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 .
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 1-20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 are directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
The claims do not provide significantly more than the judicial exception under the subject matter eligibility two-part statutory analysis, as provided below.
Regarding Step 1,
Step 1 addresses whether the claims are directed to one of the four statutory categories of invention, i.e., process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter according to MPEP §2106.03. Claims 1-20 all fall within one of the four statutory categories.
Regarding Step 2A [prong 1],
The claimed invention recites an abstract idea according to MPEP §2106.04. Independent claim 1, also representative of independent claims 12 and 16 for the same abstract features, is underlined below which recite the following claim limitations, as an abstract idea.
Claims 1 & 12 and 16 for an automation rule creation collaboration system comprising:
indicating a selection of a trigger component and a first action component for an automation rule, the trigger component associated with a change to a first object;
causing generation of a first one or more graphical elements representing the selected trigger component and the selected first action component in a proposed automation rule flow;
determining a first set of compatible action components for the selected first action component based at least in part on, for each action component of the first set of compatible action components, an ordering of the action component within the proposed automation rule flow and a compatibility between the action component and the selected first action component; and causing generation of a first set of graphical elements in the proposed automation rule flow, each graphical element of the first set of graphical elements corresponding to a respective compatible action component of the first set of compatible action components;
in response to receiving a second input of the graphical user interface indicating a selection of a particular compatible action component from the first set of compatible action components: causing generation of a second graphical element representing the selected compatible action component, the second graphical element displayed with the first one or more graphical elements in the proposed automation rule flow;
…to save an automation rule that includes at least the selected trigger component, the first action component, the selected compatible action component, and an object identifier: generating a service that performs an operation in response to an event satisfying the selected trigger component, wherein the operation corresponds to the action component, and the operation is performed on a set of objects selected using the object identifier.
The underlined claim limitations, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, fall under “Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activities” grouping of abstract ideas, and includes at least managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people (including social activities, teaching, and following rules or instructions). See MPEP §2106.04(a)(2)(II).
But for the recitation of generic implementation of computer system components, the claimed invention merely recites a process for managing personal behavior/relationships or interactions between people because the claimed steps recite designing an workflow using rules and graphical elements proposed in the rule workflow and manage collaboration. Accordingly, since the claimed invention describes a process that falls under “Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activities” grouping, the claimed invention recites an abstract idea.
Regarding Step 2A [prong 2],
The judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application according to MPEP §2106.04(d). The claims 1, 12 and 16 include the following additional elements:
A computer-implemented method causing generation of a graphical user interface of the collaboration system, the graphical user interface including an input field for receiving user input; in response to receiving a first/second/third input of the first graphical user interface;
An interface to communicate with at least one client device;
In particular, the additional elements cited above beyond the abstract idea are recited at a high-level of generality and simply equivalent to a generic recitation and basic functionality that amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the judicial exception using generic computer technology components.
The claimed invention merely provides an abstract-idea-based-solution implemented with generic computer processes and components recited at a high-level of generality (receiving, storing, determining, and comparing data) using computer instructions to implement the abstract idea on a computer, and merely “apply it” without any meaningful technological limits or any improvement to technology, technical field or improvement to the functioning of the computer itself.
Therefore, the additional elements fail to integrate the recited abstract idea into any practical application since they do not impose any non-generic meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. Thus, the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea.
Regarding Step 2B,
The claimed invention does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. See MPEP §2106.05.
As discussed above, the claimed additional elements recited above amounts to no more than mere instructions to implement the abstract idea by adding the words “apply it” using generic computer components and functionality. See MPEP §2106.05(h). Mere instructions to apply the judicial exception using generic computer components are insufficient to provide an inventive concept. Furthermore, the claimed additional elements merely limit the abstract idea to be executed in a computer environment, thus do nothing more than generally linking the use of a judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use. See MPEP §2106.05(h).
Considered as an ordered combination, the additional elements are claimed at a high-level of generality and add nothing that is not already present when the steps are considered separately. The sequence of the claimed limitations is equally generic and otherwise held to be abstract since the combination of these additional elements is no more than mere instructions to apply the judicial exception using generic computer components operating in their ordinary and generic capacities of what is typically expected of computers storing and updating data, and receiving and transmitting data between generic computer devices. The claimed invention is not patent eligible because the additional elements are merely invoked as tools to receive and output data, and update software tool with updated data to execute the abstract idea and thus are insufficient to amount to an inventive concept significantly more than the judicial exception.
As for dependent claims, they merely further narrow and reiterate the same abstract ideas for storing and updating data, and receiving and transmitting data using generic data storage and transmittal techniques with the same additional elements as recited above which provide nothing more than applying the abstract idea using generic computer technology components. Furthermore dependent claims comprise the following additional elements:
A second GUI and generative output engine
These additional elements do not provide any improvement to technology, technical field or improvement to the functioning of the computer itself, and at best simply applying the abstract idea executed in a general-purpose computer environment. Therefore the dependent claims are also directed to ineligible subject matter since they do not provide significantly more than the abstract idea itself.
Thus, after considering all claim elements in Claims 1-20 both individually and as an ordered combination, it has been determined that the claimed invention as a whole, is not enough to transform the abstract idea into a patent-eligible invention since nothing in the claim limitations provide significantly more than the abstract idea under 35 U.S.C. § 101.
Response to Amendment & Arguments
Applicant’s amendment and arguments are unpersuasive. Regarding the 35 USC 101 rejection, Applicant argues the following:
“Even if the claim is found to not be integrated into a practical application under Step 2A, Prong Two, the Assignee submits that the claim includes additional elements that amount to significantly more than any judicial exception. The specific steps recited by claim 1 clearly direct the scope of the claim to the specific and practical technical application providing an improvement to automation rule creation interfaces by displaying compatible components in a unified context with a proposed automation rule. As such, the Assignee respectfully submits that any abstract idea to which claim 1 may be found to be directed is clearly integrated into a unique and narrowly-tailored practical application that results in an improvement to automation rule user interfaces and collaboration systems.”
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Automating rules is not technology, nor is data record management. There is no specific improvement being provided to GUI technology itself. The claimed invention merely provides an abstract-idea-based-solution implemented with generic computer processes and components recited at a high-level of generality (receiving, storing, determining, and comparing data) using computer instructions to implement the abstract idea on a computer, and merely “apply it” without any meaningful technological limits or any improvement to technology, technical field or improvement to the functioning of the computer itself.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
The relevant prior art made of record not relied upon but considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure can be found in the current and/or previous PTO-892 Notice of References Cited. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to LAURA YESILDAG whose direct telephone number is (571) 270-5066 and work schedule is generally Monday-Friday, from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM ET.
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/LAURA YESILDAG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3629