DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
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 .
Status of the Application
Applicant’s Amendment filed November 6, 2025 has been entered. Claims 1-2, 11-13, and 17 were amended. Claims 1-5 and 11-20 remain pending and are provided to be examined upon their merits.
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 1-5 and 11-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more.
Claims 1-5 and 11-20 are directed to the abstract idea of: Claim 1 -: 1, a transaction processing method, performed to implement billing processing of purchase transactions, comprising: receiving a transaction message including a plurality of message fields carrying message information for a to-be-processed transaction; based on the message information, creating a transaction feature pricing model-, the model- including the message information, one or more feature variables, one or more feature expressions, one or more rules, and one or more rule unions, wherein the one or more feature variables are pricing elements used in billing processing; determining one or more transaction key values and one or more transaction feature values of the to-be-processed transaction according to transaction information of the to-be-processed transaction; determining a rule union, from the one or more rule unions from the transaction feature pricing model-, corresponding to the to-be-processed transaction according to the one or more transaction key values, the rule union including a plurality of to-be-matched rules; matching the one or more transaction feature values of the to-be-processed transaction sequentially with the plurality of to-be-matched rules in the rule union to obtain a rule matching result of the to-be-processed transaction to determine a processing standard for billing of the to-be-processed transaction; and performing a billing process of the to-be-processed transaction using the processing standard for billing of the to-be-processed transaction determined according to the rule matching result. (fundamental economic principles or practices, commercial or legal interactions, managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people, concepts performed in the human mind, (including an observation, evaluation, judgment, opinion). ) Claim 2 -: 2, the method according to claim 1, wherein: determining the rule union corresponding to the to-be-processed transaction according to the one or more transaction key values includes: determining one or more rule enforcers corresponding to the to-be-processed transaction according to the one or more transaction key values, wherein each rule enforcer corresponds to one to-be-matched rule, and the one or more rule enforcers are configured to enforce the plurality of to-be-matched rules; and matching the one or more transaction feature values of the to-be-processed transaction sequentially with the plurality of to-be-matched rules in the rule union to obtain the rule matching result of the to-be-processed transaction includes: according to priorities of the one or more rule enforcers, inputting the one or more transaction feature values sequentially into the one or more rule enforcers to perform a matching process; determining the one or more rule enforcers that match the one or more transaction feature values; and determining the processing standard corresponding to the one or more rule enforcers that match the one or more transaction feature values as the rule matching result. Claim 3 -: 3, the method according to claim 2, wherein: each rule enforcer includes a rule trigger and at least one expression enforcer; and inputting the one or more transaction feature values sequentially into the one or more rule enforcers to perform the matching process includes: for any one rule enforcer, inputting the one or more transaction feature values into the at least one expression enforcer according to a preset logical relationship, wherein one expression enforcer corresponds to one feature expression; for any one expression enforcer, comparing the one or more transaction feature values with a target value corresponding to each expression enforcer to obtain a comparison result of the expression enforcer; and determining a matching result of the rule enforcer according to the comparison results of all expression enforcers. Claim 4 -: 4, the method according to claim 2, wherein before determining the one or more transaction key values and the one or more transaction feature values of the to-be-processed transaction according to the transaction information of the to-be-processed transaction, the method further comprises: obtaining a to-be-parsed rule union, the to-be-parsed rule union including a plurality of to-be-parsed rules; for any one to-be-parsed rule, determining the rule enforcer corresponding to the to-be-parsed rule according to a logical relationship and a feature expression in the to-be-parsed rule; and according to the rule enforcers corresponding to the plurality of to-be-parsed rules, generating a pool of the rule enforcers corresponding to the to-be-parsed rule union. Claim 5 -: 5, the method according to claim 4, wherein before obtaining the to-be-parsed rule union, the method further comprises: determining one or more feature variables based on the message information; using the one or more feature variables to generate one or more feature expressions; connecting the one or more feature expressions through logical symbols to generate the plurality of to-be-parsed rules; and combining the plurality of to-be-parsed rules of a same service type into the to-be-parsed rule union. (fundamental economic principles or practices, commercial or legal interactions, managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people, concepts performed in the human mind, (including an observation, evaluation, judgment, opinion). ) Claim 11 -: 11, comprising ; and ; wherein stores programs to implement billing processing of purchase transactions, and when being executed the programs cause to perform; receiving a transaction... based on the message... determining one... determining a rule... matching the one... performing a billing... [id. at 1], (fundamental economic principles or practices, commercial or legal interactions, managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people, concepts performed in the human mind, (including an observation, evaluation, judgment, opinion). ) Claim 12 -: 12, a -readable storage, comprising: -readable instructions to implement billing processing of purchase transactions, wherein when executed the -readable instructions cause to perform a transaction processing method, the method including: receiving a transaction... based on the message... determining one... determining a rule... matching the one... performing a billing... [id. at 1], (fundamental economic principles or practices, commercial or legal interactions, managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people, concepts performed in the human mind, (including an observation, evaluation, judgment, opinion). ) Claim 13 -: 13, according to claim 11, wherein: determining the... determining one... matching the one... according to priorities... determining the... determining the... [id. at 2], Claim 14 -: 14, according to claim 13, wherein: each rule enforcer... inputting the one... for any one rule... for any one expression... determining a matching... [id. at 3], Claim 15 -: 15, according to claim 13, wherein before... obtaining a to-be-parsed... for any one to-be-parsed... according to the... [id. at 4], Claim 16 -: 16, according to claim 15, wherein before... determining one... using the one or... connecting the ... combining the plurality... [id. at 5], Claim 17 -: 17, the -readable storage according to claim 12, wherein: determining the... determining one... matching the one... according to priorities... determining the... determining the... [id. at 2], Claim 18 -: 18, the -readable storage according to claim 17, wherein: each rule enforcer... inputting the one... for any one rule... for any one expression... determining a matching... [id. at 3], Claim 19 -: 19, the -readable storage according to claim 17, wherein before... obtaining a to-be-parsed... for any one to-be-parsed... according to the... [id. at 4], Claim 20 -: 20, the -readable storage according to claim 19, wherein before... determining one... using the one or... connecting the... combining the plurality... [id. at 5], (fundamental economic principles or practices, commercial or legal interactions, managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people, concepts performed in the human mind, (including an observation, evaluation, judgment, opinion). ) . The identified limitation(s) falls within the subject matter groupings of abstract ideas enumerated in Section I of the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance: b) Certain methods of organizing human activity – fundamental economic principles or practices, commercial or legal interactions, managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people, c) Mental processes – concepts performed in the human mind, (including an observation, evaluation, judgment, opinion).
These limitation excerpts, under their broadest reasonable interpretation, fall within the grouping(s) of abstract ideas of: Certain methods of organizing human activity – since: transaction data processing method and apparatus as recited in the claim limitations, under their broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation(s) as fundamental economic principles or practices, (including hedging, insurance, mitigating risk); commercial or legal interactions, (including agreements in the form of contracts; legal obligations; advertising, 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). Mental processes – since: the above-underlined as recited in the claim limitations, under their broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation(s) as concepts performed in the human mind, (including an observation, evaluation, judgment, opinion). Therefore, the limitations fall within the above-identified grouping(s) of abstract ideas.
While independent claims 1, 11, and 12 do not explicitly recite verbatim this identified abstract idea, the concept of this identified abstract idea is described by the steps of independent claim 1 and is described by the steps of independent claim 11 and is described by the steps of independent claim 12.
Claim 1 (as amended): Materially regarding the analysis under Step 2A of the Office's § 101 Subject Matter Eligibility Test for Products and Processes as further necessitated by Applicant's amendment, independent claim 1 (as amended) further to the abstract idea includes additional elements of "data processing", "computer", "server", "online", and "model". However, independent claim 1 (as amended) does not include additional elements that are sufficient to integrate the exception into a practical application because "data processing", "computer", "server", "online", and "model" of independent claim 1 (as amended) recite generic computer and/or field of use components pertaining to the particular technological environment that are recited a high-level of generality that perform functions ("a transaction data processing method, … online purchase transactions, comprising", "receiving a transaction message including … for a to-be-processed transaction", "based on the message information, … used in billing processing", "determining one or more transaction … of the to-be-processed transaction", "determining a rule union, from … plurality of to-be-matched rules", "matching the one or more … the to-be-processed transaction; and" and "performing a billing process of … the rule matching result") that merely perform, conduct, carry out, implement, and/or narrow the abstract idea itself (e.g. all or portion(s) of the noted recited steps) and/or that recite generic computer and/or field of use functions that are recited at a high-level of generality that include only steps narrowing the abstract idea [Step 2A Prong I] (e.g. all or portion(s) of the noted recited steps) and/or because the additional method steps comprise or include: evaluated additional elements individually and in combination for which the courts have identified examples in which a judicial exception has not been integrated into a practical application, [Step 2A Prong II] adding the words "apply it" (or an equivalent) with the judicial exception, or mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, or merely uses a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea -- see MPEP 2106.05(f) (all or portions of the noted step(s)), and adding insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception -- see MPEP 2106.05(g) (all or portions of the "based on the message information, … used in billing processing", "determining a rule union, from … plurality of to-be-matched rules" step(s)), and generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use -- see MPEP 2106.05(h) (all or portions of the noted step(s)). Regarding Step 2B treatment of the evaluated additional elements individually and in combination, the additional elements do not amount to more than a recitation of the words "apply it" (or an equivalent) or are not more than mere instructions to implement an abstract idea or other exception on a computer, and the additional elements do not add more than insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception, and the additional elements do not amount to more than generally linking the use of a judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use. Furthermore, the additional method steps comprise or include: reciting additional elements in implementing the abstract idea that do not constitute significantly more than the abstract idea because they comprise or include well-understood, routine, and conventional activities previously known to the industry (e.g. all or portion(s) of the "based on the message information, … used in billing processing", "determining a rule union, from … plurality of to-be-matched rules", (insignificant extra-solution activity) steps), see Alice Corp., 134 S. Ct. at 2360, and/or that are otherwise not significant toward constituting any inventive concept beyond the abstract idea. (E.g. The above-italicized grounds of rejection apply at least to all or portion(s) of the noted recited steps.) For example regarding well-understood, routine, and conventional activities, the cited rationale have recognized the following computer function as well-understood, routine, and conventional functions when it is claimed or as insignificant extra-solution activity: electronic recordkeeping, Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank Int'l, 134 S. Ct. at 2359, 110 USPQ2d at 1984 (2014) (creating and maintaining "shadow accounts"); Ultramercial, Inc. v. Hulu, LLC, 772 F.3d at 716, 112 USPQ2d at 1755 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (updating an activity log); and the cited rationale have found the following type of activity to be well-understood, routine, and conventional activity when it is claimed or as insignificant extra-solution activity: recording a customer's order, Apple, Inc. v. Ameranth, Inc., 842 F.3d 1229, 1244, 120 USPQ2d 1844, 1856 (Fed. Cir. 2016), determining an estimated outcome and setting a price, OIP Techs., Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., 788 F.3d at 1362-63, 115 USPQ2d at 1092-93 (Fed. Cir. 2015), and arranging a hierarchy of groups, sorting information, eliminating less restrictive pricing information and determining the price, Versata Dev. Group, Inc. v. SAP Am., Inc., 793 F.3d 1306, 1331, 115 USPQ2d 1681, 1699 (Fed. Cir. 2015). None of the additional elements taken individually or when taken as an ordered combination amount to significantly more than the abstract idea. Accordingly, independent claim 1 (as amended) remains ineligible notwithstanding Applicant's amendments.
Claim 11 (as amended): Materially with respect to the analysis under Step 2A of the Office's § 101 Subject Matter Eligibility Test for Products and Processes as further necessitated by Applicant's amendment, independent claim 11 (as amended) further to the abstract idea includes additional elements of "computing device", "at least one processor", "at least one memory", "the memory", "computer", "online", and "model". However, independent claim 11 (as amended) does not include additional elements that are sufficient to integrate the exception into a practical application because "computing device", "at least one processor", "at least one memory", "the memory", "computer", "online", and "model" of independent claim 11 (as amended) recite generic computer and/or field of use components pertaining to the particular technological environment that are recited a high-level of generality that perform functions ("a computing device, comprising", "at least one processor; and", "at least one memory", "wherein the memory stores computer … one processor to perform", "receiving a transaction message including … for a to-be-processed transaction", "based on the message information, … used in billing processing", "determining one or more transaction … of the to-be-processed transaction", "determining a rule union, from … plurality of to-be-matched rules", "matching the one or more … the to-be-processed transaction; and" and "performing a billing process of … the rule matching result") that merely perform, conduct, carry out, implement, and/or narrow the abstract idea itself (e.g. all or portion(s) of the noted recited steps) and/or that recite generic computer and/or field of use functions that are recited at a high-level of generality that include only steps narrowing the abstract idea [Step 2A Prong I] (e.g. all or portion(s) of the noted recited steps) and/or because the additional method steps comprise or include: evaluated additional elements individually and in combination for which the courts have identified examples in which a judicial exception has not been integrated into a practical application, [Step 2A Prong II] adding the words "apply it" (or an equivalent) with the judicial exception, or mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, or merely uses a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea -- see MPEP 2106.05(f) (all or portions of the noted step(s)), and adding insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception -- see MPEP 2106.05(g) (all or portions of the "wherein the memory stores computer … one processor to perform", "based on the message information, … used in billing processing", "determining a rule union, from … plurality of to-be-matched rules" step(s)), and generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use -- see MPEP 2106.05(h) (all or portions of the noted step(s)). Regarding Step 2B treatment of the evaluated additional elements individually and in combination, the additional elements do not amount to more than a recitation of the words "apply it" (or an equivalent) or are not more than mere instructions to implement an abstract idea or other exception on a computer, and the additional elements do not add more than insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception, and the additional elements do not amount to more than generally linking the use of a judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use. Additionally, the additional method steps comprise or include: reciting additional elements in implementing the abstract idea that do not constitute significantly more than the abstract idea because they comprise or include well-understood, routine, and conventional activities previously known to the industry (e.g. all or portion(s) of the "wherein the memory stores computer … one processor to perform", "based on the message information, … used in billing processing", "determining a rule union, from … plurality of to-be-matched rules", (insignificant extra-solution activity) steps), see Alice Corp., 134 S. Ct. at 2360, and/or that are otherwise not significant toward constituting any inventive concept beyond the abstract idea. (E.g. The above-italicized grounds of rejection apply at least to all or portion(s) of the noted recited steps.) For example regarding well-understood, routine, and conventional activities, the cited rationale have recognized the following computer function as well-understood, routine, and conventional functions when it is claimed or as insignificant extra-solution activity: electronic recordkeeping, Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank Int'l, (2014); Ultramercial, Inc. v. Hulu, LLC, (Fed. Cir. 2014), see previous legal citations herein Re: Claim 1, and storing and retrieving information in memory, Versata Dev. Group, Inc. v. SAP Am., Inc., 793 F.3d 1306, 1334, 115 USPQ2d 1681, 1701 (Fed. Cir. 2015); OIP Techs., Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., 788 F.3d at 1363, 115 USPQ2d at 1092-93 (Fed. Cir. 2015); and the cited rationale have found the following type of activity to be well-understood, routine, and conventional activity when it is claimed or as insignificant extra-solution activity: recording a customer's order, Apple, Inc. v. Ameranth, Inc., (Fed. Cir. 2016), see previous legal citation herein Re: Claim 1, determining an estimated outcome and setting a price, OIP Techs., Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., (Fed. Cir. 2015), see previous legal citation herein Re: Claim 1, and arranging a hierarchy of groups, sorting information, eliminating less restrictive pricing information and determining the price, Versata Dev. Group, Inc. v. SAP Am., Inc., (Fed. Cir. 2015), see previous legal citation herein Re: Claim 1. None of the additional elements taken individually or when taken as an ordered combination amount to significantly more than the abstract idea. Accordingly, independent claim 11 (as amended) remains ineligible notwithstanding Applicant's amendments.
Claim 12 (as amended): Materially regarding the analysis under Step 2A of the Office's § 101 Subject Matter Eligibility Test for Products and Processes as further necessitated by Applicant's amendment, independent claim 12 (as amended) further to the abstract idea includes additional elements of "computer", "medium", "online", "being retrieved", "data processing", and "model". However, independent claim 12 (as amended) does not include additional elements that are sufficient to integrate the exception into a practical application because "computer", "medium", "online", "being retrieved", "data processing", and "model" of independent claim 12 (as amended) recite generic computer and/or field of use components pertaining to the particular technological environment that are recited a high-level of generality that perform functions ("a computer-readable storage medium, comprising", "computer-readable instructions to implement billing … method, the method including", "receiving a transaction message including … for a to-be-processed transaction", "based on the message information, … used in billing processing", "determining one or more transaction … of the to-be-processed transaction", "determining a rule union, from … plurality of to-be-matched rules", "matching the one or more … the to-be-processed transaction; and" and "performing a billing process of … the rule matching result") that merely perform, conduct, carry out, implement, and/or narrow the abstract idea itself (e.g. all or portion(s) of the noted recited steps) and/or that recite generic computer and/or field of use functions that are recited at a high-level of generality that include only steps narrowing the abstract idea [Step 2A Prong I] (e.g. all or portion(s) of the noted recited steps) and/or because the additional method steps comprise or include: evaluated additional elements individually and in combination for which the courts have identified examples in which a judicial exception has not been integrated into a practical application, [Step 2A Prong II] adding the words "apply it" (or an equivalent) with the judicial exception, or mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, or merely uses a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea -- see MPEP 2106.05(f) (all or portions of the noted step(s)), and adding insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception -- see MPEP 2106.05(g) (all or portions of the "a computer-readable storage medium, comprising", "computer-readable instructions to implement billing … method, the method including", "based on the message information, … used in billing processing", "determining a rule union, from … plurality of to-be-matched rules" step(s)), and generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use -- see MPEP 2106.05(h) (all or portions of the noted step(s)). Regarding Step 2B treatment of the evaluated additional elements individually and in combination, the same previously-stated legal authority and/or rationale supporting the grounds of rejection applied to the above Claim 11 also applies hereto. Additionally, the additional method steps comprise or include: reciting additional elements in implementing the abstract idea that do not constitute significantly more than the abstract idea because they comprise or include well-understood, routine, and conventional activities previously known to the industry (e.g. all or portion(s) of the "a computer-readable storage medium, comprising", "computer-readable instructions to implement billing … method, the method including", "based on the message information, … used in billing processing", "determining a rule union, from … plurality of to-be-matched rules", (insignificant extra-solution activity) steps), see Alice Corp., 134 S. Ct. at 2360, and/or that are otherwise not significant toward constituting any inventive concept beyond the abstract idea. (E.g. These previously-stated grounds of rejection that were italicized when applied to the referenced previous Claim(s) apply at least to all or portion(s) of the noted recited steps.) See discussion above regarding Claim 11 for pertinent previously cited rationale finding well-understood, routine, and conventional activities. None of the additional elements taken individually or when taken as an ordered combination amount to significantly more than the abstract idea. Accordingly, independent claim 12 (as amended) remains ineligible notwithstanding Applicant's amendments.
Independent Claims: Nothing in independent claims 1, 11, and 12 improves another technology or technical field, improves the functioning of any claimed computer device itself, applies the abstract idea with any particular machine, solves any computer problem with a computer solution, or includes any element that may otherwise be considered to amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
None of the dependent claims 2-5 and 13-20 when separately considered with each dependent claim's corresponding parent claim overcomes the above analysis because none presents any method step not directed to the abstract idea that amounts to significantly more than the judicial exception or any physical structure that amounts to significantly more than the judicial exception.
Claims 2, 13, and 17: Dependent claims 2, 13, and 17 add an additional method step of "determining the rule union corresponding to the to-be-processed transaction according to the one or more transaction key values includes", "determining one or more rule enforcers corresponding to the to-be-processed transaction according to the … more rule enforcers are configured to enforce the plurality of to-be-matched rules; and", "matching the one or more transaction feature values of the to-be-processed transaction sequentially with … rule union to obtain the rule matching result of the to-be-processed transaction includes", "according to priorities of the one or more rule enforcers, inputting the one or … sequentially into the one or more rule enforcers to perform a matching process", "determining the one or more rule enforcers that match the one or more transaction feature values; and", "determining the processing standard corresponding to the one or more rule enforcers that match the one or more transaction feature values as the rule matching result". However, the additional method step of dependent claim 2, 13, and 17 is directed to the abstract idea noted above and does not otherwise alter the analysis presented above, and do not integrate the exception into a practical application, because the additional method step merely perform, conduct, carry out, and/or implement the abstract idea itself and/or only narrows the abstract idea (e.g. all or portion(s) of the noted recited steps). evaluated additional elements individually and in combination for which the courts have identified examples in which a judicial exception has not been integrated into a practical application, No additional step introduced in this claim taken individually or when taken as an ordered combination amounts to significantly more than the abstract idea. Accordingly, dependent claims 2, 13, and 17 are ineligible.
Claims 3, 14, and 18: Dependent claims 3, 14, and 18 add additional method steps of "each rule enforcer includes a rule trigger and at least one expression enforcer; and", "inputting the one or more transaction feature values sequentially into the one or more rule enforcers to perform the matching process includes", "for any one rule enforcer, inputting the one or more transaction feature values into … a preset logical relationship, wherein one expression enforcer corresponds to one feature expression", "for any one expression enforcer, comparing the one or more transaction feature values with … each expression enforcer to obtain a comparison result of the expression enforcer; and", "determining a matching result of the rule enforcer according to the comparison results of all expression enforcers". However, the additional method steps of dependent claim 3, 14, and 18 are directed to the abstract idea noted above and do not otherwise alter the analysis presented above, and do not integrate the exception into a practical application, because the additional method steps merely perform, conduct, carry out, and/or implement the abstract idea itself and/or only narrow the abstract idea (e.g. all or portion(s) of the noted recited steps). evaluated additional elements individually and in combination for which the courts have identified examples in which a judicial exception has not been integrated into a practical application, No additional step introduced in this claim taken individually or when taken as an ordered combination amounts to significantly more than the abstract idea. Accordingly, dependent claims 3, 14, and 18 are ineligible.
Claims 4, 15, and 19: Dependent claims 4, 15, and 19 add additional method steps of "wherein before determining the one or more transaction key values and the one or … according to the transaction information of the to-be-processed transaction, the method further comprises", "obtaining a to-be-parsed rule union, the to-be-parsed rule union including a plurality of to-be-parsed rules", "for any one to-be-parsed rule, determining the rule enforcer corresponding to the to-be-parsed rule … to a logical relationship and a feature expression in the to-be-parsed rule; and", "according to the rule enforcers corresponding to the plurality of to-be-parsed rules, generating a pool of the rule enforcers corresponding to the to-be-parsed rule union". However, the additional method steps of dependent claim 4, 15, and 19 are directed to the abstract idea noted above and do not otherwise alter the analysis presented above, and do not integrate the exception into a practical application, because the additional method steps merely perform, conduct, carry out, and/or implement the abstract idea itself and/or only narrow the abstract idea (e.g. all or portion(s) of the noted recited steps). evaluated additional elements individually and in combination for which the courts have identified examples in which a judicial exception has not been integrated into a practical application, No additional step introduced in this claim taken individually or when taken as an ordered combination amounts to significantly more than the abstract idea. Accordingly, dependent claims 4, 15, and 19 are ineligible.
Claims 5, 16, and 20: Dependent claims 5, 16, and 20 add an additional method step of "wherein before obtaining the to-be-parsed rule union, the method further comprises", "determining one or more feature variables based on the message information", "using the one or more feature variables to generate one or more feature expressions", "connecting the one or more feature expressions through logical symbols to generate the plurality of to-be-parsed rules; and", "combining the plurality of to-be-parsed rules of a same service type into the to-be-parsed rule union". However, the additional method step of dependent claim 5, 16, and 20 is directed to the abstract idea noted above and does not otherwise alter the analysis presented above, and do not integrate the exception into a practical application, because the additional method step merely perform, conduct, carry out, and/or implement the abstract idea itself and/or only narrows the abstract idea (e.g. all or portion(s) of the noted recited steps). evaluated additional elements individually and in combination for which the courts have identified examples in which a judicial exception has not been integrated into a practical application, No additional step introduced in this claim taken individually or when taken as an ordered combination amounts to significantly more than the abstract idea. Accordingly, dependent claims 5, 16, and 20 are ineligible.
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§101 Subject Matter Eligibility Test for Products and Processes
Response to Arguments
Regarding eligibility rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 101, the Applicant's arguments submitted November 6, 2025 (hereinafter "REMARKS") in response to the Official Correspondence mailed September 24, 2025 (hereinafter "Non-Final Correspondence") have been fully considered but are not persuasive. Further to the September 24, 2025 Non-Final Correspondence, the reiterated grounds of rejection are fully set forth above under the 35 U.S.C. § 101 heading as applied to the herein examined current claims.
• Specifically, the Applicant argued:
"Applicant respectfully disagrees with the [] Section 101 rejections.
"Regarding the Section 101 rejection of independent claims 1, 11 ,and 12, Applicant respectfully disagrees, because these claims are eligible under Section 101 using both the Step2A, Prong Two test and Step2A, Prong One test[].
"Applicant respectfully submits that independent claim 1 is eligible under Step 2A, Prong Two test. That is, independent claim 1 is integrated into a practical application because the limitations recited in amended claim 1 provide improvements in computer/technology. [C]laim 1 provides a technical solution to a specific technical problem.
"[I]n this application[], the Specification clearly describes a specific technical problem, as well as the advantages of the claimed invention in solving such technical problem, i.e., providing technology improvements.
"[P]aragraph [0004] of the Specification states:
"In the existing technology, the pricing elements are directly derived from the transaction messages. Due to large amount of parameters, the maintenance cost is large, the parameter configuration workload is large, and the calculation time is long.
"[P]aragraph [0044] details of operation to provide improvements/solution to the explained technical problem:
"In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when performing the billing process of the to-be-processed transaction, the one or more transaction key values and the one or more transaction feature values are determined based on the transaction information of the to-be-processed transaction. Based on the one or more transaction key values, the rule union corresponding to the to-be-processed transaction is determined. The rule union includes the plurality of to-be-matched rules. The one or more transaction feature values of the to-processed transaction are matched with the plurality of to-be-matched rules sequentially to obtain the rule matching result of the to-be-processed transaction. Based on the rule matching result, the billing process is performed on the to-be-processed transaction. In some embodiments, pricing parameters are easy-to-understand feature rules. The pricing parameters are easy to read. A number of pricing parameters are substantially reduced. Thus, a probability of parameter mismatch or erroneously matched can be reduced, the number of pricing parameters can be reduced, and an efficiency of transaction billing process can be improved.
"[P]aragraph [0057] explains a feature that is used by the above operation to achieve the improvement/solution:
"The final result of the above transaction feature pricing model includes multiple rule unions. Each rule union corresponds to a business type. The number of the one or more feature variables, that is, the pricing elements, can be expanded arbitrarily, and the values of the one or more feature variables can be expanded by increasing the types of operators and operands. The feature rule may contain any number of the feature expressions, and the rule union may refer to any number of the feature rules. Thus, the transaction feature pricing model in the embodiments of the present disclosure is substantially scalable, and the elements and the mapping relationships therein can be freely changed.
'[T]he specific technical problem as stated in the Specification is that "due to large amount of parameters, the maintenance cost is large, the parameter configuration workload is large, and the calculation time is long." [T]he workload of the server is large and the computation time is long at the server while performing billing processing of on-line transactions, as understood by those skilled in the art.
'The improvements as stated in the Specification include that "pricing parameters are easy-to-understand feature rules. The pricing parameters are easy to read. A number of pricing parameters are substantially reduced. [A] probability of parameter mismatch or erroneously matched can be reduced, the number of pricing parameters can be reduced, and an efficiency of transaction billing process can be improved."
"[L]imitations of amended claim 1 reflect such improvements, providing a solution to such technical problems precisely as described in the Specification.
'[A]mended claim 1 recites "based on the message information, creating a transaction feature pricing model, the model including the message information, one or more feature variables, one or more feature expressions, one or more rules, and one or more rule unions, wherein the one or more feature variables are pricing elements used in billing processing"; and "determining one or more transaction key values and one or more transaction feature values of the to-be-processed transaction according to transaction information of the to- be-processed transaction". [U]sing these data structures, "determining a rule union, from the one or more rule unions from the transaction feature pricing model, corresponding to the to- be-processed transaction according to the one or more transaction key values, the rule union including a plurality of to-be-matched rules; and "matching the one or more transaction feature values of the to-be-processed transaction sequentially with the plurality of to-be-matched rules in the rule union to obtain a rule matching result of the to-be-processed transaction to determine a processing standard for billing of the to-be-processed transaction" to find the processing standard for billing of the to-be-processed transaction determined.
"[W]ith the limitations as recited in claim 1, not all pricing elements are directly derived from the transaction messages. [A] transaction feature pricing model is established, transaction key values and transaction feature values of the to-be-processed transaction are determined, and by matching the transaction feature values of the to-be-processed transaction with the rules in a rule union to obtain a rule matching result of the to-be-processed transaction to determine a processing standard for billing of the to-be-processed transaction. [T]he number of pricing parameters can be reduced, and an efficiency of transaction billing process can be improved. Such improvements are not just manipulating the data itself, but improving the operation of the server, which cannot be performed by human mind.
"[L]imitations of amended claim 1 clearly reflect the improvements disclosed in the Specification, i.e., Yes to Step 2A, Prong Two test.
"[I]ndependent claim 1 is eligible under the Step 2A, Prong Two test.
"Applicant respectfully disagrees, because the Office Action over-simplified the claims and mis-characterized limitations of the claims.
"Looking through all [] listed human activities, the claimed invention clearly does not belong to any of the [] listed activities. [T]he steps in amended independent claim 1 recite a method for a server computer to implement billing processing of online purchase transactions, but not by itself a transaction or any commercial interaction.
"[T]he steps recited in amended independent claim 1 does not have any interaction between entities to be a commercial interaction, instead merely comprises an improved data modeling and processing method to improve the workload and computation time of the server. [T]he disclosed method does not have elements of any listed activities considered as human activity. [T]he limitations of amended claim 1 may involve online transactions, but not directed to the online transactions themselves.
"[T]he Office Action provided no evidence that the claim limitations of amended independent claim 1 can be performed in the human mind. [I]n an online environment, the time required to process billing must be kept at minimum, which cannot be possible and certainly is impractical for the human mind to perform those limitations, including establishing a data model.
"[I]ndependent claim 1 is eligible under the Step 2A, Prong one test.
"[I]ndependent claim 1 is allowable under 35 U.S.C. 101. []"
(REMARKS [as abridged], pp. 13-20).
However, the above-quoted arguments submitted November 6, 2025 at REMARKS pp. 13-20 regarding rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 101 have been fully considered, but are not persuasive. Substantially, the Office respectfully disagrees with the Applicant's above-quoted factual allegations and legal conclusion. '[T]he "invention" is what is claimed'. Zoltek Corp. v. United States, 672 F.3d 1309, 1318, 102 USPQ2d 1001, 1008 (Fed. Cir. 2012). The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.
Contrary to the Applicant's above-quoted assertions, the Applicant's alleged invention as delineated by the currently pending claims appears to be deeply rooted in the abstract idea. In response to Applicant's argument that the claimed subject matter provides any improvement to any technology or technical field, the alleged improvement(s) in the abstract idea itself (e.g. a recited fundamental economic concept) is not an improvement in technology. Example(s) that the courts have indicated may not be sufficient to show an improvement in computer-functionality: ii. Accelerating a process of analyzing audit log data when the increased speed comes solely from the capabilities of a general-purpose computer, FairWarning IP, LLC v. Iatric Sys., 839 F.3d 1089, 1095, 120 USPQ2d 1293, 1296 (Fed. Cir. 2016); iii. Mere automation of manual processes, such as using a generic computer to process an application for financing a purchase, Credit Acceptance Corp. v. Westlake Services, 859 F.3d 1044, 1055, 123 USPQ2d 1100, 1108-09 (Fed. Cir. 2017) or speeding up a loan-application process by enabling borrowers to avoid physically going to or calling each lender and filling out a loan application, LendingTree, LLC v. Zillow, Inc., 656 Fed. App'x 991, 996-97 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (non-precedential); Examples that the courts have indicated may not be sufficient to show an improvement to technology include: i. A commonplace business method being applied on a general purpose computer, Alice Corp., 573 U.S. at 223, 110 USPQ2d at 1976; Versata Dev. Group, Inc. v. SAP Am., Inc., 793 F.3d 1306, 1334, 115 USPQ2d 1681, 1701 (Fed. Cir. 2015); iii. Gathering and analyzing information using conventional techniques and displaying the result, TLI Communications, 823 F.3d at 612-13, 118 USPQ2d at 1747-48;
See Alice Corp., 134 S. Ct. at 2358: 'Stating an abstract idea "while adding the words 'apply it'" is not enough for patent eligibility. Mayo, supra, at ___, 132 S. Ct. 1289, 182 L. Ed. 2d 321, 325. Nor is limiting the use of an abstract idea "'to a particular technological environment.'" Bilski, supra, at 610-611, 130 S. Ct. 3218, 177 L. Ed. 2d 792.' Limitations that the courts have found not to be enough to qualify as "significantly more" when recited in a claim with a judicial exception include adding insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception, e.g., mere data gathering in conjunction with a law of nature or abstract idea such as a step of obtaining information about credit card transactions so that the information can be analyzed by an abstract mental process, as discussed in CyberSource v. Retail Decisions, Inc., 654 F.3d 1366, 1375, 99 USPQ2d 1690, 1694 (Fed. Cir. 2011). For Step 2B, relying on what the courts have recognized, or those in the art would recognize, as elements that are well-understood, routine and conventional, the claims in the present application are ineligible under Step 2B. For example, the courts have recognized the following computer functions to be well-understood, routine, and conventional functions when they are claimed in a merely generic manner: performing repetitive calculations, receiving, processing, and storing data, electronically scanning or extracting data from a physical document, electronic recordkeeping, automating mental tasks, and receiving or transmitting data over a network, e.g., using the Internet to gather data. Courts have held computer-implemented processes not to be significantly more than an abstract idea (and thus ineligible) where the claim as a whole amounts to nothing more than generic computer functions merely used to implement an abstract idea, such as an idea that could be done by a human analog (i.e., by hand or by merely thinking). The Applicant is encouraged to please see and refer to the current rejection based upon the currently pending claims under the 35 U.S.C. § 101 heading above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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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 SLADE E. SMITH whose telephone number is 571- 272-8645. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Tuesday from 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Matthew S. Gart can be reached on 571-272-3955. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Sincerely,
/SLADE E SMITH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3696 12/12/2025
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