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 communication is in response to the amendments filed on 09/17/2025.
Claims 1-3, 10 have been amended.
Claims 4-9 and 11 have been cancelled.
Claims 1-3 and 10 and 12 are currently pending and have been examined.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-4 and 9-10 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Harada “US 2015/0181126 A1” (Harada) in view of Jenkins “US 2003/0171979 A1” (Jenkins).
Regarding Claims 1 and 9-10 and 12: A management apparatus comprising:
at least one memory configured to store instructions and product management information including product information associated with exhibition positions of products; and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to perform operations (at least see Harada Abstract; Fig. 11; [0038]),
comprising:
acquiring, when accepting exhibition area information for identifying an exhibition area of one or more of products in a product shelf of a fixture, product information of the one or more products associated with the exhibition positions included in the accepted exhibition area (at least see Harada Abstract; Figs. 13-14; [0036]-[0039]);
Harada disclose the claimed invention but fails to explicitly disclose acquiring shelf label identification of a plurality of electronic shelf labels; and setting the acquired shelf label identification in the product management information to one of the plurality of electronic shelf labels associate with the acquired product information of the one or more products. However, Jenkins disclose this (at least see Jenkins Abstract; Figs. 2a-3 and 18-19; [0036] and [0059]);
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made (Pre-AIA ) or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA FITF) to use Jenkins’s teachings in Harada’s enabled, for the advantage of electronically integrating efficient item assortment and shelf management processes of efficient item assortment planning and shelf management development.
Regarding Claim 2: The management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exhibition area information is fixture identification information for identifying the fixture on which the one or more products is exhibited, or the shelf identification information for identifying a shelf provided in each of the fixtures (at least see Harada Abstract; [0036]).
Regarding Claim 3: The management apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the operations further comprising area acceptance means for accepting the exhibition area information, and the area acceptance means accepts, as the exhibition area information, a fixture selected by a user from a screen displaying a layout of a fixture in the store or a shelf selected by a user from a screen displaying a shelf of the selected fixture (at least see Harada Abstract; [0078]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-3 and 10 and 12 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FATEH M OBAID whose telephone number is (571)270-7121. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00 A.M to 4:30 P.M.
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, Ryan Zeender can be reached at (571) 272-6790. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FATEH M OBAID/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627
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