DETAILED ACTION
The following is a FINAL office action upon examination of the application number 18/207769.
Response to Amendment
Claims 1-6 and 11-16 have been amended.
Claims 1-20 are pending in the application and have been examined on the merits discussed below.
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 Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and 11 have been amended to recite retrieving, from a second set of servers associated with the client location, one or more characteristics associated with at least one product terminal of the product terminals. Paragraphs 28 and 31 describe the display of advertisement content on terminals. However, Examiner cannot find any description of retrieving product terminal characteristics from a second set of servers. Therefore, Examiner finds that the claims contain subject matter that was not described in the specification in a way to reasonably convey that the inventor had possession of the claimed invention. Appropriate correction/clarification is required. The dependent claims inherit the deficiencies from their respective parent claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more.
(Step 1) Claims 1-10 are directed to a method; thus these claims are directed to a process, which is one of the statutory categories of invention. Claims 11-20 are directed to a system comprising a processor; thus the system comprises a device or set of devices, and therefore, is directed to a machine which is a statutory category of invention.
(Step 2A) The claims recite an abstract idea instructing how to display content related to products/services at a retail location, which is described by claim limitations reciting:
select … content for display at display devices … located at a first area of a client location, wherein said … content is associated with specific products or services sold at … a second area of the client locations;
select display timing instructions for said … content to be displayed at the display devices;
retrieving, … one or more characteristics associated with at least one product terminal of the product terminals;
formatting,…, the … content to be output …in accordance with the one or more characteristics associated with the at least one product terminals;
sending to … the client locations reference data referencing the formatted … content and including said display timing instructions, wherein the reference data is smaller than the formatted digital content referenced thereby;
responsive to … said reference data … sending said formatted… content …, thereby causing said formatted… content to be displayed at the … display devices according to said display timing instructions.
The identified limitations in the claims describing displaying content related to products/services at a retail location (i.e., the abstract idea) fall within the “Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity” grouping of abstract ideas, which covers commercial interactions and marketing/sales activities. Dependent claims 7, 8, 9, 10, 17, 18, 19, and 20 recite limitations that further narrow the abstract idea; therefore, these claims are also found to recite an abstract idea.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because additional elements such as the first set of servers; wherein the first set of servers is not located at the client location; display device of product terminals; transaction terminal; and second set of servers associated with the client location in claim 1; the second set of servers is connected to a plurality of product terminal display devices via a communications network, through which the second set of servers can send the digital content to the product terminal display devices in claim 3; the set of product terminal display devices, wherein the set is made up of one or more of said product terminal display devices in claim 4; the second set of servers associated with the client locations is a part of a product terminal in claim 6; the memory; processor coupled to the memory; display devices of a product terminal; transaction terminal; first set of servers remote from the locations and associated with the graphical user interface; and second set of servers associated with the client in claim 11; the second set of servers is connected to a plurality of product terminal display devices via a communications network, through which the second set of servers can send the digital content to the product terminal display devices in claim 13; the set of product terminal display devices, wherein the set is made up of one or more of said product terminal display devices in claim 14; and the second set of servers associated with the client locations is a part of a product terminal in claim 16, do not add a meaningful limitation to the abstract idea since these elements are only broadly applied to the abstract ideas at a high level of generality; thus, none of recited hardware offers a meaningful limitation beyond generally linking the abstract idea to a particular technological environment, in this case, implementation via a computer/processor.
Additional elements related to render a graphical user interface…; retrieving, from a second set of servers associated with the client location…; sending to the second set of servers associated with the client…; and responsive to execution of said data by the second set of servers, sending said digital content to said second set of servers, by transmitting the formatted digital content to the second set of servers responsive to the second set of servers pulling the formatted digital content from the first set of servers using the reference data, thereby causing said digital content to be displayed at the product terminal display devices do not yield an improvement in the functioning of the computer itself, nor do they yield improvements to a technical field or technology; further, these limitations only add insignificant extras-solution activities (data gathering, transmission and display). Additional elements reciting … digital content… and …services sold at a transaction terminal… do not provide an improvement to the computer or technology; these additional elements are recited at a high level of generality and only generally link the abstract idea to a technological environment. Additional elements in claims 2, 5, 12, and 15, related to caching the digital content do not provide an improvement and only generally link the abstract idea to a technological environment. add additional elements that do not yield an improvement. Accordingly, these additional element do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea.
(Step 2B) The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because as discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the hardware additional elements amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component (see Spec. [0052][0053]). Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component cannot provide an inventive concept. Additional elements related to render a graphical user interface…; retrieving, from a second set of servers associated with the client location…; sending to the second set of servers associated with the client…; and responsive to execution of said data by the second set of servers, sending said digital content to said second set of servers, by transmitting the formatted digital content to the second set of servers responsive to the second set of servers pulling the formatted digital content from the first set of servers using the reference data, thereby causing said digital content to be displayed at the product terminal display devices do not yield an improvement in the functioning of the computer itself, nor do they yield improvements to a technical field or technology; further, these limitations only add insignificant extras-solution activities (data gathering, transmission and display). With respect to data gathering and transmission limitations, the courts have recognized the use of computers to receive and transmit data as a well-understood, routine, and conventional, OIP Techs., Inc., v. Amazon.com, Inc., 788 F.3d 1359, 1363, 115 USPQ2d 1090, 1093 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (sending messages over a network); buySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 765 F.3d 1350, 1355, 112 USPQ2d 1093, 1096 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (computer receives and sends information over a network). With respect to data display limitations, the courts have found the presentation of data to be a well-understood, routine, conventional activity, OIP Techs., 788 F.3d at 1362-63, 115 USPQ2d at 1092-93 (see MPEP 2106.05(d)). Additional elements reciting … digital content… and …services sold at a transaction terminal… do not provide an improvement to the computer or technology; these additional elements are recited at a high level of generality and only generally link the abstract idea to a technological environment. Additional elements in claims 2, 5, 12, and 15, related to caching the digital content do not provide an improvement and only generally link the abstract idea to a technological environment. add additional elements that do not yield an improvement. In addition, when taken as an ordered combination, the ordered combination adds nothing that is not already present as when the elements are taken individually. There is no indication that the combination of elements improves the functioning of a computer or improves any other technology.
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2014/0093125 (Hradetzky); in view of US 2011/0204847 (Turner); in view of US 2008/0262929 (Behr); in view of US 2003/0079176 (Kang).
As per claim 11, Hradetzky teaches: a content management system for managing and delivering digital content, comprising: a memory;
a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor is configured to: ([0030] The fuel dispenser 10 may be communicatively coupled to a back office (BO) 22, which contains several hardware and software computer systems to access, process, and store data, via a data cable (not shown), a wireless data transfer, or antenna(s) 24. The hardware and software in the BO 22 can provide access to a global communication network 26 (e.g., the world-wide web/internet), to access distant databases and sources of information (e.g., websites))
wherein said digital content is associated with specific products or services sold at a transaction terminal located at a second area of the client locations; ([0004] … advertisements are useful for marketing goods sold in the convenience store associated with the gas station, marketing technical services provided by the gas station [0005] … fuel dispensers, provide general advertisements and/or advertisements specific to the products and/or services of the store associated with the point of sale terminal).
a first set of servers remote from the client locations and associated with the graphical user interface, said first set of servers capable of: formatting, by the first set of servers, the digital content to be output by the at least one product terminal …; sending to the second set of servers associated with the client locations reference data referencing the formatted digital content … ([0044] FIG. 6 shows an exemplary programming structure 400 of the content and commercials displayed during the fuelling process. It will be appreciated that the illustrated programming structure is illustrative and not limiting. The structure is generated by merging update information (content pieces) with advertising, both according to the customer profile, so that it results in a set of personalized content and advertising. [0030] The fuel dispenser 10 may be communicatively coupled to a back office (BO) 22, which contains several hardware and software computer systems to access, process, and store data, via a data cable (not shown), a wireless data transfer, or antenna(s) 24. The hardware and software in the BO 22 can provide access to a global communication network 26 (e.g., the world-wide web/internet), to access distant databases and sources of information (e.g., websites) [0004] …delivering advertisements and marketing content of third party advertisers [0005] Currently, point of sale terminals, such as fuel dispensers, provide general advertisements and/or advertisements specific to the products and/or services of the store associated with the point of sale terminal [0021] … The processor 220 may select the advertisement from a plurality of advertisements stored in memory 240 and/or in a remote database)
responsive to execution of said reference data by the second set of servers, sending said formatted digital content to said second set of servers by transmitting the formatter digital content to the second set of servers …, thereby causing said digital content to be displayed at the product terminal display devices according to said display timing instructions ([0004] …delivering advertisements and marketing content of third party advertisers [0021] … The processor 220 may select the advertisement from a plurality of advertisements stored in memory 240 and/or in a remote database [0030] The fuel dispenser 10 may be communicatively coupled to a back office (BO) 22, which contains several hardware and software computer systems … The hardware and software in the BO 22 can provide access to a global communication network 26 (e.g., the world-wide web/internet), to access distant databases).
Although not explicitly taught by Hradetzky, Turner teaches: render a graphical user interface providing the ability to: select digital content for display at display devices of a product terminal located at a first area of a client location, … select display timing instructions for said digital content to be displayed at the display devices; ([0074] … advertising content is received from an advertising customer or the EVCS/EVSE operator (process block 401). For example, in certain embodiments, an advertising customer or the EVCS/EVSE operator can create and upload advertising content (e.g., images, motion pictures, interactive applications, audio, etc.) via a web site or other user interface. In certain embodiments, the advertising content received can include scheduling information or other information about how to display an advertisement. For example, in particular embodiments, the advertising customer or EVCS/EVSE operator can select one or more of the following for an advertisement: the geographic location(s) they would like the ad to be shown, the days and hours of the day they would like the ad to be shown, the duration the ad is to be displayed, or the traits of the viewers that they would like to target with the ad).
sending to a second set of servers associated with the client locations data referencing the digital content and including said display timing instructions ([0074] … The advertisement can then be placed in a list of advertisements, which is cycled through during EVCS/EVSE operation. [0065] … select the targeted advertisements based on advertising data associated with each advertisement that indicates the demographic for which the advertisement is intended. …the content of the selected one or more advertisements is transmitted to the EVCS/EVSE after selection).
It would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teachings of Hradetzky with the aforementioned teachings of Turner with the motivation of allowing advertisers to target the content/advertisement (Turner [0074]). Further, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the teachings of Turner to the system of Hradetzky would have yielded predictable results and doing so would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art as resulting in an improved system that would allow for the use of timing instructions in displaying the content/advertisements.
Although not explicitly taught by Hradetzky, Behr teaches: retrieving, from a second set of servers associated with the client location, one or more characteristics associated with at least one product terminal of the product terminals; ([0039] … a user profile database 36 for storing data related to each mobile device user 16,18,20 opting into the system 10. The user profile database 36 may include, for example, the caller's name, the caller's telephone number, a unique identifying number associated with the user's mobile device, the type of mobile device (e.g. cellular telephone, PDA, BLUETOOTH, etc.), the operating system used by the mobile device (e.g. HTTP, WMS, WML, WAP, etc.), and the time zone in which the mobile device is operating. [0067] … the content management engine 32 may be configured to receive various parameters relating to the user's mobile device, including a unique number identifying the mobile device, the type of mobile device transmitting the request, the operating platform of the mobile device, and the wireless service provider hosting the mobile device. [0068] … the mobile device has an operating system capable of displaying only still images on the display screen, the engine 32 can be configured to format the advertisement to match the display capabilities of the mobile device as well as that specified by the mobile device user's service provider. Conversely, if the user's mobile device is capable of displaying slideshows containing sequences of images).
formatting, by the first set of servers, the digital content to be output by the at least one product terminal in accordance with the one or more characteristics associated with the at least one product terminal; ([0007] …adjust the format of the advertisements and other informational content sent to the user's mobile device based at least in part on the browser capabilities of the mobile device… [0034] … the necessary file conversion and browser interfacing necessary to produce text, still images, moving images, and/or audio in a format suited to the user's particular mobile device [0068] … format the advertisement to match the display capabilities of the mobile device as well as that specified by the mobile device user's service provider. Conversely, if the user's mobile device is capable of displaying slideshows containing sequences of images, the engine 32 can be configured to feed a slideshow to the user's mobile device containing several images provided by the advertiser 24,26,28 and/or third-party entity 40,42,44. [0111] …mobile device user 16,18,20 may receive a formatted electronic advertisement as previously discussed herein. In some instances, the electronic advertisement may be customized based at least in part on the browser capabilities of the mobile device).
It would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teachings of Hradetzky with the aforementioned teachings of Behr with the motivation of producing content suitable to the device (Behr [0034]). Further, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the teachings of Behr to the system of Hradetzky would have yielded predictable results and doing so would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art as resulting in an improved system that would allow for the formatting of content based on the device.
Although not explicitly taught by Hradetzky, Kang teaches: sending to the second set of servers associated with the client locations reference data referencing the formatted digital content…, wherein the reference data is smaller than the formatted digital content referenced thereby; ([0022] … The advertisement server 130 may provide advertisement content data when the advertisement display program 112 executed in the user terminal requests them by sending an advertisement URL address.)
responsive to execution of said reference data by the second set of servers, sending said formatted digital content to said second set of servers by transmitting the formatter digital content to the second set of servers responsive to the second set of servers pulling the formatted digital content from the first set of servers using the reference data, thereby causing said digital content to be displayed at the product terminal display devices according to said display timing instructions ([0018] …a plurality of user terminals 110, an advertisement server 130 managed by an advertiser, an advertisement control server 150 managed by an advertising agency are connected over the Internet 120 [0022] … The advertisement server 130 may provide advertisement content data when the advertisement display program 112 executed in the user terminal requests them by sending an advertisement URL address [0051] …the advertisement display program receives the advertisement control data from the advertisement control server and analyzes the advertisement URL information and the advertisement display information [0052] In the step 412, the advertisement display program accesses the advertisement server of the advertiser based on the advertisement URL information contained in the advertisement control data and fetches the advertisement content data at the corresponding location. [0058] …advertisement display program controls the location and the size of the advertisement window to be displayed, based on the HTML advertisement control data and fetches the advertisement data at the URL included in the advertisement control data from the advertisement server, by using a HTTP protocol).
It would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teachings of Hradetzky with the aforementioned teachings of Kang with the motivation of changing and modifying advertisement content at a URL (Kang [0042]). Further, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the teachings of Turner to the system of Kang would have yielded predictable results and doing so would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art as resulting in an improved system that would allow for use of reference data to gather content.
As per claim 12, Hradetzky, teaches: wherein sending said formatted digital content to the second set of servers further comprises sending the formatted digital content such that it can be cached at the second set of servers or the product terminal display devices ([0021] … select the advertisement from a plurality of advertisements stored in memory 240 [0029] FIG. 4 shows a detailed block diagram of an exemplary fuel dispenser 10 and advertising unit 200. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, processor 220, output unit 230, and memory 240 [0041] … BO 22 selects one or more personalized advertisements for the customer 1 (block 338). The processor then outputs the selected advertisements to the elements of the output unit 230 in the fuel dispenser 10 for output to the customer 1 (block 339)).
As per claim 13, Hradetzky teaches: wherein the second set of servers is connected to a plurality of product terminal display devices via a communications network, through which the second set of servers can send the formatted digital content to the product terminal display devices ([0005] … fuel dispensers, provide general advertisements and/or advertisements specific to the products and/or services of the store associated with the point of sale terminal [0030] The fuel dispenser 10 may be communicatively coupled to a back office (BO) 22, which contains several hardware and software computer systems to access, process, and store data, via a data cable (not shown), a wireless data transfer, or antenna(s) 24).
As per claim 14, although not explicitly taught by Hradetzky, Turner teaches: wherein said reference data further references a set of product terminal display devices, wherein the set is made up of one or more of said product terminal display devices ([0096] … The advertisements can be selected based at least in part on one or more of the following criteria: a location of the EVCS/EVSE [0107] …receive user data or other information gathered by the electric vehicle charging station advertising system related to advertising performed by the advertiser. [Claim 14] … an activity log file to include one or more of the following: an identity of the one or more advertisements displayed at the EVCS or EVSE; an indication of a time at which each of the one or more advertisements was displayed at the EVCS or EVSE; or an indication of the number of times each of the one or more advertisements was displayed at the EVCS or EVSE. [0050] … the back office server 220 communicates to one or more EVCSs/EVSEs 240 via a communication link 230).
One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the teachings of Turner to the system of Hradetzky would have yielded predictable results and doing so would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art as resulting in an improved system that would allow for display of content at multiple devices.
As per claim 15, Hradetzky teaches: wherein sending said formatted digital content to the second set of servers further comprises sending said formatted digital content such that it can be cached at the second set of servers before being sent to the product terminal display devices ([0030] The fuel dispenser 10 may be communicatively coupled to a back office (BO) 22, which contains several hardware and software computer systems to access, process, and store data, via a data cable (not shown), a wireless data transfer, or antenna(s) 24. The hardware and software in the BO 22 can provide access to a global communication network 26 (e.g., the world-wide web/internet), to access distant databases and sources of information (e.g., websites) [0004] …delivering advertisements and marketing content of third party advertisers [0021] … The processor 220 may select the advertisement from a plurality of advertisements stored in memory 240 and/or in a remote database).
As per claim 16, Hradetzky teaches: wherein the second set of servers associated with the client locations is a part of a product terminal ([0029] FIG. 4 shows a detailed block diagram of an exemplary fuel dispenser 10 and advertising unit 200. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, processor 220, output unit 230, and memory 240, are disposed in the fuel dispenser 10. In this example, processor 220 provides monitor and control functions for all aspects of the fuel dispenser 10 and advertising unit 200. The output unit 230, as incorporated into the exemplary fuel dispenser 10, includes a display).
As per claim 17, although not explicitly taught by Hradetzky, Turner: wherein said display timing instructions dictate that said digital content is displayed at a particular time ([0055] In particular embodiments, the EVCS/EVSE is operating in its normal mode and local advertising data (advertising data 308) is stored and available to display. The advertising data (advertising data 308) includes a schedule that determines a start time for advertising content to begin displaying (e.g., based on a time of day and calendar day), and a runtime that determines how long to display the advertising content (or the start time for the next advertising content display) [0074] … the advertising customer or EVCS/EVSE operator can select one or more of the following for an advertisement: the geographic location(s) they would like the ad to be shown, the days and hours of the day they would like the ad to be shown).
It would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teachings of Hradetzky with the aforementioned teachings of Turner with the motivation of allowing advertisers to target the content/advertisement (Turner [0074]). Further, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the teachings of Turner to the system of Hradetzky would have yielded predictable results and doing so would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art as resulting in an improved system that would allow for the use of timing instructions in displaying the content/advertisements.
As per claim 18, Hradetzky teaches: wherein said display timing instructions dictates that said digital content is displayed immediately after the display of any digital content that is currently displayed on the display devices ([0045] The programming structure starts at block 401 with a standard content piece (e.g., news). This content piece is identical for all customers, and therefore does not represent personalized advertising. The running time of the standard content 401 is used to compile and process all collected data related to the customer, access remote databases to enhance this data with further details, create the customer profile, and select the suitable set of content and advertising… [0046] At block 402, the personalized content and advertising are displayed. The first personalized commercial is shown at this position of the programming structure 400. In order to attract the attention of the gas station customer 1 to a product promotion or other kind of service, it is important to provide advertising which closely aligns with the highest activity of interest).
As per claim 19, Hradetzky teaches: wherein said display timing instructions are default playback timing instructions ([0044] … The programming structure 400 matches the approximate duration of an average fuelling process. If the fuelling process takes longer, so that the programming structure 400 is completed, it then loops back to an initial starting point and replays the information over. In case the fuelling process ends before the estimated average time, the display of the personalized advertisement stops as soon as the nozzle 12 is returned in to the fuel dispenser 10.).
As per claim 20, although not explicitly taught by Hradetzky, Turner teaches: wherein selecting display timing instructions comprise selecting playback timing instructions ([0074] … the advertiser or EVCS/EVSE operator is presented with available times of the day through a list or pull-down menu from which they can select a desired time slot. Times that are unavailable can be shown as unavailable, or not displayed at all. Other methods of informing the advertiser or EVCS/EVSE operator of available and/or unavailable times can also be used. The time periods available can vary from implementation to implementation and can include a wide variety of time periods (e.g., 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, or 2 hour periods). In some embodiments, the advertiser or EVCS/EVSE operator selects a duration for which an advertisement is to be displayed during a fixed period of time (e.g., 1 day). The advertisement can then be placed in a list of advertisements, which is cycled through during EVCS/EVSE operation. The duration of display can be any suitable duration (e.g., 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, or 2 hours)).
It would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teachings of Hradetzky with the aforementioned teachings of Turner with the motivation of allowing advertisers to target the content/advertisement (Turner [0074]). Further, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the teachings of Turner to the system of Hradetzky would have yielded predictable results and doing so would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art as resulting in an improved system that would allow for the use of timing instructions in displaying the content/advertisements.
As per claims 1-10, these claims recite limitations substantially similar to those addressed by the rejection of claims 11-20, respectively; therefore, the same rejection applies.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/31/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
With respect to the rejection under 35 USC 101, Applicant argues the claims are not directed to an abstract idea.
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Examiner maintains that limitations in the claims describing displaying content related to products/services at a retail location (i.e., the abstract idea) fall within the “Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity” grouping of abstract ideas, which covers commercial interactions and marketing/sales activities.
Examiner acknowledges that the claims recite certain additional elements including retrieving, from a second set of servers associated with the client location…; these additional elements are considered in prong 2 and step 2B of the 35 USC 101 analysis.
With respect to the rejection under 35 USC 101, Applicant argues the claims integrate any abstract idea into a practical application.
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Examiner acknowledges the described improvement in the Specification; however, the present claims describe the solution at a high level. As per MPEP 2106.05(a), “After the examiner has consulted the specification and determined that the disclosed invention improves technology, the claim must be evaluated to ensure the claim itself reflects the disclosed improvement in technology. Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Symantec Corp., 838 F.3d 1307, 1316, 120 USPQ2d 1353, 1359 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (patent owner argued that the claimed email filtering system improved technology by shrinking the protection gap and mooting the volume problem, but the court disagreed because the claims themselves did not have any limitations that addressed these issues). That is, the claim must include the components or steps of the invention that provide the improvement described in the specification. …An important consideration in determining whether a claim improves technology is the extent to which the claim covers a particular solution to a problem or a particular way to achieve a desired outcome, as opposed to merely claiming the idea of a solution or outcome. McRO, 837 F.3d at 1314-15, 120 USPQ2d at 1102-03; DDR Holdings, 773 F.3d at 1259, 113 USPQ2d at 1107. In this respect, the improvement consideration overlaps with other considerations, specifically the particular machine consideration (see MPEP § 2106.05(b)), and the mere instructions to apply an exception consideration (see MPEP § 2106.05(f)).” The recited limitations lack the technical detail described in paragraph 36.
With respect to the rejection under 35 USC 101, Applicant argues the claims amount to significantly more than an abstract idea.
Examiner respectfully disagrees. As per MPEP 2106.05(a), “the claim must be evaluated to ensure the claim itself reflects the disclosed improvement in technology. Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Symantec Corp., 838 F.3d 1307, 1316, 120 USPQ2d 1353, 1359 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (patent owner argued that the claimed email filtering system improved technology by shrinking the protection gap and mooting the volume problem, but the court disagreed because the claims themselves did not have any limitations that addressed these issues). That is, the claim must include the components or steps of the invention that provide the improvement described in the specification.” Examiner acknowledges the described improvement in the Specification; however, the present claims do not recite the technical steps to perform the pull request as described in paragraph 36. Similarly, the claims do not recite any features related to caching of content at the server as described in paragraph 38.
With respect to the rejection under 35 USC 103, Applicant argues that the art of record does not disclose the claimed features.
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Examiner respectfully disagrees. The Applicant’s arguments are directed to newly amended features; additional search has been conducted and the rejection has been updated to address said amendments. See updated Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 2004/0103028 (Littman) - discloses a system that provides advertisement content.
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 ALAN TORRICO-LOPEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-3247. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10AM-5PM.
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/ALAN TORRICO-LOPEZ/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3625
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