DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Response to Amendment
The examiner acknowledges applicant’s arguments in the Response dated May 11, 2026 directed to the Non-Final Office Action dated February 17, 2026. Claims 17-18 are pending in the application and subject to examination as part of this office action.
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 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
The determination of subject matter eligibility under 35 USC 101, relies on the Mayo/Alice two-step analysis.
In step 1 of the analysis, the claims are evaluated to determine whether they fall within one of the four statutory categories (i.e., process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter). In the present case, claims 17-18 are directed to a system (i.e., a machine). The claims are, therefore directed to one of the four statutory categories.
Under prong 1 of step 2A, the examiner is directed to determine whether the claim recites a judicial exception. The claims are compared to groupings of subject matter that have been found by courts as abstract ideas. These groupings include
(a) Mathematical concepts—mathematical relationships, mathematical formulas or equations, mathematical calculations;
(b) Certain methods of organizing human activity—fundamental economic principles or practices (including hedging, insurance, mitigating risk); commercial or legal interactions (including agreements in the form of contracts; legal obligations; advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors; business relations); managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people (including social activities, teaching, and following rules or instructions); and
(c) Mental processes—concepts performed in the human mind (including an observation, evaluation, judgment, opinion).
Claim 17 recites the instructions for (the abstract idea is underlined) a system comprising:
a lottery ticket printing device;
a processor; and
a memory device that stores a plurality of instructions, that when executed by the processor,
cause the processor to determine for a first physical lottery ticket:
a randomly determined first symbol set comprising a first quantity of symbols,
a randomly determined second symbol set comprising a second quantity of symbols,
a randomly determined third symbol set comprising a third quantity of symbols,
a randomly determined fourth quantity of player symbols,
a plurality of different sequential ascending first, second, and third payout amounts respectively associated with the first symbol set, the second symbol set, and the third symbol set, and
respective vertical alignments in first columns of different heights for printing the first symbol set and the first payout, the second symbol set and the second payout, and the third symbol set and the third payout on a first physical base for the first physical lottery ticket,
wherein the first quantity, the second quantity, and the third quantity are different, and
wherein the fourth quantity is greater than each of the first quantity, the second quantity, and the third quantity;
cause the processor to determine for a second physical lottery ticket:
a randomly determined fifth symbol set comprising a fifth quantity of symbols,
a randomly determined sixth symbol set comprising a sixth quantity of symbols,
a randomly determined seventh symbol set comprising a seventh quantity of symbols,
a randomly determined eighth quantity of player symbols,
a plurality of different sequential ascending fifth, sixth, and seventh payout amounts respectively associated with the fifth symbol set, the sixth symbol set, and the seventh symbol set, and
respective vertical alignments in second columns of different heights for printing the fifth symbol set and the fifth payout, the sixth symbol set and the sixth payout, and the seventh symbol set and the seventh payout on a second physical base for the second physical lottery ticket,
wherein the fifth quantity, the sixth quantity, and the seventh quantity are different, and
wherein the eighth quantity is greater than each of the fifth quantity, the sixth quantity, and the seventh quantity, and wherein the eighth quantity is equal to the fourth quantity;
cause the lottery ticket printing device to form the first physical lottery ticket using the first physical base by:
vertically printing in the first columns of different heights on the first physical base:
the first symbols of first symbol set and the first payout amount,
the second symbols of second symbol set and the second payout amount, and
the third symbols of third symbol set and the third payout amount; and
printing the fourth quantity of player symbols on the first physical base;
wherein a first winning amount associated with the first physical lottery ticket comprises a sum of each of the different sequential ascending first, second, and third payout amounts that is won,
wherein for the first symbol set printed on the first physical base, the first payout amount printed on the first physical base is won if each of the first symbols of the first symbol set matches one of the fourth quantity of player symbols printed on the first physical base,
wherein for the second symbol set printed on the first physical base, the second payout amount printed on the first physical base is won if each of the second symbols of the second symbol set matches one of the fourth quantity of player symbols printed on the first physical base, and
wherein for the third symbol set printed on the first physical base, the third payout amount printed on the first physical base is won if each of the third symbols of the third symbol set matches one of the fourth quantity of player symbols printed on the first physical base;
printing a first removable cover on the first physical base covering the fourth quantity of player symbols printed on the first physical base; and
printing additional second removable covers on the first physical base covering the first plurality of different sequential ascending first, second, and third payout amounts; and
cause the lottery ticket printing device to form the second physical lottery ticket using the second physical base by
vertically printing in the second columns of different heights on the second physical base:
the fifth symbols of fifth symbol set and the fifth payout amount,
the sixth symbols of sixth symbol set and the sixth payout amount, and
the seventh symbols of seventh symbol set and the seventh payout amount; and
printing the eight quantity of player symbols on the second physical base;
wherein a second winning amount that is different than the first winning amount is associated with the second physical lottery ticket and comprises a sum of each of the different sequential ascending fifth, sixth, and seventh payout amounts that is won,
wherein for the fifth symbol set printed on the second physical base, the fifth payout amount printed on the second physical base is won if each of the fifth symbols of the fifth symbol set matches one of the eighth quantity of player symbols printed on the second physical base,
wherein for the sixth symbol set printed on the second physical base, the sixth payout amount printed on the second physical base is won if each of the sixth symbols of the sixth symbol set matches one of the eighth quantity of player symbols printed on the second physical base, and
wherein for the seventh symbol set printed on the second physical base, the seventh payout amount printed on the second physical base is won if each of the seventh symbols of the seventh symbol set matches one of the eighth quantity of player symbols printed on the second physical base,
printing third removable cover on the second physical base covering the eighth quantity of player symbols printed on the second physical base; and
printing additional fourth removable covers on the physical base covering the second plurality of different sequential fifth, sixth, and seventh ascending payout amounts,
wherein the first, second, and third symbol sets of the first lottery ticket are the same as the fifth, sixth, and seventh symbol sets of the second lottery ticket, and
wherein the different sequential ascending fifth, sixth, and seventh payout amounts of the second lottery ticket are different than the different sequential ascending first, second, and third payout amounts of the first lottery ticket.
The present claims are directed to a physical lottery ticket. These steps fall under the category of certain methods of organizing human activity. Specifically, they are directed to the sub-category of fundamental economic practices because it involves a physical ticket representing a possible payout amount. Additionally, the claims are directed to managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people since the claims recite relationships between symbol sets, player symbols and payout amounts. This is similar to the rules of a game. Accordingly, the claim recites an abstract idea.
Under prong 2 of Step 2A, the examiner considers whether additional elements integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. To do so, the examiner looks to the following exemplary considerations, looking at the elements individually and in combination:
• an additional element reflects an improvement in the functioning of a computer, or an improvement to other technology or technical field;
• an additional element that applies or uses a judicial exception to effect a particular treatment or prophylaxis for a disease or medical condition (not considered relevant to the present claims);
• an additional element implements a judicial exception with, or uses a judicial exception in conjunction with, a particular machine or manufacture that is integral to the claim;
• an additional element effects a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing; and
• an additional element applies or uses the judicial exception in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment, such that the claim as a whole is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception.
The additional elements in the present claims are
a lottery ticket printing device;
a processor; and
a memory device that stores a plurality of instructions, that when executed by the processor,
cause the lottery ticket printing device to form the first physical lottery ticket using the first physical base by:
printing a first removable cover on the first physical base covering the fourth quantity of player symbols printed on the first physical base; and
printing additional second removable covers on the first physical base covering the first plurality of different sequential ascending first, second, and third payout amounts; and
cause the lottery ticket printing device to form the second physical lottery ticket using the second physical base by
printing third removable cover on the second physical base covering the eighth quantity of player symbols printed on the second physical base; and
printing additional fourth removable covers on the physical base covering the second plurality of different sequential fifth, sixth, and seventh ascending payout amounts,
The additional elements do no integrate the judicial exception into a practical application. In particular, the additional elements do not reflect an improvement in the functioning of a computer, or an improvement to other technology or technical field. The additional elements do not implement a judicial exception with, or uses a judicial exception in conjunction with, a particular machine or manufacture that is integral to the claim. The additional elements do not effect a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing. The additional elements do not apply or use the judicial exception in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment. Accordingly, the additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea.
Under step 2B, the examiner evaluates whether the additional elements amount to significantly more than the judicial exception itself. The examiner considers if the additional elements:
• add a specific limitation or combination of limitations that are not well-understood, routine, conventional activity in the field, which is indicative that an inventive concept may be present; or
• simply appends well-understood, routine, conventional activities previously known to the industry, specified at a high level of generality, to the judicial exception, which is indicative that an inventive concept may not be present.
The present claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The additional elements in the present claims are
a lottery ticket printing device;
a processor; and
a memory device that stores a plurality of instructions, that when executed by the processor,
cause the lottery ticket printing device to form the first physical lottery ticket using the first physical base by:
printing a first removable cover on the first physical base covering the fourth quantity of player symbols printed on the first physical base; and
printing additional second removable covers on the first physical base covering the first plurality of different sequential ascending first, second, and third payout amounts; and
cause the lottery ticket printing device to form the second physical lottery ticket using the second physical base by
printing third removable cover on the second physical base covering the eighth quantity of player symbols printed on the second physical base; and
printing additional fourth removable covers on the physical base covering the second plurality of different sequential fifth, sixth, and seventh ascending payout amounts,
The additional elements are well-understood, routine, or conventional:
a lottery ticket printing device (Lazar, US 2010/0190541 A1, t will be appreciated that the method of applying images and printed matter onto a substrate such as instant lottery tickets is well known, and can employ any of a number of printer types, inks and other materials [0033]);
a processor (Bradford et al., US 6,709,333 B1, game device 100 includes the normal and well known internals needed in order to have a functioning game, such as at least one central processor, associated memory, … together with the firmware and software needed to implement the full functionality of the game (these internals not shown) [C8:7-21]); and
a memory device that stores a plurality of instructions, that when executed by the processor (Bradford et al., US 6,709,333 B1, game device 100 includes the normal and well known internals needed in order to have a functioning game, such as at least one central processor, associated memory, … together with the firmware and software needed to implement the full functionality of the game (these internals not shown) [C8:7-21]),
cause the lottery ticket printing device to form the first physical lottery ticket using the first physical base (Gratton et al., US 2016/0346675 A1, the individual games may be printed on the continuous substrate 12 as separate scratch-off ticket games wherein a plurality of game pieces are covered by an opaque scratch-off layer, as is well known to those skilled in the art [0038]) by:
printing a first removable cover on the first physical base covering the fourth quantity of player symbols printed on the first physical base (Gratton et al., US 2016/0346675 A1, the individual games may be printed on the continuous substrate 12 as separate scratch-off ticket games wherein a plurality of game pieces are covered by an opaque scratch-off layer, as is well known to those skilled in the art [0038]); and
printing additional second removable covers on the first physical base covering the first plurality of different sequential ascending first, second, and third payout amounts (Gratton et al., US 2016/0346675 A1, the individual games may be printed on the continuous substrate 12 as separate scratch-off ticket games wherein a plurality of game pieces are covered by an opaque scratch-off layer, as is well known to those skilled in the art [0038]); and
cause the lottery ticket printing device to form the second physical lottery ticket using the second physical base (Gratton et al., US 2016/0346675 A1, the individual games may be printed on the continuous substrate 12 as separate scratch-off ticket games wherein a plurality of game pieces are covered by an opaque scratch-off layer, as is well known to those skilled in the art [0038]) by
printing third removable cover on the second physical base covering the eighth quantity of player symbols printed on the second physical base (Gratton et al., US 2016/0346675 A1, the individual games may be printed on the continuous substrate 12 as separate scratch-off ticket games wherein a plurality of game pieces are covered by an opaque scratch-off layer, as is well known to those skilled in the art [0038]); and
printing additional fourth removable covers on the physical base covering the second plurality of different sequential fifth, sixth, and seventh ascending payout amounts (Gratton et al., US 2016/0346675 A1, the individual games may be printed on the continuous substrate 12 as separate scratch-off ticket games wherein a plurality of game pieces are covered by an opaque scratch-off layer, as is well known to those skilled in the art [0038]),
Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component cannot provide an inventive concept. Dependent claim 18 adds further limitations related to the abstract idea.
As a result, the claims are not directed to patent eligible subject matter.
Prior Art
There are currently no prior art rejections against claims 17-18.
Response to Arguments
With respect to the rejections under 35 USC 101, applicant states that amended independent Claim 17, taken in its entirety as required by this recent Federal Circuit decision, is directed to a patent eligible system for determining and printing the lottery tickets (Response [p. 10).
More specifically, applicant argues that Claim 17 is directed to a system that qualifies as a particular machine. The examiner disagrees, the lottery printing device, the processor, and the memory device are described at a very high level of generality. The “system”, therefore, does not describe a particular machine.
Applicant also states that “the determinations and printing of the symbols sets and respective ascending award amounts on the respective first and second tickets in vertical columns of different heights on the first and second physical bases clearly provide the specific practical application in accordance with at least the following Federal Circuit decisions” (Response [p. 10]). The examiner disagrees with applicant’s opinion. The quoted language is part of the abstract idea. Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component cannot provide an inventive concept.
The examiner is not persuaded that DDR Holdings (directed to generating composite web pages) and Dat Engine Techs. (directed to systems of making and navigating spreadsheets) are relevant to the printing of physical lottery tickets. The examiner maintains that the present claims are not directed to patent eligible subject matter under 35 USC 101.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WERNER G GARNER whose telephone number is (571)270-7147. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-15:30 EST.
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, DAVID LEWIS can be reached at (571) 272-7673. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WERNER G GARNER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715
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