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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on September 24, 2025 cancelled no claims. Claim 1 was amended and no new claims were added. Thus, the currently pending claims addressed below are claims 1-5.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-5 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claim 1 has been amended to recite: “…the server programmed to: receive a signal from the user computing device that the advertisement device is ready for advertising in response to the user computing device accessing the system, wherein accessing the system is contingent upon both the user computing device receiving and displaying a status of the advertisement device including battery life of the advertisement device and the user selecting to start an advertisement session…”. The claim as amended requires that the user can only access the system if the user computing device receives and displays a status of the advertising device including battery life and the user selects to start an advertisement session. The applicant’s specification has support for: receiving, by the user computing device, a status of the advertisement device including battery life of the advertisement device; displaying, in an on-demand advertisement app executing on the user computing device a status of the advertisement device, the status including a battery life; and in response to the user selecting a start button in the on-demand advertisement app, transmitting, by the user computing device, a signal to the server that the advertisement device and user computing device are ready for advertising in at least paragraphs 37 and 49 of the applicant’s specification and figures 3 and 19 of the drawings. There is no support in the applicant’s specification for the user accesses the system by selecting a start button in the applicant’s specification. According to the applicant’s disclosure selecting the start button transmits a signal that the user device and advertising device are ready to receive advertising. First, “the system” has antecedent basis to the claimed “An on-demand advertisement system” which comprises the claimed “an advertisement device”; “a user computing device” and “a server”. Since the user computing device is part of “the system”, it would be impossible for accessing “the system” to require displaying a status and selecting a start button, because it would mean the user could not access the user computing device until such steps were taken. However, performing the claimed steps requires that the user already have access to the user computing device. Second, assuming the applicant intended the limitation to recite accessing the server, the applicant’s specification does not support for “…the server programmed to: receive a signal from the user computing device that the advertisement device is ready for advertising in response to the user computing device accessing the system, wherein accessing the server is contingent upon both the user computing device receiving and displaying a status of the advertisement device including battery life of the advertisement device and the user selecting to start an advertisement session…”. According to the applicant’s disclosure in at least paragraph 37, “The user may operate an on-demand advertisement app on the user computing device 14 to access the system 10 as shown in FIG. 3. The user computing device 14 may include a user interface as shown in FIG. 3 to access the system 10”. Thus, opening the on-demand advertisement app on the user computer is accessing the claimed “server”. According to claim 1, “the user computing device is coupled to the server through a connection established by an app operating on the user computing device”. Thus, accessing the server occurs when the app is initially opened. No where in the applicant’s disclosure is access to the server contingent upon “the user computing device receiving and displaying a status of the advertisement device including battery life of the advertisement device and the user selecting to start an advertisement session”. Thus, at best, the applicant’s disclosure supports “receive a signal from the user computing device that the advertisement device is ready for advertising, in response to the user computing device receiving a status of the advertisement device, displaying, in the app operating on user computing device, the status of the advertisement device, and the user selecting, in the app operating on the user computing device, a start button, wherein the status includes a battery life of the advertisement device”. Furthermore, the applicant’s disclosure does not specifically disclose the term “battery life”. The only disclosures displaying a status which includes what is likely to be a battery life is found in the Drawings of the applicant’s disclosure in figures 3, 6, 19, and 23, where the on-demand advertisement app displays a sign status of an operator, and the sign status includes a percentage charge and a number of hours of remaining life. However, nothing in the applicant’s disclosure indicates that the sign status must include the battery life, or can only include the battery life. Thus, the applicant’s disclosure does not support “accessing the server is contingent upon both the user computing device receiving and displaying a status of the advertisement device including battery life of the advertisement device and the user selecting to start an advertisement session”. As such, it is clear that claim 1, as currently amended, fails to comply with the written description requirement.
Dependent claims 2-5 depend from claim 1 and fail to correct the deficiencies of the claims from which they depend and, as such, are rejected by virtue of dependency.
For the purpose of prosecuting the claims the examiner is going to interpret the limitation in the following manner since it is supported by the applicant’s disclosure: “receive a signal from the user computing device that the advertisement device is ready for advertising, in response to the user computing device receiving a status of the advertisement device, displaying, in the app operating on user computing device, the status of the advertisement device, and the user selecting, in the app operating on the user computing device, to start an advertisement session, wherein the status includes a battery life of the advertisement device”.
Claims 1-5 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claim 1 has been amended to recite: “…wherein each available advertising location comprises a geofence comprising GPS coordinate boundaries established by the server with a predefined radius around GPS coordinates of the advertisement location;…”. The examiner can find no support for this limitation in the applicant’s disclosure. The only mention of GPS in the applicant’s specification is found in paragraph 40 where it states “Additionally, advertisements can be geo location based wherein the location of the advertisement device may be determined by either a GPS device in the advertisement device 12 or may be determined by a location device in the user computing device 14 carried by the user and coupled to the advertisement device”. As such, the applicant’s disclosure does not support “GPS coordinate boundaries”. The only disclosure in the applicant’s specification of a geofence is found in paragraph 39 where it states “The system may establish an advertisement area, geofence or the like around the location (see geofence 20 in FIG. 7)”. As such, while the applicant’s disclosure may be said to support a geofence, established by the server, with a predefined radius around the advertisement location, it does not support “a predefined radius around GPS coordinates of the advertisement location”. As such, it is clear that claim 1, as currently amended, fails to comply with the written description requirement.
Dependent claims 2-5 depend from claim 1 and fail to correct the deficiencies of the claims from which they depend and, as such, are rejected by virtue of dependency.
For the purpose of prosecuting the claims the examiner is going to interpret the limitation in the following manner since it is supported by the applicant’s disclosure: “wherein each available advertising location comprises a geofence, established by the server, with a predefined radius around the advertising location”.
Claims 1-5 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claim 1 has been amended to recite: “…wherein the server continuously monitors GPS coordinates of the user computing device and advertisement device to determine when both devices enter and exit the geofence boundaries; …”. The examiner can find no support for this limitation in the applicant’s disclosure. The only mention of GPS in the applicant’s specification is found in paragraph 40 where it states “Additionally, advertisements can be geo location based wherein the location of the advertisement device may be determined by either a GPS device in the advertisement device 12 or may be determined by a location device in the user computing device 14 carried by the user and coupled to the advertisement device”. Thus, the applicant’s disclosure can be said to support “an advertisement device comprising a GPS device” and “a user computing device comprising a location device” wherein the location of the advertisement device can be determined by either receiving GPS data from the advertisement device or location data of the user computing device. However, paragraph 40 does not support “GPS coordinates of the user computing device and advertisement device”. Additionally, the applicant’s specification makes no mention of the server “continuously monitoring” either the GPS data of the advertisement device or the location data of the user computing device. There is no mention in the applicant’s specification of the terms monitor”, monitoring, monitored, track, tracking, or tracked, much less continuously performing such steps. Instead, the applicant’s disclosure support determining that the user computing device is within an advertisement area in paragraphs 5, 39-40, and 51; obtaining a current location of the user computing device when it is active on the system in paragraph 35; and receiving a signal from the user computing device that the user computing device and advertisement device are at the reserved location or gets to the location in paragraphs 36 and 46. However, none of these cited paragraphs can be said to support the server “continuously monitoring” either the user computer device or the advertising device, much less “continuously monitors GPS coordinates of the user computing device and advertisement device”. Finally, the examiner has been unable to find support in the applicant’s specification for determining “when both devices enter and exit the geofence boundaries. The disclosure makes no mention of the terms enter, entered, entering, leave, leaving, left, exit, exiting, exited, much less “determining when both devices enter and exit the geofence boundaries”. As indicated in the paragraphs of the applicant’s specification cited above, the closest support for such a step would be determining that the user device and advertisement device are within the geofence boundary based on location data received from the user computing device or, alternatively, determining the user computing device with within the geofence boundary based on location data received from the user computing device, and determining the advertisement device is within the geofence boundary based on GPS data received from the advertisement device. The cited paragraphs provide no support for the server continuously receiving this location data and GPS data, but instead just indicate that such data is received when the user computing device and advertisement are at or within the geographic boundary. As such, it is clear the applicant’s disclosure does not support “…wherein the server continuously monitors GPS coordinates of the user computing device and advertisement device to determine when both devices enter and exit the geofence boundaries; …” and claim 1, as currently amended, fails to comply with the written description requirement.
Dependent claims 2-5 depend from claim 1 and fail to correct the deficiencies of the claims from which they depend and, as such, are rejected by virtue of dependency.
For the purpose of prosecuting the claims the examiner is going to interpret the limitation as if recited “receiving a fourth signal from the user computing device indicating a new location of the user computing device and the advertising device, wherein the new location is not within the geofence”. Claim 1 already recites receiving a third signal from the user computing device that the user computing device and advertisement device are within the geofence of the reserved location and calculating an amount of time that the user computing device and advertisement device were within the geofence to determine a payment amount to the user based on the pay rate and the calculated. Thus, in order to perform said calculation, an additional signal of a new location that is no longer within the geofence must be received from the user computing device.
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 1-5 are directed to a system which would be classified under one of the listed statutory classifications (i.e., 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance (hereinafter “PEG”) “PEG” Step 1=Yes).
However, claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. Independent claim(s) 1 recite(s) the following abstract idea:
storing advertisement data;
establishing a communication connection between a content manager and a user when the user requests the connection;
receiving and displaying, to a user, a status including a battery life of a content provider;
transmitting, based on input from the user and to the content manager, a first signal that that the content provider is ready for advertising
receiving, by the content manager, the first signal that the content provider is ready for advertising;
automatically processing, by the content manager, the first signal;
sending for display, by the content manager and to the user in response to the processing, a stored advertisement comprising available advertisement locations and pay rate for each of the available advertisement locations, wherein each available advertising location comprises a geofence comprising GPS coordinate boundaries established, by the content manager, with a predefined radius around GPS coordinates of the advertisement location;
receiving, by the user, the stored advertisement comprising available advertisement locations and pay rate for each of the available advertisement locations;
displaying, to the user, the stored advertisement comprising available advertisement locations and pay rate for each of the available advertisement locations;
selecting, by the user, a location selection of the available advertisement locations;
transmitting, by the user and to the content manager, a second signal comprising the location selection;
receiving, by the content manager and from the user, the second signal comprising the location selection;
automatically process, by the content manager, the location selection to reserve the location selection for the user, thereby resulting in a reserved location selection;
sending, by the content manager and to the user, a notification that the location selection is reserved and directions from a location of the user to the reserved location selection;
transmitting, by the user, a third signal that the user and the content provider are within the geofence of the reserved location selection;
receiving, by the content manager and from the user, the third signal that the user and the content provider are within the geofence of the reserved location selection;
continuously monitoring, by the content manager, GPS coordinates of the user and the content provider to determine when they both enter and exit the geofence boundary;
confirming, by the content manager, the user and the content provider are within the geofence of the reserved location selection;
sending, by the content manager and to the user, advertisement content;
receiving, by the user and from the content manager, the advertisement content;
selecting, by the user, to display the advertisement content;
sending, by the user and to the content provider, the advertisement content for display in response to the selection to display the advertisement content;
receiving, by the content provider and from the user, the advertisement content for display;
displaying, by the content provider, the advertisement content;
continuing to display, by the content provider, the advertisement content so long as the user and content provider are within the geofence;
calculate, by the content manager, an amount of time that the user and content provider with within the geofence to determine a payment amount to the user based on the pay rate and the calculated amount of time.
The limitations as detailed above, as drafted, falls within the “Certain Method of Organizing Human Activity” grouping of abstract ideas namely commercial or legal interactions because they recite advertising, marketing, or sales related activities or behaviors. Accordingly, the claim recites an abstract idea (i.e. “PEG” Revised Step 2A Prong One=Yes).
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the claim only recites the additional elements of:
an advertisement device that is a sign with a flexible digital screen, an LED screen, or an OLED screen with a controller, wherein the sign is formed of a material that is light and a provides a barrier to damage of the screen which is capable of displaying data;
a user computing device executing software (an app) that display data and accepts user input; and
a server having a memory.
Considered individually these elements are: an advertisement device with generic computer-components (i.e., a first general-purpose computer) that merely receives and displays data; a user computing device with generic computer components (i.e., a second general-purpose computer) that receives, transmits, and displays data with an app (i.e., a generic interactive interface) that displays data and accepts user input; an a server (i.e., a third general-purpose computer) upon which every significant step of an abstract idea is merely applied. Considered as a whole, the additional elements amount to applying an abstract idea using three general-purpose computers with generic computer components and generic computer element, where in every significant step of said abstract idea is performed by only one of the three general-purpose computers (i.e., the server).
The following limitations, if removed from the abstract idea and considered additional elements, merely perform generic computer function of processing, storing, communicating (e.g., transmitting and receiving), and displaying data and, as such, are insignificant extra-solution activities (see MPEP 2016.05(d)(II) and MPEP 2106.05(g)):
storing advertisement data in a memory of a server (storing data);
establishing a communication connection, by an app operating on a user computing device, with the server (transmitting and/or receiving data);
receiving and displaying, by the app operating on the user computing device, a status including a battery life of an advertisement device (receiving and displaying data);
transmitting, from the user computing device based on input from the user in the app and to the content manager, a first signal that that the advertisement device is ready for advertising (transmitting data);
receiving, by the server, the first signal that the advertisement device is ready for advertising (receiving data);
automatically processing, by the server, the first signal (generic processing of data);
sending for display, by the server and to the user computing device, in response to the processing, a stored advertisement comprising available advertisement locations and pay rate for each of the available advertisement locations, wherein each available advertising location comprises a geofence comprising GPS coordinate boundaries with a predefined radius around GPS coordinates of the advertisement location (transmitting data);
receiving, by the user computing device, the stored advertisement comprising available advertisement locations and pay rate for each of the available advertisement locations (receiving data);
displaying, on the app executing on the user computing device, the stored advertisement comprising available advertisement locations and pay rate for each of the available advertisement locations (displaying data);
receiving, by the app executing on the user computing device, user input selecting, by the user, a location selection of the available advertisement locations (receiving data);
transmitting, by the user computing device and to the server, a second signal comprising the location selection (transmitting data);
receiving, by the server and from the user computing device, the second signal comprising the location selection (receiving data);
sending, by the server and to the user computing device, a notification that the location selection is reserved and directions from a location of the user to the reserved location selection (sending data);
transmitting, by the user computing device and to the server, a third signal that the user computing device and the advertisement device are within the geofence of the reserved location selection (transmitting data);
receiving, by the server and from the user computing device, the third signal that the user computing device and the advertisement device are within the geofence of the reserved location selection (receiving data);
continuously monitoring, by the server, GPS coordinates of the user computing device and the advertisement device (transmitting and receiving data);
sending, by the server and to the user computing device, advertisement content;
receiving, by the user computing device and from the server, the advertisement content;
receiving, by the user computing device, an additional user input indicating a selection to display the advertisement content (receiving data);
sending, by the user computing device and to the advertisement device, the advertisement content for display in response to the selection to display the advertisement content (transmitting data);
receiving, by the advertising device and from the user computing device, the advertisement content for display (receiving data);
displaying, by the advertisement device, the advertisement content (displaying data); and
continuing to display, by the advertisement device, the advertisement content so long as the user computing device and the advertisement device are within the geofence (displaying data);
The additional technical elements above are recited at a high-level of generality (i.e. as a generic processor performing a generic computer function of processing, communicating (e.g. transmitting and receiving), and displaying) such that it amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the additional technical elements above do not integrate the abstract idea/judicial exception into a practical application because it does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. More specifically, the additional elements fail to include (1) improvements to the functioning of a computer or to any other technology or technical field (see MPEP 2106.05(a)), (2) applying or using a judicial exception to effect a particular treatment or prophylaxis for a disease or medical condition (see Vanda memo), (3) applying the judicial exception with, or by use of, a particular machine (see MPEP 2106.05(b)), (4) effecting a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing (see MPEP 2106.05(c)), or (5) applying or using the judicial exception in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment, such that the claim as a whole is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception (see MPEP 2106.05(e) and Vanda memo).
Rather, the limitations merely add the words “apply it” (or an equivalent) with the judicial exception, or mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, or merely uses a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea (see MPEP 2106.05(f)), or generally link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use (see MPEP 2106.05(h)).
Thus, the claim is “directed to” an abstract idea (i.e. “PEG” Revised Step 2A Prong Two=Yes).
When considering Step 2B of the Alice/Mayo test, the claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the claims do not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
More specifically, as discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional elements of using an advertisement device that is a sign with a flexible digital screen, an LED screen, or an OLED screen with a controller, wherein the sign is formed of a material that is light and a provides a barrier to damage of the screen; a user computing device executing software (an app); and a server having a memory to perform the claimed functions amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computers with generic computer components.
“Generic computer implementation” is insufficient to transform a patent-ineligible abstract idea into a patent-eligible invention (See Affinity Labs, _F.3d_, 120 U.S.P.Q.2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 2016), citing Alice, 134 S. Ct. at 2352, 2357) and more generally, “simply appending conventional steps specified at a high level of generality” to an abstract idea does not make that idea patentable (See Affinity Labs, _F.3d_, 120 U.S.P.Q.2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 2016), citing Mayo, 132 S. Ct. at 1300). Moreover, “the use of generic computer elements like a microprocessor or user interface do not alone transform an otherwise abstract idea into patent-eligible subject matter (See FairWarning, 120 U.S.P.Q.2d. 1293, citing DDR Holdings, LLC v. Hotels.com, L.P., 773 F.3d 1245, 1256 (Fed. Cir. 2014)). As such, the additional elements of the claim do not add a meaningful limitation to the abstract idea because they would be generic computer functions in any computer implementation. Thus, taken alone, the additional elements do not amount to significantly more than the above-identified judicial exception (the abstract idea). Looking at the limitations as an ordered combination adds nothing that is not already present when looking at the elements taken individually. There is no indication that the combination of elements improves the functioning of the computer or improves any other technology. Their collective functions merely provide generic computer implementation.
The Examiner notes simply implementing an abstract concept on a computer, without meaningful limitations to that concept, does not transform a patent-ineligible claim into a patent-eligible one (See Accenture, 728 F.3d 1336, 108 U.S.P.Q.2d 1173 (Fed. Cir. 2013), citing Bancorp, 687 F.3d at 1280), limiting the application of an abstract idea to one field of use does not necessarily guard against preempting all uses of the abstract idea (See Accenture, 728 F.3d 1336, 108 U.S.P.Q.2d 1173 (Fed. Cir. 2013), citing Bilski, 130 S. Ct. at 3231), and further the prohibition against patenting an abstract principle “cannot be circumvented by attempting to limit the use of the [principle] to a particular technological environment” (See Accenture, 728 F.3d 1336, 108 U.S.P.Q.2d 1173 (Fed. Cir. 2013), citing Flook, 437 U.S. at 584), and finally merely limiting the field of use of the abstract idea to a particular existing technological environment does not render the claims any less abstract (See Affinity Labs, _F.3d_, 120 U.S.P.Q.2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 2016), citing Alice, 134 S. Ct. at 2358; Mayo, 132 S. Ct. at 1294; Bilski v. Kappos, 561 U.S. 593, 612 (2010); Content Extraction & Transmission LLC v. Wells Fargo Bank, Nat’l Ass’n, 776 F.3d 1343, 1348 (Fed. Cir. 2014); buySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 765 F.3d 1350, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2014).
Applicant herein only requires a general-purpose computer and general-purpose computer components (as evidenced from 55-60 of the applicant’s specification; Madnick et al. (PGPUB: 2012/0179968) paragraphs 3 and 5; and/or Krig et al. (PGPUB: 2014/0085179) paragraph 22-25 disclose that an server communicating data such as advertisements to a client device and the client device communicating said data to advertising devices is a well-known arrangement of devices, as well as, that advertisement devices that are digital signs with controllers for communication and comprising flexible digital screens, LED screens, or OLED screens are old and well-known; as well as Sullivan (PGPUB: 2018/0357681) paragraph 32 which discloses that it is well known for a digital sign to be formed in a light weight material such as plastic that is substantially weather resistant; and Intellectual Ventures I v. Capital One which discloses that a generic interactive interface that provides information to and accepts user input is a generic computer element) ); therefore, there does not appear to be any alteration or modification to the generic activities indicated, and they are also therefore recognized as insignificant activity with respect to eligibility. Finally, the following limitations, if removed from the abstract idea and considered additional elements, would be considered insignificant extra solution activity as they are directed to merely receiving, displaying, storing and/or transmitting data (see MPEP 2016.05(d)(II) and MPEP 2106.05(g)):
storing advertisement data in a memory of a server (storing data);
establishing a communication connection, by an app operating on a user computing device, with the server (transmitting and/or receiving data);
receiving and displaying, by the app operating on the user computing device, a status including a battery life of an advertisement device (receiving and displaying data);
transmitting, from the user computing device based on input from the user in the app and to the content manager, a first signal that that the advertisement device is ready for advertising (transmitting data);
receiving, by the server, the first signal that the advertisement device is ready for advertising (receiving data);
automatically processing, by the server, the first signal (generic processing of data);
sending for display, by the server and to the user computing device, in response to the processing, a stored advertisement comprising available advertisement locations and pay rate for each of the available advertisement locations, wherein each available advertising location comprises a geofence comprising GPS coordinate boundaries with a predefined radius around GPS coordinates of the advertisement location (transmitting data);
receiving, by the user computing device, the stored advertisement comprising available advertisement locations and pay rate for each of the available advertisement locations (receiving data);
displaying, on the app executing on the user computing device, the stored advertisement comprising available advertisement locations and pay rate for each of the available advertisement locations (displaying data);
receiving, by the app executing on the user computing device, user input selecting, by the user, a location selection of the available advertisement locations (receiving data);
transmitting, by the user computing device and to the server, a second signal comprising the location selection (transmitting data);
receiving, by the server and from the user computing device, the second signal comprising the location selection (receiving data);
sending, by the server and to the user computing device, a notification that the location selection is reserved and directions from a location of the user to the reserved location selection (sending data);
transmitting, by the user computing device and to the server, a third signal that the user computing device and the advertisement device are within the geofence of the reserved location selection (transmitting data);
receiving, by the server and from the user computing device, the third signal that the user computing device and the advertisement device are within the geofence of the reserved location selection (receiving data);
continuously monitoring, by the server, GPS coordinates of the user computing device and the advertisement device (transmitting and receiving data);
sending, by the server and to the user computing device, advertisement content;
receiving, by the user computing device and from the server, the advertisement content;
receiving, by the user computing device, an additional user input indicating a selection to display the advertisement content (receiving data);
sending, by the user computing device and to the advertisement device, the advertisement content for display in response to the selection to display the advertisement content (transmitting data);
receiving, by the advertising device and from the user computing device, the advertisement content for display (receiving data);
displaying, by the advertisement device, the advertisement content (displaying data); and
continuing to display, by the advertisement device, the advertisement content so long as the user computing device and the advertisement device are within the geofence (displaying data).
Thus, taken individually and in combination, the additional elements do not amount to significantly more than the above-identified judicial exception (the abstract idea) (i.e. “PEG” Step 2B=No).
The dependent claims 2-5 appear to merely further limit the abstract idea by further limits the additional element of the advertisement device to sign and/or form with a digital screen and/or type of digital screen which have all already been addressed in the rejection above (Claim 2-3 and 5); and adding an additional limitation of connecting and communicating with the user which is considered part of the abstract idea and further limits the additional element of the advertisement device to having a controller which has already been addressed in the rejection above (Claim 4), and therefore only further limit the abstract idea (i.e. “PEG” Revised Step 2A Prong One=Yes), does/do not include any new additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception, and as such are “directed to” said abstract idea (i.e. “PEG” Step 2A Prong Two=Yes); and do not add significantly more than the idea (i.e. “PEG” Step 2B=No)..
Thus, based on the detailed analysis above, claims 1-5 are not patent eligible.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claim(s) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sadovsky et al. (PGPUB: 2019/0362391) in view of Palladino (Fitbit Versa review: Slowly but surely pushing Fitbit past the “fit” bit, March 26, 2018, https://arstechnica.com /gadgets/2018/03/fitbit-versa-review-slowly-but-surely-pushing-fitbit-past-the-fit-bit/, pages 1-27) in further view of Cabrera et al (PGPUB: 2019/0251600).
Claim 1: Sadovsky on-demand advertisement system comprising:
an advertisement device (Figs. 1 and 2: item 2 digital display);
a user computing device coupled to the advertisement device (Figs. 1 and 2: item 3 mobile device); and
a server having a memory storing advertisement data (Fig. 1: item 4 central device, and item 6 ad database),
wherein the user computing device is coupled to the server through a connection established by an app operating on the user computing device (Paragraph 21: a special application (App) in the user's smartphone allows the central service to push ads to the display) and
wherein the server is programmed to:
receive a signal from the user computing device that the advertisement device is ready for advertising in response to the user computing device accessing the system, wherein accessing the system is contingent upon both the user computing device receiving and displaying a status of the advertisement device including battery life of the advertisement device and the user selecting to start an advertisement session.
Sadovsky discloses receiving a signal from the user computing device that the advertisement device is ready for advertising in response to the user computing device accessing an app on the user computing device and selecting to start an advertisement session in at least paragraph 27
(Paragraphs 27: When the affiliate wants to begin to display ads, he or she simply activates the App on their smartphone (or sends a message to the central station via the App);
Sadovsky does not disclose that the user computing device receives and displays a status of the advertisement device, the status including a battery life of the advertisement device.
However, the analogous art of Palladino discloses that it is known for a user computing device to receive and display a status of a remote device, the status indicating a battery life of the remote device on at least page 12 where the figure shows, in the upper left hand conner, the battery level remaining of a remote device connected to the user computing device.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the App in the invention of Sadovsky to include the reception and displaying of a status of the advertisement device, the status indicating the battery life of the advertisement device.
The rationale for doing so is that it merely requires combining prior art elements according to known method to yield predictable results. It can be seen that each element claimed is taught in either Sadovsky or Palladino, receiving and displaying the battery level of the advertisement device (taught by Palladino) does not change nor effect the normal function of the server receiving a signal from the user computing device that the advertisement device is ready for advertising response to the user computing device accessing in response to the user computing device selecting to start an advertisement session as disclosed by Sadovsky. Since the functionalities of the elements in Sadovsky and Palladino do not interfere with each other the results of the combination would be predictable.
receive a signal from the user computing device that the user computing device and the advertisement device are within a geofence of the reserved location selection; and send advertisement content to the user computing device, after confirming the user computing device and the advertisement device are within the geofence of the reserved location selection, wherein the user computing device sends the advertisement content to the advertisement device for display in response to a selection on the user computing device to display the advertisement content (Sadovsky - Paragraph 22: the central service continually tracks the affiliates location and based on the affiliates present location ads are pushed to the smartphone and the ads are displayed on the display device; Paragraph: 27: When the affiliate wants to begin to display ads, he or she simply activates the App on their smartphone; Paragraph 49: affiliates can control what ads they are displaying by entering data into the smartphone which is conveyed to the central station. In some embodiments, the affiliate may request a particular ad or set of ads to be displayed);
continuously monitoring GPS coordinates of the user computing device and the advertisement device to determine when both devices enter and exit the geofence boundaries (Sadovsky – Paragraphs 9, 22, 24, and 27: a central system accepts location-based or global brand ads from advertisers and keeps track of the location of affiliates by monitoring either their smartphones or their devices directly using GPS so that ads are displayed while in a predefined distance from the ad center; as the affiliate approaches a new ad center, relevant local ads can be displayed; when the affiliate moves out of range of the ad center, the display can optionally revert to displaying “canned” or pre-stored ads which can be global brand ads or event ads or the like)
continuing to display the advertisement content on the advertisement device so long as the user computing device and advertisement device are within the geofence (Sadovsky - Paragraph 24: when the affiliate moves out of range of the ad center (a store, restaurant or any other type of location offering a service or product), the display can revert to displaying “canned” or pre-stored ads which can be global brand ads or event ads or the like);
While Sadovsky and Palladino disclose compensating individual for displaying advertisements when they are within a geofenced area, wherein each available advertising location comprises a geofence of a predefined distance around the advertisement location in at least paragraphs 9, 22, 24, 27, and 30 of Sadovsky, they are silent with regard to:
the geofence with a predefined distance is established by the server and comprises GPS coordinate boundaries with a predefined radius around GPS coordinates of the advertisement location;
automatically processing the signal and sending for display on the user computing device the advertisement data stored in the server, comprising available advertisement locations and pay rate for each of the available advertisement locations; and
receiving a signal comprising a location selection from the user computing device and automatically process the location selection; and send a notification to the user computing device that the location selection is reserved and directions from a location of the user computing device to the reserved location selection; and
calculating an amount of time that the user computing device and advertisement device with within the geofence to determine a payment amount to the user based on the pay rate and the calculated amount of time.
The analogous art of Cabrera discloses that it is well-known in the technology of mobile advertising to:
for a server to establish a geofence of a predefined distance and comprises GPS coordinate boundaries with a predefined radius around GPS coordinates of the advertisement location (Paragraph 95-97: receiving, through at least one server, from a marketing user a digital geographic fence marketing perimeter representing a target geographic marketing area, wherein the marketing user uses an interactive map to set the perimeter; Paragraphs 86-89: the marketing user determines a digital geographic fence marketing perimeter that is stored in a geofence profile and includes boundary data defining a geographic area or region that corresponds to a particular geography region or distance and is defined by three or more GPS coordinates) ;
automatically process the signal and send for display on the user computing device the advertisement data stored in the server, comprising available advertisement locations and pay rate for each of the available advertisement locations (Paragraph 105: after logging into the system, an interactive map is displayed of target geographic marketing areas, the map includes the ability to select a high demand option that pays the driving user more);
receive a signal comprising a location selection from the user computing device and automatically process the location selection; and send a notification to the user computing device that the location selection is reserved and directions from a location of the user computing device to the reserved location selection (Paragraphs 108: A visual preview option allows the driving user to view the high demand areas on the map); and
calculate an amount of time that the user computing device and advertisement device with within the geofence to determine a payment amount to the user based on the pay rate and the calculated amount of time (Paragraph 106,109 and 128: The driving user is paid for the time spent in the geographic fence marketing perimeter).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the invention of Sadovsky and Palladino to include the server establishing the geofence of a predefined distance, sending for display the available advertisement locations and a pay rate for each of the available location, and upon selection of a location send a notification to the user directions to the selected location as disclosed by Cabrera.
The rationale for doing so is that it merely requires combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results. It can be seen that each element claimed is taught by either Sadovsky and Palladino, as currently combined, or Cabrera. The server establishing the geofence of a predefined distance; providing a user with directions to locations for displaying advertisements; and the ability to select locations based on payment amount (taught by Cabrera) does not change nor effect the normal functions of presenting location based adds on digital signs carried by affiliates as taught by Sadovsky and Palladino. Sadovsky and Palladino would still perform the steps of accessing the system by the affiliate, determining the affiliate is within the geofenced area, sending the advertising content, and displaying and continuing to display the advertisements in the same way even with the additional steps of providing a user with directions to locations for displaying advertisements and the ability to select