DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
This is a non-final office action on the merits in response to the arguments and/or amendments filed on 28 February 2026 and the request for continued examination filed on 28 February 2026.
Claim(s) 1, 4, and 10 is/are amended. Claims 15-20 stand withdrawn.
Claim(s) 1, 2, and 4-14 is/are currently pending and have been examined.
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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 28 February 2026 has been entered.
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, 2, and 4-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Claim 1, which is representative of claim 10, recites
accessing,
generating, according to the equine inventory data and the equine health data, an equine inventory
accessing,
generating, according to the equine certification data, an equine certifications
receiving,
The preceding recitations of the claims have had strikethrough marks applied to the additional elements beyond the abstract idea to more clearly demonstrate the limitations setting forth the abstract idea. The remaining limitations identified above set forth a concept of providing and maintaining equine record information, which is a commercial or legal interaction. Note Credit Acceptance Corp v. Westlake Services, where a system, that maintained a database of information about the items in a dealer’s inventory was found to set forth a commercial interaction. Therefore the claims set forth a method of organizing human activity, and thus are determined to recite an abstract idea.
PEP 2106, reflecting the 2019 PEG, directs examiners at Step 2A Prong Two to consider whether the additional elements of the claims integrate a recited abstract idea into a practical application.
Claim 1 recites the additional element of a computer-readable storage medium. Claim 10 recites the additional element of a storage system; one or more processors; and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and two requesting devices. These additional elements are all recited at an extremely high level of generality and are interpreted as generic computing devices used to implement the abstract idea. Per MPEP 2106.05(f), implementing an abstract idea on a generic computing device does not integrate an abstract idea into a practical application in Step 2A Prong Two, similar to how the recitation of the computer in the claim in Alice amounted to mere instructions to apply the abstract idea on a generic computer. As such, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application.
The claims further recite the additional element of multiple user inputs via a system, the additional element of multiple user interfaces , the additional element of a user interface screen that comprises a plurality of selectable links, the additional element of an mechanism for selecting data, and the additional element of digital records. There are no further additional elements. Each of these additional elements, individually and as a combination, reflect no improvement to technology, do not implement the abstract idea with a particular machine, do not effect a transformation of a particular article, and do not meaningfully limit the implementation of the abstract idea. Instead these additional elements, when considered both individually and as a combination with each other and the above computing device additional elements, only generally links the abstract idea to a technological environment of a computing device. As such, the additional elements, individually and as a combination do not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea. Therefore the claims are determined to be directed to an abstract idea.
At Step 2B of the Mayo/Alice analysis, examiners are to consider whether the additional elements amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
As previously noted, the claims recite additional elements which may be interpreted as generic computing devices used to implement the abstract idea. However, per MPEP 2106.05(f), implementing an abstract idea on a generic computing does not add significantly more in Step 2B, similar to how the recitation of the computer in the claim in Alice amounted to mere instructions to apply the abstract idea on a generic computer. As such, this additional element does not amount to significantly more.
As previously noted, the claims recite an additional element of user inputs via a system. Smith et al. (US 2002/0147744 A1) demonstrates that user inputs via a system (See at least [0027], [0028], Fig. 1, and Fig. 2) were conventional long before the priority date of the claimed invention. As such, this additional element does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea. As previously noted, the claims recite an additional element of user interfaces. Smith et al. (US 2002/0147744 A1) demonstrates that user interfaces (See at least [0022], “conventional GUI interfaces”) were conventional long before the priority date of the claimed invention. As such, this additional element does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea. As previously noted, the claims recite an additional element of a interface that comprises a plurality of selectable links and a selection mechanism. Webster (US 2009/0070187) demonstrates that interfaces that comprise a plurality of selectable links and selection mechanisms (See at least [0050], “conventional interface elements, such as links to other pages”) were conventional long before the priority date of the claimed invention. As such, this additional element does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea. As previously noted, the claims recite an additional element of digital records. Smith et al. (US 2002/0147744 A1) demonstrates that digital records (See at least [0001], “conventional ASCII format”) were conventional long before the priority date of the claimed invention. As such, this additional element does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea. There are no further additional elements. The additional elements of the computing devices, the user inputs via a system, the user interfaces, interfaces that comprise a plurality of selectable links, the selection mechanism, and the digital records, when considered as a combination, only generally link the abstract idea to a technological environment of a computing device. As such, the combination of additional elements does not amount to significantly more.
Therefore, when considered individually and as an ordered combination, the additional elements of the independent claims do not amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. Thus the independent claims are not patent eligible.
Dependent claims 2 and 4-9 and 11-14 further narrow the abstract idea, but the claims continue to set forth an abstract idea, albeit a narrowed one. Dependent claim 14 only further describes the abstract idea. The previously identified additional elements continue to fail to either integrate the narrowed abstract idea into a practical application or amount to significantly more than the narrowed abstract. Dependent claims 2, 4-7, 9 and 13 further describe the additional elements of the user interface, but the additional element continues to fail to either integrate the narrowed abstract idea into a practical application or amount to significantly more than the narrowed abstract idea. Dependent claim 8 recites the additional element of a video chat. This additional element, individually and in combination with the other additional elements, only generally links the narrowed abstract idea to a particular environment of a networked video communication system. As such, the additional elements do not integrate the narrowed abstract idea into a practical application. Further, Gava et al. (US 2014/0043424 A1) demonstrates that video chat (Conventional video call applications, also referred to as video chat. See at least [0015]) was conventional long before the priority date of the claimed invention. As such, this additional element individually and in combination with the other additional elements, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea. Dependent claim 11 further describes the computing devices, but this additional elements fails to either integrate the abstract idea into a practical application or amount to significantly more than the abstract idea. Dependent claim 12 recite the additional element of communicating data to another device. This additional element, individually and in combination with the other additional elements, only generally links the narrowed abstract idea to a particular environment of a networked computing system. As such, the additional elements do not integrate the narrowed abstract idea into a practical application. Further, per MPEP 2106.05(d), transmitting data is a well-understood, routine, and conventional computer function. As such, this additional element individually and in combination with the other additional elements, does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea. Because the dependent claims remain directed to an abstract idea without reciting significantly more, the dependent claims are not patent eligible.
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 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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 5, 6, 9-12, and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Skocic (US 2012/0124387 A1) in view of Lyle et al. (US 2015/0294072 A1).
Regarding Claim 1: Skocic discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program (See at least [0034]) for execution by one or more processors, the program including instructions for:
a medical records user interface that displays health data for the plurality of equines and a mechanism for selecting a particular equine from the plurality of equines (FIG. 7 is an example of a screen comprising an exemplary animal search interface 700. The animal search interface allows a search to be performed to locate animal records matching search criteria. Animal search interface 700 includes search fields 702, search by biometrics selectable control 704, search by scanning selectable control 705, and search results 706. Selectable controls 704 and 705 may be any type of selectable user interface, such as button, check box, link or the like. See at least [0071]);
accessing, in response to a first user input and via an equine records storage system, digital equine records for the plurality of equines, the digital equine records comprising equine data for the plurality of equines, the equine data comprising equine inventory data, equine certification data, and equine health data, wherein the digital equine records are accessible by both an equine owner and a veterinarian such that updates by either the equine owner or the veterinarian are synchronized and visible to both the equine owner and the veterinarian in real time (User computing device 106 is a computing system typically operated by veterinarians, animal health clinic, animal rescue, animal breeders (such as kennels), animal shelters, and animal's owner. In some embodiments user computing device 106 is a stationary device, such as at the owner's home or at the animal health clinic. See at least [0027]. Also: After operations 510 and 512, operation 514 is performed to update and access animal information as needed. For example, a user accesses the animal info on server 102 through user computing device 106 (shown in FIG. 1). The user is allowed to edit and update some or all of the animal information as needed. See at least [0050]. Also: the emergency response teams at treatment sector 942 are able to positively identify the animal and review the health records of the animal immediately (in "real-time") to assist them in providing proper medical care to the animal. Similarly, when the animal enters the hospital, the biometric identifier of the animal is read with biometric reader 952 to provide access to the animal's information and medical records. See at least [0100]); generating, according to the equine inventory data and the equine health data, an equine inventory user interface, wherein the equine inventory user interface comprises identifying information of a first equine of the plurality of equines and health information for the first equine (FIG. 7 is an example of a screen comprising an exemplary animal search interface 700. The animal search interface allows a search to be performed to locate animal records matching search criteria. See at least [0071]. Also: Animal profile interface 800 is an interface that provides information regarding a particular animal. In some embodiments the information includes data from animal data 110, shown in FIG. 1. See at least [0077] and Fig. 8. Also: General info section 822 displays general information about the animal. Examples of general information include name, ID number, gender, date of birth, weight, breed and genealogy. See at least [0080]. Also: Medical info section 824 includes information regarding medical conditions of the animal. Examples of medical conditions that are displayed in medical info section 824 include different disorders, allergies, info about immunizations, diabetes, and any other medical info of interest such as current medication. See at least [0081]);
accessing, in response to a second user input and via the equine records storage system, the equine certification data; generating, according to the equine certification data, an equine certifications user interface, wherein the equine certifications user interface comprises one or more certifications of the first equine (Other button 812 illustrates in this example for simplicity a number of different navigation controls that may be used to jump to another interface display, such as medical history of the animal, detailed genealogy, issued certificates. See at least [0078]);
receiving, via the equine inventory user interface, equine inventory update data; and transmitting, in response to the equine inventory update data received via the equine inventory user interface, an equine inventory update to the equine records storage system for updating the equine inventory data (animal profile interface 800 is not only a display that provides information about an animal, but also receives information from a user to update the animal's profile. For example, the owner logs into the system through user computing device 106 (shown in FIG. 1) and accesses animal profile interface 800. The owner then enters or edits the information as needed. See at least [0090]. Also: a user accesses the animal info on server 102 through user computing device 106 (shown in FIG. 1). The user is allowed to edit and update some or all of the animal information as needed. See at least [0050]).
Skocic does not expressly disclose generating a dashboard user interface screen that comprises a plurality of selectable links, each selectable link of the plurality of selectable links corresponding to an associated feature and data set for managing equine health of a plurality of equines, the plurality of selectable links comprising a first selectable link that is a link to a medical records user interface.
However, Lyle teaches generating a dashboard user interface screen that comprises a plurality of selectable links, each selectable link of the plurality of selectable links corresponding to an associated feature and data set for managing health of a plurality of animals (As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the veterinarian interface may highlight or otherwise visually distinguish the selected icon such that the remaining icons are indicated as unselected. For example, FIG. 4 illustrates the business portlet as the selected primary category, while FIG. 5 illustrates the clinical portlet as the selected primary category. FIG. 4 illustrates the modules available to be accessed as sub-categories of the business category, while FIG. 5 illustrates the modules available to be accessed as sub-categories of the clinical category (a dashboard module and a leadership module). See at least [0030] and Fig. 4 and 5) the plurality of selectable links comprising a first selectable link that is a link to a medical records user interface that displays health data for the plurality of animals and a mechanism for selecting a particular animal from the plurality of animals (FIG. 6 is a screenshot of a veterinarian interface for viewing a dashboard 210 displaying animal profile information for each animal patient in a veterinarian's practice. The information provided in the dashboard 210 may be an abbreviated or subset of the complete information available in an animal record comprised of animal profile information for each animal. As such, selecting one of the graphical or textual icons presented in the dashboard 210 for a specific animal patient may cause the respective animal record to display, with the entire animal record and animal profile information. See at least [0031]).
Skocic teaches a equine health record system including an animal selection screen which differs from the claimed invention by the use of a dashboard that links to an animal selection screen. Lyle demonstrates that the prior art already knew of dashboards for veterinarians that link to animal selection screens. Between these references the prior art teaches every element claimed, with the only difference between the claimed invention and the prior art being the lack of actual combination of the elements in a single prior art reference. One of ordinary skill in the art could have trivially combined the equine health record system of Skocic with the dashboard of Lyle by known methods, and in combination each element merely performs the same function as it does separately. Further, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the combination would have predictably resulted in a dashboard which would lead to an equine selection screen. As such, the identified combination and the claimed invention would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention in view of the disclosures of Skocic and the teachings of Lyle.
Regarding Claim 2: Skocic in view of Lyle makes obvious the above limitations. Skocic further discloses wherein the program further includes instructions for: receiving, via the equine certifications user interface, equine certifications update data; and transmitting, in response to the equine certifications update data received via the equine certifications user interface, an equine certifications update to the equine records storage system for updating the equine certifications data (animal profile interface 800 is not only a display that provides information about an animal, but also receives information from a user to update the animal's profile. For example, the owner logs into the system through user computing device 106 (shown in FIG. 1) and accesses animal profile interface 800. The owner then enters or edits the information as needed. See at least [0090]. Also: a user accesses the animal info on server 102 through user computing device 106 (shown in FIG. 1). The user is allowed to edit and update some or all of the animal information as needed. See at least [0050]).
Regarding Claim 5: Skocic in view of Lyle makes obvious the above limitations. Skocic further discloses wherein the program further includes instructions for: accessing, via the equine records storage system, breeding information for a subset of the plurality of equines; and generating, according to the breeding information, a breeding user interface (The animal name, the ID no. or the owner name of each matching record is a hyperlink that can be selected by a user to bring the user to the animal profile interface associated with the animal. See at least [0075] and Fig. 7. Also: Animal profile interface 800 is an interface that provides information regarding a particular animal. In some embodiments the information includes data from animal data 110, shown in FIG. 1. See at least [0077] and Fig. 8. Also: General info section 822 displays general information about the animal. Examples of general information include name, ID number, gender, date of birth, weight, breed and genealogy. See at least [0080]. Also: Navigation controls 802 are selectable by a user to jump to a different interface display. When a user selects Go To Status button 810, an animal status interface is displayed that is associated with the currently identified animal. Other button 812 illustrates in this example for simplicity a number of different navigation controls that may be used to jump to another interface display, such as medical history of the animal, detailed genealogy, issued certificates. See at least [0078]).
Regarding Claim 6: Skocic in view of Lyle makes obvious the above limitations. Skocic further discloses wherein: the breeding user interface comprises breeding information for the subset of the plurality of equines; or the breeding user interface comprises breeding details for a particular equine of the subset of the plurality of equines (Animal profile interface 800 is an interface that provides information regarding a particular animal. In some embodiments the information includes data from animal data 110, shown in FIG. 1. See at least [0077] and Fig. 8. Also: General info section 822 displays general information about the animal. Examples of general information include name, ID number, gender, date of birth, weight, breed and genealogy. See at least [0080]. Also: Navigation controls 802 are selectable by a user to jump to a different interface display. When a user selects Go To Status button 810, an animal status interface is displayed that is associated with the currently identified animal. Other button 812 illustrates in this example for simplicity a number of different navigation controls that may be used to jump to another interface display, such as medical history of the animal, detailed genealogy, issued certificates. See at least [0078]).
Regarding Claim 9: Skocic in view of Lyle makes obvious the above limitations. Skocic further discloses wherein the program further includes instructions for: accessing, in response to third user input, the equine health data for the first equine, the equine health data comprising medical records for the first equine; and displaying, in response to the third user input, at least a portion of the medical records for the first equine in a medical records user interface (Navigation controls 802 are selectable by a user to jump to a different interface display. When a user selects Go To Status button 810, an animal status interface is displayed that is associated with the currently identified animal. Other button 812 illustrates in this example for simplicity a number of different navigation controls that may be used to jump to another interface display, such as medical history of the animal. See at least [0078]).
Regarding Claim 10: Skocic discloses a system, comprising: a storage system (See at least [0030]); one or more processors (See at least [0031]); a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program (See at least [0034]) to be executed by the one or more processors, the program including instructions for:
receiving equine data for the plurality of equines, the equine data comprising equine inventory data, equine certification data, and equine health data; generating, in response to receiving the equine data for the plurality of equines, digital equine records on the storage system, the digital equine records comprising the equine data for the plurality of equines (server 102 stores animal data 110 in memory of server 102. See at least [0024]. Also: Animal data 110 includes information relating to a particular animal. Examples of animal data include medical history data (including veterinarian notes, electronic medical records, immunization records, surgical history, medication records, medical treatment records, and identification of medical allergies), genealogy, owner information, owner's instructions in case of acute illness or injury (treat or put to sleep, who to contact if owner is unavailable), insurance information, and other data relating to the animal. See at least [0025]), wherein the digital equine records are accessible by both an equine owner and a veterinarian such that updates by either the equine owner or the veterinarian are synchronized and visible to both the equine owner and the veterinarian in real time (User computing device 106 is a computing system typically operated by veterinarians, animal health clinic, animal rescue, animal breeders (such as kennels), animal shelters, and animal's owner. In some embodiments user computing device 106 is a stationary device, such as at the owner's home or at the animal health clinic. See at least [0027]. Also: After operations 510 and 512, operation 514 is performed to update and access animal information as needed. For example, a user accesses the animal info on server 102 through user computing device 106 (shown in FIG. 1). The user is allowed to edit and update some or all of the animal information as needed. See at least [0050]. Also: the emergency response teams at treatment sector 942 are able to positively identify the animal and review the health records of the animal immediately (in "real-time") to assist them in providing proper medical care to the animal. Similarly, when the animal enters the hospital, the biometric identifier of the animal is read with biometric reader 952 to provide access to the animal's information and medical records. See at least [0100]);
receiving, from a first requesting device, a request for at least a portion of the equine inventory data for a first equine of the plurality of equines; accessing, from digital equine records on the storage system, the equine inventory data for the first equine; transmitting, to the first requesting device, the at least a portion of the equine inventory data for the first equine for display by an application on the first requesting device (The animal name, the ID no. or the owner name of each matching record is a hyperlink that can be selected by a user to bring the user to the animal profile interface associated with the animal. See at least [0075] and Fig. 7. Also: Animal profile interface 800 is an interface that provides information regarding a particular animal. In some embodiments the information includes data from animal data 110, shown in FIG. 1. See at least [0077] and Fig. 8. Also: General info section 822 displays general information about the animal. Examples of general information include name, ID number, gender, date of birth, weight, breed and genealogy. See at least [0080]);
receiving, from a second requesting device, a request for at least a portion of the equine certification data for a second equine of the plurality of equines; accessing, from the digital equine records on the storage system, the equine certification data for the second equine; and transmitting, to the second requesting device, the at least a portion of the equine certification data for the second equine for display by an application on the second requesting device (Also: Navigation controls 802 are selectable by a user to jump to a different interface display. When a user selects Go To Status button 810, an animal status interface is displayed that is associated with the currently identified animal. Other button 812 illustrates in this example for simplicity a number of different navigation controls that may be used to jump to another interface display, such as medical history of the animal, detailed genealogy, issued certificates. See at least [0078]).
Skocic does not expressly disclose generating a dashboard user interface screen that comprises a plurality of selectable links, each selectable link of the plurality of selectable links corresponding to an associated feature and data set configured for managing equine health of a plurality of equines.
However, Lyle teaches generating a dashboard user interface screen that comprises a plurality of selectable links, each selectable link of the plurality of selectable links corresponding to an associated feature and data set configured for managing health of a plurality of animals (As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the veterinarian interface may highlight or otherwise visually distinguish the selected icon such that the remaining icons are indicated as unselected. For example, FIG. 4 illustrates the business portlet as the selected primary category, while FIG. 5 illustrates the clinical portlet as the selected primary category. FIG. 4 illustrates the modules available to be accessed as sub-categories of the business category, while FIG. 5 illustrates the modules available to be accessed as sub-categories of the clinical category (a dashboard module and a leadership module). See at least [0030] and Fig. 4 and 5) the plurality of selectable links comprising a first selectable link that is a link to a medical records user interface that displays health data for the plurality of animals and a mechanism for selecting a particular animal from the plurality of animals (FIG. 6 is a screenshot of a veterinarian interface for viewing a dashboard 210 displaying animal profile information for each animal patient in a veterinarian's practice. The information provided in the dashboard 210 may be an abbreviated or subset of the complete information available in an animal record comprised of animal profile information for each animal. As such, selecting one of the graphical or textual icons presented in the dashboard 210 for a specific animal patient may cause the respective animal record to display, with the entire animal record and animal profile information. See at least [0031]).
Skocic teaches an equine health record system including an animal selection screen which differs from the claimed invention by the use of a dashboard that links to an animal selection screen. Lyle demonstrates that the prior art already knew of dashboards for veterinarians that link to animal selection screens. Between these references the prior art teaches every element claimed, with the only difference between the claimed invention and the prior art being the lack of actual combination of the elements in a single prior art reference. One of ordinary skill in the art could have trivially combined the equine health record system of Skocic with the dashboard of Lyle by known methods, and in combination each element merely performs the same function as it does separately. Further, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the combination would have predictably resulted in a dashboard which would lead to an equine selection screen. As such, the identified combination and the claimed invention would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention in view of the disclosures of Skocic and the teachings of Lyle.
Regarding Claim 11: Skocic in view of Lyle makes obvious the above limitations. Skocic further discloses wherein: the first requesting device and the second requesting device are a same device; and the first equine and the second equine are a same equine (The animal name, the ID no. or the owner name of each matching record is a hyperlink that can be selected by a user to bring the user to the animal profile interface associated with the animal. See at least [0075] and Fig. 7. Also: Animal profile interface 800 is an interface that provides information regarding a particular animal. In some embodiments the information includes data from animal data 110, shown in FIG. 1. See at least [0077] and Fig. 8. Also: General info section 822 displays general information about the animal. Examples of general information include name, ID number, gender, date of birth, weight, breed and genealogy. See at least [0080]. Also: Navigation controls 802 are selectable by a user to jump to a different interface display. When a user selects Go To Status button 810, an animal status interface is displayed that is associated with the currently identified animal. Other button 812 illustrates in this example for simplicity a number of different navigation controls that may be used to jump to another interface display, such as medical history of the animal, detailed genealogy, issued certificates. See at least [0078]).
Regarding Claim 12: Skocic in view of Lyle makes obvious the above limitations. Skocic further discloses wherein the program further includes instructions for: receiving, from a third requesting device, a request for at least a portion of the equine health data for a third equine of the plurality of equines; accessing, from the digital equine records on the storage system, the equine health data for the third equine; and transmitting, to the third requesting device, the at least a portion the equine health data for the third equine for display by an application on the second requesting device, wherein the third requesting device is a same requesting device than one or more of the first requesting device or the second requesting device, and wherein the third equine is a same equine as one or more of the first equine or the second equine (Navigation controls 802 are selectable by a user to jump to a different interface display. When a user selects Go To Status button 810, an animal status interface is displayed that is associated with the currently identified animal. Other button 812 illustrates in this example for simplicity a number of different navigation controls that may be used to jump to another interface display, such as medical history of the animal. See at least [0078]).
Regarding Claim 14: Skocic in view of Lyle makes obvious the above limitations. Skocic further discloses wherein: the equine inventory data comprises the following information for the plurality of equines: an equine identifier; equine type; and location information; and the equine health data comprises the following information for the plurality of equines: digital medical records; vaccination information; breeding information; and treatment information (General info section 822 displays general information about the animal. Examples of general information include name, ID number, gender, date of birth, weight, breed and genealogy. See at least [0080]. Also: ] Owner info section 826 includes information regarding the owner of the animal. Examples of owner info include name, address, home phone number, work phone number, cell phone number, mail address and, if the owner has a location-transmitting device, such as a GPS-enabled smartphone, the owner's present location. See at least [0082]. Also: Medical info section 824 includes information regarding medical conditions of the animal. Examples of medical conditions that are displayed in medical info section 824 include different disorders, allergies, info about immunizations, diabetes, and any other medical info of interest such as current medication. See at least [0081]).
Claim(s) 4, 8, and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Skocic (US 2012/0124387 A1) in view of Lyle et al. (US 2015/0294072 A1), and further in view of Sproat et al. (US 2021/0125152 A1).
Regarding Claim 4: Skocic in view of Lyle makes obvious the above limitations. Skocic further discloses a second selectable link to an away care interface (Navigation controls 802 are selectable by a user to jump to a different interface display. When a user selects Go To Status button 810, an animal status interface is displayed that is associated with the currently identified animal. Other button 812 illustrates in this example for simplicity a number of different navigation controls that may be used to jump to another interface display, such as … emergency contact, wishes, etc. See at least [0078]. Also: Wishes section is a text box that displays any other wishes that an animal owner would like made known to a caregiver/veterinary during a health event. See at least [0084]), a fifth selectable link to a breeding records user interface (Navigation controls 802 are selectable by a user to jump to a different interface display. When a user selects Go To Status button 810, an animal status interface is displayed that is associated with the currently identified animal. Other button 812 illustrates in this example for simplicity a number of different navigation controls that may be used to jump to another interface display, such as … detailed genealogy. See at least [0078]), a sixth selectable link to a racing user interface (Navigation controls 802 are selectable by a user to jump to a different interface display. When a user selects Go To Status button 810, an animal status interface is displayed that is associated with the currently identified animal. Other button 812 illustrates in this example for simplicity a number of different navigation controls that may be used to jump to another interface display, such as … detailed genealogy. See at least [0078]. Examiner’s note: The specification describes a “racing user interface” as “for managing data associated with animals (e.g., horses) that may be used for racing”. As such, the broadest reasonable interpretation of the racing user interface includes any horse data interface).
Skocic does not disclose a third selectable link of the plurality of selectable links comprises a link to a veterinarian video chat user interface or a fourth selectable link of the plurality of selectable links comprises a link to a health reminder user interface.
However, Sproat teaches a third selectable link to a veterinarian video chat user interface (Referring to FIG. 5, the home user interface also includes buttons 148, 150, 152 that, when selected, lead the user to the documents user interface 188, the live vet user interface, and the insurance user interface. See at least [0043] and Fig. 5. Also: The veterinarian module 122 provides live access to a licensed veterinarian anytime via the vet user interface 212 shown in FIG. 11. In an example, the user communicates with a licensed veterinarian with any questions regarding a pet's health through email, instant messenger, live chat, or any other suitable messaging service. The present system enables user to contact a veterinarian immediately and directly to ask a question to and/or show the veterinarian images of the issues by a photo, video, live stream audio video, etc., for the veterinarian to answer and instruct the user on how to resolve the issue. This immediate interaction allows the user to avoid waiting to make an appointment with a veterinarian's office, waiting for the appointment, and traveling to the veterinarian's office. See at least [0081]. Also: the system can provide a live text, audio, and/or video chat with a veterinarian. See at least [0017]) and a fourth selectable link to a health reminders user interface (Within the calendar module 116, the pet care management system 100 maintains a calendar for each user that enables the user to track vet appointments, vaccinations scheduling, and other milestones. The calendar module 116 can receive and store a user's appointments such as veterinarian visits, pet day care, pet walking, pet boarding businesses, and pet's profile information (e.g., pet birthdays). The calendar module 116 also provides notifications to the user related to pet's birthdays, vaccination deadlines dates, invoice due dates, scheduled appointments, and scheduled play dates, among other modules. See at least [0050]. Also: The home GUI 132 also provides a listing of reminders 142 for upcoming events. See at least [0043] and Fig. 4. Also: FIG. 6 illustrates a reminder user interface 180 that lists upcoming events 182 or past events, providing buttons 184, 186 that enable the user to toggle between the upcoming events list 182 or the past events list. The calendar module also communicates reminders to other modules as well as the home GUI 132, as shown in FIG. 4. See at least [0051] and Fig. 6).
Skocic and Lyle suggest a system for accessing and managing equine health data which includes a dashboard including various links, upon which the claimed invention’s links to additional functionality can be seen as an improvement. However, Sproat demonstrates that the prior art already knew of providing such functionality. One of ordinary skill in the art could have trivially applied the techniques of Lyle with the system of Skocic to incorporate links to the functionalities of Sproat. One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that such an application of Sproat would have resulted in an improved system which would make it convenient to access the relevant functionality. As such, the application of Sproat, and the claimed invention would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention in view of the disclosures of Skocic and the teachings of Lyle and Sproat.
Regarding Claim 8: Skocic in view of Lyle makes obvious the above limitations. Skocic does not appear to disclose wherein the program further includes instructions for: receiving third user input requesting a video chat with a selected veterinarian; initiating, in response to third user input, the video chat with the selected veterinarian; and displaying a video chat user interface for conducting the video chat with the selected veterinarian.
Sproat teaches receiving third user input requesting a video chat with a selected veterinarian; initiating, in response to third user input, the video chat with the selected veterinarian; and displaying a video chat user interface for conducting the video chat with the selected veterinarian (Referring to FIG. 5, the home user interface also includes buttons 148, 150, 152 that, when selected, lead the user to the documents user interface 188, the live vet user interface, and the insurance user interface. See at least [0043] and Fig. 5. Also: The veterinarian module 122 provides live access to a licensed veterinarian anytime via the vet user interface 212 shown in FIG. 11. In an example, the user communicates with a licensed veterinarian with any questions regarding a pet's health through email, instant messenger, live chat, or any other suitable messaging service. The present system enables user to contact a veterinarian immediately and directly to ask a question to and/or show the veterinarian images of the issues by a photo, video, live stream audio video, etc., for the veterinarian to answer and instruct the user on how to resolve the issue. This immediate interaction allows the user to avoid waiting to make an appointment with a veterinarian's office, waiting for the appointment, and traveling to the veterinarian's office. See at least [0081]. Also: the system can provide a live text, audio, and/or video chat with a veterinarian. See at least [0017]).
Skocic and Lyle suggest a system for accessing and managing equine health data, upon which the claimed invention’s ability to initiate a video call with a vet can be seen as an improvement. However, Sproat demonstrates that the prior art knew of animal data management systems which could initiate a video call with a vet. One of ordinary skill in the art could have easily incorporated the techniques of Sproat into the system of Skocic and Lyle. Further, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that such an application of Sproat would have resulted in an improved system which would allow horse owners to avoid having to make an appointment with a veterinarian (Sproat, [0081]). As such, the application of Sproat, and the claimed invention would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention in view of the disclosures of Skocic and the teachings of Lyle and Sproat.
Regarding Claim 13: Skocic in view of Lyle makes obvious the above limitations. Skocic does not appear to disclose wherein: the equine health data comprises a schedule of health events; and the program further includes instructions for communicating a reminder of a health event to an application on the third requesting device.
Sproat teaches wherein: animal health data comprises a schedule of health events; and the program further includes instructions for communicating a reminder of a health event to an application on the third requesting device (Within the calendar module 116, the pet care management system 100 maintains a calendar for each user that enables the user to track vet appointments, vaccinations scheduling, and other milestones. The calendar module 116 can receive and store a user's appointments such as veterinarian visits, pet day care, pet walking, pet boarding businesses, and pet's profile information (e.g., pet birthdays). The calendar module 116 also provides notifications to the user related to pet's birthdays, vaccination deadlines dates, invoice due dates, scheduled appointments, and scheduled play dates, among other modules. See at least [0050]. Also: The home GUI 132 also provides a listing of reminders 142 for upcoming events. See at least [0043] and Fig. 4. Also: FIG. 6 illustrates a reminder user interface 180 that lists upcoming events 182 or past events, providing buttons 184, 186 that enable the user to toggle between the upcoming events list 182 or the past events list. The calendar module also communicates reminders to other modules as well as the home GUI 132, as shown in FIG. 4. See at least [0051] and Fig. 6).
Skocic and Lyle suggest a system for accessing and managing equine health data, upon which the claimed invention’s scheduling of health events and reminding of health events can be seen as an improvement. However, Sproat demonstrates that the prior art knew of animal data management systems which could maintain a schedule of health events and remind users of upcoming health events. One of ordinary skill in the art could have easily incorporated the techniques of Sproat into the system of Skocic and Lyle. Further, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that such an application of Sproat would have resulted in an improved system which would prevent horse owners from forgetting veterinarian appointments. As such, the application of Sproat, and the claimed invention would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention in view of the disclosures of Skocic and the teachings of Lyle and Sproat.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Skocic (US 2012/0124387 A1) in view of Lyle et al. (US 2015/0294072 A1), and further in view of Sapp et al. (US 2021/0092937 A1).
Regarding Claim 7: Skocic in view of Lyle makes obvious the above limitations. Skocic does not appear to disclose wherein the program further includes instructions for: accessing, in response to third user input, equine away care data for one or more horses, the equine away care data comprising tasks, task details, and a respective responsible entity for performing each task according to the task details for that task; displaying, in response to accessing the equine away care data, at least a portion of the equine away care data for the one or more horses; and generating, for each of the one or more horses, a respective notification that the tasks for the horse have been completed.
Sapp teaches accessing, in response to third user input, animal away care data for one or more animals, the animal away care data comprising tasks, task details, and a respective responsible entity for performing each task according to the task details for that task; displaying, in response to accessing the animal away care data, at least a portion of the animal away care data for the one or more animal; and generating, for each of the one or more animal, a respective notification that the tasks for the animal have been completed (a user or pet owner (10) stores information related to at least one pet in the database (60). The information may be a profile (61) and may include location information (61A) (e.g. address where the pet is located on a certain day), pet identification information (61B) (e.g. what does the pet look like, a photo, etc.), health information (61C) (e.g. veterinarian information, medical history, etc.), how to access the pet (61D)) (e.g. the key is under the mat), list of tasks (61E) (e.g. walk the dog at noon, feed the cat at 6 pm, etc.), or other user defined information (61F), See at least [0030]. Also: the information handling and alarm system (100) allows a pet owner (10) to identify at least one third-party (31) who may receive communication from the information handling and alarm system (100). See at least [0031]. Also: the communication bridge (81) sends a SMS to a pet caretaker (31) to accept a task. (70) The SMS may request the pet caretaker to respond with “Y”, for example, if he accepts the task. (71) The communication bridge (81) may send an SMS to the pet owner (10) informing the pet owner (10) that the task has been accepted. (74) The communication bridge (81) may provide the pet caretaker (31) with at least a second SMS as a reminder. (72) The communication bridge (81) sends an SMS to the pet caretaker (31) asking for confirmation that the task has been completed. (73) The SMS may request the pet caretaker (31) to respond with a “Y” or “N”, for example. The response is communicated to the pet owner (10) by the communication bridge (81) with an SMS, for example. (74) See at least [0033]).
Skocic and Lyle suggest a system for accessing and managing equine health data, upon which the claimed invention’s managing of tasks for a caretaker can be seen as an improvement. However, Sapp demonstrates that the prior art already knew of animal data management systems which could manage tasks for an animal caretaker. One of ordinary skill in the art could have easily incorporated the techniques of Sapp into the system of Skocic and Lyle. Further, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that such an application of Sapp would have resulted in an improved system which would allow horse owners to confidently leave their horses in the care of third parties. As such, the application of Sapp, and the claimed invention would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention in view of the disclosures of Skocic and the teachings of Lyle and Sapp.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s Argument Regarding 101 Rejections of claims 1, 2, and 4-14:
The present claims recite, at least in part, specific interface improvements for managing equine records that are analogous to those found eligible in Core Wireless.
As explained in Applicant’s Specification, the claimed invention may provide one or more technical advantages that offer technical improvements
Applicant’s claims are patent eligible at least because they recite specific improvements to how computers organize, display, and synchronize animal health data—not abstract ideas implemented on generic computers.
Claim 1 recites a specific interface architecture that improves navigation efficiency: “a first selectable link that is a link to a medical records user interface that displays health data for the plurality of equines and a mechanism for selecting a particular equine from the plurality of equines.” These features provide a two-tier navigation structure: (1) aggregate medical records views across al equines, then (2) drill-down to individual equine details through an integrated selection mechanism. This reduces navigation steps.
This is directly analogous to the patent-eligible claims in Core Wireless. Just as Core Wireless provided a summary window allowing users to view important information without launching the application and without navigating the application, Applicant’s claims provide aggregate medical records with integrated drill-down—allowing users to view health data across all equines and access individual details. The Core Wireless court held that claims providing a specific manner of displaying a limited set of information to the user represent patent-eligible improvements to computer functionality. Applicant’s medical records interface with aggregate-to-detail capability does exactly that.
Claim 1 recites a technical feature solving a computer-specific problem: “wherein the digital equine records are accessible by both an equine owner and a veterinarian such that updates by either the equine owner or the veterinarian are synchronized and visible to both the equine owner and the veterinarian in real time.” This features solve the technical problem of maintaining data consistency across multiple concurrent users with different access points.
Examiner’s Response: Applicant's arguments filed 28 February 2028 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Per MPEP 2106.05(a)(I), the claims in core wireless involved “[a]n improved user interface for electronic devices that displays an application summary of unlaunched applications, where the particular data in the summary is selectable by a user to launch the respective application.” This improvement has no apparent relationship to the present claims.
Applicant’s unexplained citations to the specification which “may provide an improvement” does not either clarify how the claims provide any improvement analogous to that in Core Wireless or identify a specific technical improvement.
First, Examiner notes that organizing information has been previously found to recite an abstract idea. Second, Examiner notes that the disclosure does not provide technical details regarding the asserted improvement “to how computers organize, display, and synchronize” data. Per MPEP 2106.05(a), “If it is asserted that the invention improves upon conventional functioning of a computer, or upon conventional technology or technological processes, a technical explanation as to how to implement the invention should be present in the specification.” Here, there is no technical explanation of how to implement the referenced functionality. As such, the specification indicates that the claimed invention does not provide any technical improvement. Finally, Examiner notes that there appears to be no evidence on the record that the computing devices used to implement the claimed functionality are anything other than generic computing devices. Instead, the specification suggests that the devices used to implement the claimed functionality are conventional computing devices. For example, the disclosure states that the system “may include any suitable computing device(s)”.
Applicant’s asserted improvement of a “two-tier interface architecture that improves navigation efficiency” is simply not credible. One of ordinary skill in the art would not find presenting aggregate data with links to specific data a technical improvement as of the 2022 priority date of the claimed invention. Further, note that there is no apparent technical character of the asserted two-tier interface architecture. Specifically, the asserted improvement involves displaying some information on one page, that page including a link to a second page, and the second page including other information. The description chosen for display on the respective pages does not make technical what is otherwise simply an interface displaying two screens of information with a link to move from one screen to the other.
The decision in Core Wireless noted that “the claim recites that the summary window ‘is displayed while the one or more applications are in an un-launched state,’ a requirement that the device applications exist in a particular state.” The asserted arrangement of information in the present claims is not analogous to the “particular manner of summarizing and presenting information” claimed in Core Wireless.
The present disclosure does not describe how to implement the record synchronization identified as a technical improvement. As previously noted, MPEP 2106.05(a), the disclosure should provide a technical explanation of how to implement a technical improvement. Applicant’s omission of how to implement synchronized record updating at the time of filing clearly indicates that this feature is not a technical improvement.
Applicant’s Argument Regarding 102 Rejections:
Skocic does not satisfy this stringent standard and does not anticipate claim 1.
Applicant has amended Claim 1 to recite that “the digital equine records are accessible by both an equine owner and a veterinarian such that updates by either the equine owner or the veterinarian are synchronized and visible to both the equine owner and the veterinarian in real time. Applicant submits that the cited portions of Skocic do not disclose, teach, or suggest these features.
Examiner’s Response: Applicant's argument filed 28 February 2026 have been fully considered.
Applicant’s argument is persuasive. The rejection under 102 is withdrawn. The claims now stand rejected under 103.
Applicant’s argument here is unpersuasive. As noted in the rejection above, Skocic discloses the identified feature.
Additional Considerations
The prior art made of record and not relied upon that is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure can be found in the PTO-892 of the prior office action dated 21 February 2025.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Bion A Shelden whose telephone number is (571)270-0515. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 12pm-10pm EST.
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/Bion A Shelden/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3685 2026-04-01