DETAILED ACTION
Status of Application
This action is a Final Rejection. This action is in response to the amendment and response filed on July 16, 2025.
Claims 2, 3, 11, and 12 have been canceled.
Claims 1, 4, 6-10, and 13-19 have been amended.
Claims 1, 4-10, and 13-20 are pending and rejected.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, 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.
Response to Arguments
Regarding the rejection under 35 USC § 101, Applicant argues that “the present rejection amounts to reasoning that once all tangible components of a cash register are ignored, the cash register becomes an abstract idea related to certain methods of organizing human activity ‘because it involves payments and a commercial interaction.’” Remarks at 8. Applicant asserts “[t]hat a claim may involve or relate in some manner to abstract ideas is not the same as a claim being directed to the abstract idea. Ineligibility in this context requires the claims to cover an abstract idea as an abstract idea rather than merely relate to, or involve, some abstract ideas.” Id. However, the claims do not merely “involve” an abstract idea. Rather, they recite an abstract idea and are directed to an abstract idea. For example, the claims recite a system and process for executing a payment. More specifically, the claims recite steps of acquiring transaction information, receiving customer identifying information, acquiring a default payment method, providing a user with payment options, and executing a payments. These features are all part of the abstract idea. Because the computing components are being used to implement this abstract idea, the claims are directed to an abstract idea and, therefore, are ineligible.
Applicant asserts that “[t]he present claims concern clearly specialized devices and systems configured in specific manners to function in the context of retail transaction processing systems, checkout systems, point-of-sale terminals, and the like.” Remarks at 9. However, Applicant has not shown that the claimed checkout apparatus or other devices are special purpose devices.
Applicant further argues that “the present claims reflect technological improvements to existing related art devices, systems, and methods in the field [of] checkout apparatuses and the like.” Remarks at 9. Applicant points to paragraph 0022 of the Specification. Id. However, this paragraph merely refers to the checkout apparatus as “improved” without explaining how any technology has been improved. As such, the rejection has been maintained.
The rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) has been withdrawn in light of Applicant’s amendments. However, the claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 in light of the claim amendments.
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, 4-10, and 13-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as being directed to non-statutory subject matter because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Step 1: Does the Claim Fall within a Statutory Category? (see MPEP 2106.03)
Yes, with respect to claims 1, 4-10, and 13-15, which recite a checkout apparatus/system and, therefore, are directed to the statutory class of machine or manufacture.
Yes, with respect to claims 16-20, which recite a method and, therefore, are directed to the statutory class of process.
Step 2A, Prong One: Is a Judicial Exception Recited? (see MPEP 2106.04(a))
The following claims identify the limitations that recite the abstract idea in regular text and that recite additional elements in bold:
1. A checkout apparatus, comprising:
a communication interface connectable to a network;
a display unit positioned to face a customer at the checkout apparatus;
an input unit configured to receive user inputs from the customer; and
a control unit configured to:
acquire transaction information for a transaction of the customer via the communication interface;
receive customer identifying information identifying the customer from a camera;
transmit the customer identifying information to a server via the communication interface;
acquire payment method information indicating a default payment method associated with the customer identifying information;
display a first payment selection screen on the display unit when payment method information indicating the default payment method is acquired, the first payment screen requesting the customer select to a first button to use the default payment method or a second button to use another payment method;
execute payment processing for the transaction based on the acquired transaction information using the default payment method associated with the customer when the first button is selected;
display a second payment selection screen on the display unit when the second button is selected by the customer on the first payment selection screen, the second payment selection screen including a plurality of payment method options; and
execute payment processing for the transaction based on the acquired transaction information using a payment option selected from the second payment selection screen payment.
4. The checkout apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is further configured to:
cause the display unit to display a payment cancellation screen with a cancellation button which when selected by the customer cancels the prior payment processing using the default payment method associated with the customer identifying information.
5. The checkout apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is further configured to:
receive a payment method selection via the input unit and a request to associate the payment method selection with the customer identifying information.
6. The checkout apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the server is a store server.
7. The checkout apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
the camera, wherein
the camera is positioned to acquire an image of the face of the customer, and
the customer identifying information is facial image data corresponding to the acquired image.
8. The checkout apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
the camera, wherein
the camera is positioned to acquire an image of a membership card of the customer, and
the customer identifying information is read from the membership card.
9. The checkout apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the payment method information indicating the default payment method associated with the customer identifying information is acquired from the image of the membership card.
10. A checkout system, comprising:
a store server connected to a network;
a registration apparatus connected the network and configured to generate transaction information for a transaction of a customer; and
a checkout apparatus including:
a camera;
a communication interface connected to the network;
a display unit positioned to face the customer at the checkout apparatus;
an input unit configured to receive user inputs from the customer; and
a control unit configured to:
acquire transaction information for a transaction of the customer via the communication interface;
receive customer identifying information identifying the customer from the camera;
transmit the customer identifying information to the store server via the communication interface;
acquire payment method information indicating a default payment method associated with the customer identifying information;
display a first payment selection screen on the display unit when payment method information indicating the default payment method is acquired, the first payment screen requesting the customer select to a first button to use the default payment method or a second button to use another payment method;
execute payment processing for the transaction based on the acquired transaction information using the default payment method associated with the customer when the first button is selected;
display a second payment selection screen on the display unit when the second button is selected by the customer on the first payment selection screen, the second payment selection screen including a plurality of payment method options; and
execute payment processing for the transaction based on the acquired transaction information using a payment option selected from the second payment selection screen payment.
13. The checkout system according to claim 10, wherein
the camera is positioned to acquire an image of the face of the customer, and
the customer identifying information is facial image data corresponding to the acquired image.
14. The checkout system according to claim 10, wherein
the camera is positioned to acquire an image of a membership card of the customer, and
the customer identifying information is read from the membership card.
15. The checkout system according to claim 14, wherein the payment method information indicating the default payment method associated with the customer identifying information is acquired from the image of the membership card.
16. A checkout method for executing payment processing for a transaction, the method comprising:
acquiring transaction information for a transaction of a customer via a communication interface;
receiving customer identifying information identifying the customer from a camera at a checkout apparatus;
transmitting the customer identifying information to a server via the communication interface;
acquiring payment method information indicating a default payment method associated with the customer identifying information;
displaying a first payment selection screen on a display unit at the checkout apparatus when payment method information indicating the default payment method is acquired, the first payment screen requesting the customer select to a first button to use the default payment method or a second button to use another payment method;
executing payment processing for the transaction based on the acquired transaction information using the default payment method associated with the customer when the first button is selected;
displaying a second payment selection screen on the display unit when the second button is selected by the customer on the first payment selection screen, the second payment selection screen including a plurality of payment method options; and
executing payment processing for the transaction based on the acquired transaction information using a payment option selected from the second payment selection screen payment.
17. The checkout method according to claim 16, further comprising:
acquiring an image of the face of the customer via the camera, wherein
the customer identifying information is facial image data corresponding to the acquired image.
18. The checkout method according to claim 16, further comprising:
acquiring an image of a membership card of the customer via the camera, wherein the customer identifying information is read from the membership card.
19. The checkout method according to claim 18, wherein the payment method information indicating the default payment method associated with the customer identifying information is acquired from the image of the membership card.
20. The checkout method according to claim 19, wherein the payment method information is displayed on the membership card in a plain text.
Yes. But for the recited additional elements as shown above in bold, the remaining limitations of the claims recite certain methods of organizing human activity. The claims are directed to executing a payment for a transaction. This type of method of organizing human activity is a fundamental economic practice because it involves payments and a commercial interaction such as agreements in the form of contracts, legal obligations, and business relations. Thus, the claims recite an abstract idea.
Step 2A, Prong Two: Is the Abstract Idea Integrated into a Practical Application? (see MPEP 2106.04(d))
No. The claims as a whole merely use a computer as a tool to perform the abstract idea. The computing components (i.e., additional elements that are in bold above) are recited at a high level of generality and are merely invoked as a tool to implement the steps. For example, only a programmed general purpose computing device is needed to implement the claimed process. Simply implementing the abstract idea on a generic computer is not a practical application of the abstract idea. Additionally, there is no improvement to the functioning of a computer or technology. Therefore, the abstract idea is not integrated into a practical application.
Step 2B: Does the Claim Provide an Inventive Concept? (see MPEP 2106.05)
No. As discussed with respect to Step 2A, Prong two, the additional elements in the claims, both individually and in combination, amount to no more than tools to perform the abstract idea. Merely performing the abstract idea using a computer cannot provide an inventive concept. Therefore, the claims do not provide an inventive concept.
As such, the claims are not patent eligible.
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, 6, 7, 10, 13, 16, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nada et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0098120 A1 and Healy et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2016/0260090 A1.
Claim 1:
Nada teaches:
a communication interface connectable to a network (see at least Nada, Figure 1 (The checkout apparatus 20 communicates with the payment information management apparatus 10)).
a display unit positioned to face a customer at the checkout apparatus (see at least Nada, paragraph 0093 (“a display unit of the checkout apparatus 20”)).
an input unit configured to receive user inputs from the customer; and (see at least Nada, Figure 3, items 210, 220; paragraph 0088).
a control unit configured to: (see at least Nada, Figure 3 and associated text).
acquire transaction information for a transaction of the customer via the communication interface (see at least Nada, paragraph 0068 (“The checkout processing unit 230 acquires information (hereinafter, referred to as checkout information) including a consideration to be paid by a customer, and also acquires payment information of the customer from the payment information management apparatus 10. Then, the checkout processing unit 230 performs processing for generating, by a checkout means indicated by the acquired payment information, payment for an amount of money indicated by the acquired checkout information.”); paragraph 0087 (“On the other hand, when the checkout apparatus 20 does not include a product registration function, the checkout processing unit 230 acquires checkout information from an external apparatus (e.g., a product registration apparatus) of the checkout apparatus 20.”)).
receive customer identifying information identifying the customer from a camera (see at least Nada, paragraphs 0025-0026 (“the checkout apparatus includes a face information generation unit that generates authentication-use face information being face information of a customer about to make a checkout by using the checkout apparatus”); paragraph 0061 (“Further, the checkout apparatus 20 includes an image-capture unit (a part or a whole of a face information generation unit 210 to be described later) for capturing a face image of a customer….”); paragraph 0088).
transmit the customer identifying information to a server via the communication interface (see at least Nada, paragraph 0028 (“a transmission unit that transmits, to the payment information management apparatus, the authentication-use face information….”) note: Nada’s payment information management apparatus is the claimed store server.).
Nada does not explicitly teach, but Healy, however, does teach:
acquire payment method information indicating a default payment method associated with the customer identifying information (see at least Healy, paragraph 0019 (“In some embodiments, a cardholder may designate a payment card and/or a wallet as a preferred or default selection.”); paragraph 0040 (“As another example, the single payment option smart button 405 may be displayed when the user has selected a preferred or default payment card from among a plurality of payment cards and digital wallets. In this case, the single payment option smart button 405 may enable the user to skip ahead and pay for a transaction using the preferred payment card.”)).
display a first payment selection screen on the display unit when payment method information indicating the default payment method is acquired, the first payment screen requesting the customer select to a first button to use the default payment method or a second button to use another payment method; execute payment processing for the transaction based on the acquired transaction information using the default payment method associated with the customer when the first button is selected; display a second payment selection screen on the display unit when the second button is selected by the customer on the first payment selection screen, the second payment selection screen including a plurality of payment method options; and execute payment processing for the transaction based on the acquired transaction information using a payment option selected from the second payment selection screen payment (see at least Healy, Figure 7; Figure 8A; Figure 8B; paragraph 0041 (“As another example, a multiple payment option smart button 406 may be displayed if the consumer has more than one payment option available, and/or more than one wallet application on the mobile device 102, and has not made a purchase using the wallet via this merchant application before, or has made a purchase using the wallet via this merchant application but has not selected to re-use the previously used payment option. In this example, smart button 406 may correspond to smart button 404. According to various exemplary embodiments, a returning customer with multiple payment options available may be presented with a split button 405 and 406 where the left portion 405 of the button corresponds to a default or preferred selection of a payment option (e.g., payment card #1 from digital wallet #3). Also, the user can quickly view other payment options by interacting with the right hand side portion 406 of the button.”)).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Healy’s payment options with Nada’s checkout system. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to incorporate this feature for the purpose of providing convenience (i.e., first button) and flexibility (i.e., second button) to a payor who can quickly and easily select the default payment or spend more time selecting a specific payment method if desired.
Claim 6:
Nada further teaches:
wherein the server is a store server (see at least Nada, paragraph 0068 (“The checkout processing unit 230 acquires information (hereinafter, referred to as checkout information) including a consideration to be paid by a customer, and also acquires payment information of the customer from the payment information management apparatus 10. Then, the checkout processing unit 230 performs processing for generating, by a checkout means indicated by the acquired payment information, payment for an amount of money indicated by the acquired checkout information.”) note: Nada’s payment information management apparatus is the claimed store server.).
Claim 7:
Nada further teaches:
the camera, wherein the camera is positioned to acquire an image of the face of the customer, and the customer identifying information is facial image data corresponding to the acquired image (see at least Nada, paragraph 0061 (“Further, the checkout apparatus 20 includes an image-capture unit (a part or a whole of a face information generation unit 210 to be described later) for capturing a face image of a customer….”)).
Claim 10:
Nada teaches:
a store server connected to a network (see at least Nada, Figure 1, item 10 and associated text; Figure 2 and associated text).
a registration apparatus connected the network and configured to generate transaction information for a transaction of a customer (see at least Nada, paragraph 0087 (“On the other hand, when the checkout apparatus 20 does not include a product registration function, the checkout processing unit 230 acquires checkout information from an external apparatus (e.g., a product registration apparatus) of the checkout apparatus 20.”)).
a checkout apparatus including: (see at least Nada, Figure 1, item 20 and associated text; Figure 3 and associated text).
a camera (see at least Nada, paragraph 0061 (“Further, the checkout apparatus 20 includes an image-capture unit (a part or a whole of a face information generation unit 210 to be described later) for capturing a face image of a customer….”)).
a communication interface connected to the network (see at least Nada, Figure 1 (The checkout apparatus 20 communicates with the payment information management apparatus 10)).
a display unit positioned to face the customer at the checkout apparatus (see at least Nada, paragraph 0093 (“a display unit of the checkout apparatus 20”)).
an input unit configured to receive user inputs from the customer (see at least Nada, Figure 3, items 210, 220; paragraph 0088).
a control unit configured to: (see at least Nada, Figure 3 and associated text).
acquire transaction information for a transaction of the customer via the communication interface (see at least Nada, paragraph 0068 (“The checkout processing unit 230 acquires information (hereinafter, referred to as checkout information) including a consideration to be paid by a customer, and also acquires payment information of the customer from the payment information management apparatus 10. Then, the checkout processing unit 230 performs processing for generating, by a checkout means indicated by the acquired payment information, payment for an amount of money indicated by the acquired checkout information.”); paragraph 0087 (“On the other hand, when the checkout apparatus 20 does not include a product registration function, the checkout processing unit 230 acquires checkout information from an external apparatus (e.g., a product registration apparatus) of the checkout apparatus 20.”)).
receive customer identifying information identifying the customer from the camera (see at least Nada, paragraphs 0025-0026 (“the checkout apparatus includes a face information generation unit that generates authentication-use face information being face information of a customer about to make a checkout by using the checkout apparatus”); paragraph 0061 (“Further, the checkout apparatus 20 includes an image-capture unit (a part or a whole of a face information generation unit 210 to be described later) for capturing a face image of a customer….”); paragraph 0088).
transmit the customer identifying information to the store server via the communication interface (see at least Nada, paragraph 0028 (“a transmission unit that transmits, to the payment information management apparatus, the authentication-use face information….”) note: Nada’s payment information management apparatus is the claimed store server.).
Nada does not explicitly teach, but Healy, however, does teach:
acquire payment method information indicating a default payment method associated with the customer identifying information (see at least Healy, paragraph 0019 (“In some embodiments, a cardholder may designate a payment card and/or a wallet as a preferred or default selection.”); paragraph 0040 (“As another example, the single payment option smart button 405 may be displayed when the user has selected a preferred or default payment card from among a plurality of payment cards and digital wallets. In this case, the single payment option smart button 405 may enable the user to skip ahead and pay for a transaction using the preferred payment card.”)).
display a first payment selection screen on the display unit when payment method information indicating the default payment method is acquired, the first payment screen requesting the customer select to a first button to use the default payment method or a second button to use another payment method; execute payment processing for the transaction based on the acquired transaction information using the default payment method associated with the customer when the first button is selected; display a second payment selection screen on the display unit when the second button is selected by the customer on the first payment selection screen, the second payment selection screen including a plurality of payment method options; and execute payment processing for the transaction based on the acquired transaction information using a payment option selected from the second payment selection screen payment (see at least Healy, Figure 7; Figure 8A; Figure 8B; paragraph 0041 (“As another example, a multiple payment option smart button 406 may be displayed if the consumer has more than one payment option available, and/or more than one wallet application on the mobile device 102, and has not made a purchase using the wallet via this merchant application before, or has made a purchase using the wallet via this merchant application but has not selected to re-use the previously used payment option. In this example, smart button 406 may correspond to smart button 404. According to various exemplary embodiments, a returning customer with multiple payment options available may be presented with a split button 405 and 406 where the left portion 405 of the button corresponds to a default or preferred selection of a payment option (e.g., payment card #1 from digital wallet #3). Also, the user can quickly view other payment options by interacting with the right hand side portion 406 of the button.”)).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Healy’s payment options with Nada’s checkout system. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to incorporate this feature for the purpose of providing convenience (i.e., first button) and flexibility (i.e., second button) to a payor who can quickly and easily select the default payment or spend more time selecting a specific payment method if desired.
Claim 13:
Claim 13 is rejected using the same rationale that was used for the rejection of claim 7.
Claim 16:
Claim 16 is rejected using the same rationale that was used for the rejection of claim 1.
Claim 17:
Claim 17 is rejected using the same rationale that was used for the rejection of claim 7.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nada et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0098120 A1; Healy et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2016/0260090 A1; and Glover et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2024/0112249 A1.
Claim 4:
Nada does not explicitly teach, but Glover, however, does teach:
cause the display unit to display a payment cancellation screen with a cancellation button which when selected by the customer cancels the prior payment processing using the default payment method associated with the customer identifying information (see at least Glover, Figure 9, item 850 and associated text).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Glover’s transaction cancellation button with Nada’s checkout system. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to incorporate this feature for the purpose of allowing a customer to prevent the payment from being processed.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nada et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0098120 A1; Healy et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2016/0260090 A1; and Watkins et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2019/0354958 A1.
Claim 5:
Nada does not explicitly teach, but Watkins, however, does teach:
receive a payment method selection via the input unit and a request to associate the payment method selection with the customer identifying information (see at least Watkins, paragraph 0038 (“When the payment account to be used by the consumer 114 has not been previously used, or the consumer 114 has opted not to have a payment account remembered, the consumer 114 may opt, in an interface from the SRCi 126, to add a payment account to the remote payment option and to checkout with that payment account. Specifically, then, the SRCi 126 submits, at 307, an add card request (i.e., an “addCard” request) to the SDK 128, which includes a payment account number (i.e., a “cardNumber”, which may be a primary account number (PAN), a token, etc.), along with merchant data (i.e., “merchantData”, which includes the merchant identifier, merchant name, merchant preferences, merchant address, transaction identifier, etc. for the given merchant 102), and/or transaction data (i.e., “transactionData”, which includes the transaction amount, location, type of cryptogram, currency, etc.).”); paragraph 0061).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Watkin’s method of adding a payment account as a payment option and use the payment account for the transaction with Nada’s checkout system. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to incorporate this feature for the purpose of allowing a customer to use a preferred payment account and make that payment account available for future transactions.
Claims 8, 9, 14, 15, 18, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nada et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0098120 A1; Healy et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2016/0260090 A1; and Kakinuma et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2022/0044185 A1.
Claim 8:
Nada does not explicitly teach, but Kakinuma, however, does teach:
the camera, wherein the camera is positioned to acquire an image of a membership card of the customer, and the customer identifying information is read from the membership card (see at least Kakinuma, Figure 10; paragraph 0065 (“FIG. 10 shows an example of a pickup member login screen 610. The login screen 610 is a screen displayed on the touch panel display 301 of the cart POS 300 and includes, for example, a guide 611 showing “Hold your membership card up to the camera” or the like. Following this guide 611, a pickup member causes the camera 304 to acquire an image of a barcode on the membership card. If the barcode included in the image from the camera 304 matches a membership number in the membership DB 124, the worker management unit 112 of the server 100 determines that the pickup member corresponding to the membership number has logged in to the system from the cart POS 300 as a member worker.”)).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Kakinuma’s method of using a camera to receive an image of a membership card to identify the customer with Nada’s checkout system. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to incorporate this feature for the purpose of using a convenient and efficient method of identifying the customer.
Claim 9:
Nada does not explicitly teach:
wherein the payment method information indicating the default payment method associated with the customer identifying information is acquired from the image of the membership card.
Kakinuma, however, teaches:
The image taken of the membership card is used to identify the customer (see at least Kakinuma, Figure 10; paragraph 0065 (“FIG. 10 shows an example of a pickup member login screen 610. The login screen 610 is a screen displayed on the touch panel display 301 of the cart POS 300 and includes, for example, a guide 611 showing “Hold your membership card up to the camera” or the like. Following this guide 611, a pickup member causes the camera 304 to acquire an image of a barcode on the membership card. If the barcode included in the image from the camera 304 matches a membership number in the membership DB 124, the worker management unit 112 of the server 100 determines that the pickup member corresponding to the membership number has logged in to the system from the cart POS 300 as a member worker.”)).
Nada, however, teaches:
The payment information associated with an identified customer is transmitted to checkout apparatus (see at least Nada, paragraph 0058 (“The payment information management apparatus 10 transmits, to the checkout apparatus 20, information (hereinafter, referred to as payment information) necessary for electronically making payment. The payment information is information for determining a payment means and includes at least one of, for example, a number of a credit card and an expiration date of the card, a number of an electronic money card, and an account number of a bank.”)).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate this feature with Nada’s checkout system. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to incorporate this feature for the purpose of using a stored payment method to complete the transaction. Kakinuma teaches that a membership card is used to identify a customer. Nada teaches that an identified customer can complete a payment using stored payment information. By combining these teachings, it would be obvious to use a membership card to identify a customer and a payment account associated with the customer. Additionally, it would be obvious to substitute the way the customer is identified in Nada with Kakinuma’s membership card image as both achieve the same result of identifying the customer.
Claim 14:
Claim 14 is rejected using the same rationale that was used for the rejection of claim 8.
Claim 15:
Claim 15 is rejected using the same rationale that was used for the rejection of claim 9.
Claim 18:
Claim 18 is rejected using the same rationale that was used for the rejection of claim 8.
Claim 19:
Claim 19 is rejected using the same rationale that was used for the rejection of claim 9.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nada et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0098120 A1; Healy et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2016/0260090 A1; Kakinuma et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2022/0044185 A1; and Costco (“What are the benefits of the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi?” https://web.archive.org/web/20211023035657/https://www.costco.com/my-life-benefits-costco-anywhere-visa.html (Oct. 23, 2023).).
Claim 20:
Nada does not explicitly teach, but Kakinuma, however, does teach:
wherein the payment method information is displayed on the membership card in a plain text (see at least Costco (“The Costco Anywhere Visa Card doubles as your membership card, complete with your picture and membership number. Show the card at the warehouse entrance, then use it to check out at the register.”)).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Costco’s Anywhere Visa Card with Nada’s checkout system. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to incorporate this feature for the purpose of requiring only a single card to act as both a membership card and a credit card. This is more convenient and cost effective than requiring separate cards.
Relevant Prior Art
The following references are relevant to Applicant’s invention:
Kakino, U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2020/0065793 A1. This reference teaches a checkout apparatus.
Gotanda, U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2017/0345263 A1. This reference teaches a checkout system.
Shimura, U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2018/0075428 A1. This reference teaches a checkout system that includes a registration apparatus and a checkout apparatus.
Nakatsukasa et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2021/0056558 A1. This reference teaches a checkout system that includes a store server.
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 extension fee 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 ELIZABETH H ROSEN whose telephone number is (571) 270-1850 and email address is elizabeth.rosen@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 10 AM ET - 7 PM ET.
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/ELIZABETH H ROSEN/Primary Examiner, 3693