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
2. This action is in response to the amendment filed February 23, 2026.
3. Claims 359-378 have been cancelled and new claims 379-398 have been added.
4. Claims 379-398 have been examined and are pending with this action.
Response to Arguments
5. Applicant's arguments filed February 23, 2026 have been fully considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any of the references being used in the current rejection.
Ma et al. (US 2020/0099790 A1), herein referenced Ma, has been cited to better teach the claimed invention as newly added. Please see rejection(s) below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
6. Claim(s) 379-398 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Ma et al. (US 2020/0099790 A1).
INDEPENDENT:
As per claim 379, Ma teaches a computer-implemented method, performed by a processor configured by a computer-readable code to perform the method comprising the steps of:
receiving, by a server, from a one or more users including a first user from a first computing device and a second user from a second computing device, a request for initiating a communication including live chat communication with selected or identified specific unique identity associated available and identified agent, wherein unique identity comprises user selected one or more unique identity(ies) from list of one or more types of unique identity(ies) including business accounts, user names, phone numbers, email addresses, entity names, brand names, application names, websites uniform resource locator (URLs), automatically identified unique uniform resource locator (URL) based on currently viewing or past viewed websites from one or more browsers of one or more user devices (see Ma, [0068]: “An agent can be selected based on a skill set or expertise of the agent, as well as other factors such as geographic location, of the agent. The term “agent,” “specialist,” or “expert” refers to a service center personnel or a computerized application, in some cases, that respond to customer requests.”; [0069]: “A service center can be implemented in a centralized facility or server. Alternatively, a service center can be implemented in multiple facilities or servers in a distributed manner (e.g., cloud-based service platforms). A service center can provide services to a variety of products or services from a variety of clients or vendors. A client can be… A service center can handle service requests from customers of multiple clients.”; [0074]: “The system 500 for determining running time includes employing the human expertise matrix 425 with a predicted category distribution 525 to calculate predicted human expertise 535 on average to allow the human transfer engine 540 to select the preferred live agent to answer the query or voice call from a customer/user.”; and [0122]: “In one or more embodiments, a graphical user interface (GUI) presentation of information about the specialists can be presented to users that they can utilize to select the specialist of their choice from a list of specialists that receive a high NP. Examples of such information includes (but not limited to): a) specialist photo; b) specialist brief biography; c) current level rating based on user feedback (rating); d) current availability (e.g., available, currently handling another user); and e) expected wait time for a specialist (based on analysis of all other users who can have queued up to for support from a specialist as well as his/her average handle time of an interaction).”);
queuing the similar unique identity associated requests for initiating a communication including live chat communication from the users including the first user and the second user, for available, identified and relevant agents to accept the request (see Ma, [0122]: “Examples of such information includes (but not limited to): a) specialist photo; b) specialist brief biography; c) current level rating based on user feedback (rating); d) current availability (e.g., available, currently handling another user); and e) expected wait time for a specialist (based on analysis of all other users who can have queued up to for support from a specialist as well as his/her average handle time of an interaction).”);
routing request according to a pre-set rules including automatically routing request to agents or to a queue from which agents can accept the request, wherein in an automatic request routing, each new request to the first available agent with the accept status turn on by agent (see Ma, [0022]: “The selection of an appropriate or best suited or preferred agent for routing an inbound call can be based on determining a highest overall net promoter score (NPS) for a live agent from a database of live agents. The live agent receiving the highest overall NPS can be selected to field the call from the customer.”; [0061]: “In particular, user queries, and subsequent messages described hereafter between users and live agents/virtual assistants, could be in the form of typed text and/or voice, and are, for example, transmitted to a routing module and on to their destination in the form of data packets. Each data packet, for example, includes a header indicating an identifier of the user device from which the query or voice call originates. The user queries or voice calls can be processed by the deep neural network structure 410.”; and [0072]: “In one embodiment, the service center further includes a multi-channel communication and routing system to provide one or more communication channels to any user or client to concurrently access the service center. Examples of communication channels include email, chat, texting (e.g., short messaging services or SMS), voice (e.g., automated IVR, real-time, or VoIP), video, Web (e.g., Web conferencing), and/or online community forum (e.g., Facebook™ or Twitter™), etc. Note that the multi-channel communication and routing system can be fully or partially integrated with the service center or alternatively, it can be maintained or provided by a third party or partner (e.g., communicatively coupled via service API over a network)”);
when all agents have one communication each, the next round will be distributed until the concurrent communication including live chat communication limit of all the agents accepting communication including live chats communication at the time is reached (see Ma, [0113]: “A plurality of live agents 1030 can be available to answer the customer's 1010 question. However, a determination needs to be made as to which live agent 1030 to select. The live agent recommendation system 162 can aid in the selection of the live agent 1030. The live agent recommendation system 162 can employ the training time module 164 and the running time module 166. The training time module 164 employs the structure 400 (FIG. 4) and the running time module 166 employs the structure 500 (FIG. 5). The live recommendation system 162 computes an overall NPS for each agent 1030. The first live agent can have an overall NPS of 74, the second live agent can have an overall NPS of 85, and the third live agent can have an overall NPS of 91. As such, the system 162 selects the third agent having the overall NPS of 91, which is the highest score of all the agents available at this time. Thus, the third agent is deemed to be best suited or most-highly equipped or preferred agent to answer the question by the customer 1010. The preferred agents can be those having previous experiences with the user and having ratings rated by the user, for example, higher than a predetermined threshold.”; and [0121]: “This recommendation approach provides users with an in-depth flexibility of choosing agents upon the availability and geometric locations, and explainability of comparing and choosing a live agent.”);
with manual request for initiating a communication including live chat communication routing, the request for initiating a communication including live chat communication of the first user and the second user directed to the queue and all agents with the accept communication including live chats status will receive a notification about that event (see Ma, [0068]: “The term “agent,” “specialist,” or “expert” refers to a service center personnel or a computerized application, in some cases, that respond to customer requests”; and [0122]: “In one or more embodiments, a graphical user interface (GUI) presentation of information about the specialists can be presented to users that they can utilize to select the specialist of their choice from a list of specialists that receive a high NPS.”), and
can accept the displayed request for initiating a communication including live chat communication of the first user or the second user from the queue and start a communication including live chat communication (see Ma, Abstract: “In one or more embodiments, a graphical user interface (GUI) presentation of information about the specialists can be presented to users that they can utilize to select the specialist of their choice from a list of specialists that receive a high NPS.”; [0115]: “A user 1010 (also referred to herein as a customer) can activate an application from the user's mobile device to reach agents of the service center via a variety of communication channels or media, such as, for example, email, chat, voice (including automated interactive voice recognition or IVR, voice over Internet protocol or VoIP), video, Web, and/or online community-based forum, etc. The application can be a thin/thick client application or a Web-based application.”; and [0122]: “In one or more embodiments, a graphical user interface (GUI) presentation of information about the specialists can be presented to users that they can utilize to select the specialist of their choice from a list of specialists that receive a high NPS.”).
As per claim 389, Ma teaches a computer-implemented system, performed by a processor configured by a computer-readable code to perform the system comprising the steps of:
receive, by a server, from a one or more users including a first user from a first computing device and a second user from a second computing device, a request for initiating a communication including live chat communication with selected or identified specific unique identity associated available and identified agent, wherein unique identity comprises user selected one or more unique identity(ies) from list of one or more types of unique identity(ies) including business accounts, user names, phone numbers, email addresses, entity names, brand names, application names, websites uniform resource locator (URLs), automatically identified unique uniform resource locator (URL) based on currently viewing or past viewed websites from one or more browsers of one or more user devices (see Claim 379 rejection above);
queuing the similar unique identity associated requests for initiating a communication including live chat communication from the users including the first user and the second user, for available, identified and relevant agents to accept the request (see Claim 379 rejection above);
routing request according to a pre-set rules including automatically routing request to agents or to a queue from which agents can accept the request, wherein in an automatic request routing, each new request to the first available agent with the accept status turn on by agent (see Claim 379 rejection above);
when all agents have one communication each, the next round will be distributed until the concurrent communication including live chat communication limit of all the agents accepting communication including live chats communication at the time is reached (see Claim 379 rejection above);
with manual request for initiating a communication including live chat communication routing, the request for initiating a communication including live chat communication of the first user and the second user directed to the queue and all agents with the accept communication including live chats status will receive a notification about that event (see Claim 379 rejection above), and
can accept the displayed request for initiating a communication including live chat communication of the first user or the second user from the queue and start a communication including live chat communication (see Claim 379 rejection above).
DEPENDENT:
As per claim 380 and 390, which respectively depend on claims 379 and 389, Ma further teaches wherein receiving by a server from a mobile client application of a user, request for cancelling the request for initiating a communication including live chat communication (see Ma, [0041]: “The applications are accessible from various client devices through a thin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail). The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage, or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exception of limited user-specific application configuration settings.”; [0069]: “A client can be a manufacturer, a distributor, a retailer, a service provider or broker, a purchasing facility or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, a service center can include service APIs to communicate with other systems such as mobile devices, client sites, social communities, contact centers including agents or experts, client backend systems, manufacturer backend systems, eCommerce sites and other auxiliary systems (e.g., billing system). A service center can handle service requests from customers of multiple clients.”; and [0072]: “Note that the multi-channel communication and routing system can be fully or partially integrated with the service center or alternatively, it can be maintained or provided by a third party or partner (e.g., communicatively coupled via service API over a network).”); and
cancel the request or the invitation for initiating a communication including live chat communication (Inherent).
As per claim 381 and 391, which respectively depend on claims 379 and 389, Ma further teaches wherein receiving by a server from a mobile client application of a user, selection of an option from displayed menu, a request for initiating a communication including live chat (see Claim 379 rejection above);
automatically routing request for communication including live chat communication to menu option associated agent or available agent from agents (see Claim 379 rejection above).
As per claim 382 and 392, which respectively depend on claims 379 and 389, Ma further teaches wherein in the event of selecting the end button or control by the agent or the user, ending communication including live chat communication session (Inherent) and store conversation between start and end session (see Ma, [0065]: “an interaction memory, storing a history of interactions between a user and a live agent/virtual assistant, for example including messages sent to and from the user”).
As per claim 383 and 393, which respectively depend on claims 379 and 389, Ma further teaches wherein in routing between groups, communication including live chats communication distributed according to groups, wherein automatically communication including live chat communication routing distributes communication including live chats from a specific group to agents from that group and with the manual communication including live chat selection enabled, only agents from a particular group receive a notification when a new communication including live chat for that group available (see Ma, [0050]: “personal digital assistant (PDA) or cellular telephone 254A, desktop computer 254B, laptop computer 254C, and/or automobile computer system 254N can communicate. Nodes 210 can communicate with one another. They can be grouped (not shown) physically or virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community, Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combination thereof.”; and [0113]: “The preferred agents can be those having previous experiences with the user and having ratings rated by the user, for example, higher than a predetermined threshold.”).
As per claim 384 and 394, which respectively depend on claims 379 and 389, Ma further teaches wherein admin or agent can transfer communication including live chats between various groups (see Ma, [0118]: “Thus, live agent recommendation can be achieved for conversations with multiple task categories. In other words, for a conversational system, in the case where robots cannot handle the questions adequately, the conversation should transfer to a human agent for further service. However, human agents are not equally capable of handling all types of questions. Live agent recommendation is the key to the success of the human agent transfer. The issue is to whom the conversation should be transferred to, in order to maximize the overall service quality.”).
As per claim 385 and 395, which respectively depend on claims 379 and 389, Ma further teaches wherein displaying communication including live chat communication request within agent client application, for enabling agent to start the communication including live chat communication session (see Ma, [0123]: “To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented on a computer having a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by which the user can provide input to the computer.”; and Claim 379 rejection above).
As per claim 386 and 396, which respectively depend on claims 379 and 389, Ma further teaches wherein active communication, initiated manually by the agent or automatically by the communication system including live chat communication system as soon as the requestor of communication including live chat communication meets the predefined criteria, wherein predefined criteria comprises searched keyword, time spend on website or application, encountered error, add to cart one or more or particular numbers or amounts of products and services, wherein once the criteria is met, communication including live chat communication system, displays a communication including live chat communication invitation with a customized message (see Ma, [0039]: “Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported, providing transparency for both the provider and consumer of the utilized service.”; and Claim 379 rejection above).
As per claim 387 and 397, which respectively depend on claims 379 and 389, Ma further teaches wherein when queue exceeds the set limit, disabling or automatically making unavailable communication including live chat communication option and restrict any new requestor to request a communication including live chat session, and will instead send and present an offline message (see Ma, [0054]: “Security provides identity verification for cloud consumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources. User portal 383 provides access to the cloud computing environment for consumers and system administrators. Service level management 384 provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such that required service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planning and fulfillment 385 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of, cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipated in accordance with an SLA.”; [0058]: “The human expertise matrix 425 includes an NPS for each agent based on a plurality of categories or skills or topics. The NPS can be determined based on one or more performance indicators.”; and [0060]: “The one or more performance indicators of the live agents can include, but are not limited to, data which indicates the performance of a given agent such as average handle time (refers to the time the agent spends on a call resolving one or more issues),”).
As per claim 388 and 398, which respectively depend on claims 379 and 389, Ma further teaches wherein start a communication including live chat communication by selecting particular request for initiating a communication including live chat communication from the queued communication including live chats list or list of requests for initiating a communication including live chat communication or selecting particular request for initiating a communication including live chat communication from the queued chats list or list of requests (see Ma, [0068]: “An agent can be selected based on a skill set or expertise of the agent, as well as other factors such as geographic location, of the agent. The term “agent,” “specialist,” or “expert” refers to a service center personnel or a computerized application, in some cases, that respond to customer requests.”; [0069]: “A service center can handle service requests from customers of multiple clients.”; and Claim 379 rejection above).
Conclusion
7. For the reasons above, claims 379-398 have been rejected and remain pending.
8. 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.
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL Y WON whose telephone number is (571)272-3993. The examiner can normally be reached on Wk.1: M-F: 8-5 PST & Wk.2: M-Th: 8-7 PST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicholas R Taylor can be reached on 571-272-3889. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Michael Won/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2443