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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant elected claims 19 and 20 (Group II) without traverse in response to the Restriction/Election requirement dated 07/21/2025. Claims 1-18 are withdrawn, and claims 19 and 20 are examined.
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-18 are withdrawn. Claims 19 and 20 are examined. Claims 1-20 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03/20/2025 and 06/20/2025 was filed before the mailing of this action. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e. an abstract idea) without significantly more.
Claims 19 and 20 recite a method (i.e. process). Therefore claims 19 and 20 fall within one of the four statutory categories of invention.
Independent claim 19 recites the limitations: generating, on [a display device], a grid; the grid having a first axis including attribute headings; the grid having a second axis including vendor headings; generating cells within the grid; each cell including metadata from datasets matching their respective attribute headings and vendor headings; upon receiving a selection of a vendor heading and an attribute heading, generating on [the display device] a first heading expansion of the metadata of the cell intersecting the vendor heading and the attribute heading; upon receiving a selection of just a vendor heading, generating on [the display device] an expansion of the metadata from the datasets corresponding to each cell of the vendor heading; and, upon receiving a selection of just an attribute heading, generating on [the display device] an expansion of the metadata from the datasets corresponding to each cell of the attribute heading. The invention and claims are drawn towards curating travel booking services and displaying the travel options via a display, and the claim limitations correspond to certain methods of organizing human activity (managing personal interactions, behavior, relationships commercial international business relations) since the claim limitations are drawn towards providing travel services to customers. The claims also directly correspond to mental processes (observation, evaluation, judgment, opinion) as evidenced by limitations since the claims involve observing and evaluating data or actions, and making a determination (judgment/opinion) based on the observed or evaluated action or data.
Note: the features or elements in brackets in the above section are inserted for reading clarity, but are analyzed as “additional elements” under step 2A Prong Two and Step 2B.
The judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application simply because the claims recite the additional elements of: a graphical interface of a computing device and a display device. The additional elements are computer components recited at a high-level of generality performing the above-mentioned limitations. The combination of the additional elements are no more than mere instructions to apply the judicial exception using a generic computer. Accordingly, in combination, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claims are directed to an abstract idea.
The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional elements amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer. Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer cannot provide an inventive concept. Thus, when viewed as an ordered combination, nothing in the claims add significantly more (i.e. an inventive concept) to the abstract idea. The claims are not patent eligible.
Dependent claim 20 recites additional limitations that are further directed to the abstract idea analyzed in the rejected claims above. Thus, claim 19 is also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 19 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Daughtrey (2008/0222566).
Claim 19: A method for controlling a graphical interface of a computing device to generate a plurality of data cohorts representing commercial options comprising:
generating, on a display device, a grid; (Daughtrey Fig. 5 disclosing a grid on a travel planning computer (¶0023))
the grid having a first axis including attribute headings; (Daughtrey Fig. 5 disclosing the headings (e.g., flight times…also the axis disclosing the options such as nonstop/one stop); see also ¶0047-¶0048 and the grid below)
the grid having a second axis including vendor headings; (Daughtrey Fig. 5 disclosing the airlines heading and listing of the airlines (vendor headings); see also ¶0047-¶0048 and the grid below)
generating cells within the grid; (Daughtrey Fig. 5 disclosing the various cells within the grid with populated data corresponding to the headings; see also ¶0047-¶0048 and the grid below)
each cell including metadata from datasets matching their respective attribute headings and vendor headings; (Daughtrey Fig. 5 disclosing the various cells within the grid with populated data corresponding to the headings, e, g., prices and airlines; see also grid below with the cells including metadata)
upon receiving a selection of a vendor heading and an attribute heading, generating on the display device a first heading expansion of the metadata of the cell intersecting the vendor heading and the attribute heading; (Daughtrey Fig. 5 and ¶0049 disclosing selecting a cell displays the above grid displays in a lower pane a listing or travel solutions for the particular cell)
upon receiving a selection of just a vendor heading, generating on the display device an expansion of the metadata from the datasets corresponding to each cell of the vendor heading; and, (Daughtrey ¶0049 Fig. 5 and ¶0048 disclosing with the airline tab 87a selected, the summary information in the table 87 is arranged in rows and columns with here enumerating the airlines that offer solutions for the date selected arranged in columns of the table as links, and each of the rows of the table 87 arranging specified travel options such as nonstop flights or one-stop flights, and so forth as links; ¶0049 disclosing selecting a cell displays the above grid displays in a lower pane a listing or travel solutions for the particular cell; also each travel solution contains a 'details' URL link in the row of information devoted to that travel solution. Clicking on that link takes the user to a detailed description of that travel solution.)
upon receiving a selection of just an attribute heading, generating on the display device an expansion of the metadata from the datasets corresponding to each cell of the attribute heading. (Daughtrey ¶0049 Fig. 5 and ¶0058 disclosing when the flight time tab 87b is selected, the table 87 is arranged to show departure times between the origin and the destination over ranges of times for the potential days of travel in the outbound portion of the trip in rows of the table, as well as departure time for the return portion of the trip in columns of the table 87 over time ranges in the potential return days; ¶0049 disclosing selecting a cell displays the above grid displays in a lower pane a listing or travel solutions for the particular cell; also each travel solution contains a 'details' URL link in the row of information devoted to that travel solution. Clicking on that link takes the user to a detailed description of that travel solution; selecting one of the outer peripheral cells of the table will bring up all flight options on a designated day in the designated time area; whereas selecting an interior one of the cells will produce the intersection of solutions for a time segment on the selected outbound date and the time segment of the selected return date)
Claim 20: The method of claim 19 wherein a first one of the attribute headings is based on a lowest price and a second one of the attribute headings is based on a duration of time to fulfill the commercial option. (Daughtrey Fig. 5 showing the column/heading that is sorted by lowest price; ¶0058 also discloses each solutions table 87 cell displays the cost of the cheapest solutions for each pair of intersecting time segments; also Fig. 5 and another heading/column being duration)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DIONE N SIMPSON whose telephone number is (571)272-5513. The examiner can normally be reached M-F; 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m..
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DIONE N. SIMPSON
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3628
/DIONE N. SIMPSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3628