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 the Application
This action is a first action on the merits in response to the application filed on 01/04/2024.
Status of Claims
Claims 101-120 filed on 01/04/2024 are currently pending and have been examined in this application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/04/2024 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 101-120 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. Specifically, claims 101-120 are directed to an abstract idea without additional elements to integrate the claims into a practical application or to amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claims 101-120 are directed to a process, machine, or manufacture (Step 1), however the claims are directed to the abstract idea of identifying technological requirements and facilitating collaboration between entities to address those requirements.
With respect to Step 2A Prong One of the frameworks, claim 101 recites an abstract idea. Claim 101 includes limitations for “mapping a series of related unmet technological needs and for providing resources for satisfying unmet technological needs, receive first onboarding information from a plurality of first entities, the first onboarding information including information indicative of a plurality of first unmet technological needs; establish a map of the first unmet technological needs, the map including a plurality of nodes representing the first unmet technological needs; establish pathways between the plurality of nodes, wherein the pathways define relationships between nodes based on similarities between corresponding unmet technological needs; associate a particular entity of the plurality of first entities with a first particular node of the plurality of nodes; receive first content associated with the first particular node, the first content being available to the particular entity by virtue of the particular entity being associated with the first particular node; receive second onboarding information from a plurality of second entities, the second onboarding information including information indicative of a plurality of second unmet technological needs; alter the map based on the second onboarding information, wherein altering the map includes establishing a second particular node of the plurality of second unmet technological needs, establishing a pathway between the first particular node and the second particular node, and moving the particular entity from the first particular node to the second particular node, wherein the second particular node is associated with an unmet technological need different from the unmet technological need associated with the first particular node, and receive second content within the second particular node, the second content being available to the particular entity by virtue of the particular entity being associated with the second particular node”
The limitations above recite an abstract idea under Step 2A Prong One. More particularly, the limitations above recite certain methods of organizing human activity associated with managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people because the claimed elements describe a process for identifying technological requirements and facilitating collaboration between entities to address those requirements. As a result, claim 101 recites an abstract idea under Step 2A Prong One.
Claims 119 and 120 recite substantially similar limitations to those presented with respect to claim 101. As a result, claims 119 and 120 recite an abstract idea under Step 2A Prong One for the same reasons as stated above with respect to claim 101. Similarly, claims 102-118 recite certain methods of organizing human activity associated with managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people because the claimed elements describe a process for identifying technological requirements and facilitating collaboration between entities to address those requirements. As a result, claims 102-118 recite an abstract idea under Step 2A Prong One.
With respect to Step 2A Prong Two of the framework, claim 101 does not include additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. Claim 101 includes additional elements that do not recite an abstract idea. The additional elements of claim 101 include “A system for”, “the system comprising: at least one processor configured to:”. When considered in view of the claim as a whole, the steps of “receiving” do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because “receiving” is an insignificant extra solution activity to the judicial exception. When considered in view of the claim as a whole, the recited computer elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because the computer elements are generic computer elements that are merely used as a tool to perform the recited abstract idea. As set forth in the 2019 Eligibility Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. at 55 “merely include[ing] instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer” is an example of when an abstract idea has not been integrated into a practical application. Therefore, the claim is directed to an abstract idea.
As a result, claim 101 does not include additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application under Step 2A Prong Two.
As noted above, claims 119 and 120 recite substantially similar limitations to those recited with respect to claim 101. Although claim 119 further recites “A non-transitory computer readable medium” and claim 120 further recites “A computer implemented method”, when considered in view of the claim as a whole, the recited computer elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because the computer elements are generic computer elements that are merely used as a tool to perform the recited abstract idea. As a result, claims 119 and 120 do not include additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application under Step 2A Prong Two.
Claims 102-118 do not include any additional elements beyond those recited by independent claims 101, 119 and 120. As a result, claims 102-118 do not include additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application under Step 2A Prong Two.
With respect to Step 2B of the framework, claim 101 does not include additional elements amounting to significantly more than the abstract idea. As noted above, claim 101 includes additional elements that do not recite an abstract idea. The additional elements of claim 101 include “A system for”, “the system comprising: at least one processor configured to:”. The steps of “receiving” do not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea because “receiving” is well-understood, routine, and conventional computer function in view of MPEP 2106.05(d)(ll). The recited computer elements do not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea because the computer elements are generic computer elements that are merely used as a tool to perform the recited abstract idea. As a result, claim 101 does not include additional elements that amount to significantly more than the abstract idea under Step 2B.
As noted above, claims 119 and 120 recite substantially similar limitations to those recited with respect to claim 101. Although claim 119 further recites “A non-transitory computer readable medium” and claim 120 further recites “A computer implemented method”, the recited computer elements do not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea because the computer elements are generic computer elements that are merely used as a tool to perform the recited abstract idea. Further, looking at the additional elements as an ordered combination adds nothing that is not already present when considering the additional elements individually. As a result, claims 119 and 120 do not include additional elements that amount to significantly more than the abstract idea under Step 2B.
Claims 102-118 do not include any additional elements beyond those recited by independent claims 101, 119, and 120. As a result, claims 102-118 do not include additional elements that amount to significantly more than the abstract idea under Step 2B.
Therefore, the claims are directed to an abstract idea without additional elements amounting to significantly more than the abstract idea. Accordingly, claims 101-120 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as being directed to non-statutory subject matter.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication from the examiner should be directed to Abdallah El-Hagehassan whose contact information is (571) 272-0819 and Abdallah.el-hagehassan@uspto.gov The examiner can normally be reached on Monday- Friday 8 am to 5 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Rutao Wu can be reached on (571) 272-6045. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-3734.
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/ABDALLAH A EL-HAGE HASSAN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3623