DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013 is being examined under the AIA first inventor to file provisions.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/16/2025 has been entered.
Status of Claims
The following is a non-final Office Action in response to Applicant’s amendments filed on 12/16/2025.
a. Claims 1, 14, 20 are currently amended
b. Claims 3, 7–9, 11, and 16–17 were previously canceled.
c. Claims 10, 26-27 are currently cancelled
d.Claims 28-30 are new
Overall, Claims 1-2, 4-6, 12-15, 18-26, 28-30 are pending and have been considered below.
Priority
The application claims priority to provisional application 63/229,350, filed on 08/04/2021. The priority is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or non-obviousness.
Claims 1-2, 4-6, 12-15, 18-25, and 28–30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over, Yantis (US 20220058630 A1), in view of Prajapati (US 20210311931 A1), in further view of Giang (US 20230033434 A1).
Regarding Claims 1, 14, 20. Yantis discloses:
presenting, by the processor and on a physical item system GUI, a graphical input device for redemption of the one or more physical items and the at least one item in exchange for a physical item; [see at least (0848) In some embodiments, the transmitted token may be embedded in a media content, such as an image, emoji, or video, such that the recipient receives the media content and may opt to accept the token (0854) the marketplace system 102 may include graphical user interfaces that: allow sellers to define virtual representations, allow consumers to view virtual representations of items and to transact for tokens corresponding to the items, and allow token owners to redeem tokens, thereby completing transactions for items indicated by the redeemed tokens]
receiving, by the processor, a selection of the graphical input device for redemption; [see at least (0849) a user may select a token to redeem from a digital wallet of the user]
automatically generating, by the processor, a redeemed item record associated with the
physical item and the at least one item; [see at least (0009) updating the distributed ledger with a block that includes ownership data that indicates that a specific token corresponding to the virtual representation is owned by the transacting user in response to verifying the request to participate in the transaction, wherein the specific token is redeemed by an owner of the token in order to satisfy the transaction for the instance of the item.]
providing the physical item and the at least one item; [see at least (0831) the tokenization platform is configured to support a token-based lending system, whereby lenders may create virtual items corresponding to collateral (e.g., jewelry, collectible items, artwork, and the like). (0848) In some embodiments, the transmitted token may be embedded in a media content, such as an image, emoji, or video, such that the recipient receives the media content and may opt to accept the token]
storing the physical item in a physical location and the at least one item in a physical location; [see at least (0870) The seller may provide information such as a physical location where physical items may be shipped from]
generating, by the processor, a physical item location record associated with the physical location and a physical item system; [see at least (0870) The seller may provide information such as a physical location where physical items may be shipped from, a digital location where digital items may be retrieved from]
generating, by the processor, a physical item record associated with the physical item, the at least one item, and the physical item system; [see at least (0905) the redemption system 404 may look up the shipping information of the user from, for example, the distributed ledger or a user database]
presenting, by the processor and on the physical item system GUI: a graphical input device for at least one of an electronic transfer of the physical item and the at least one item; and a graphical input device for a physical transfer of the physical item and the at least one item; and [see at least (0841) The first graphical user interface may allow a user associated with a seller to offer items for sale and to create new virtual representations corresponding to the items for sale.]
transferring, by the processor, the physical item record from the physical system to an electronic item system in electronic communication with a physical item system; or generating, by the processor, a digital item record based on the physical item record and transferring, by the processor, the digital item record from the physical system to the electronic item system, wherein the physical location of the physical item and the at least one item remains the same in response to the electronically transferring the association of the physical item and at least one item to the electronic item system; and [see at least (0898) The token holder may initiate the transfer of a token from the digital wallet of the token holder. In some embodiments, transfers of tokens may be performed via the platform 100.]
Yantis discloses transferring items, however, Yantis does not disclose:
providing, by a processor, a digital pack of items associated with an unopened physical pack of items in an electronic item system;
presenting, by the processor and on a pack item system graphical user interface (GUI): an image of the unopened physical pack of items; and a graphical input device for opening the unopened physical pack of items;
receiving, by the processor, a selection of the graphical input device for opening the unopened physical pack of items;
in response to opening the unopened physical pack of items, generating, by the processor, one or more physical item records in the electronic item system, wherein the one or more physical item records are associated with one or more physical items at least partially released from the unopened physical pack of items;
associating, by the processor, the redeemed item record with the physical item user profile;
presenting, by the processor and on the pack item system GUI, an image of each of the one or more physical items and at least one image of at least one item stored by a third party;
automatically deleting, by the processor, the one or more physical item records associated with the physical item user profile in response to the receiving the selection of the graphical input device for redemption;
in response to receiving a selection of the graphical input device for the electronic transfer of the physical item and the at least one item, electronically transferring, by the processor, association of the physical item and the at least one item from the physical item user profile to a different physical item user profile by at least one of:
in response to receiving a selection of the graphical input device for a physical transfer of the physical item and the at least one item, shipping the physical item and the at least one item to a different physical location and deleting the digital item record from the physical collectable system.
Nonetheless, Prajapati discloses:
associating, by the processor, the redeemed item record with the physical item user profile; [see at least (0093) user profile accesses particular functionality to store a new transferable data object associated with the user profile. In this regard, the transferable data object may correspond to a particular item (either real or virtual) owned by the user corresponding to the user profile.]
automatically deleting, by the processor, the one or more physical item records associated with the physical item user profile in response to the receiving the selection of the graphical input device for redemption; [see at least (0084) the transferable data object is automatically removed from association with the sender user profile, and/or from an object repository including available transfer object(s), after a transfer is complete. (0093) a user profile accesses particular functionality to store a new transferable data object associated with the user profile. In this regard, the transferable data object may correspond to a particular item (either real or virtual) owned by the user corresponding to the user profile.]
associating, by the processor, the physical item with the physical item user profile in the physical item system; [see at least (0093) user profile accesses particular functionality to store a new transferable data object associated with the user profile. In this regard, the transferable data object may correspond to a particular item (either real or virtual) owned by the user corresponding to the user profile.]
in response to receiving a selection of the graphical input device for the electronic transfer of the physical item and the at least one item, electronically transferring, by the processor, association of the physical item and the at least one item from the physical item user profile to a different physical item user profile by at least one of: [see at least (0093) user profile accesses particular functionality to store a new transferable data object associated with the user profile. In this regard, the transferable data object may correspond to a particular item (either real or virtual) owned by the user corresponding to the user profile.]
in response to receiving a selection of the graphical input device for a physical transfer of the physical item and the at least one item, shipping the physical item and the at least one item to a different physical location and deleting the digital item record from the physical collectable system. [see at least (0084) the transferable data object is automatically removed from association with the sender user profile, and/or from an object repository including available transfer object(s), after a transfer is complete.]
In addition, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the features of Yantis to include the features of Prajapati. A person a having the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to securely transfer item using the profile as taught by Prajapati with the item of Yantis. Yantis discloses transferring item. Prajapati teaches user profile associated with the item. Because both Yantis as well as Prajapati are implemented through field of transferring item and the profile of Prajapati would use the item transferring of Yantis to securely transfer item. Moreover, since the features disclosed by Yantis as well as Prajapati would function in the same manner in combination as they do in their separate embodiments, it would be reasonable to conclude that their resulting combination would be predictable. Accordingly, the claimed subject matter is obvious over Yantis/Prajapati.
The combination of Yantis in view of Prajapati discloses transferring item. However, the above combination does not disclose:
providing, by a processor, a digital pack of items associated with an unopened physical pack of items in an electronic item system;
presenting, by the processor and on a pack item system graphical user interface (GUI): an image of the unopened physical pack of items; and a graphical input device for opening the unopened physical pack of items;
receiving, by the processor, a selection of the graphical input device for opening the unopened physical pack of items;
in response to opening the unopened physical pack of items, generating, by the processor, one or more physical item records in the electronic item system, wherein the one or more physical item records are associated with one or more physical items at least partially released from the unopened physical pack of items;
associating, by the processor, the redeemed item record with the physical item user profile;
presenting, by the processor and on the pack item system GUI, an image of each of the one or more physical items and at least one image of at least one item stored by a third party;
However, Giang discloses:
providing, by a processor, a digital pack of items associated with an unopened physical pack of items in an electronic item system; [see at least Fig.7, (0182) pack 700 is rendered to resemble a physical pack of trading cards.]
presenting, by the processor and on a pack item system graphical user interface (GUI): an image of the unopened physical pack of items; and a graphical input device for opening the unopened physical pack of items; [see at least (0187) the pack can be “opened” by user interactions, such as by clicking a button, virtually tearing the pack, or other appropriate manipulation.]
receiving, by the processor, a selection of the graphical input device for opening the unopened physical pack of items; [see at least (0187) the pack can be “opened” by user interactions, such as by clicking a button, virtually tearing the pack, or other appropriate manipulation. (0188) A GUI may display a separate icon for each of the packs associated with the user account. After acquisition and opening by a user, an icon representing each of the 3D digital collectibles associated with the pack may be displayed in a grid, carousel, or other arrangement for viewing.]
in response to opening the unopened physical pack of items, generating, by the processor, one or more physical item records in the electronic item system, wherein the one or more physical item records are associated with one or more physical items at least partially released from the unopened physical pack of items; [see at least (0006) The website may store the digital collectibles and/or a record of the user's transaction history relating to the digital collectibles in association with a user account on a storage device associated with the website.]
associating, by the processor, the one or more physical item records with a physical item user profile; [see at least (0006) The website may enable users to register with the website and acquire digital collectibles or packs of digital collectibles. The website may store the digital collectibles and/or a record of the user's transaction history relating to the digital collectibles in association with a user account on a storage device associated with the website.]
presenting, by the processor and on the pack item system GUI, an image of each of the one or more physical items and at least one image of at least one item stored by a third party; {see at least (0189) GUI 800 will display the 3D digital collectibles icons in pack 700 as shown in FIG. 8 a . In this example, pack 700 includes three (or other number of) individual 3D digital collectibles. GUI 800 may display the individual 3D digital collectibles icons of pack 700 in any manner]
In addition, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the features of Yantis, Prajapati to include the features of Giang. A person a having the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to securely transfer pack of items using the pack of item of Giang using the transferring technique of Yantis, Prajapati. Yantis, Prajapati discloses transferring item. Giang teaches managing pack of cards. Because both Yantis, Prajapati as well as Giang are implemented through field of transferring. Moreover, since the features disclosed by Yantis, Prajapati as well as Giang would function in the same manner in combination as they do in their separate embodiments, it would be reasonable to conclude that their resulting combination would be predictable. Accordingly, the claimed subject matter is obvious over Yantis, Prajapati/Giang.
Regarding Claim 2. Yantis, Prajapati, Giang discloses the limitations of Claims 1. Yantis further discloses:
wherein the graphical input device is for the physical transfer of the physical item, and wherein the electronically transferring the physical item to the electronic item system occurs automatically [see at least (0138) a user sending a message includes an embedded media content of the second digital token that represents the defined quantity of the cryptocurrency to a recipient, the system automatically transfers the defined amount of the cryptocurrency from an account of the user to an account of the recipient of the message.]
Prajapati further discloses:
in response to the associating the physical item to the physical item user profile in the physical item system. [see at least (0093) a user profile accesses particular functionality to store a new transferable data object associated with the user profile. In this regard, the transferable data object may correspond to a particular item (either real or virtual) owned by the user corresponding to the user profile.]
In addition, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the features of Yantis, Prajapati, Giang to include the additional features of Prajapati. A person a having the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to transfer item using the profile of Prajapati and the technique of transferring items of Yantis, Prajapati, Giang. Yantis, Prajapati, Giang discloses transferring items. Prajapati further teaches user profile associated with transferable item. Because both Yantis, Prajapati, Giang as well as Prajapati are implemented through field of transferring item. Moreover, since the subject matter is merely a combination of old features, and in the combination each element would have performed the same function it performed separately, one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding Claims 4, 24. Yantis, Prajapati, Giang discloses the limitations of Claims 1, 20. Yantis further discloses:
wherein the physical item record comprises a physical item image and a physical item description of the physical item, wherein the method further comprises displaying, by the processor, the physical item image and the physical item description on an electronic item system GUI in response to the transferring the physical item to the electronic item system. [see at least (0472) receiving, by a processing system … one or more photographs of the asset, receiving, by the processing system, item information relating to the asset, receiving, by the processing system, a holding location of the asset, generating, by the processing system, a virtual representation of the asset based on the one or more photographs, the item information]
Regarding Claims 5, 15, 21, 25. Yantis, Prajapati, Giang discloses the limitations of Claims 4, 14, 20, 24. Prajapati further discloses:
automatically deleting, by the processor, the physical item record from the physical item system in response to the electronically transferring the physical item to the electronic item system. [see at least (0045) examples of a transferable data object include a real-world product, collectible, item, commodity, furniture, and/or other property, and/or virtual item, virtual collectible, virtual data, virtual commodity, in-game item, a non-fungible token (NFT), and/or other virtual property. (0084) the transferable data object is automatically removed from association with the sender user profile, and/or from an object repository including available transfer object(s), after a transfer is complete.]
In addition, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the features of Yantis, Prajapati, Giang to include the additional features of Prajapati. A person a having the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to manage items using the transferring techniques as taught by Yantis, Prajapati, Giang and the managing technique of Prajapati. Yantis, Prajapati, Giang discloses transferring items. Prajapati further teaches removing item after the item has been transferred. Because both Yantis, Prajapati, Giang as well as Prajapati are implemented through field of transferring item. Moreover, since the subject matter is merely a combination of old features, and in the combination each element would have performed the same function it performed separately, one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding Claim 6. Yantis, Prajapati, Giang discloses the limitations of Claim 4. Yantis further discloses:
wherein the digital item record comprises ownership information associated with an ownership of the physical item, wherein the method further comprises: [see at least (0967) The ledger stores a plurality of public addresses, a plurality of virtual representations of a plurality of respective items, and, for each virtual representation, a set of tokens, and ownership data of each respective token.]
receiving, by the processor, a command to change the ownership of the physical item to a second digital item user profile in the electronic item system; and [see at least (0888) the ledger update system 304 receives an ownership change request requesting to change ownership of a token to another account.]
Prajapati further discloses:
associating, by the processor, the physical item with a digital item user profile in the electronic item system in response to the electronically transferring the physical item to the electronic item system; [see at least (0093) In some embodiments, a user profile accesses particular functionality to store a new transferable data object associated with the user profile. In this regard, the transferable data object may correspond to a particular item (either real or virtual) owned by the user corresponding to the user profile.]
the physical item to a second digital item user profile in the electronic item system; and [see at least (0093) In some embodiments, a user profile accesses particular functionality to store a new transferable data object associated with the user profile. In this regard, the transferable data object may correspond to a particular item (either real or virtual) owned by the user corresponding to the user profile.]
revising, by the processor, the ownership information for the physical item to be associated with the second digital item user profile in response to receiving the command to change the ownership, wherein the physical location of the physical item remains the same in response to the revising the ownership of the physical item. [see at least (0093) In some embodiments, a user profile accesses particular functionality to store a new transferable data object associated with the user profile. In this regard, the transferable data object may correspond to a particular item (either real or virtual) owned by the user corresponding to the user profile.]
In addition, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the features of Yantis, Prajapati, Giang to include the additional features of Prajapati. A person a having the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to transfer item using the profile of Prajapati and the technique of transferring items of Yantis, Prajapati, Giang. Yantis, Prajapati, Giang discloses transferring items. Prajapati further teaches user profile associated with transferable item. Because both Yantis, Prajapati, Giang as well as Prajapati are implemented through field of transferring item. Moreover, since the subject matter is merely a combination of old features, and in the combination each element would have performed the same function it performed separately, one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding Claims 12, 18, 22. Yantis, Prajapati, Giang discloses the limitations of Claims 1, 14, 20. Yantis further discloses:
providing, by the processor, an NFT item in an NFT item system in electronic communication with the electronic item system, wherein the NFT item is stored on a blockchain; [see at least (Abstract) The system includes a secure data storage system that stores a set of NFTS. (0328) the data storage system uses a blockchain.]
generating, by the processor, an NFT item record in the NFT item system associated with the NFT item, wherein the NFT item record is logged in a private ledger associated with the NFT item system; and [see at least (0849) the platform 100 may request shipping information from the user or may look up the shipping information of the user from the distributed ledger. (0880) the distributed ledger 310 is a private ledger, where the ledger is distributed amongst nodes under control of the platform 100.]
Prajapati further discloses:
associating, by the processor, the NFT item with an NFT item user profile in the NFT item system. [see at least (0093) In some embodiments, a user profile accesses particular functionality to store a new transferable data object associated with the user profile. In this regard, the transferable data object may correspond to a particular item (either real or virtual) owned by the user corresponding to the user profile.]
In addition, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the features of Yantis, Prajapati, Giang to include the additional features of Prajapati. A person a having the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to transfer item using the profile of Prajapati and the technique of transferring items of Yantis, Prajapati, Giang. Yantis, Prajapati, Giang discloses transferring items. Prajapati further teaches user profile associated with transferable item. Because both Yantis, Prajapati, Giang as well as Prajapati are implemented through field of transferring item. Moreover, since the subject matter is merely a combination of old features, and in the combination each element would have performed the same function it performed separately, one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding Claims 13, 19, 23. Yantis, Prajapati, Giang discloses the limitations of Claims 12, 18, 22. Yantis further discloses:
presenting, by the processor and on an NFT item system GUI, a graphical input device for an electronic transfer of the NFT item; [see at least (Abstract) a graphical user interface that allows a user to transact for items via a user device and a token transfer system that receives a transaction request to transfer a respective NFT to an account]
receiving, by the processor, a selection of the graphical input device for the electronic transfer of the NFT item; and [see at least (0972) At 1106, the digital tokens are transferred in response to keyboard interactions. In embodiments, a digital keyboard is displayed by the digital wallet graphical user interface. The digital keyboard includes a selectable media content that is representative of the item corresponding to the digital token within the transfer request. User input producing a text-based message including a selection of the selectable media content by the digital keyboard is received]
transferring, by the processor, the NFT item record to the electronic item system. [see at least (Abstract) a graphical user interface that allows a user to transact for items via a user device and a token transfer system that receives a transaction request to transfer a respective NFT to an account]
Regarding Claims 28, 29, 30. Yantis, Prajapati, Giang discloses the limitations of Claims 12, 18, 22. Giang further discloses:
wherein a digital record associated with the least one item was received from a differently formatted blockchain than the digital pack of items. [see at least Fig. 10 (0098) FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a method of using eligibility criteria. At 1010, a new pack of collectibles is created]
In addition, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the features of Yantis, Prajapati, Giang to include the additional features of Giang. A person a having the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to securely transfer pack of items using the pack of item of Giang using the transferring technique of Yantis, Prajapati, Giang. Yantis, Prajapati, Giang discloses transferring item. Giang further teaches managing pack of cards. Because both Yantis, Prajapati, Giang as well as Giang are implemented through field of transferring. Moreover, since the subject matter is merely a combination of old features, and in the combination each element would have performed the same function it performed separately, one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Note: The above combination of Yantis, Prajapati, Giang does not expressly disclose wherein a digital record associated with the least one item was received from a differently formatted blockchain than the digital pack of items. However this limitation represents non-functional descriptive material and does not affect how the claimed method functions (i.e., the descriptive material does not have any claim function in the claimed method; see MPEP 2106.01). A “wherein” clause does not function to actively limit the claim language. Therefore, the claim element is considered, but given no patentable weight. (MPEP 2111.05). The reference is provided for the purpose of compact prosecution.
Response to Amendments/Arguments
With respect to Applicant’s Remarks as to the claim objection(s):
Applicant submits: “The Patent Office objects to claim 25 as being duplicate of claim 21. Applicant respectfully disagrees. Claim 25 depends from claim 24, which depends from claim 20. Claim 21, on the other hand, only depends from claim 20. Dependent claims must be construed to include all of the limitations of the claims from which they depend, as required by 37 C.F.R. § 1.75(c) and MPEP § 608.01(n). Therefore, claim 25 also incorporates the limitations of claims 20 and 24 while claim 21 only incorporates the limitations of claim 20. Therefore, the claims cannot be duplicate because claim 24 contains limitations that are not in claim 21. Accordingly, the objection to claim 25 should be withdrawn.”
Examiner responds: Examiner has fully considered applicant’s arguments, and based on the amendment, claim objection has been withdrawn.
With respect to Applicant’s Remarks as to the claims being rejected under 35 USC § 112(b).
Applicant submits: “The Patent Office rejects claims 1-2, 4-6, 12-15, and 18-27 under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) as being allegedly indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter the inventor regards as the invention. The Patent Office points to the following limitations in independent claims 1, 14, and 20:"physical collectible system" and "physical item system." The Patent Office asserts that "it is unclear if there are two systems. "Office Action, at 13. Applicant respectfully disagrees with the Examiner's rejections, as "physical collectible system" and "physical item system" can exist as separate systems or the same system in light of the specification. Solely to expedite prosecution, Applicant has amended the claims herein to obviate this rejection, and thus requests that it be withdrawn.
Examiner response: Examiner has fully considered applicant’s arguments, have been fully considered and are persuasive. The 35 USC § 112(b) rejection has been withdrawn.
With respect to Applicant’s Remarks as to the claims being rejected under 35 USC § 101.
Applicant submits: “The Patent Office rejects claims 1-2, 4-6, 12-15, and 18-26 under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as being allegedly directed to an abstract idea. Office Action, at 2-3. Specifically, the Patent Office alleges that the claims relate to a concept that falls within the "Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity" grouping of abstract ideas. Id. at 5. Applicant amends independent claims 1, 14, and 20 to overcome the rejection under § 101.”
Examiner Responds: Examiner has fully considered and finds Applicant’s argument persuasive. The 35 USC § 101 rejection has been withdrawn.
With respect to Applicant’s Remarks as to the claims being rejected under 35 USC § 103.
Applicant submits: “The Patent Office rejects claims 1-2, 4-6, 10, 12-15, 18-20, and 21-27 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being allegedly unpatentable over one or more of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0058630 to Yantis et al. ("Yantis"), in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0311931 to Prajapati et al. ("Prajapati"), and in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0033434 to Giang et al. ("Giang").
1. Amended Independent Claims 1, 14, and 20 Are Allowable Amended independent claims 1, 14, and 20 recite, in part, "providing, by a processor, a digital pack of items associated with an unopened physical pack of items in an electronic item system" and "presenting, by the processor and on the pack item system GUI, an image of each of the one or more physical items and at least one image of at least one item stored by a third party." Yantis, Prajapati, and Giang do not teach or suggest these limitations. Specifically, Giang does not teach or suggest these limitations. Giang does not teach or suggest the use of physical items, and instead teaches away from their use by stating in the background that "[p]hysical collectibles, such as baseball cards, are known," and offers an … Dependent claims must be construed to include all of the limitations of the claims from which they depend, as required by 37 C.F.R. § 1.75(c) and MPEP § 608.01(n). The deficiencies of Yantis, Prajapati, and Giang in relation to amended independent claims 1, 14, and 20 are discussed above. Accordingly, the Patent Office should allow dependent claims 2, 4-6, 12-13, 15, 18-19, 21-25, and 28-30 for at least the same reasons as listed earlier for amended independent claims 1, 14, and 20, as well as for their own respective limitations.”
Examiner response: Examiner has fully considered, but doesn’t find Applicant’s argument persuasive. Examiner respectfully disagree with the applicant, the applicant’s arguments are directed towards the amended claim language and not original set of claims. The combination of Yantis, Prajapati, Giang does disclose the claim limitation of claims 1, 14, 20. Furthermore, the amended language at least one image of at least one item; however, see Yantis [0014]. See the updated rejection above. Thus the rejection is proper and has been maintained.
Relevant Prior Art Not Relied Upon
The prior art made of record and not relied upon which, however, is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 20090288012 A1 Hertel; Philipp Frank Hermann Udo et al. Secured Electronic Transaction System - A configuration (a system and/or a method) are disclosed that includes a unified and integrated configuration that is composed of a payment system, an advertising system, and an identity management system as well as their associated methods such that the unified system has all of the benefits of the individual systems as well as several additional synergistic benefits. Also described are specific configurations (subsystems and/or methods) including the system's access point architecture, a user interface that acts as a visual wallet simulator, a security architecture, coupon handling as well as the system's structure and means for delivering them as targeted advertising, business card handling, membership card handling for the purposes of login management, receipt handling, and the editors and grammars provided for customizing the different types of objects in the system as well as the creation of new custom objects with custom behaviors. The configurations are operable on-line as well as through physical presence transactions, e.g., mobile transaction through a mobile phone or dedicated device at a physical site for a transaction.
US 20200273048 A1 Andon; Christopher et al. SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROVISIONING CRYPTOGRAPHIC DIGITAL ASSETS FOR BLOCKCHAIN-SECURED RETAIL PRODUCTS - Presented are cryptographic digital assets for retail products, methods for making/using such cryptographic digital assets, and computing systems for generating, intermingling, and exchanging blockchain-protected products. A method for provisioning cryptographic digital assets associated with retail product transfers includes broadcasting notifications of a future transaction of a retail product, and receiving, over a distributed computing network from the computing devices of multiple users, requests to participate in the transaction. A select number of users is added to a virtual line associated with the retail product transaction; from the virtual line, a first user is selected to receive the retail product and a second user is selected to receive a cryptographic digital asset containing a digital retail product and a unique digital asset code. The cryptographic digital asset is transferred to the second user's digital wallet, and the unique digital asset code is recorded on a record block of a blockchain ledger.
US 20190095882 A1 Parker; Duncan MULTI-LEVEL NETWORK-BASED ACCESS COORDINATION - Multi-level network-based access is coordinated. Multiple downloadable first software applications configured to provide a first class of service are distributed over a communications network. Multiple downloadable second software applications configured to provide a second class of service are distributed over the communications network. A centralized computer system coordinates access between the first software applications and the second software applications, such that access between any of the first software applications and the second software applications is controlled by and through confirmation of the centralized computer system. Services on behalf of the first software applications are provided by the centralized computer system to the second software applications once access between a first software application and a second software application is confirmed.
US 20210056536 A1 Carter; Patrick L. et al. SHORT RANGE COMMUNICATION ENABLED OBJECT FOR FACILITATING PROXIMITY BASED INTERACTION WITH AT LEAST ONE ELECTRONIC DEVICE - Disclosed herein is a short range communication enabled object for facilitating proximity based interaction with at least one electronic device. Further, the short range communication enabled object may include a memory device configured for storing a designated value associated with a predetermined action. Further, the short range communication enabled object may include a processing device communicatively coupled to the memory device. Further, the processing device may be configured for manipulating the designated value. Further, the short range communication enabled object may include at least one sensor communicatively coupled to the processing device. Further, the at least one sensor may be configured for generating at least one sensor data. Further, the manipulating of the designated value may be based on the at least one sensor data. Further, the short range communication enabled object may include a transmitter device configured for transmitting data over a short range communication channel to the at least one electronic device.
US 20220092599 A1 Sofaer; Michael Systems and Methods for a Permissionless Decentralized Virtual Asset Network - A blockchain system for containing authority within a distributed consensual system includes a blockchain network of participating user devices. A participating user device, having a memory and a processor, is configured to create an account linking blockchain transaction to link a developer account with an external authority account of a user of the device. The user device is further configured to publish a recipe associated with the user's developer account, receive, from an external authority, a receipt indicating purchase of the recipe by another user connected to the distributed consensual system, create a recipe blockchain transaction including data identifying the recipe and the receipt, and broadcast the recipe blockchain transaction on the blockchain network. Upon validation, the user receives payment via one or more additional blockchain transactions.
US 20230069223 A1 Patel; Disha et al. VERIFIED TRANSACTIONS THROUGH INTEGRATIONS - Verified transactions through integrations of social network and payment service computing platforms are described. A payment service computing platform may generate a token associated with a first account associated with a payment service, the token being configured to facilitate a number of transfers of an amount from the first account to one or more second accounts. The payment service computing platform may further receive a first request, from an electronic device of a second user associated with the one or more second accounts, to redeem the amount associated with the token, facilitate acquisition of one or more assets for the second user, wherein the one or more assets are determined by the second user or based at least in part on a machine-learning model trained to infer a preference of the first or second user, and associate the one or more assets with a second account of the second user.
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 MD S HYDER whose telephone number is (571)270-1820. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30am - 6:00pm.
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, Patrick McAtee can be reached at (571) 272-7575. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/M.S.H./Examiner, Art Unit 3698 /PATRICK MCATEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3698