DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to Applicant's Communication received on 12/12/2022.
Claims 1-20 are presented for examination. Claims 1 and 15 are independent claims.
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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 2 and 16 are objected to because of the following informalities: In these claims, “receiving, the user interface” should be “receiving, at the user interface”. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-7, 9-10, and 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yao et al. (US 2019/0147499 A1 hereinafter Yao) in view of Crawford et al. (US 2019/0174156 A1 hereinafter Crawford).
Regarding Claim 1, Yao teaches a method for data processing at a communication process flow management service ([0055] the process can be implemented in a data processing apparatus of one or more computers in data communication; [0057] the process provides instructions to a user device that cause the user device to display a feature management user interface; the campaign management system 116 provides a webpage or an application (i.e., communication process flow management service) to a user device that causes the user device to display a user interface that can be used to manage campaign entities), comprising:
displaying, at a user interface of the communication process flow management service, a set of actions associated with a communication process flow supported by the communication process flow management service, the communication process flow configured to manage communications between a tenant of a multi-tenant system that supports the communication process flow management service and a segment of entities associated with the tenant ([0028] the campaign management system 116 provides user interfaces (i.e., user interface of the communication process flow management service) for advertisers (i.e., multi-tenant system) to define advertising campaigns and ad groups, submit advertising content, and specify various targeting and/or ad placement criteria for the advertising content in each advertising campaign and/or ad group; [0041] the campaign management system 116 provides a workflow that facilitates the on-demand updating of a campaign entity from a first format that supports of first feature set to a second format that supports a second feature set; the workflow is facilitated by feature management user interfaces that support the processing and management of campaign entities in both the first format and the second format; [0042] FIGS. 2-5 are illustrations of a feature management user interface 200 during a workflow; [0044] as shown in FIG. 2, the advertiser has decided to define sitelinks (i.e., segment of entities associated with tenant) for a new campaign; [0045] sitelinks list 206 includes a portion of sitelinks 208 that the advertiser has previously defined and for which the advertiser can select for the new campaign (i.e., a set of actions associated with a communication process flow to manage communications/ campaign); [0047] using the cursor 212, the advertiser can select additional sitelink; the resulting user interface 220 with the updated sitelink list is shown in FIG. 3);
receiving an indication that the segment of entities on which the communication process flow is to be executed is updated ([0044] as shown in FIG. 2, the advertiser has decided to define sitelinks (i.e., segment of entities associated with tenant) for a new campaign; [0045] sitelinks list 206 includes a portion of sitelinks 208 that the advertiser has previously defined and for which the advertiser can select for the new campaign; [0047] using the cursor 212, the advertiser can select additional sitelink; the resulting user interface 220 with the updated sitelink list is shown in FIG. 3 - thus, receiving indication of the updated sitelinks for the campaign); and
displaying, at the user interface, a notification indicating that the segment of entities is updated ([0049] the advertiser has moved the cursor 212 to the sitelink 224 and will select the sitelinks to be used in the new campaign according to the second feature set; once the advertiser selects the sitelinks 224, the dialog box 226 of FIG. 4 is displayed, providing a message describing that the sitelinks 224 will be converted from the first format to the second format (i.e., notification indicating that the segment of entities/ sitelinks updated); selection of the “confirm” command results in the user interface 240 of FIG. 5; new sitelinks 230 are now displayed in the selection list, and include sitelinks 230, which correspond to sitelinks 232 in the sitelink list 206).
However, Yao fails to expressly teach wherein receiving indication from an entity segmentation service that is separate from the communication process flow management service, the segment of entities is updated via the entity segmentation service, wherein the entity segmentation service supports a data model including a plurality of entities associated with the tenant and a set of attributes that are used to generate the segment of entities.
In the same field of endeavor, Crawford teaches wherein receiving indication from an entity segmentation service that is separate from the communication process flow management service, the segment of entities is updated via the entity segmentation service ([0021] Ad Tech system 100 (i.e., communication process flow management service) employed by a content provider can be approached by a client who wishes to advertise for sports cars; [0046] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary system 400 that illustrates portions of Ad Tech system 100 of FIG. 1 directed to cross platform management of the advertising campaign; the sales front end 160 can provide desired traits and desired audience reach data to the data lakes 170 a and data management platforms 170 b of big data 170; the data lakes 170 a and data management platforms 170 b of big data 170 (i.e., entity segmentation service) can return segment results of the subscriber base of the interactive content system that employs the Ad Tech system 100 of FIG. 1 to the sales front end 160 (i.e., receiving indication of segment result) which in turn can communicate with the inventory management system 340 and the yield optimization system 142; the inventory management system 340 and the yield optimization system 142 can communicate with exemplary ad campaign management sections 410 a, 410 b, and 410 c to target subscribers by the desired segments to provide available advertising inventory to the appropriate devices of targeted subscribers), wherein the entity segmentation service supports a data model including a plurality of entities associated with the tenant and a set of attributes that are used to generate the segment of entities ([0021] Ad Tech system 100 employed by a content provider can be approached by a client who wishes to advertise for sports cars; [0043] the sales front end 160 can receive input on the attributes of the ad campaign; [0046] the sales front end 160 can provide desired traits and desired audience reach data to the data lakes 170 a and data management platforms 170 b of big data 170; the data lakes 170 a and data management platforms 170 b of big data 170 (i.e., entity segmentation service) can return segment results of the subscriber base of the interactive content system that employs the Ad Tech system 100 of FIG. 1 to the sales front end 160 which in turn can communicate with the inventory management system 340 and the yield optimization system 142; the inventory management system 340 and the yield optimization system 142 can communicate with exemplary ad campaign management sections 410 a, 410 b, and 410 c to target subscribers by the desired segments to provide available advertising inventory to the appropriate devices of targeted subscribers; [0027] data warehouses 190 can provide analytics from a big data section 170 to the integration layer 154; the data warehouses 190 can be enterprise level repositories at which subscriber data for an interactive content system, a network, or a service provide can be stored; big data 170 can include data lakes 170 a and data management platforms 170 b; the big data 170 section can receive mobile location data 172 for subscriber device of the interactive content system; [0030] the integration layer 154 can include a subscriber information service (SIS) 154 a that can provide a real-time functionality to provide a cached version of information, linking an ID, such as an identification of a household, a device, a profile, an individual person, to segments - thus, supporting a data model including a plurality of entities/ subscribers associated with the tenant/ client and set of attributes/ user information that are used to generate the segment of entities).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated wherein receiving indication from an entity segmentation service that is separate from the communication process flow management service, the segment of entities is updated via the entity segmentation service, wherein the entity segmentation service supports a data model including a plurality of entities associated with the tenant and a set of attributes that are used to generate the segment of entities, as taught by Crawford into Yao. Doing so would be desirable because it would provide an integrated system for advertising campaigns across an interactive content provider system (Crawford [0016]) and allow for cross platform management of the advertising campaign (Crawford [0046]).
As to dependent Claim 2, Yao and Crawford teach all the limitations of Claim 1. Yao further teaches wherein receiving, the user interface, a user input indicating a selection of the segment of entities on which the communication process flow management service is to be executed ([0042] FIGS. 2-5 are illustrations of a feature management user interface 200 during a workflow; [0044] as shown in FIG. 2, the advertiser has decided to define sitelinks for a new campaign (i.e., segment of entities on which the communication process flow management service is to be executed); [0045] sitelinks list 206 includes a portion of sitelinks 208 that the advertiser has previously defined and for which the advertiser can select for the new campaign; [0047] using the cursor 212, the advertiser can select additional sitelink; the resulting user interface 220 with the updated sitelink list is shown in FIG. 3).
As to dependent Claim 3, Yao and Crawford teach all the limitations of Claim 1. Crawford further teaches wherein subscribing to a change event feed associated with the segment of entities, wherein receiving the indication is based at least in part on subscribing to the change event feed ([0030] the integration layer 154 can include a subscriber information service (SIS) 154 a that can provide a real-time functionality to provide a cached version of information, linking an ID, such as an identification of a household, a device, a profile, an individual person, to segments; segments can be described as a collection of traits targeted by the advertising campaign; the information provided by the SIS 154 a can be managed via a graphical user interface (GUI) 154 c; the GUI 154 c can provide access to business logic system 154 d and database 154 e for the integration layer 154; [0046] the sales front end 160 can provide desired traits and desired audience reach data to the data lakes 170 a and data management platforms 170 b of big data 170; the data lakes 170 a and data management platforms 170 b of big data 170 can return segment results of the subscriber base of the interactive content system that employs the Ad Tech system 100 of FIG. 1 to the sales front end 160 (i.e., receiving indication of segment results to the sales front end) which in turn can communicate with the inventory management system 340 and the yield optimization system 142; [0093] information regarding use of services can be generated including services being accessed, media consumption history, user preferences, and so forth; the generating, obtaining and/or monitoring of this information can be responsive to an authorization provided by the user; an analysis of data can be subject to authorization from user(s) associated with the data, such as an opt-in, an opt-out, acknowledgement requirements, notifications, selective authorization based on types of data, and so forth (i.e., subscribing to a change event feed associated with the segment of entities/ subscribers with desired traits)).
As to dependent Claim 4, Yao and Crawford teach all the limitations of Claim 3. Crawford further teaches wherein receiving the indication comprises: receiving the indication from a service layer ([0043] the sales front end 160 can receive input on the attributes of the ad campaign; [0046] the sales front end 160 can provide desired traits and desired audience reach data to the data lakes 170 a and data management platforms 170 b of big data 170; the data lakes 170 a and data management platforms 170 b of big data 170 can return segment results of the subscriber base of the interactive content system that employs the Ad Tech system 100 of FIG. 1 to the sales front end 160 (i.e., receiving indication of segment results to the sales front end/ service layer) which in turn can communicate with the inventory management system 340 and the yield optimization system 142; [0075] the display 910 can use touch screen technology to also serve as a user interface for detecting user input; the communication device 900 can be adapted to present a user interface with graphical user interface (GUI) elements that can be selected by a user), wherein subscribing to the change event feed is via the service layer ([0093] information regarding use of services can be generated including services being accessed, media consumption history, user preferences, and so forth; the generating, obtaining and/or monitoring of this information can be responsive to an authorization provided by the user; an analysis of data can be subject to authorization from user(s) associated with the data, such as an opt-in, an opt-out, acknowledgement requirements, notifications, selective authorization based on types of data, and so forth (i.e., subscribing to a change event feed based on user authorization/ via service layer)).
As to dependent Claim 5, Yao and Crawford teach all the limitations of Claim 1. Yao further teaches wherein updating the set of actions associated with the communication process flow based at least in part on receiving the indication ([0042] FIGS. 2-5 are illustrations of a feature management user interface 200 during a workflow; [0044] as shown in FIG. 2, the advertiser has decided to define sitelinks for a new campaign; [0045] sitelinks list 206 includes a portion of sitelinks 208 that the advertiser has previously defined and for which the advertiser can select for the new campaign (i.e., a set of actions associated with a communication process flow to manage communications/ campaign); [0047] using the cursor 212, the advertiser can select additional sitelink; the resulting user interface 220 with the updated sitelink list is shown in FIG. 3 - thus, updating the set of actions based on the indication/ user selection).
As to dependent Claim 6, Yao and Crawford teach all the limitations of Claim 1. Crawford further teaches wherein executing the communication process flow on the updated segment of entities ([0046] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary system 400 that illustrates portions of Ad Tech system 100 of FIG. 1 directed to cross platform management of the advertising campaign; the sales front end 160 can provide desired traits and desired audience reach data to the data lakes 170 a and data management platforms 170 b of big data 170; the data lakes 170 a and data management platforms 170 b of big data 170 can return segment results of the subscriber base of the interactive content system that employs the Ad Tech system 100 of FIG. 1 to the sales front end 160 which in turn can communicate with the inventory management system 340 and the yield optimization system 142; the inventory management system 340 and the yield optimization system 142 can communicate with exemplary ad campaign management sections 410 a, 410 b, and 410 c to target subscribers by the desired segments to provide available advertising inventory to the appropriate devices of targeted subscribers - thus, executing the communication process flow on the updated segment of entities/ desired segments).
As to dependent Claim 7, Yao and Crawford teach all the limitations of Claim 1. Yao further teaches wherein logging one or more updates to the segment of entities in response to receiving the indication ([0049] the advertiser has moved the cursor 212 to the sitelink 224 and will select the sitelinks to be used in the new campaign according to the second feature set; once the advertiser selects the sitelinks 224, the dialog box 226 of FIG. 4 is displayed, providing a message describing that the sitelinks 224 will be converted from the first format to the second format; selection of the “confirm” command results in the user interface 240 of FIG. 5; new sitelinks 230 are now displayed in the selection list, and include sitelinks 230, which correspond to sitelinks 232 in the sitelink list 206; the sitelinks 232 in the sitelink each have corresponding sitelink indicators 207 that indicate the sitelinks are stored in the second format - thus, logging the updates in response to indication/ user selection).
As to dependent Claim 9, Yao and Crawford teach all the limitations of Claim 1. Yao further teaches wherein the user interface of the communication process flow management service is displayed in a same browser tab as a user interface of the entity segmentation service ([0042] FIGS. 2-5 are illustrations of a feature management user interface 200 (i.e., user interface of the communication process flow management service) during a workflow; [0044] as shown in FIG. 2, the advertiser has decided to define sitelinks for a new campaign; [0045] sitelinks list 206 includes a portion of sitelinks 208 that the advertiser has previously defined and for which the advertiser can select for the new campaign; [0047] using the cursor 212, the advertiser can select additional sitelink (i.e., user interface of the entity segmentation service); the resulting user interface 220 with the updated sitelink list is shown in FIG. 3 - see figs. 2 and 3 - it shows the user interface of the communication process flow management service in the same browser tab as a user interface of the entity segmentation service)).
As to dependent Claim 10, Yao and Crawford teach all the limitations of Claim 1. Yao further teaches wherein receiving an indication that an action of the set of actions associated with the communication process flow is updated based at least in part on the segment of entities being updated ([0044] as shown in FIG. 2, the advertiser has decided to define sitelinks (i.e., segment of entities associated with tenant) for a new campaign; [0045] sitelinks list 206 includes a portion of sitelinks 208 that the advertiser has previously defined and for which the advertiser can select for the new campaign (i.e., a set of actions associated with a communication process flow to manage communications/ campaign); [0047] using the cursor 212, the advertiser can select additional sitelink; the resulting user interface 220 with the updated sitelink list is shown in FIG. 3 (i.e., indication of the updated sitelinks for the campaign)).
As to dependent Claim 12, Yao and Crawford teach all the limitations of Claim 1. Yao further teaches wherein the notification indicates a time stamp corresponding to when the segment of entities is updated, a user identifier corresponding to a user who updated the segment of entities, one or more fields associated with the segment of entities that are updated, a record identifier, a type of update, or any combination thereof ([0049] the advertiser has moved the cursor 212 to the sitelink 224 and will select the sitelinks to be used in the new campaign according to the second feature set; once the advertiser selects the sitelinks 224, the dialog box 226 of FIG. 4 is displayed, providing a message describing that the sitelinks 224 will be converted from the first format to the second format (i.e., notification indicating one or more fields associated with the segment of entities updated, a record identifier, a type of update ); selection of the “confirm” command results in the user interface 240 of FIG. 5; new sitelinks 230 are now displayed in the selection list, and include sitelinks 230, which correspond to sitelinks 232 in the sitelink list 206).
As to dependent Claim 13, Yao and Crawford teach all the limitations of Claim 1. Yao further teaches wherein receiving, at the user interface, an input to update the segment of entities, wherein the segment of entities is updated based at least in part on receiving the input ([0044] as shown in FIG. 2, the advertiser has decided to define sitelinks for a new campaign; [0045] sitelinks list 206 includes a portion of sitelinks 208 that the advertiser has previously defined and for which the advertiser can select for the new campaign; [0047] using the cursor 212, the advertiser can select additional sitelink (i.e., input to update the segment of entities); the resulting user interface 220 with the updated sitelink list is shown in FIG. 3 - thus, the segment of entities is updated based on receiving the input).
As to dependent Claim 14, Yao and Crawford teach all the limitations of Claim 13. Crawford further teaches wherein opening a browser tab for accessing the entity segmentation service based at least in part on receiving the input ([0043] the sales front end 160 can receive input on the attributes of the ad campaign; [0046] the sales front end 160 can provide desired traits and desired audience reach data to the data lakes 170 a and data management platforms 170 b of big data 170; the data lakes 170 a and data management platforms 170 b of big data 170 (i.e., entity segmentation service) can return segment results of the subscriber base of the interactive content system that employs the Ad Tech system 100 of FIG. 1 to the sales front end 160 which in turn can communicate with the inventory management system 340 and the yield optimization system 142; [0070] web portal 802 can be used for managing services of Ad Tech 100, such as GUI 154 c, sales front end 160, the programmatic integration layer 180, and communication system 700; a web page of the web portal 802 can be accessed by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) with an Internet browser using an Internet-capable communication device).
Claims 15-19 are apparatus claims corresponding to the method claims 1-5 above and therefore, rejected for the same reasons. Yao further teaches an apparatus for data processing at a communication process flow management service ([0066] data processing apparatus encompasses apparatus, devices, and machines for processing data, including a programmable processor, a computer, etc.), comprising: a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform method ([0066] data processing apparatus encompasses apparatus, devices, and machines for processing data, including a programmable processor, a computer, etc.; [0075] the system 800 can be utilized to implement the systems and methods described; [0076] the system 800 includes a processor 810, a memory 820, a storage device 830; the processor 810 is capable of processing instructions for execution within the system 800; [0077] the memory 820 stores information within the system 800. In one implementation, the memory 820 is a computer-readable medium).
Claim 20 is a medium claim corresponding to the method claim 1 above and therefore, rejected for the same reasons. Yao further teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for data processing at a communication process flow management service, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform method ([0066] data processing apparatus encompasses apparatus, devices, and machines for processing data, including a programmable processor, a computer, etc.; [0075] the system 800 can be utilized to implement the systems and methods described; [0076] the system 800 includes a processor 810, a memory 820, a storage device 830; the processor 810 is capable of processing instructions for execution within the system 800; [0077] the memory 820 stores information within the system 800. In one implementation, the memory 820 is a computer-readable medium).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yao in view of Crawford, further in view of Rhodus (US 2009/0198507 A1).
As to dependent Claim 8, Yao and Crawford teach all the limitations of Claim 1. However, Yao and Crawford fail to expressly teach wherein switching from a first browser tab displaying the user interface of the communication process flow management service to a second browser tab displaying a user interface of the entity segmentation service based at least in part on receiving the indication.
In the same field of endeavor, Rhodus teaches wherein switching from a first browser tab displaying the user interface of the communication process flow management service to a second browser tab displaying a user interface of the entity segmentation service based at least in part on receiving the indication ([0062] FIG. 7 is an example of a screen shot of an admin/accounting settings screen 700 (i.e., first browser tab displaying the user interface of the communication process flow management service) which includes a link to the admin tool (interface) of the behavior-based web page generation system; selecting the behavior-based targeting button 702 (i.e., receiving indication) launches a behavior segment list screen 800 (See FIG. 8) which allows a website administrator to add, edit and/or remove behavioral segments (i.e., second browser tab displaying a user interface of the entity segmentation service)).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated wherein switching from a first browser tab displaying the user interface of the communication process flow management service to a second browser tab displaying a user interface of the entity segmentation service based at least in part on receiving the indication, as taught by Rhodus into Yao and Crawford. Doing so would be desirable because it would provide a configurable system that allows web site operators/administrators to dynamically identify consumer behavior, formulate different marketing strategies, and dynamically generate web pages that present relevant marketing content based on their consumer profile (Rhodus [0010]).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yao in view of Crawford, further in view of Perry et al. (US 2020/0294108 A1 hereinafter Perry).
As to dependent Claim 11, Yao and Crawford teach all the limitations of Claim 1. However, Yao and Crawford fail to expressly teach wherein receiving an indication that an email object associated with the communication process flow is updated based at least in part on the segment of entities being updated.
In the same field of endeavor, Perry teaches wherein receiving an indication that an email object associated with the communication process flow is updated based at least in part on the segment of entities being updated ([0058] determine if a merchant is ready for specific recommendations associated with different marketing channel segments or events, such as through social media, product display, email, newsletter, notifications, posts, messages, etc.; [0066] the recommendation engine 302 may determine a method of recommendation delivery 310, such as for sending the best recommendation to the right online store, through the right channel, and at the ideal time; the recommendation engine 302 consider whether customers have agreed to or opted out of communications or certain modes of communication, such as opted out of emails and alter recommendations and recommendation deliveries related to customer communications accordingly, such as, modifying email blast lists based on customer preferences (i.e., updating email object associated with the communication process flow/ marketing based on segment of entities/ customers updated)).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated wherein receiving an indication that an email object associated with the communication process flow is updated based at least in part on the segment of entities being updated, as taught by Perry into Yao and Crawford. Doing so would be desirable because it would allow for modeling marketing effectiveness and provide merchants with recommendations for marketing and/or increasing sales of their products (Perry [0003]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Applicant is required under 37 CFR § 1.111(c) to consider these references fully when responding to this action.
Moukas et al. (US 2012/0179534 A1) teaches: A method for targeting users with device specific content, the method comprising the steps of transmitting an advertising message with a link to a plurality of consumers, receiving consumer device information in response to each consumer accessing the link, generating content for display on a plurality of consumer devices using a common file format hierarchy, and rendering the content generated using the common file format for each consumer as a function of consumer device type. Features of the embodiment further include the content comprising advertising or a website and content generated using a mobile marketing platform. The user next defines the objectives 708 of the campaign and the target audience via the Targeting View 730 (FIG. 7C). According to one embodiment, the target audience may be defined by a number of demographic attributes 710, such as gender, age and income (see [0012], [0093]).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to REJI KARTHOLY whose telephone number is (571)272-3432. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Thursday from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jennifer Welch, can be reached at telephone number 571-272-7212. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/REJI KARTHOLY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2143