Detailed Action:
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of Claims:
Claims 1-17 are pending.
Response to Remarks:
Regarding 101:
The Applicant asserts that the claims are allowable over 101 because, they can’t possibly be done by the human mind. Even if the Examiner was to take that assertion as valid, which the Examiner does not concede, the Examiner had set forth a rejection of mental process with the computer aid. The computer in this instance is doing its normal and routine activity while not being a unique computing system. Therefore, the rejection is maintained.
Regarding 102/103:
The Examiner has updated the search and examination, and in doing so, the Examiner maintains the novelty of the claims for purposes of 102/103, as set forth in the Office Action dated March 9, 2026.
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 directed towards a system, method, and product which are one of the four statutory categories.
However, they 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. The claims of 1, 8, and 15 are directed to a mental process with the aid of a computer. Specifically, the invention is directed to modeling workflows without redundant time traces in a timed partial order graph.
The Examiner has deemed this to be computer aided mental processes namely MPEP 2106.04(a)(2) III C #2 performing a mental process in a computer environment. (See also, MPEP 2106.04(A)(2) III paragraph 3 citing Synopsys, Inc. v. Mentor Graphics Corp., 839 F.3d 1138, 1139, 120 USPQ2d 1473, 1474 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (holding those claims to a mental process of "translating a functional description of a logic circuit into a hardware component description of the logic circuit" are directed to an abstract idea, because the claims "read on an individual performing the claimed steps mentally or with pencil and paper"). Also see MPEP 2106.04(A)(2) III paragraph 2. 1st sentence: "mental processes" abstract idea grouping is defined as concepts performed in the human mind, and examples of mental processes include observations, evaluations, judgments, and opinions")
Specifically, here, based on the MPEP 2106.04(a)(2) III paragraph 2 test above, all you have is computer aided observations and evaluations to generate workflows. Thus, similar to the example of MPEP 2106.04(a)(2) III paragraph 2 the claims would set forth the abstract mental processes.
This is shown in various claim limitations, such as, storing the timed traces into memory or generating partial timed trace graph.
The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the additional limitations, such as, “…computing device… processor…memory…data receiver…partial order graph…clocks…”are all directed at narrowing the abstract idea. Furthermore, the limitations here implemented in a generic computer. This is evidenced by the Applicant’s Specification on Fig. 5 disclosing implementing the software on a generic computer using generic implementing software.
The dependent claims of 2-7, 9-14 and 16-20 do not independently overcome 101, and are therefore, rejected based on their dependency of claim 1, 11. The dependent claims alone are directed towards further narrowing the abstract idea, which does not serve to render the claim patent-eligible.
In addition, the dependent claims 5, 6, 12, 13, 19 and 20 are further rejected as a mathematical formula judicial exception. This is evident by the claims explicit use of a mathematical formula.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 ZAHRA ELKASSABGI whose telephone number is (571)270-7943. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 11:30 to 8:00.
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ZAHRA . ELKASSABGI
Examiner
Art Unit 3623
/RUTAO WU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3623
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