DETAILED ACTION
This Non-Final Office Action is in response to the application filed on 04/10/2024, the Amendment & Remark filed on 12/22/2025 and the Request for Continued Examination filed on 01/22/2026.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 01/22/2026 has been entered.
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 21-40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more.
As an initial matter, the claims as a whole are to a process, an apparatus and a manufacture, which falls within one or more statutory categories. (Step 1: YES) The recitation of the claimed invention is then further analyzed as follow, in which the abstract elements are boldfaced.
Claim 21 recites:
A computer-implemented method comprising:
collecting, by one or more processors, validation data from one or more devices associated with one or more users during a one-time registration period;
receiving, by the one or more processors, a request for a service from at least one device associated with at least one user of the one or more users;
processing, by the one or more processors, the at least one device associated with the at least one user to determine attributes data associated with the request;
generating, by the one or more processors, a presentation of a first user interface in the at least one device requesting a release of the attributes data;
collecting, by the one or more processors, the attributes data associated with the request upon receiving an approval for the release of the attributes data from the at least one user;
packaging, by the one or more processors, the collected attributes data into a structured data format, wherein the structured data format includes a JSON format;
executing, by the one or more processors at a point of sale terminal, a localized assessment of the attributes data to approve or deny the request prior to initiating communication with a payment network, wherein the localized assessment is configured to operate under offline conditions through delayed transaction processing;
comparing, by the one or more processors, the attributes data to the validation data to determine a match for authenticating the service; and
generating, by the one or more processors, a presentation of a second user interface in the at least one device authenticating the request upon determining the match between the attributes data and the validation data.
Claim 31 recites:
A system comprising:
one or more processors; and at least one non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
collecting validation data from one or more devices associated with one or more users during a one-time registration period;
receiving a request for a service from at least one device associated with at least one user of the one or more users;
processing the at least one device associated with the at least one user to determine attributes data associated with the request;
generating a presentation of a first user interface in the at least one device requesting a release of the attributes data;
collecting the attributes data associated with the request upon receiving an approval for the release of the attributes data from the at least one user;
packaging the collected attributes data into a structured data format, wherein the structured data format includes a JSON format;
executing, at a point of sale terminal, a localized assessment of the attributes data to approve or deny the request prior to initiating communication with a payment network, wherein the localized assessment is configured to operate under offline conditions through delayed transaction processing;
comparing the attributes data to the validation data to determine a match for authenticating the service; and
generating a presentation of a second user interface in the at least one device authenticating the request upon determining the match between the attributes data and the validation data.
Claim 38 recites:
A non-transitory computer readable medium, the non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
collecting validation data from one or more devices associated with one or more users during a one-time registration period;
receiving a request for a service from at least one device associated with at least one user of the one or more users;
processing the at least one device associated with the at least one user to determine attributes data associated with the request;
generating a presentation of a first user interface in the at least one device requesting a release of the attributes data;
collecting the attributes data associated with the request upon receiving an approval for the release of the attributes data from the at least one user;
packaging the collected attributes data into a structured data format, wherein the structured data format includes a JSON format;
executing, at a point of sale terminal, a localized assessment of the attributes data to approve or deny the request prior to initiating communication with a payment network, wherein the localized assessment is configured to operate under offline conditions through delayed transaction processing;
comparing the attributes data to the validation data to determine a match for authenticating the service; and
generating a presentation of a second user interface in the at least one device authenticating the request upon determining the match between the attributes data and the validation data.
Claims 22, 32 and 39 recite:
wherein collecting the validation data from the one or more devices comprises: storing, by the one or more processors, the validation data associated with the one or more users in a database, wherein the stored validation data is encrypted.
Claims 23, 33 and 40 recite:
wherein the validation data includes one or more of device identifiers associated with the one or more devices, biometric data associated with the one or more users, and contextual information associated with the one or more users.
Claims 24 and 34 recite:
wherein the contextual information includes preference information, and wherein the preference information includes one or more of frequently travelled destinations and preferred establishment.
Claims 25 and 35 recite:
wherein processing the at least one device to determine the attributes data comprises: determining, by the one or more processors, an interaction between the at least one device and a specialized computing device associated with a service provider, wherein the specialized computing device requests for the attributes data associated with the at least one user; and transmitting, by the one or more processors, the collected attributes data to the specialized computing device.
Claims 26 and 36 recite:
wherein the attributes data includes location data of the service, and wherein the attributes data is collected utilizing a global positioning system (GPS) sensor.
Claims 27 and 37 recite:
wherein transmitting the collected attributes data to the specialized computing device comprises: generating a presentation of a third user interface in the at least one device associated with the at least one user, wherein the third user interface includes a notification for transmitting the attributes data to the specialized computing device, and wherein the attributes data is packaged into a data structure including an encoding format.
Claim 29 recites:
wherein comparing the attributes data to the validation data to determine the match for authenticating the service further comprises:
determining, by the one or more processors utilizing a fraud detection engine, whether the attributes data matches the validation data; and denying, by the one or more processors, the request upon determining discrepancy between the attributes data and the validation data.
Claim 30 recites:
wherein the at least one device stores a payment vehicle for obtaining the attributes data associated with the request.
Based on the limitations above, the claims describe a process that covers processing transaction authentication. Processing transaction authentication is considered to be a commercial interaction between transaction parties, which falls within the “Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity” grouping of abstract ideas. As such, the claim(s) recite(s) a Judicial Exception. (Step 2A prong one: Yes)
This analysis then evaluates whether the claims as a whole integrates the recited Judicial Exception into a practical application of the exception. In particular, the claims recite the additional element(s) of a “processor” as a mere tool to perform the collecting, receiving, processing, generating, comparing, storing, determining, transmitting, and denying steps of the Judicial Exception, which encompasses no more than Mere Instruction to Apply.
For example, the limitation “collecting, by one or more processors, validation data from one or more devices associated with one or more users during a one-time registration period” encompasses no more than merely invoking a processor to apply the Judicial Exception step of collecting validation data associated with one or more users;
the limitation “receiving, by the one or more processors, a request for a service from at least one device associated with at least one user of the one or more users” encompasses no more than merely invoking a processor to apply the Judicial Exception step of receiving a request for a service;
the limitation “processing, by the one or more processors, the at least one device associated with the at least one user to determine attributes data associated with the request” encompasses no more than merely invoking a processor to apply the Judicial Exception step of processing data to determine attributes data associated with the request;
the limitation “generating, by the one or more processors, a presentation of a first user interface in the at least one device requesting a release of the attributes data” encompasses no more than merely invoking a processor to apply the Judicial Exception step of requesting a release of the attributes data.
the limitation “collecting, by the one or more processors, the attributes data associated with the request upon receiving an approval for the release of the attributes data from the at least one user” encompasses no more than merely invoking a processor to apply the Judicial Exception step of collecting the release of the attributes data upon receiving an approval;
the limitation “packaging the collected attributes data into a structured data format, wherein the structured data format includes a JSON format” encompasses no more than merely invoking a processor to apply the Judicial Exception step of packaging the collected attributes in a data format including a JSON format;
the limitation “executing, by the one or more processors at a point of sale terminal, a localized assessment of the attributes data to approve or deny the request prior to initiating communication with a payment network, wherein the localized assessment is configured to operate under offline conditions through delayed transaction processing” encompasses no more than merely invoking a processor to apply the Judicial Exception step of performing a localized assessment of the attributes data to approve or deny the request prior to initiating communication with a payment network;
the limitation “comparing, by the one or more processors, the attributes data to the validation data to determine a match for authenticating the service” encompasses no more than merely invoking a processor to apply the Judicial Exception step of comparing the attributes data to the validation data;
the limitation “generating, by the one or more processors, a presentation of a second user interface in the at least one device authenticating the request upon determining the match between the attributes data and the validation data” encompasses no more than merely invoking a processor to apply the Judicial Exception step of authenticating the request upon determining the match between the data;
the limitation “wherein collecting the validation data from the one or more devices comprises: storing, by the one or more processors, the validation data associated with the one or more users in a database, wherein the stored validation data is encrypted” encompasses no more than merely invoking a processor to apply the Judicial Exception step of storing the validation data in an encrypted form;
the limitation “wherein processing the at least one device to determine the attributes data comprises: determining, by the one or more processors, an interaction between the at least one device and a specialized computing device associated with a service provider, wherein the specialized computing device requests for the attributes data associated with the at least one user; and transmitting, by the one or more processors, the collected attributes data to the specialized computing device” encompasses no more than merely invoking a processor to apply the Judicial Exception step of determining a user;
the limitation “wherein transmitting the collected attributes data to the specialized computing device comprises: generating a presentation of a third user interface in the at least one device associated with the at least one user, wherein the third user interface includes a notification for transmitting the attributes data to the specialized computing device, and wherein the attributes data is packaged into a data structure including an encoding format” encompasses no more than merely invoking a processor to apply the Judicial Exception step of transmitting the encrypted attributes data to the service provider;
the limitation “wherein comparing the attributes data to the validation data to determine the match for authenticating the service further comprises:
determining, by the one or more processors utilizing a fraud detection engine, whether the attributes data matches the validation data; and denying, by the one or more processors, the request upon determining discrepancy between the attributes data and the validation data” encompasses no more than merely invoking a processor to apply the Judicial Exception step of denying the request upon determining discrepancy between the data;
the limitation “wherein the at least one device stores a payment vehicle for obtaining the attributes data associated with the request” encompasses no more than merely invoking a processor to apply the Judicial Exception step of storing payment vehicle for obtaining the attributes data.
Other than being generally linked to the steps of the Judicial Exception, the additional elements in the above step(s) is/are recited at a high-level of generality, without technological detail of how the particular steps are performed technologically. The additional element(s) of “memory” and/or “database” are generically recited to store data and/or instructions of the Judicial Exception. The additional element(s) of “from … device” are generically recited to perform communication steps such as receiving and transmitting. The additional element(s) of “…user interface in the at least one device” are generically recited to perform input/output steps described only by a result-oriented solution with insufficient detail for how the interface accomplish it. The examiner further noted generic computing devices, such as “at least one device associated with at least one user” and “specialized computing device associated with a service provider, are recited in place of the user and the service provider, but found that to be mere instructions to implement the Judicial Exception idea on a computer.
Indeed, the instant claims (1) attempted to cover a solution to an identified problem with no restriction on how the result is accomplished and no description of the mechanism for accomplishing the result; (2) used of a computer or other machinery in its ordinary capacity for economic or other tasks or simply added a general purpose computer or computer components after the fact to the Judicial Exception and (3) generally applied the Judicial Exception to a generic computing environment without limitation indicative of practical application (See MPEP 2106.04(d)I). Thus, the claims are no more than Mere Instruction to Apply the Judicial Exception (See MPEP 2106.05(f)) or adding insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception (See MPEP 2106.05(g)), which do not integrate the cited Judicial Exception into practical application (Step 2A prong two: No) The claims are directed to a Judicial Exception.
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional element of using a processor to process transaction authentication to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component cannot provide an inventive concept. Dependent claim 23, 24, 26, 33, 34, 36 and 40 merely limit the abstract idea but do not recite any additional element beyond the cited abstract idea, thus, do not amount to significantly more. No additional element currently recited in the claims amount the claims to be significantly more than the cited abstract idea. (Step 2B: No)
Therefore, claims 21-40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as being directed to non-statutory subject matter.
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) 21-40 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Royyuru et al. (US 2017/0076274) in view of Nathans et al. (US 2008/0110973) in view of Brudnicki et al. (US 2014/0040139)
As per Claim 21, Royyuru teaches a method comprising:
collecting, by one or more processors, validation data from one or more devices associated with one or more users during a one-time registration period; (See Royyuru Paragraph 0055, 0061-0063 and 0072)
receiving, by the one or more processors, a request for a service from at least one device associated with at least one user of the one or more users; (See Royyuru Paragraph 0034, 0074 and 0076-0077)
processing, by the one or more processors, the at least one device associated with the at least one user to determine attributes data associated with the request; (See Royyuru Paragraph 0034, 0074 and 0076-0077)
collecting, by the one or more processors, the attributes data associated with the request from the at least one user; (See Royyuru Paragraph 0081, 0113 and 0115)
comparing, by the one or more processors, the attributes data to the validation data to determine a match for authenticating the service; (See Royyuru Paragraph 0081, 0113 and 0115)
generating, by the one or more processors, a presentation of a second user interface in the at least one device authenticating the request upon determining the match between the attributes data and the validation data. (See Royyuru Paragraph 0042, 0047, 0074 and 0076-0077)
Royyuru does not teach generating, by the one or more processors, a presentation of a first user interface in the at least one device requesting a release of the attributes data;
collecting, by the one or more processors, the attributes data associated with the request upon receiving an approval for the release of the attributes data from the at least one user;
However, Nathans teaches generating user interface in a device requesting a release of attributes data and collecting the attributes data receiving an approval for the release of the attributes data from at least one user. (See Nathans Paragraph 0021, 0026 and 0030-0031)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the transaction system taught by Royyuru with teaching from Nathans to prompt for release of payment transaction data and processing the transaction upon release. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated as the prompting of release of payment transaction data reduces potential privacy dispute.
Royyuru in view of Nathans does not teach executing, by the one or more processors at a point of sale terminal, a localized assessment of the attributes data to approve or deny the request prior to initiating communication with a payment network, wherein the localized assessment is configured to operate under offline conditions through delayed transaction processing;
packaging the collected attributes data into a structured data format, wherein the structured data format includes a JSON format.
Brudnicki teaches executing localized assessment of transaction approval at the POS prior to communicating with a payment network, the localized assessment is configured to operate under offline conditions through delayed transaction processing; (See Brudnicki Paragraph 0093)
packaging the collected attributes data into a structured data format, wherein the structured data format includes a JSON format. (See Brudnicki Paragraph 0029, “The present invention provides a system and method that can be utilized with a variety of different portable communication devices … portable communication device technology platform may be Java or any other technology platform”, which the usage of a Java platform suggesting data formatted in Java Script Object Notation (JSON),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the transaction system taught by Royyuru in view of Nanthan with teaching from Brudnicki to approve transaction offline for later processing at POS and packing data in JSON format. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated as such modifying allows flexibility of conducting transaction when communication to the payment network is not available, while using a commonly used encoding format in the industry increases client trust.
As per claim 31, Royyuru teaches a system comprising:
one or more processors; and at least one non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, (See Royyuru Paragraph 0055, 0061-0063 and 0072)cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
collecting validation data from one or more devices associated with one or more users during a one-time registration period; (See Royyuru Paragraph 0055, 0061-0063 and 0072)
receiving a request for a service from at least one device associated with at least one user of the one or more users; (See Royyuru Paragraph 0034, 0074 and 0076-0077)
processing the at least one device associated with the at least one user to determine attributes data associated with the request; (See Royyuru Paragraph 0034, 0074 and 0076-0077)
collecting the attributes data associated with the request from the at least one user; (See Royyuru Paragraph 0081, 0113 and 0115)
comparing the attributes data to the validation data to determine a match for authenticating the service; (See Royyuru Paragraph 0081, 0113 and 0115)
generating a presentation of a second user interface in the at least one device authenticating the request upon determining the match between the attributes data and the validation data. (See Royyuru Paragraph 0042, 0047, 0074 and 0076-0077)
Royyuru does not teach generating, by the one or more processors, a presentation of a first user interface in the at least one device requesting a release of the attributes data;
Collecting the attributes data associated with the request upon receiving an approval for the release of the attributes data from the at least one user;
However, Nathans teaches generating user interface in a device requesting a release of attributes data and collecting the attributes data receiving an approval for the release of the attributes data from at least one user. (See Nathans Paragraph 0021, 0026 and 0030-0031)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the transaction system taught by Royyuru with teaching from Nathans to prompt for release of payment transaction data and processing the transaction upon release. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated as the prompting of release of payment transaction data reduces potential privacy dispute.
Royyuru in view of Nathans does not teach executing, by the one or more processors at a point of sale terminal, a localized assessment of the attributes data to approve or deny the request prior to initiating communication with a payment network, wherein the localized assessment is configured to operate under offline conditions through delayed transaction processing;
packaging the collected attributes data into a structured data format, wherein the structured data format includes a JSON format.
Brudnicki teaches executing localized assessment of transaction approval at the POS prior to communicating with a payment network, the localized assessment is configured to operate under offline conditions through delayed transaction processing; (See Brudnicki Paragraph 0093)
packaging the collected attributes data into a structured data format, wherein the structured data format includes a JSON format. (See Brudnicki Paragraph 0029, “The present invention provides a system and method that can be utilized with a variety of different portable communication devices … portable communication device technology platform may be Java or any other technology platform”, which the usage of a Java platform suggesting data formatted in Java Script Object Notation (JSON),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the transaction system taught by Royyuru in view of Nanthan with teaching from Brudnicki to approve transaction offline for later processing at POS and packing data in JSON format. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated as such modifying allows flexibility of conducting transaction when communication to the payment network is not available, while using a commonly used encoding format in the industry increases client trust.
As per claim 38, Royyuru teaches a non-transitory computer readable medium, the non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
collecting validation data from one or more devices associated with one or more users during a one-time registration period; (See Royyuru Paragraph 0055, 0061-0063 and 0072)
receiving a request for a service from at least one device associated with at least one user of the one or more users; (See Royyuru Paragraph 0034, 0074 and 0076-0077)
processing the at least one device associated with the at least one user to determine attributes data associated with the request; (See Royyuru Paragraph 0034, 0074 and 0076-0077)
collecting the attributes data associated with the request from the at least one user; (See Royyuru Paragraph 0081, 0113 and 0115)
comparing the attributes data to the validation data to determine a match for authenticating the service; (See Royyuru Paragraph 0081, 0113 and 0115)
generating a presentation of a second user interface in the at least one device authenticating the request upon determining the match between the attributes data and the validation data. (See Royyuru Paragraph 0042, 0047, 0074 and 0076-0077)
Royyuru does not teach generating, by the one or more processors, a presentation of a first user interface in the at least one device requesting a release of the attributes data;
Collecting the attributes data associated with the request upon receiving an approval for the release of the attributes data from the at least one user;
However, Nathans teaches generating user interface in a device requesting a release of attributes data and collecting the attributes data receiving an approval for the release of the attributes data from at least one user. (See Nathans Paragraph 0021, 0026 and 0030-0031)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the transaction system taught by Royyuru with teaching from Nathans to prompt for release of payment transaction data and processing the transaction upon release. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated as the prompting of release of payment transaction data reduces potential privacy dispute.
Royyuru in view of Nathans does not teach executing, by the one or more processors at a point of sale terminal, a localized assessment of the attributes data to approve or deny the request prior to initiating communication with a payment network, wherein the localized assessment is configured to operate under offline conditions through delayed transaction processing;
packaging the collected attributes data into a structured data format, wherein the structured data format includes a JSON format.
Brudnicki teaches executing localized assessment of transaction approval at the POS prior to communicating with a payment network, the localized assessment is configured to operate under offline conditions through delayed transaction processing; (See Brudnicki Paragraph 0093)
packaging the collected attributes data into a structured data format, wherein the structured data format includes a JSON format. (See Brudnicki Paragraph 0029, “The present invention provides a system and method that can be utilized with a variety of different portable communication devices … portable communication device technology platform may be Java or any other technology platform”, which the usage of a Java platform suggesting data formatted in Java Script Object Notation (JSON),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the transaction system taught by Royyuru in view of Nanthan with teaching from Brudnicki to approve transaction offline for later processing at POS and packing data in JSON format. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated as such modifying allows flexibility of conducting transaction when communication to the payment network is not available, while using a commonly used encoding format in the industry increases client trust.
As per claims 22, 32 and 39, Royyuru in view of Nathans in view of Brudnicki teaches:
wherein collecting the validation data from the one or more devices comprises: storing, by the one or more processors, the validation data associated with the one or more users in a database, wherein the stored validation data is encrypted. (See Royyuru Paragraph 0041 and 0043)
As per claims 23, 33 and 40, Royyuru in view of Nathans in view of Brudnicki teaches:
wherein the validation data includes one or more of device identifiers associated with the one or more devices, biometric data associated with the one or more users, and contextual information associated with the one or more users. (See Royyuru Paragraph 0034, 0053 and 0058)
As per claims 24 and 34, Royyuru in view of Nathans in view of Brudnicki teaches:
wherein the contextual information includes preference information, and wherein the preference information includes one or more of frequently travelled destinations and preferred establishment. (See Royyuru Paragraph 0045 and 0050, transaction history suggests preference information.)
As per claims 25 and 35, Royyuru in view of Nathans in view of Brudnicki teaches:
wherein processing the at least one device to determine the attributes data comprises: determining, by the one or more processors, an interaction between the at least one device and a specialized computing device associated with a service provider, wherein the specialized computing device requests for the attributes data associated with the at least one user; and transmitting, by the one or more processors, the collected attributes data to the specialized computing device. (See Royyuru Paragraph 0055)
As per claims 26 and 36, Royyuru in view of Nathans in view of Brudnicki teaches:
wherein the attributes data includes location data of the service, and wherein the attributes data is collected utilizing a global positioning system (GPS) sensor. (See Royyuru Paragraph 0063, 0072 and 0075)
As per claims 27 and 37, Royyuru in view of Nathans in view of Brudnicki teaches:
wherein transmitting the collected attributes data to the specialized computing device comprises: generating a presentation of a third user interface in the at least one device associated with the at least one user, wherein the third user interface includes a notification for transmitting the attributes data to the specialized computing device, and wherein the attributes data is packaged into a data structure including an encoding format. (See Royyuru Paragraph 0056, 0063, 0072 and 0075, the listed communications protocols suggest data packaged into a data structure including an encoding format)
As per claim 29, Royyuru in view of Nathans in view of Brudnicki teaches:
wherein comparing the attributes data to the validation data to determine the match for authenticating the service further comprises:
determining, by the one or more processors utilizing a fraud detection engine, whether the attributes data matches the validation data; and denying, by the one or more processors, the request upon determining discrepancy between the attributes data and the validation data. (See Royyuru Paragraph 0042, 0047, 0074 and 0076-0077)
As per claim 30, Royyuru in view of Nathans in view of Brudnicki teaches:
wherein the at least one device stores a payment vehicle for obtaining the attributes data associated with the request. (See Royyuru Paragraph 0061 and 0085)
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/22/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding the applicant’s argument that the amended claims do not recite a Judicial Exception, the examiner respectfully disagrees. The claims, even after amendment, remain to explicitly recite the processing of transaction, which is a Judicial Exception under the grouping of Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity. The applicant contended that because the claims recite “collecting device-generated validation and attribute data”, “packing that data into structured, machine-readable formats such as JSON” and “performing a localized, offline assessment at a point of sale terminal prior to any network”, the claims do not recite the Judicial Exception. However, it should be noted that the recitation of computing elements does not invalidate the positive recitation of the Judicial Exception. Moreover, collecting device-generated validation and attribute data still encompasses the collecting of validation and attribute data in a transaction, the formatting of transaction into a machine readable format encompasses the prepping of transaction data (filling an order) and localized assessment of a transaction is nonetheless an assessment of transaction. The claims remain to recite Judicial Exception of transaction authentication. Thus, the argument is not persuasive.
Regarding the applicant’s argument that the amended claims integrate the Judicial Exception into practical application, the examiner respectfully disagrees. The packaging of transaction data to machine readable format such that the transaction can be conducted via mobile devices encompasses no more than non-meaningfully linking the transaction to a mobile device environment in which JSON is a format. The claimed invention does not discuss technical problem of packaging transaction data into JSON format, but rather nominally recite the limitation in a “just do it” fashion. No technological detail of how the packaging is discussed other than that JSON can be one of the format data is packaged into. Then invoking of a highly generalized computing element achieving a desired result without technological detail is considered to be Mere Instruction to Apply. As such, the argument is not persuasive.
Regarding the applicant’s argument that the amended claims amount to significantly more, the examiner respectfully disagrees. It should be noted that the inquiry of “well-known, routine and conventional” is not the sole inquiry in identifying inventive concept of a claimed invention. Another consideration when determining whether a claim recites significantly more than a judicial exception is whether the additional elements amount to more than a recitation of the words “apply it” (or an equivalent) or are more than mere instructions to implement an abstract idea or other exception on a computer. Claims that amount to nothing more than an instruction to apply the abstract idea using a generic computer do not render an abstract idea eligible In Alice Corp., the claim recited the concept of intermediated settlement as performed by a generic computer. The Court found that the recitation of the computer in the claim amounted to mere instructions to apply the abstract idea on a generic computer. Certain features in the claimed invention of the instant application similarly amounted to mere instruction to apply the abstract idea. While the abstract idea being applied may be novel and non-obvious, the mere applying of the abstract idea to computer does not contain inventive concept. Since the mere instruction to apply the abstract idea contains no inventive concept, a “well-known, routine and convention” determination to the “apply it” feature logically would not result in the identification of unconventional step, nor would it be able to amount the claims to be significantly more than that of the abstract idea. As such, the argument is not persuasive.
Regarding the applicant’s argument that the cited references does not teach packageing data in JSON format, the examiner respectfully disagrees. Brudnicki Paragraph 0029 recites “The present invention provides a system and method that can be utilized with a variety of different portable communication devices … portable communication device technology platform may be Java or any other technology platform”, which the usage of a Java platform rendering obvious of data formatted in Java Script Object Notation (JSON). As such, the argument is not persuasive.
Regarding the applicant’s argument that the cited references does “wherein the contextual information includes preference information, and wherein the preference information includes one or more of frequently travelled destinations and preferred establishments”, the examiner respectfully disagrees. It should be noted that “[I]n considering the disclosure of a reference, it is proper to take into account not only specific teachings of the reference but also the inferences which one skilled in the art would reasonably be expected to draw therefrom.” In re Preda, 401 F.2d 825, 826, 159 USPQ 342, 344 (CCPA 1968) The tracking a user's purchase history and demographic information renders obvious or teaches preference information including frequent destinations and preferred establishments to one ordinary skill in art, especially considering Royyuru’s disclosure is about tracking a user’s purchases history to provide loyalty reward that attempt to encourage or discourage certain purchase habit. It should be noted that “[I]n considering the disclosure of a reference, it is proper to take into account not only specific teachings of the reference but also the inferences which one skilled in the art would reasonably be expected to draw therefrom.” In re Preda, 401 F.2d 825, 826, 159 USPQ 342, 344 (CCPA 1968) As such, the argument is not persuasive.
Conclusion
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/CHO YIU KWONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3693