending this information to a remote device such as a server; interface is mobile device, as a mobile-specific application), paragraph 0068 (application such as a web browser), paragraph 0048 (instructions stored in the application model may enable user interface to display one or more prompts to a user and/or to accept user input, which could include entering data into one or more data fields; application module may enable a user to enter suitable data to enroll in one or more insurance policies), paragraph 0035 (if a customer is requesting a life insurance policy, the customer information may include a customer’s age, lifestyle habits, driving records; information regarding a descried type of policy requested by the customer). Both Kusunoki and Etheridge are directed toward insurance contract. Therefore, the Examiner asserts that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kusunoki’s invention to include circuitry is further configured to store a web app to be read by a browser application installed in a terminal device wherein, when the web app is executed on the browser application, for inputting the insurance type information, for inputting pertaining information on an item corresponding to the insurance type information having been input. One would have been motivated to do so for the benefit of speeding up data gathering process.
Kusunoki (‘124) discloses the candidate list having been transmitted from the server device according to the insurance type information and the pertaining information, see at least paragraph 0069 (insured person can access the system connected with a network such as internet by using a terminal device to communicate with the system), paragraph 0019 (a system… that can set candidate beneficiaries for each insurance contract, in keeping precisely the correspondence relations, for example, an organization supporting orphans of car accidents for a motor insurance or an organization supporting abandoned pet for a pet insurance, so that the candidate beneficiaries are associated with the corresponding insurance contract and insurance accident), paragraph 0024 (the system displays….insurance of a third field….and a list information comprising a candidate beneficiary for which the …insured person can vote), paragraph 0057 (insured person can donate the money to the beneficiary selected by him), paragraph 0039 (pre-displayed candidate beneficiaries), paragraph 0032 (set different beneficiaries for each of the voting person; set a preferable beneficiary in accordance with the category of insurance), paragraph 0031 (set the beneficiary selected for each insurance accident; it is necessary to distinguish the beneficiary in accordance with the characteristics of the each insurance, because a beneficiary to be ideally supported by the insurance beings a sense of affinity to the insurance contractor), but fails to explicitly disclose input insurance type information and pertaining information and transmit to a server device. Etheridge (‘903) teaches input insurance type information and pertaining information and transmit to a server device, see at least paragraph 0048 (instructions stored in the application model may enable user interface to display one or more prompts to a user and/or to accept user input, which could include entering data into one or more data fields; application module may enable a user to enter suitable data to enroll in one or more insurance policies), paragraph 0045 (communication unit may be configured to enable data communications between customer channel interface device and common application engine via network; details associated with the insurance policy, entered by a customer via user interface to common application engine). Both Kusunoki and Etheridge are directed toward insurance contract. Therefore, the Examiner asserts that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kusunoki’s invention to include input insurance type information and pertaining information and transmit to a server device. One would have been motivated to do so for the benefit of speeding up data gathering process.
Kusunoki (‘124) fails to explicitly disclose the web app causes a screen of the terminal device to display a first input region to input first information and to display a second input region to input second information in response to input of first information to the first input region. Lee (‘004) teaches a web app causes a screen of a terminal device to display a first input region to input first information and to display a second input region to input second information in response to input of first information to the first input region, see at least paragraph 0032 (the user may the select the type of insurance that they are interested using a drop down box or other user input device), paragraph 0058 (specific input fields are populated in accordance with a selection of auto insurance by the user as indicated by the “auto” user interface fields), paragraph 0085 (system may provide a webpage containing search input fields corresponding to the selected type of insurance), paragraph 0057 (input screen) and Fig 4. Both Kusunoki and Lee are directed toward insurance product. Therefore, the Examiner asserts that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kusunoki’s invention to include input insurance type information and pertaining information and transmit to a server device by a communication unit. One would have been motivated to do so for the benefit of speeding up data gathering process.
Related But Not Relied Upon
Relevant prior art cited but not applied: Foged et al. (US 2018/0013844 A1) directed to feeding data associated with candidate recipient into machine-learning model.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 7/1/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that the claims are statutory under 35. U.S.C. 101 because 1) the claims are not directed to abstract idea and 2) the claims are directed to improvement to computer functionality itself. The Examiner disagrees. The claims recite the abstract idea of “determining donation recipients using insurance information”, which is grouped under “Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity” such as “fundamental economic principles or practices” (insurance) and “Mathematical Concepts: mathematical relationships (models)”. In response to applicant’s argument that the claims are directed to improvement to computer functionality itself, it is noted that the additional elements such as “server device comprising… circuitry” and “input…to a terminal device” represent the use of a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea and/or does no more than generally link the abstract idea to a particular technological environment or field of use. Additionally, the claimed “created by machine learning” limitations describe only the result but not how the creating is done other than to say it is by a “machine learning”. Merely apply generic machine learning techniques to new data environments without disclosing improvements to the machine learning models are ineligible. The claimed “circuitry configured to” also only describes the results (acquire and generate) but not how the circuitry is configured to perform acquiring and generating. Therefore, as Applicant has neither placed a restriction on how “creating”, “acquiring” and “generating” are performed nor describe how the functions are
accomplished the limitations do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application as they are no more than “apply it” (MPEP 2106.05(f)(1)). Therefore, applicant’s arguments are not persuasive.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
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/CHIA-YI LIU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3692