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 .
DETAILED ACTION
The instant application having Application No. 18/521,419 filed on 11/28/2023 is presented for examination.
Examiner Notes
Examiner cites particular columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims below for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, the applicant fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
Drawings
The applicant’s drawings submitted are acceptable for examination purposes.
Authorization for Internet Communications
The examiner encourages Applicant to submit an authorization to communicate with the examiner via the Internet by making the following statement (from MPEP 502.03):
“Recognizing that Internet communications are not secure, I hereby authorize the USPTO to communicate with the undersigned and practitioners in accordance with 37 CFR 1.33 and 37 CFR 1.34 concerning any subject matter of this application by video conferencing, instant messaging, or electronic mail. I understand that a copy of these communications will be made of record in the application file.”
Please note that the above statement can only be submitted via Central Fax, Regular postal mail, or EFS Web.
Information Disclosure Statement
As required by M.P.E.P. 609, the applicant’s submissions of the Information Disclosure Statement dated 11/28/2023 and 2/19/2026 are acknowledged by the examiner and the cited references have been considered in the examination of the claims now pending.
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 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract ide without significantly more.
Step 1: Claim 1 is a method claim.
Step 2:
2A Prong 1:
The claim recites
wherein the first application is associated with a first service and the second application is associated with a second service that is different from the first service
Under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation in the mind, then it falls within the “Mental Processes” grouping of abstract ideas (concepts performed in the human mind including an observation, evaluation, judgment, and opinion).
2A Prong 2:
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the
displaying an event setting interface
receiving event setting data
sending, by processing circuitry, the event setting data
are recited at a high-level of generality such that it amounts no more than display and transmission of data which using a generic computer component. Accordingly, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. (see MPEP 2106.05(f)).
2B:
The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The limitations "displaying…”; “receiving…”; and “sending…” are recognized by the courts as well-understood, routine, and conventional activities when they are claimed in a merely generic manner (see MPEP 2106.05(d)(II)(iv) Storing and retrieving information in memory, Versata Dev. Group Inc....
As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional elements of the “processing circuitry” are merely a generic computer or generic computer components to apply the judicial exception which cannot provide an inventive concept. Accordingly, the claim does not appear to be patent eligible under 35 USC 101.
As such, claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101.
Claims 2-10 depend from claim 1 and have similar issues as presented above and are rejected for similar reasons. For example,
Claim 2: The method according to claim 1, wherein the displaying the event setting interface comprises:
displaying a messaging interface of the first application (presentation of data)
displaying an event association control element based on a user selection of target messaging content in the messaging interface; and (presentation of data)
displaying the event setting interface of the event with the event setting data determined from the target messaging content based on a user selection of the event association control element. (presentation of data)
Claim 3: The method according to claim 1, wherein the sending the event setting data comprises:
displaying an associated application candidate list based on the user selection of the data association control element; (presentation of data)
receiving a user selection of the second application from the displayed associated application candidate list; and (transmission of data)
sending the event setting data to the second application selected from the associated application candidate list. (transmission of data)
Claim 4: The method according to claim 3, wherein the displaying the associated application candidate list comprises:
displaying a login interface based on the user selection of the data association control element; (presentation of data)
acquiring login information via the login interface; and (transmission of data)
displaying the associated application candidate list based on authentication of the login information. (presentation of data)
Claim 5: The method according to claim 4, wherein the displaying the associated application candidate list comprises:
displaying an account selection control element in the login interface; (presentation of data)
displaying an address book list based on a user selection of the account selection control element; (presentation of data)
transmitting a login information acquisition request to a device of a target user based on a user selection of the target user in the address book list; and (transmission of data)
receiving the login information from the device of the target user in response to the login information acquisition request. (transmission of data)
Claim 6: The method according to claim 1, wherein the sending the event setting data comprises:
determining a plurality of participants of the event according to the event setting data based on the user selection of the data association control element; and (mental process)
sending the event setting data to the second application of each of the participants. (transmission of data)
Claim 7: The method according to claim 1, wherein the displaying the event setting interface comprises:
displaying a messaging interface of the first application; (presentation of data)
displaying an event association control element based on a user selection of target voice content in the messaging interface; (presentation of data)
performing voice recognition on voice information included in the target voice content based on the user selection of the event association control element; (mental process)
generating the event setting data based on the voice recognition; and (mental process)
displaying the event setting interface of the event with the event setting data determined from the target voice content based on a user selection of the event association control element. (presentation of data)
Claim 8: The method according to claim 1, wherein the sending the setting data comprises:
displaying an application association authorization interface based on the user selection of the application association control element; and (presentation of data)
sending the event setting data to the second application based on login information of the second service associated with the second application being received via the application association authorization interface. (transmission of data)
Claim 9: The method according to claim 8, wherein the sending the event setting data comprises:
sending the event setting data and the login information to the second service to add the event to the second application. (transmission of data)
Claim 10: The method according to claim 1, wherein the displaying a setting interface of a reservation event in a first application comprises:
displaying a calendar interface of the first application, the calendar interface including a plurality of date selection elements; and (presentation of data)
displaying the event setting interface of the event based on a user selection of a target date via the plurality of date selection elements in the calendar interface, the event setting interface of the event corresponding to the target date. (presentation of data)
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 1-3, 6, 10-13, 16 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Adams (US 2007/0073810) in view of Dixon (US 9,355,387).
As per claim 1, Adams discloses a data processing method, comprising:
displaying an event setting interface of an event in a first application, the event setting interface including an event data setting element and a data association control element of the event (Paragraph 33 “The event scheduler 302 is provided for facilitating the scheduling of events based upon the content of a received message, such as an email or instant text message. The messaging module 308 enables the device 10 to send and receive messages, such as email messages, over one or more wireless networks 50.”);
receiving event setting data of the event from a user via the event data setting element (Paragraph 38 “According to example embodiments of the invention, the event scheduler 302 permits a user of the device 10 to set up or schedule an event based upon information in a received message (e.g. email, instant text message, or the like). The event scheduler 302 will automatically fill in details of the event that are contained in the message itself, as will be described in more detail below.”); and
sending, by processing circuitry, the event setting data of the event to a second application Paragraph 35 “The event scheduler 302 may be implemented as part of an electronic messaging application, such as messaging module 308 or as part of a general event scheduling application, such as calendar 301. Alternatively, the event scheduler 302 may be implemented as an independent application that communicates with an electronic messaging application and/or a general event scheduling application. The use of calendar applications and electronic messaging applications on PDA-type devices and personal computers to schedule appointments, meetings and the like is common place.”),
wherein the first application is associated with a first service and the second application is associated with a second service that is different from the first service (The email is associated with an email application and the calendar event is associated with a calendar application. See paragraphs 30-35).
Adams does not expressly disclose but Dixon discloses based on a user selection of the data association control element (Column 10, lines 28-45 “For example, event 404 (“Hudson River cruising”) may be created for group 402 that includes user devices 102a, 102b and 102c. Event 408 (“conference call”) may be created for group 406 including user devices 102c, 102d and 102e. As illustrated, user device 102c may be included in more than one groups and participate in more than one activities. Information shared among the user devices 102a-c for event 404 are not propagated by the server 112 to user devices 102c-e, and information shared among the user devices 102c-e for event 408 are not propagated to user devices 102a-c. Users are provided by the group event server with options to choose whether to share information on a per event basis. For example, user device 102c may share location information with other participants in activity 404 but not to share location information with other participants in activity 408. Information to be shared during an event is not limited to locations, but may include still pictures and videos (imagery), navigations, comments and various other types of information.”).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Adams to include the teachings of Dixon because it provides for the purpose of allowing greater flexibility in the choices of applications which are paired with the event service. In this way, the combination benefits by allowing the user to select from multiple applications in order to greater fulfill the needs of the user.
As per claim 2, Adams further discloses wherein the displaying the event setting interface comprises:
displaying a messaging interface of the first application (Paragraph 18 “device includes a display; a user input device; a messaging module for exchanging electronic messages with other devices;”);
displaying an event association control element based on a user selection of target messaging content in the messaging interface (Paragraph 18 “displaying on the display an event scheduling interface for scheduling an event, the event scheduling interface having a plurality of input fields for receiving information about the event, the scheduling module being configured for automatically populating at least one of the input fields in dependence on information extracted from a selected electronic message stored in the storage.”); and
displaying the event setting interface of the event with the event setting data determined from the target messaging content based on a user selection of the event association control element (Paragraph 18 “the scheduling module being configured for automatically populating at least one of the input fields in dependence on information extracted from a selected electronic message stored in the storage.”).
As per claim 3, Adams does not expressly disclose but Dixon discloses wherein the sending the event setting data comprises:
displaying an associated application candidate list based on the user selection of the data association control element (Column 10, lines 28-45);
receiving a user selection of the second application from the displayed associated application candidate list (Column 10, lines 28-45); and
sending the event setting data to the second application selected from the associated application candidate list (Column 10, lines 28-45).
As per claim 6, Adams further discloses wherein the sending the event setting data comprises:
determining a plurality of participants of the event according to the event setting data based on the user selection of the data association control element (Paragraph 43); and
sending the event setting data to the second application of each of the participants (Paragraph 43).
As per claim 10, Adams further discloses wherein the displaying a setting interface of a reservation event in a first application comprises:
displaying a calendar interface of the first application, the calendar interface including a plurality of date selection elements (Paragraph 38); and
displaying the event setting interface of the event based on a user selection of a target date via the plurality of date selection elements in the calendar interface, the event setting interface of the event corresponding to the target date (Paragraph 38).
As per claims 11-13, and 16, they are apparatus claims having similar limitations as cited in claims 1-3, and 6 and are rejected under the same rationale.
As per claim 20, it is a medium claim having similar limitations as cited in claim 1 and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
Claims 4, 5, 7, 8, 14, 15, 18 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Adams in view of Dixon in further view of Aggarwal (US 9,800,573).
As per claim 4, Adams does not expressly disclose but Aggarwal discloses wherein the displaying the associated application candidate list comprises:
displaying a login interface based on the user selection of the data association control element (Column 5, lines 17-37 “During a set-up phase, a user may establish passwordless login capability on second computing device 104 by initiating a passwordless login set-up session with server 110. Authentication app 144 on second computing device 104 and passwordless login manager 114 running on server 110 include the instructions to manage the set-up session. During the set-up session, server 110 may request that the user enter an authentication acceptance key that the user must enter in order to accept a passwordless login request. A screen may be presented on the user interface of second computing device 104 that permits the user to enter the authentication acceptance key. In general, the authentication acceptance key may be something relatively easier to remember and/or enter than the password required to initially gain access to the resources provided by server 110. The authentication acceptance key may include, for example, a relatively simple but unique pass code or pattern (e.g., connecting dots on a grid in a pattern, a sequence of 4 digits, selecting a picture from a group of pictures, etc) or other type of key that is relatively simple for the user to enter than the password that would ordinarily be required by the server.”);
acquiring login information via the login interface (Column 5, lines 17-37); and
displaying the associated application candidate list based on authentication of the login information (Column 5, lines 17-37).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Adams as modified to include the teachings of Aggarwal because it provides greater security without undue complexity as a user is able to establish passwords on a device and use the credentials to access that service across application boundaries.
As per claim 5, Adams does not expressly disclose but Aggarwal discloses wherein the displaying the associated application candidate list comprises:
displaying an account selection control element in the login interface (Column 5, lines 17-37);
displaying an address book list based on a user selection of the account selection control element (Column 5, lines 17-37);
transmitting a login information acquisition request to a device of a target user based on a user selection of the target user in the address book list (Column 5, lines 17-37); and
receiving the login information from the device of the target user in response to the login information acquisition request (Column 5, lines 17-37).
As per claim 8, Adams does not expressly disclose but Aggarwal discloses wherein the sending the setting data comprises:
displaying an application association authorization interface based on the user selection of the application association control element (Column 5, lines 17-37); and
sending the event setting data to the second application based on login information of the second service associated with the second application being received via the application association authorization interface (Column 5, lines 17-37).
As per claim 9, Adams does not expressly disclose but Aggarwal discloses wherein the sending the event setting data comprises:
sending the event setting data and the login information to the second service to add the event to the second application (Column 5, lines 17-37).
As per claims 14, 15, 18 and 19, they are apparatus claims having similar limitations as cited in claims 4, 5, 8 and 9 are rejected under the same rationale.
Claims 7 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Adams in view of Dixon in further view of Shires (US 8,612,211)
As per claim 7, Adams does not expressly disclose but Shires discloses wherein the displaying the event setting interface comprises:
displaying a messaging interface of the first application (Column 8, line 57-67);
displaying an event association control element based on a user selection of target voice content in the messaging interface (Column 8, line 57-67);
performing voice recognition on voice information included in the target voice content based on the user selection of the event association control element (Column 8, line 57-67 “In another example, the phrase "let's plan to meet at my house next Friday at 8 pm," can be processed by the context builder to create a meeting or event invitation. The sub-phrase "next Friday at 8 pm" can be processed to identify a calendar date and time to be associated with the event. The sub-phrase "at my house" can be processed to identify a location based on information known about the user who spoke the phrase (e.g., the speaker's home address may be drawn from public profile information). The sub-phrase "let's" may be processed to infer a guest list for the event (e.g., "let's" may imply that all the participants in the conversation can be included as guests). Participants can click the invitation to populate their calendar with the event, which may include the date, time, location, and/or guest list.”);
generating the event setting data based on the voice recognition (Column 8, line 57-67); and
displaying the event setting interface of the event with the event setting data determined from the target voice content based on a user selection of the event association control element (Column 8, line 57-67).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Adams as modified to include the teachings of Shires because speech to text provides greater usability to an application by allowing a user to respond more naturally with a computer.
As per claim 17, it is an apparatus claim having similar limitations as cited in claim 7 and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Rodriguez (US 10,348,658) discloses suggested items for use with embedded applications in chat conversations. In some implementations, a method includes causing a chat interface to be displayed by a first user device, the chat interface generated by a messaging application. The chat interface is configured to display, in a chat conversation, messages provided by user devices participating in the chat conversation over a network. An embedded interface is associated with the chat interface and displayed by an embedded application associated with the messaging application. A suggestion event is determined to occur in association with the embedded application based on received data that indicates that a particular event has occurred at one or more other user devices participating in the chat conversation. Suggested response items are obtained based on the suggestion event, and the suggested response items are displayed by the first user device.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TIMOTHY A MUDRICK whose telephone number is (571)270-3374. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm Central Time.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Pierre Vital can be reached at (571)272-4215. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TIMOTHY A MUDRICK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2198 2/27/2026