DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to the following communication: the claims filed on 04/01/2024. This action is made non-final.
Claims 1-17 are pending in the case. Claims 1 and 10 are independent claims.
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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 11-15 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. In this case, claims 11-15 are system claims, but depending on a method claim 10. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
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 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter.
With respect to claim 1, “A system” is being recited. However, the claim does not recite any hardware components as parts of the system. For example, a server is recited as being a component of the system, but the server is recited as having a logic which would reasonably be interpreted by one of ordinary skill in the art as software, per se. As such, it believed that the system of claim 1 is reasonably interpreted as functional descriptive material, per se. The functional descriptive material is nonstatutory when claimed as descriptive material per se, 33 F.3d at 1360, 31 USPQ2d at 1759.
Dependent claims 2-9 are rejected as incorporating and/or failing to cure the deficiencies of the claim upon which they depend.
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 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guinn et al. (US 2015/0012344 A1; hereinafter Guinn) in view of Dickison (US 2022/0318839 A1; hereinafter Dickison).
As to claim 1, Guinn teaches:
A system for facilitating the discovery and acquisition of micro-credentials via a browser extension (see Fig. 1 and ¶ 0024), comprising:
a server having a logic operably connected thereto, wherein the server adapted to host a website having a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) (see Fig. 1 and ¶ 0025-0026; gaming servers 102 manage one or more websites or webpages that are located within the network 108 and operated by gaming service providers to provide gaming services to one or more connected and registered users);
a micro-credential browser extension within a web browser environment, where the micro-credential browser extension is configured to interact with the website accessed through a user computing device and based on the URL (see ¶ 0026, 0029; the gaming servers 102 may enable the clients to be downloaded onto one or more computational devices 106 through the network 108 in the form of a web browser extension, a toolbar, a plug-in, an add-on, a widget, an application, a program, or the like. Once a client is installed onto a computational device 106 of a user, the gaming servers 102 may be able to communicate any relevant information with the computational device 106 of the user via the client as needed, so as long as the computational device 106 is connected to the network 108 and irrespective of whether the user is accessing a webpage that is directly operated by the gaming servers 102);
wherein the logic performs a method for earning a micro-credential via the micro-credential browser extension (see ¶ 0026; game-based incentives with the advertisement), the method comprising;
searching the currently accessed website for an embedded micro-credential earning opportunity, via a comparison between the URL of the website and a pre-populated database within the system that correlates a URL with at least one micro-credential earning opportunity, wherein each micro-credential is linked to a distinct criterion from a set of criteria for earning the micro-credential (see Fig. 5-6 and ¶ 0034; the gaming server 102 may be configured to integrate game-based incentives or services into the advertisement 134, and present such incentives or services to participating users via the advertisement 134 either graphically and/or functionally. ¶ 0035; prior to presenting a user with a gaming-enhanced advertisement 134, the gaming servers 102 may first determine whether a given user is a participating user. ¶ 0037; the gaming servers 102 may be configured to monitor for any interactions between the user and the presented advertisement 134, and provide the user with one or more game-based rewards based on the type and/or level of user interaction that is detected);
generating and displaying a notification within the web browser upon detection of the micro-credential earning opportunity (see Fig. 5-6 and ¶ 0034-0037; presenting a user with a gaming-enhanced advertisement 134);
monitoring actions received from the user computing device within the website to confirm completion of at least one criteria required for the micro-credential (see 0037-0041; the gaming servers 102 may be configured to assess detected user interactions relative to one or more predefined engagement requirements for the purposes of qualifying the user for one or more rewards);
issuing a digital badge to a user's digital portfolio upon verified completion of the micro-credential (see Fig. 6-8 and ¶ 0044-0046; if the engagement requirements for a given advertisement 134 are satisfied, or if, for instance, the meter 140 of FIG. 5 is completely filled, the gaming servers 102 may automatically, or in response to user confirmation, unlock one or more rewards in the form of game enhancements, as shown for example in FIG. 7. The game enhancements may include any one or more of game credits, points, coins, tokens, level-ups, social currency, increased odds of winning, contest or sweepstake entries, and the like).
If Guinn is not interpreted to teach the limitation “generating and displaying a notification within the web browser upon detection of the micro-credential earning opportunity”, Dickison is relied upon for teaching this limitation. Specifically, Dickison discloses a web browser extension (see ¶ 0049) comprising generating and displaying a notification within the web browser (see ¶ 0063; the Nudge module 124 of the Loyalty Reward System 120 generates encouragement Nudges 315 for presentation to the customer or user to encourage the user to earn reward points (or reward discounts or reward amounts of money) to the user. Example encouragement nudge messages include “Earn 100 reward points for every $10 purchase” (example encouragement) and “Click ‘Allow’ and get $3 off your 1st order” (example amount reward as well as being an interaction)).
Both references, each is directed to user interface for earning rewards. 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 reward user interface of Guinn to display a notification nudge disclosed in Dickison to provide the user the opportunity to earn reward points as claimed. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to make such a combination is to encourage the user to engage in the displayed content; thus, increate revenue (Dickison: see ¶ 0116).
As to claim 10, claim 10 is directed to a method claim for implementing the features as claimed in claim 1; therefore, is rejected under similar rationale (Guinn: see ¶ 0005 and Fig. 1)
As to claims 2 and 11, the rejection of claim 1 (10) is incorporated. Guinn and Dickison further disclose: wherein the method further comprises displaying a test on a screen of the user computing device upon detection of at least one criteria completion (Guinn: see Fig. 5-9 and ¶ 0041; the unlockable game enhancements may include any one or more of gameplay sessions, credits, points, coins, tokens, social currency, increased odds of winning, contest or sweepstake entries, and the like. The unlockable rewards may alternatively or additionally provide access to exclusive content, such as demos, games, videos, music, programs, applications, or any other content otherwise not readily available to other users within a social network to which the user may be registered).
As to claims 3 and 12, the rejection of claim 2 (11) is incorporated. Guinn and Dickison further disclose: wherein the method further comprises displaying a prompt through the micro-credential browser extension indicating to the user computing device at least one of the criteria to be completed prior to displaying the test (Guinn: see Fig. 5-9 and ¶ 0041; contest or sweepstake entries, “spin to win” for example).
As to claims 4 and 13, the rejection of claim 1 (10) is incorporated. Guinn and Dickison further disclose: wherein the method further comprises sending the digital badge to an issuer of the digital badge (Guinn: see ¶ 0041, 0045, 0054; the gaming servers 102 may further be able to link, update or otherwise associate any rewards that have been unlocked by the user with the user's account to be redeemed immediately, within a preset timeframe, or at a later time).
As to claims 5 and 14, the rejection of claim 1 (10) is incorporated. Guinn and Dickison further disclose: wherein the method further comprises receiving a user request to install the micro-credential browser extension on the user computing device and installing the micro-credential browser extension on a browser of the user computing device (Guinn: see ¶ 0026, 0029; the gaming servers 102 may enable the clients to be downloaded onto one or more computational devices 106 through the network 108 in the form of a web browser extension, a toolbar, a plug-in, an add-on, a widget, an application, a program, or the like).
As to claim 6, the rejection of claim 5 is incorporated. Guinn and Dickison further disclose: wherein the method further comprises determining the compatibility of the browser extension with the browser version and the user computing device and retrieving the browser extension from a remote server based on the compatibility determination (Guinn: see ¶ 0026, 0029; web browser extension, plug-in, or add-on can only be installed if the downloaded extension is compatible with the web browser).
As to claim 7, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated. Guinn and Dickison further disclose: wherein the method further comprises analyzing user data and preferences to recommend a second URL having a second micro-credential earning opportunity (Guinn: see ¶ 0045; the game enhancements may be selected based on the type of games or gaming sessions that is of particular interest to the user as determined, for instance, from the user's play history, preferences identified by the user during registration, or the like).
As to claims 8 and 17, the rejection of claim 1 (10) is incorporated. Guinn and Dickison further disclose: further comprising a secondary platform, wherein the digital badge is created thereon and defines the set of criteria for awarding the digital badge to a user (Guinn: see ¶ 0038-0039; predefined engagement requirements for one or more rewards).
As to claims 9 and 16, the rejection of claim 1 (10) is incorporated. Guinn and Dickison further disclose: wherein the method further comprises recognizing the criteria directly in the extension and on the user computing device, wherein actions received via the user computing device are tracked by the extension (Guinn: see ¶ 0026, 0029; web browser extension, plug-in, add-on. ¶ 0037, 0041; monitor for any interactions between the user and the presented advertisement)
As to claim 15, the rejection of claim 10 is incorporated. Guinn and Dickison further disclose: wherein the method further comprises automatically updating the installed browser extension to ensure it remains compatible with the user computing device (Guinn: see ¶ 0026, 0029; the gaming servers 102 may enable the clients to be downloaded onto one or more computational devices 106 through the network 108 in the form of a web browser extension, a toolbar, a plug-in, an add-on, a widget, an application, a program, or the like. (web browser extension, plug-in, or add-on can only be installed if the downloaded extension is compatible with the web browser)).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record on form PTO-892 and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Applicant is required under 37 C.F.R. § 1.111(c) to consider these references fully when responding to this action.
It is noted that any citation to specific, pages, columns, lines, or figures in the prior art references and any interpretation of the references should not be considered to be limiting in any way. A reference is relevant for all it contains and may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill in the art. In re Heck, 699 F.2d 1331, 1332-33,216 USPQ 1038, 1039 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (quoting In re Lemelson, 397 F.2d 1006,1009, 158 USPQ 275,277 (CCPA 1968)).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TUYETLIEN T TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-1033. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM.
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/TUYETLIEN T TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2179