DETAILED ACTION
The present application is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . 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 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.
This Office Action is in response Applicant communication filed on 4/17/2026.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 4/17/2026 has been entered.
Claims
Claims 23 and 42 have been amended.
Claims 1-22 and 41 have been cancelled.
Claims 23-40 and 42 are currently pending in the application.
Information Disclosure Statements
The Information Disclosure Statements (IDS) that were filed on 2/13/2026, 4/13/2026, and 5/28/2026 have been considered.
Response to Arguments
101
The examiner agrees that the claims provide an improvement to the functioning of a computer or technical field. The additional elements of generating a personalized promotion that is encoded with customer information and then receiving the customer information that is read by a POS from a representation of the personalized promotion allows the system to receive customer information and create a customer account using the customer information without the user having to manually enter their information.
103
In Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 23 and 42 have been considered but are moot because new references have been added as necessitated by the applicant’s amendments to the claims.
112
The examiner withdraws the previous 112 rejections due to the claim amendments.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(B) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 23-40 and 42 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention. In this instant case,
Claims 23 and 42 recite “receiving, from a point of sale (POS) in association with a transaction between the customer and the merchant, promotion information associated with the personalized promotion, customer information read by the POS from a representation of the personalized promotion, and payment information read by the POS from a payment instrument” (emphasis added). It is unclear whether “customer information” is referring to the same customer information that is encoded in the personalized promotion as recited earlier in the claim. For examination purposes, the examiner interprets the customer information being received from the POS as the same customer information that is encoded in the personalized promotion.
Further claims 24-40 are rejected as being dependent on claim 23 above.
Rejections under 35 § U.S.C. 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 of this title, 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 23-29, 32, 34, 35, 40, and 42 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20070162337 A1 (“Hawkins”) and US 20110238471 A1 (“Trzcinski”) and US 20130073459 A1 (“Zacarias”).
Per claims 23 and 42, Hawkins discloses:
creating, in a database, a record for a customer account associated with the customer using the customer information, wherein the database stores the payment information as part of the customer account (e.g. Such merchant loyalty identification number and personal information are stored in the customer information database 205 of the merchant loyalty program sub-opponent 200 of the IMS 165. Additionally or alternatively, further personal information may be submitted to the IMS 165 by the customer in order to create an electronic wallet to facilitate the purchasing of goods through biometric authentication at the merchant POS 105. Such further personal information may include, in addition to the merchant loyalty identification number, additional demographic information (e.g., name, age, gender, date of birth, address), verification information (e.g., biometric data, a password, a security question and answer pair), financial account information (e.g., credit account data, debit account data, checking account data), personal preferences (e.g., desired personal incentives distribution channels, default payment type, notifications of new personal incentives, etc.), healthcare information (e.g., policy number, insurance carrier, etc.), and any other personal and identity-related information. Such personal information (including the merchant loyalty identification number) may be stored in the electronic wallet database 270. The customer may additionally register identifying information for one or more personal devices, such as a mobile device, with the IMS 165 to view and activate his targeted offers through such personal devices) (Section [0026]);
confirming based on an identity of the customer and the promotion information in the request, that the promotion information corresponds to the personalized promotion that is associated with the customer account in the record within the database (e.g. At step 450, when the merchant employee scans a product into the ECR 110, the ECR 110 may transmit the customer's loyalty information (e.g., loyalty identification number) and product information (e.g., UPC code) to the incentive redemption controller 140 which then determines whether such a product is eligible for a discount under the customer's activated targeted offers) (Section [0030]);
retrieving, from the record within the database and based on the identity of the customer, payment information associated with the identity of the customer and promotion redemption information for redeeming the personalized promotion (e.g. If in steps 410 through 425, similar to steps 310 to 325 during the activation of targeted offers, the biometric authentication server 275 of the IMS 165 is able to authenticate the customer such that the communication staging server 255 obtains the customer's targeted offers that have been activated through the process set forth in FIG. 3, then in step 430, the customer staging server 255 may export the activated targeted offers to the incentive redemption controller 140 located at the merchant in step 435, the biometric authentication server 275 may return a representation of the customer's electronic wallet that includes the customer's loyalty identification information and payment information (e.g., credit cards, debit cards, checking account, etc.) to the BAP 120. At step 440, the BAP 120 may extract the customer's loyalty information and payment information from the customer's electronic wallet and transmit such information to the PIN pad 115) (Section [0029]-[0031]);
transmitting, to a payment processor over a network, the payment information and the promotion redemption information such that the payment processor can complete processing of the transaction between the customer and the merchant using the promotion redemption information to apply the personalized promotion to modify a payment amount for the transaction and using the payment information for payment of the payment amount for the transaction (e.g. At step 445, the PIN pad 115 may forward the payment information and loyalty information to the ECR 110. At step 450, when the merchant employee scans a product into the ECR 110, the ECR 110 may transmit the customer's loyalty information (e.g., loyalty identification number) and product information (e.g., UPC code) to the incentive redemption controller 140 which then determines whether such a product is eligible for a discount under the customer's activated targeted offers. If, at step 455, the incentive redemption controller 140 identifies that a product is eligible for a discount, it transmits the discount information to ECR 110 for deduction off the price charged to the customer. In certain embodiments, customer redemptions of activated target offers are tracked by the incentive redemption controller 140 and transmitted back to the IMS 165 for storage in the merchant loyalty program subcomponent 200 and subsequent use for improved targeting by the targeting engine 240 and/or to provide reports to the merchant In one embodiment wherein CPG activated offers are redeemed by the customer at the merchant POS 105 as described in the foregoing process, a report of such CPG redemptions may be generated by the IMS 165 and transmitted to the merchant for use during settlement of funds between the merchant and the CPG. Ultimately, payment information received by the ECR in step 445 is transmitted to a payment processor such as 155 and 160 for final payment authorization) (Section [0029]-[0031]).
Although Hawkins discloses a system that generates personalized promotions to customers, uses the personalized promotions to modify a payment amount for a transaction, and uses payment information stored in a customer account to perform a payment transaction between the customer and merchant, Hawkins does not specifically disclose:
generating a personalized promotion that is personalized to a customer and is associated with a merchant, wherein the customer information is encoded in the personalized promotion;
receiving, from a point of sale (POS) in associated with a transaction between the customer and the merchant, promotion information associated with the personalized promotion, customer information read by the POS from a representation of the personalized promotion, and payment information read by the POS from a payment instrument;
receiving a request to use the personalized promotion in a subsequent transaction between the customer and the merchant, wherein the request includes the promotion information specific to the personalized promotion.
However Trzcinski, in analogous art of reward cards used for transactions, discloses:
generating a personalized promotion that is personalized to a customer and is associated with a merchant, wherein the customer information is encoded in the personalized promotion (e.g. issuing a card to the customer in response to receiving that information; receiving information encoded on the card and information relating to a customer transaction with a retailer (any one of a plurality of retailers); and offering to the customer participation in a rewards program operated by that retailer in accordance with the registration information. The customer is thereby enabled to participate in a plurality of rewards programs, in accordance with the registration information and in accordance with use of a single card (the generic loyalty card)) and (e.g. At each different store, the card reader obtains information encoded on a memory device 15 integral with the card. Memory device 15 is typically on a magnetic strip which may be coupled to a memory chip on or in the card. In an embodiment, memory 15 has identifying information generic to all the different retailers (e.g. customer name and address), and also has a portion with information specific to each retailer's loyalty program (e.g. place and time of last visit, amount spent during last visit, amount spent year to date, amount spent per individual store)) (Sections [0005] and [0012]);
receiving, from a point of sale (POS) in associated with a transaction between the customer and the merchant, promotion information associated with the personalized promotion, customer information read by the POS from a representation of the personalized promotion, and payment information read by the POS from a payment instrument (e.g. In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, customer 1 may present a single loyalty card 10 at stores belonging to different retailers. Each retailer has a separate in-store system 22, 24 which includes a card reader 12, 14 respectively. At each different store, the card reader obtains information encoded on a memory device 15 integral with the card. Memory device 15 is typically on a magnetic strip which may be coupled to a memory chip on or in the card. In an embodiment, memory 15 has identifying information generic to all the different retailers (e.g. customer name and address), and also has a portion with information specific to each retailer's loyalty program (e.g. place and time of last visit, amount spent during last visit, amount spent year to date, amount spent per individual store)) and (e.g. During the customer's store visits, the universal card 10 is used as conventional cards--that is, typically being swiped through readers 12, 14 with information relative to rewards. Data relating to the customer's use of the card (tracking date and time of the store visit, amount of purchase, etc.) is transmitted to centralized system 200 over Internet 100. As shown in FIG. 2, system 200 may include a server 240 with internal data storage device 250 for storing customer information and reward program information) (Section [0012] and [0013]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the receipt of customer information of Hawkins, to include receiving customer information that is encoded in a personalized promotion read by a POS, as taught by Trzcinski, in order to achieve the predictable result of increasing security by encoding the data within the personalized promotion so that only the POS can retrieve the encoded data.
Although Hawkins/Trzcinski discloses a system that generates personalized promotions to customers, uses the personalized promotions to modify a payment amount for a transaction, and uses payment information stored in a customer account to perform a payment transaction between the customer and merchant, Hawkins/Trzcinski does not specifically disclose:
receiving a request to use the personalized promotion in a subsequent transaction between the customer and the merchant, wherein the request includes the promotion information specific to the personalized promotion.
However Zacarias, in analogous art of gift cards and coupons used for transactions, discloses:
receiving a request to use the personalized promotion in a subsequent transaction between the customer and the merchant, wherein the request includes the promotion information specific to the personalized promotion (e.g. For example, the local digital wallet application may have the capabilities to generate a bar code of registered gift card that the user selects to redeem at a particular merchant that accepts the registered gift card or is otherwise capable of redeeming the registered gift card. The bar code may then be scanned at the particular merchant to identify an account identifier of the gift card so that at least a portion of the balance of the gift card may be used to make a purchase at the particular merchant) (Section [0060], [0082], and [0096]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the personalized promotion of Hawkins/Trzcinski, to include the capability of allowing the user to have their personalized promotions scanned when they want to use them during a transaction, as taught by Zacarias, in order to achieve the predictable result of providing convenience to the user by allowing them to easily apply their discount or gift card when buying something at a merchant.
Per claim 24, Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias discloses all the limitations of claim 23 above. Hawkins further discloses:
wherein the personalized promotion includes at least one of a coupon, a discount, or a special (e.g. As previously discussed, a personal incentive may be a coupon or offer for a discount off the regular price of a product) (Section [0020]).
Per claim 25, Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias discloses all the limitations of claim 23 above. Hawkins further discloses:
wherein the personalized promotion includes a reward associated with a loyalty program, wherein the customer is a member of the loyalty program (e.g. The IMS 165 includes a merchant loyalty program subcomponent 200 which manages data provided by the merchant to the IMS 165. For each merchant coupled to the IMS 165 (as identified through a merchant identifier), the merchant loyalty program, subcomponent 200 maintains the merchant's customer intonation in customer information database 205 Such customer information may include demographic information (name, address, etc.) as well as the customer's merchant loyalty identification number) (Section [0020] and [0026]).
Per claim 26, Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias discloses all the limitations of claim 23 above. Zacarias further discloses:
wherein the personalized promotion includes a gift card (e.g. For example, the local digital wallet application may have the capabilities to generate a bar code of registered gift card that the user selects to redeem at a particular merchant that accepts the registered gift card or is otherwise capable of redeeming the registered gift card. The bar code may then be scanned at the particular merchant to identify an account identifier of the gift card so that at least a portion of the balance of the gift card may be used to make a purchase at the particular merchant) (Section [0040] and [0082]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the loyalty rewards and personalized promotions of Hawkins/Trzcinski to include the use of gift cards as the rewards/promotions, as taught by Zacarias, in order to achieve the predictable result of providing convenience to the user by allowing them to use their rewards for any product sold by a particular merchant.
Per claim 27, Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias discloses all the limitations of claim 23 above. Hawkins further discloses:
generating the personalized promotion based on information about the customer (e.g. Upon receiving the offer pool for targeting for the merchant data server 230, the targeting engine 240 extracts the particular merchant's information (e.g., offers, t-logs, product taxonomies, customer information, customer segmentation information, etc.) that is stored in the targeting engine data warehouse 235 and referenced, for example, by a merchant identifier. For each personal incentive in the offer pool, the targeting engine 240 may then calculate the relevance score for each merchant customer based, in part, upon the customer's and other customers' purchasing behavior as indicated through the t-logs and other merchant information from the targeting engine data warehouse 235, assign rankings of the offers to the merchant's customers based on such relevance scores, and allocate the personal incentives to selected customers who have the highest chance of redeeming such personal incentives) (Section [0022]).
Per claim 28, Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias discloses all the limitations of claim 23 above. Hawkins further discloses:
sending the personalized promotion to an account associated with the customer (e.g. Upon receiving the offer pool for targeting for the merchant data server 230, the targeting engine 240 extracts the particular merchant's information (e.g., the merchant loyalty program subcomponent 200 regularly and continually feeds relevant data to the target engine data warehouse 235 and merchants regularly generate offer pools (e.g., through a web interface, etc.) that are transmitted to the targeting engine 240 in order to create targeted offers that are stored in the customer targeted offers database 250 awaiting "activation" by a customer. A customer may then activate his own targeted offers at any time by viewing the targeted offers through a variety of channels, such as through emails, via web browsing, by receiving messages at his registered mobile device and/or by visiting a merchant kiosk such as loyalty kiosk 170) (Section [0027]).
Per claim 29, Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias discloses all the limitations of claim 23 above. Zacarias further discloses:
wherein the promotion information about the personalized promotion is encoded in a scannable element, wherein the request to use the personalized promotion in the transaction is associated with scanning of the scannable element (e.g. For example, the local digital wallet application may have the capabilities to generate a bar code of registered gift card that the user selects to redeem at a particular merchant that accepts the registered gift card or is otherwise capable of redeeming the registered gift card. The bar code may then be scanned at the particular merchant to identify an account identifier of the gift card so that at least a portion of the balance of the gift card may be used to make a purchase at the particular merchant) (Section [0082], [0090], and [0096]).
The motivation to combine Zacarias with Hawkins/Trzcinski is disclosed above with references to claims 23 and 42.
Per claim 32, Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias discloses all the limitations of claim 29 above. Zacarias further discloses:
wherein the scanning of the scannable element includes scanning a printed form of the scannable element (e.g. Alternatively, the bar code may be displayed on a device that is connected to a printer (e.g., in the user's home or office). The user may instruct the local digital wallet application to send the bar code to the printer. The user may then take the printed bar code to the merchant to be used when making a purchase from the merchant) (Section [0090]).
The motivation to combine Zacarias with Hawkins/Trzcinski is disclosed above with references to claims 23 and 42.
Per claim 34, Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias discloses all the limitations of claim 29 above. Zacarias further discloses:
wherein the scanning of the scannable element includes scanning a displayed form of the scannable element that is displayed on a display screen (e.g. In this example, the user selects the "Use Gift Card" button, which causes display 630 to be shown to the user. Display 630 includes a bar code that is generated by either a local digital wallet application or exchange service 120. Display 630 also includes a "Scan Now" instruction that prompts the user to have the bar code scanned in order to redeem the gift card. The user or a cashier at the corresponding store places the bar code in relation to the bar code reader such that the bar code reader scans the bar code) (Section [0090] and [0096]).
The motivation to combine Zacarias with Hawkins/Trzcinski is disclosed above with references to claims 23 and 42.
Per claim 35, Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias discloses all the limitations of claim 23 above. Hawkins further discloses:
wherein the personalized promotion is personalized to the customer based on one or more merchants at which the personalized promotion is redeemable (e.g. Upon receiving the offer pool for targeting for the merchant data server 230, the targeting engine 240 extracts the particular merchant's information (e.g., offers, t-logs, product taxonomies, customer information, customer segmentation information, etc.) that is stored in the targeting engine data warehouse 235 and referenced, for example, by a merchant identifier. For each personal incentive in the offer pool, the targeting engine 240 may then calculate the relevance score for each merchant customer based, in part, upon the customer's and other customers' purchasing behavior as indicated through the t-logs and other merchant information from the targeting engine data warehouse 235, assign rankings of the offers to the merchant's customers based on such relevance scores, and allocate the personal incentives to selected customers who have the highest chance of redeeming such personal incentives) (Section [0022]).
Per claim 40, Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias discloses all the limitations of claim 23 above. Hawkins further discloses:
verifying that the promotion information about the personalized promotion in the request aligns with information in one or more customer records associated with the customer in the database to verify the identity of the customer (e.g. In one biometrically enhanced embodiment, at step 300, prior to initiating his shopping experience, a customer may visit the loyalty kiosk 170, which may be conveniently situated near the entrance of the merchant and biometrically authenticate himself at the kiosk in order to view targeted offers associated with the customer's merchant specific loyalty identification number. The customer may place his finger on the biometric scanner on the loyalty kiosk 170 which then captures and produces a representation of the image of the customer's fingerprint. Additionally, the customer may also enter a personal number into the loyalty kiosk 170 to provide further information to the loyalty kiosk 170 in order to identify or verify the customer) (Section [0027] and [0031]).
Claims 30 and 31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias, as applied to claim 29 above, in further view of US 9083931 B1 (“Helms”).
Per claim 30, although Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias discloses a scannable element that encodes information about a personalized promotion, Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias does not specifically disclose:
wherein the scannable element encodes at least a name of the customer or contact information associated with the customer.
However Helms, in analogous art of scannable codes, discloses:
wherein the scannable element encodes at least a name of the customer or contact information associated with the customer (e.g. The inclusion of Advanced Next Generation QR Codes in the message allows smart phone users to further engage themselves in the Advertiser's message. By using simple color coded QR Codes, the Greeter can convey any message . . . from simple contact information, reservations or directions, to in-depth web based interaction, such as discounts or special offers, further enticing patrons) (Column 5, Ln 33-52).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the scannable code of Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias to include contact information, as taught by Helms, in order to achieve the predictable result of providing convenience to the user so that they can provide their personal information via the scannable code instead of having to input it separately.
Per claim 31, although Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias discloses a scannable element that encodes information about a personalized promotion, Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias does not specifically disclose:
wherein the scannable element includes at least one of a bar code or a quick response (QR) code.
However Helms, in analogous art of scannable codes, discloses:
wherein the scannable element includes at least one of a bar code or a quick response (QR) code (e.g. The inclusion of Advanced Next Generation QR Codes in the message allows smart phone users to further engage themselves in the Advertiser's message. By using simple color coded QR Codes, the Greeter can convey any message… from simple contact information, reservations or directions, to in-depth web based interaction, such as discounts or special offers, further enticing patrons) (Column 5, Ln 33-52).
The motivation to combine Helms with Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias is disclosed above in claim 30.
Claims 33 and 36-38 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias, as applied to claim 29 above, in further view of US 20100318407 A1 (“Leff”).
Per claim 33, although Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias discloses a scannable element that is captured by a scanner to provide a promotion, Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias does not specifically disclose:
wherein the scanning of the scannable element includes capturing an image of the scannable element using a camera.
However Leff, in analogous art of personalized coupons, discloses:
wherein the scanning of the scannable element includes capturing an image of the scannable element using a camera (e.g. In one embodiment, hard copies of coupons received from consumers may be stored by the merchant and collected from the merchant by the personalized coupon system provider. In another embodiment, the merchant may scan a bar code, QR code or other code from the coupon using a handheld scanner device such as, for example, an Adesso NuScan scanner coupled to a merchant's personal computer, a scanner coupled with a point of sale system, or the merchant may use a cell phone that includes a camera and scanning software) (Section [0050]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the scannable code scanner of Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias to include a camera, as taught by Leff, in order to achieve the predictable result of saving money by using a device that the user already has such as a cell phone camera instead of having to buy a separate scanner.
Per claim 36, although Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias discloses personalized promotions targeted to specific customers, Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias does not specifically disclose:
wherein the personalized promotion is personalized to the customer based on a geographic area in which the personalized promotion is redeemable.
However Leff, in analogous art of personalized coupons, discloses:
wherein the personalized promotion is personalized to the customer based on a geographic area in which the personalized promotion is redeemable (e.g. The personalized coupon system enables advertising and participating service providers, merchants and retailers the ability to provide personalized and/or customized offers to individuals, namely consumers and prospective customers, based on a variety of consumer behaviors as well as the geographic location of the consumer) (Section [0023], [0048], and [0049]).
The motivation to combine Leff with Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias is disclosed above in claim 33.
Per claim 37, although Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias discloses personalized promotions targeted to specific customers, Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias does not specifically disclose:
wherein the personalized promotion is personalized to the customer based on personalized text associated with the personalized promotion.
However Leff, in analogous art of personalized coupons, discloses:
wherein the personalized promotion is personalized to the customer based on personalized text associated with the personalized promotion (e.g. These offers may be sent as and referred to as personalized electronic messages. An example individualized offer email note body 300 is provided in FIG. 3. In this example, the individualized offer email note body 300 includes individualized offer sections under both the headings "Your Offers" 310 and "Recent Interests" 320. The individualized offers under the heading the heading "Your Offers" 310 include offers based on the activity, in-activity and geographic location of the user, and may include offers similar to but not the same as viewed or used other offers. The individualized offers under the heading "Recent Interests" 320 includes offers based on the activity and geographic location of the user, and may include offers from and similar to viewed or used other offers. In addition, the email note may contain offers that were popular among similarly situated other users shown as "Popular Picks" 330. The email note may also contain offers from merchants who are new to the personalized coupon system shown as "New Merchants" 340.) (Section [0047] and [0048]).
The motivation to combine Leff with Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias is disclosed above in claim 33.
Per claim 38, although Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias discloses personalized promotions targeted to specific customers, Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias does not specifically disclose:
wherein the personalized promotion is personalized to the customer based on personalized visual media associated with the personalized promotion.
However Leff, in analogous art of personalized coupons, discloses:
wherein the personalized promotion is personalized to the customer based on personalized visual media associated with the personalized promotion (e.g. These offers may be sent as and referred to as personalized electronic messages. An example individualized offer email note body 300 is provided in FIG. 3. In this example, the individualized offer email note body 300 includes individualized offer sections under both the headings "Your Offers" 310 and "Recent Interests" 320. The individualized offers under the heading the heading "Your Offers" 310 include offers based on the activity, in-activity and geographic location of the user, and may include offers similar to but not the same as viewed or used other offers. The individualized offers under the heading "Recent Interests" 320 includes offers based on the activity and geographic location of the user, and may include offers from and similar to viewed or used other offers. In addition, the email note may contain offers that were popular among similarly situated other users shown as "Popular Picks" 330. The email note may also contain offers from merchants who are new to the personalized coupon system shown as "New Merchants" 340.) (Section [0047] and [0048]).
The motivation to combine Leff with Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias is disclosed above in claim 33.
Claim 39 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias, as applied to claim 23 above, in further view of US 20050107164 A1 (“Muir”).
Per claim 39, although Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias discloses personalized promotions that are personalized for the customer, Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias does not specifically disclose:
wherein the personalized promotion is personalized to the customer based on personalized audio associated with the personalized promotion.
However Muir, in analogous art of personalized promotions, discloses:
wherein the personalized promotion is personalized to the customer based on personalized audio associated with the personalized promotion (e.g. The audio speakers 62 may generate audio representing sounds such as the noise of spinning slot machine reels, a dealer's voice, music, announcement or any other audio related to a casino game. The audio may include messages, promotional incentives and other types of messages that, if desired, have been personalized for a particular user) (Section [0043]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the personalized promotion of Hawkins/Trzcinski/Zacarias to include personalized audio, as taught by Muir, in order to achieve the predictable result of providing convenience to users who may be vision impaired by allowing them to hear promotional offers.
Conclusion
The following prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US Publication Number 2004/0054575 A1 to Marshall teaches a system and method that encodes coupons with customer information. US Publication Number 2004/0123314 A1 to Bova teaches a system and method that encodes a user ID into a coupon.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TIMOTHY P SAX whose telephone number is (571) 272-2935. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8-4:30.
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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.
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/TIMOTHY PAUL SAX/Examiner, Art Unit 3698
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