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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 1/20/2026 and 2/10/2026 have been entered.
Response to Amendment
The Amendments filed 1/20/2026 and 2/10/2026 have been entered. Claims 1-20 remain pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments dated 1/20/2026 directed to a “smaller size” are considered moot in view of Applicant’s amendments dated 2/10/2026.
Applicant argues that:
Applicant continues to respectfully submit that the rejections in the Final Office Action dated November 3, 2025, have been overcome.
Both Jann ‘218 and Jann ‘825, as cited below, disclose scrolling the arrangement, which shows the element at a second position while preserving relative positioning.
The Examiner notes that references directed to showing a smaller size during a tile editing operation are included in the Conclusion of this Office Action.
Prior Art
Listed herein below are the prior art references relied upon in this Office Action:
Jann et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2017/0344218), referred to as Jann ‘218 herein [previously presented].
Jann et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2019/0391825), referred to as Jann ‘825 herein [previously presented].
Henning et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2016/0057181), referred to as Henning herein [previously presented].
Examiner’s Note
Strikethrough notation in the pending claims has been added by the Examiner.
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jann ‘218 in view of Jann ‘825 in further view of Henning.
Regarding claim 1, Jann ‘218 discloses a computer system for providing data elements in customizable containers and generating a customizable user interface, the computer system including at least one processor in communication with at least one memory device, the at least one processor programmed to (Jann ‘218, Abstract – customizable web interface. ¶0103, ¶0222-¶0224 – processor and hardware memory. ¶0036 – personalization of containers):
receive an indication to activate a customization mode for a user interface from an end user (Jann ‘218, ¶0146, ¶0149, ¶0165, ¶0187 – edit mode enables tile customization);
determine a role and one or more permissions for the end user; retrieve one or more containers of data elements based upon the role for the end user; populate each of the one or more containers with a plurality of data elements based upon the one or more permissions for the end user (Jann ‘218, ¶0036-¶0037 – personalized launchpad contents organized in containers, including tiles are determined based on user role, authorization level, and interests);
display the customization mode for the user interface at an end user device associated with the end user, the customization mode including the one or more containers in a first portion and a preview of the user interface in a second portion ¶0055, ¶0145-¶0149, ¶0165, ¶0187-¶0188 – edit mode enables tile customization via dragging or interacting with displayed tiles or accessing edit commands. Changes made in edit mode represent a preview of what the interface will look like outside of edit mode. Tiles can be added to a container. ¶0146-¶0147 – tiles can be dragged between groups. Abstract – client computing device); and
display a live mode of the user interface including display of the data element at a second position on the end user device, the second position different from the first position and determined based upon the relative position of the data element in the preview (Jann ‘218, Fig. 5A with ¶0141-¶0144 – the user can scroll through groups on the page. Groups can be partially displayed and scrolled onto the display).
However, Jann ‘218 appears not to expressly disclose the limitations in strikethrough above. However, in the same field of endeavor, Jann ‘825 discloses a customized user interface (Jann ‘825, Abstract with ¶0049), including
receive one or more changes to the user interface from the end user; and update a profile for the end user based on the one or more changes, including saving a relative position of the data element in the preview based upon the first position (Jann ‘825, ¶0103-¶0107, ¶0143-¶0146 – user specific customization is stored as personalization data in response to user selections),
display a live mode of the user interface including display of the data element at a second position on the end user device, the second position different from the first position and determined based upon the relative position of the data element in the preview (Jann, ‘825, ¶0117 – vertically scrolling the page to reveal additional cards. Fig. 4 with ¶0125 – selecting the “useful apps” tab bar item results in moving the “useful apps” tile arrangement shown in Elements 442 and 443 to the top of the page while preserving the same relative layout arrangement. See also Fig. 2C-2J with ¶0085-¶0091 – the same arrangement is shown at reduced size, but increased and shifted in position according to the parallax transition. At least a portion of the relative arrangement is preserved).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the personalized configuration of Jann ‘218 to include storing personalization profile data in response to changes based on the teachings of Jann ‘825. The motivation for doing so would have been enable the user to provide personalization inputs without having to save operations separately (Jann ‘825), saving the user time and effort.
However, Jann ‘218 appears not to expressly disclose outside of the one or more containers. However, in the same field of endeavor, Henning discloses a tile arrangement interface with containers (Henning, Abstract and ¶0013), including
display the customization mode for the user interface including the one or more containers in a first portion and a preview of the user interface in a second portion outside of the one or more containers; receive one or more changes to the user interface from the end user including moving at least one data element of the plurality of data elements between the first portion and the second portion (Henning, Figs. 7A-C with ¶0058-¶0062 – dragging a tile from one container to another).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the drag and drop interface of Jann ‘218 as modified to include between containers based on the teachings of Henning. The motivation for doing so would have been to increase the interface flexibility and ease of configuration.
Regarding claim 2, Jann ‘218 as modified discloses the elements of claim 1 above, and further discloses wherein the indication to activate the customization mode is based on an input from the end user (Jann ‘218 with ¶0142, ¶0145, ¶0148 – user selects to edit the interface).
Regarding claim 3, Jann ‘218 as modified discloses the elements of claim 1 above, and further discloses wherein to determine the role and the one or more permissions for the end user, the at least one processor is further programmed to: retrieve the profile for the end user from a database; and retrieve the role and the one or more permissions from the profile (Jann ‘218, ¶0037, ¶0042, ¶0053-¶0054 – customization based on user role, authorization level. Figs. 2 and 12 with ¶0102-¶0104, ¶0110-¶0111, ¶0177, ¶0206-¶0209 – user roles and authorization are stored in the central SAP database system, and retrieved for generation of the interface at the client).
Regarding claim 4, Jann ‘218 as modified discloses the elements of claim 3 above, and further discloses wherein the profile for the user interface is a first profile, wherein the profile for the role and the one or more permissions is a second profile, and wherein the first profile and the second profile are different (Jann ‘218, Figs. 2 and 12 with ¶0102-¶0104, ¶0110-¶0111, ¶0177, ¶0206-¶0209 – user roles and authorization are stored in the central SAP database system. Jann ‘825, ¶0103-¶0107, ¶0143-¶0146 – user specific customization is stored as personalization data in response to user selections).
Regarding claim 5, Jann ‘218 as modified discloses the elements of claim 1 above, and further discloses wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to: store a plurality of profiles for a plurality of end users; retrieve a first profile for a first end user; and generate a first user interface for the first end user based on the first profile (Jann ‘218, ¶0037-¶0038, ¶0042, ¶0053-¶0054 – customization based on user role, authorization level for multiple users. Figs. 2 and 12 with ¶0102-¶0104, ¶0110-¶0111, ¶0177, ¶0206-¶0209 – user roles and authorization are stored in the central SAP database system, and retrieved for generation of the interface at the client).
Regarding claim 6, Jann ‘218 as modified discloses the elements of claim 5 above, and further discloses wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to retrieve the first profile for the first end user in response to receiving an indication that the first end user of the plurality of end users is logging in (Jann ‘218, Fig. 1B with ¶0070, ¶0177 – login screen for initiating display of the personalized and customized UX).
Regarding claim 7, Jann ‘218 as modified discloses the elements of claim 5 above, and further discloses wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to transmit the first user interface to the end user device associated with the first end user to display the first user interface to the first end user (Jann ‘218, Fig. 2 with ¶0034, ¶0101-¶0104, ¶0111, ¶0120-¶0122 – client interface is delivered from and hosted on server platforms).
Regarding claim 8, Jann ‘218 as modified discloses the elements of claim 1 above, and further discloses wherein the profile includes a selected plurality of data elements to display and a plurality of locations on the user interface to display the selected plurality of data elements (Jann ‘218, ¶0146 – user tile location arrangements. Jann ‘825, ¶0103-¶0107, ¶0143-¶0146 – user specific customization is stored as personalization data in response to user selections).
Regarding claim 9, Jann ‘218 as modified discloses the elements of claim 8 above, and further discloses wherein the profile includes at least one of a size of one or more of the plurality of data elements, a color of one or more of the plurality of data elements, a font of one or more of the plurality of data elements, or a color of a font of one or more of the plurality of data elements (Jann ‘218, ¶0054-¶0055, ¶0074, ¶0201 – tiles are color-coded according to role. Users can customize tiles. Users can resize cards).
Regarding claim 10, Jann ‘218 discloses a computer-based method for providing data elements in customizable containers and generating a customizable user interface implemented on a customizable user interface (“CUI”) server that includes at least one processor and/or associated transceiver in communication with at least one memory device, wherein the method comprises (Jann ‘218, Abstract – customizable web interface. ¶0103, ¶0222-¶0224 – processor and hardware memory. Fig. 2 with ¶0034, ¶0101-¶0104, ¶0111, ¶0120-¶0122 – client interface is delivered from and hosted on server platforms. ¶0036 – personalization of containers):
receiving an indication to activate a customization mode for a user interface from an end user (Jann ‘218, ¶0146, ¶0149, ¶0165, ¶0187 – edit mode enables tile customization);
determining a role and one or more permissions for the end user; retrieving one or more containers of data elements based upon the role for the end user; populating each of the one or more containers with a plurality of data elements based upon the one or more permissions for the end user (Jann ‘218, ¶0036-¶0037 – personalized launchpad contents organized in containers, including tiles are determined based on user role, authorization level, and interests);
displaying the customization mode for the user interface at an end user device associated with the end user, the customization mode including the one or more containers in a first portion and a preview of the user interface in a second portion
displaying a live mode of the user interface including display of the data element at a second position on the end user device, the second position different from the first position and determined based upon the relative position of the data element in the preview (Jann ‘218, Fig. 5A with ¶0141-¶0144 – the user can scroll through groups on the page. Groups can be partially displayed and scrolled onto the display).
However, Jann ‘218 appears not to expressly disclose the limitations in strikethrough above. However, in the same field of endeavor, Jann ‘825 discloses a customized user interface (Jann ‘825, Abstract with ¶0049), including
receive one or more changes to the user interface from the end user; and update a profile for the end user based on the one or more changes (Jann ‘825, ¶0103-¶0107, ¶0143-¶0146 – user specific customization is stored as personalization data in response to user selections),
display a live mode of the user interface including display of the data element at a second position on the end user device, the second position different from the first position and determined based upon the relative position of the data element in the preview (Jann, ‘825, ¶0117 – vertically scrolling the page to reveal additional cards. Fig. 4 with ¶0125 – selecting the “useful apps” tab bar item results in moving the “useful apps” tile arrangement shown in Elements 442 and 443 to the top of the page while preserving the same relative layout arrangement. See also Fig. 2C-2J with ¶0085-¶0091 – the same arrangement is shown at reduced size, but increased and shifted in position according to the parallax transition. At least a portion of the relative arrangement is preserved).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the personalized configuration of Jann ‘218 to include storing personalization profile data in response to changes based on the teachings of Jann ‘825. The motivation for doing so would have been enable the user to provide personalization inputs without having to save operations separately (Jann ‘825), saving the user time and effort.
However, Jann ‘218 appears not to expressly disclose outside of the one or more containers. However, in the same field of endeavor, Henning discloses a tile arrangement interface with containers (Henning, Abstract and ¶0013), including
display the customization mode for the user interface including the one or more containers in a first portion and a preview of the user interface in a second portion outside of the one or more containers; receive one or more changes to the user interface from the end user including moving at least one data element of the plurality of data elements between the first portion and the second portion (Henning, Figs. 7A-C with ¶0058-¶0062 – dragging a tile from one container to another).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the drag and drop interface of Jann ‘218 as modified to include between containers based on the teachings of Henning. The motivation for doing so would have been to increase the interface flexibility and ease of configuration.
Regarding claim 11, Jann ‘218 as modified discloses the elements of claim 10 above, and further discloses wherein the indication to activate the customization mode is based on an input from the end user (Jann ‘218 with ¶0142, ¶0145, ¶0148 – user selects to edit the interface).
Regarding claim 12, Jann ‘218 as modified discloses the elements of claim 10 above, and further discloses wherein to determine the role and the one or more permissions for the end user, the method further comprises: retrieving the profile for the end user from a database; and retrieving the role and the one or more permissions from the profile (Jann ‘218, ¶0037, ¶0042, ¶0053-¶0054 – customization based on user role, authorization level. Figs. 2 and 12 with ¶0102-¶0104, ¶0110-¶0111, ¶0177, ¶0206-¶0209 – user roles and authorization are stored in the central SAP database system, and retrieved for generation of the interface at the client).
Regarding claim 13, Jann ‘218 as modified discloses the elements of claim 10 above, and further discloses wherein the profile for the user interface is a first profile, wherein the profile for the role and the one or more permissions is a second profile, and wherein the first profile and the second profile are different (Jann ‘218, Figs. 2 and 12 with ¶0102-¶0104, ¶0110-¶0111, ¶0177, ¶0206-¶0209 – user roles and authorization are stored in the central SAP database system. Jann ‘825, ¶0103-¶0107, ¶0143-¶0146 – user specific customization is stored as personalization data in response to user selections).
Regarding claim 14, Jann ‘218 as modified discloses the elements of claim 10 above, and further discloses storing a plurality of profiles for a plurality of end users; retrieving a first profile for a first end user; and generating a first user interface for the first end user based on the first profile (Jann ‘218, ¶0037-¶0038, ¶0042, ¶0053-¶0054 – customization based on user role, authorization level for multiple users. Figs. 2 and 12 with ¶0102-¶0104, ¶0110-¶0111, ¶0177, ¶0206-¶0209 – user roles and authorization are stored in the central SAP database system, and retrieved for generation of the interface at the client).
Regarding claim 15, Jann ‘218 as modified discloses the elements of claim 14 above, and further discloses retrieving the first profile for the first end user in response to receiving an indication that the first end user of the plurality of end users is logging in (Jann ‘218, Fig. 1B with ¶0070, ¶0177 – login screen for initiating display of the personalized and customized UX).
Regarding claim 16, Jann ‘218 as modified discloses the elements of claim 14 above, and further discloses transmitting the first user interface to the end user device associated with the first end user to display the first user interface to the first end user (Jann ‘218, Fig. 2 with ¶0034, ¶0101-¶0104, ¶0111, ¶0120-¶0122 – client interface is delivered from and hosted on server platforms).
Regarding claim 17, Jann ‘218 as modified discloses the elements of claim 10 above, and further discloses wherein the profile includes a selected plurality of data elements to display and a plurality of locations on the user interface to display the selected plurality of data elements (Jann ‘218, ¶0146 – user tile location arrangements. Jann ‘825, ¶0103-¶0107, ¶0143-¶0146 – user specific customization is stored as personalization data in response to user selections).
Regarding claim 18, Jann ‘218 as modified discloses the elements of claim 17 above, and further discloses wherein the profile includes at least one of a size of one or more of the plurality of data elements, a color of one or more of the plurality of data elements, a font of one or more of the plurality of data elements, or a color of a font of one or more of the plurality of data elements Jann ‘218, ¶0054-¶0055, ¶0074, ¶0201 – tiles are color-coded according to role. Users can customize tiles. Users can resize cards).
Regarding claim 19, Jann ‘218 discloses at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon for providing data elements in customizable containers and generating a customizable user interface, wherein when executed by at least one processor, the computer-executable instructions cause the processor to (Jann ‘218, Abstract – customizable web interface. ¶0103, ¶0222-¶0224 – processor and hardware memory. ¶0036 – personalization of containers):
receive an indication to activate a customization mode for a user interface from an end user (Jann ‘218, ¶0146, ¶0149, ¶0165, ¶0187 – edit mode enables tile customization);
determine a role and one or more permissions for the end user; retrieve one or more containers of data elements based upon the role for the end user; populate each of the one or more containers with a plurality of data elements based upon the one or more permissions for the end user (Jann ‘218, ¶0036-¶0037 – personalized launchpad contents organized in containers, including tiles are determined based on user role, authorization level, and interests);
display the customization mode for the user interface at an end user device associated with the end user, the customization mode including the one or more containers in a first portion and a preview of the user interface in a second portion
display a live mode of the user interface including display of the data element at a second position on the end user device, the second position different from the first position and determined based upon the relative position of the data element in the preview (Jann ‘218, Fig. 5A with ¶0141-¶0144 – the user can scroll through groups on the page. Groups can be partially displayed and scrolled onto the display).
However, Jann ‘218 appears not to expressly disclose the limitations in strikethrough above. However, in the same field of endeavor, Jann ‘825 discloses a customized user interface (Jann ‘825, Abstract with ¶0049), including
receive one or more changes to the user interface from the end user; and update a profile for the end user based on the one or more changes (Jann ‘825, ¶0103-¶0107, ¶0143-¶0146 – user specific customization is stored as personalization data in response to user selections),
display a live mode of the user interface including display of the data element at a second position on the end user device, the second position different from the first position and determined based upon the relative position of the data element in the preview (Jann, ‘825, ¶0117 – vertically scrolling the page to reveal additional cards. Fig. 4 with ¶0125 – selecting the “useful apps” tab bar item results in moving the “useful apps” tile arrangement shown in Elements 442 and 443 to the top of the page while preserving the same relative layout arrangement. See also Fig. 2C-2J with ¶0085-¶0091 – the same arrangement is shown at reduced size, but increased and shifted in position according to the parallax transition. At least a portion of the relative arrangement is preserved).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the personalized configuration of Jann ‘218 to include storing personalization profile data in response to changes based on the teachings of Jann ‘825. The motivation for doing so would have been enable the user to provide personalization inputs without having to save operations separately (Jann ‘825), saving the user time and effort.
However, Jann ‘218 appears not to expressly disclose outside of the one or more containers. However, in the same field of endeavor, Henning discloses a tile arrangement interface with containers (Henning, Abstract and ¶0013), including
display the customization mode for the user interface including the one or more containers in a first portion and a preview of the user interface in a second portion outside of the one or more containers; receive one or more changes to the user interface from the end user including moving at least one data element of the plurality of data elements between the first portion and the second portion (Henning, Figs. 7A-C with ¶0058-¶0062 – dragging a tile from one container to another).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the drag and drop interface of Jann ‘218 as modified to include between containers based on the teachings of Henning. The motivation for doing so would have been to increase the interface flexibility and ease of configuration.
Regarding claim 20, Jann ‘218 as modified discloses the limitations of claim 19 above, and further discloses: store a plurality of profiles for a plurality of end users (Jann ‘218, ¶0037-¶0038, ¶0042, ¶0053-¶0054 – customization based on user role, authorization level for multiple users. Figs. 2 and 12 with ¶0102-¶0104, ¶0110-¶0111, ¶0177, ¶0206-¶0209 – user roles and authorization are stored in the central SAP database system, and retrieved for generation of the interface at the client);
retrieve a first profile for a first end user in response to receiving an indication that the first end user of the plurality of end users is logging in (Jann ‘218, Fig. 1B with ¶0070, ¶0177 – login screen for initiating display of the personalized and customized UX);
generate a first user interface for the first end user based on the first profile; and transmit the first user interface to the end user device associated with the first end user to display the first user interface to the first end user (Jann ‘218, Figs. 2 and 12 with ¶0101-¶0104, ¶0110-¶0111, ¶0120-¶0122, ¶0177, ¶0206-¶0209 – user roles and authorization are stored in the central SAP database system, and retrieved for generation of the interface at the client).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. References are at least relevant as indicated in the corresponding summary.
Matthews et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2005/0044058) – ¶0065 - preview tile is not the same size or position as the final version, but the relative positioning between tiles is preserved.
Shiplacoff et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2010/0095240) – Fig. 10C-10D with ¶0113 – tiles can be rearranged while in a “shuffle mode” which displays cards at a reduced size and altered position while preserving the relative positioning.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL W PARCHER whose telephone number is (303)297-4281. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00am - 5:00pm, Mountain Time.
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/DANIEL W PARCHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2174
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