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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-20 are currently pending. Claims 1-4, 6-12, and 14-17 were amended in the reply filed December 16, 2025. No claims were cancelled or added.
Priority
Application 18/631,883 was filed on April 10, 2024 and claims the benefit of both U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/458,401 filed April 10, 2023 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/600,873 filed October 20, 2023. Applicant’s amendments overcome the lack of priority asserted in the Office Action dated 9/25/2025 and it is withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Objection:
Applicant's amendments overcome the objection made to claims 1-16 and it is withdrawn.
112(b):
Applicant's amendments overcome the rejection made under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) to claims 1-16 and it is withdrawn.
112(d):
Applicant's amendments overcome the rejection made under 35 U.S.C. § 112(d) to claims 6 and 14 and it is withdrawn.
101:
Applicant's arguments filed with respect to the rejection made under 35 U.S.C. § 101 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant first argues that the claims do not recite a mental process. Specifically, that the claims cannot reasonably be interpreted as being capable of being performed in the human mind similar to the data encryption in Synopsis, Inc. v. Mentor Graphics Corp and the data manipulation in Research Corp. Tech. v. Microsoft Corp. (Remarks p. 16-17). Examiner respectfully disagrees. Under the broadest reasonable interpretation, Applicant’s claims recite functions that amount to collecting, formatting, and storing data; determining available transactions based on the data; and facilitating requests to purchase or exchange ownership of a slot. These are all activities that can practically be performed in the human mind or with pen and paper. For example, a human could draw a spreadsheet on a piece of paper, fill the spreadsheet with time slot data, and read the spreadsheet to see what time slots can be transferred/purchased. In contrast, the data encryption in Synopsis and data manipulation in Research Corp. Tech. involve mathematically and computationally complex processes that are not analogous to applicant’s claims. Instead, Applicants claims are more similar to “collecting information, analyzing it, and displaying certain results of the collection and analysis,” where the data analysis steps are recited at a high level of generality such that they could practically be performed in the human mind, Electric Power (see 2106.04(a)(2)(III)(A)). As such, the claims do recite a mental process. Furthermore, Examiner notes that Applicant’s claims recite an abstract idea under the grouping of "Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity", which is distinct from the grouping of “Mental Processes”.
Applicant next argues that any abstract idea is integrated into a practical application. Specifically, that claim 1 recites additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into practical application (Remarks p. 17-21). Examiner respectfully disagrees. Use of a computer or other machinery in its ordinary capacity for economic or other tasks (e.g., to receive, store, or transmit data) or simply adding a general purpose computer or computer components after the fact to an abstract idea (e.g., a fundamental economic practice or mathematical equation) does not integrate a judicial exception into a practical application or provide significantly more (see MPEP 2106.05(f)(2). Similarly, Applicant’s claims recite generic computer components (e.g., a network, a client computing device), described at a high-level of detail, which appear to be used in their ordinary capacity (e.g., storing data in an activity sheet, receiving a request over a network, displaying data on a client device). As such, the additional elements recited by applicant’s claims do not integrate the abstract idea into practical application. Examiner notes that the sections of Applicant’s specification cited by Applicant (Remarks p. 18-19) describe improvements to the business process (i.e. abstract idea) of enabling users to sell and purchase time slots, which are not improvements to technology.
Applicant further argues that the claims improve the technical fields of “reservation systems related to completing requests for transactions of unsolicited offers for reservations” (Remarks p. 21). Examiner respectfully disagrees. The problems of “limited and inflexible offerings for requesting reservation transactions of unsolicited offers” and including “information about available transactions and inventory stored separately or accessible through separate channels” (Remarks p. 21) are problems that relate to a business process, not any underlying technology. As such, the claimed improvements to these problems are merely improvements to the abstract idea. An improvement in the abstract idea itself is not an improvement in technology. For example, in Trading Technologies Int’l v. IBG, 921 F.3d 1084, 1093-94, 2019 USPQ2d 138290 (Fed. Cir. 2019), the court determined that the claimed user interface simply provided a trader with more information to facilitate market trades, which improved the business process of market trading but did not improve computers or technology (See MPEP 2106.05(a)(II)).
Lastly, Applicant argues that the claims are analogous to claim 1 of Example 42 of the 2019 PEG Subject Matter Eligibility Examples (Remarks p. 11-12 and 23-24). Examiner respectfully disagrees. In Example 42, claim 1 provided “a specific improvement over prior art systems by allowing remote users to share information in real time in standardized format”. Applicant’s claims provide no such improvement. As stated above, Applicant’s claims improve only the abstract idea of enabling users to sell and purchase time slots, which is not an improvement to technology. Furthermore, Examiner notes paragraphs [0020-0021] of Applicant’s specification, which describe orchestrating API call results “to provide a uniform response”. This high-level description, which includes formatting such as putting data in an “activity sheet”, is more similar to storing data in a table and is not akin to the “standardized format” in Example 42. Similarly, Applicant’s specification makes no reference to “real-time” processing and the claims to not appear to describe “real-time” processing. Examiner notes that performing steps “automatically” is not the same as performing steps in real-time. As such, Applicant’s claims are not analogous to claim 1 of Example 42.
Accordingly, the rejection is maintained.
103:
Applicant's arguments filed with respect to the rejections made under 35 U.S.C. § 103 have been fully considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
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 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., an abstract idea) without significantly more.
Independent Claims
MPEP 2106 Step 2A- Prong 1:
Independent claims 1 and 9 recite, calling, from a plurality of sources for storage, respective transaction availability statuses including at least current ownership and available transactions of a plurality of time slots for performing an activity;
Orchestrating the called respective transaction availability statuses into a unified format;
Storing the respective transaction availability statuses in the unified format, updating the stored respective transaction availability statuses from the plurality of sources;
receiving, a selection of a time slot of the plurality of time slots using a market;
responsive to the selection, transmitting, at least one transaction provided through the market, the at least one transaction being selectable for requesting to be completed for the time slot;
receiving, a request to complete a transaction of the at least one transaction through the market with respect to ownership of the time slot the transaction being requested as an unsolicited offer to exchange the ownership for value;
determining, using the respective transaction availability statuses that the available transactions of the time slot include the transaction being requested;
responsive to determining the available transactions of the time slot include the transaction being requested, transmitting a notification to a user account associated with the market based on the current ownership;
receiving, from the user account, approval to complete the transaction being requested;
responsive to receiving the approval, causing the transaction being requested to be completed to exchange the value;
storing an indication of the unsolicited offer to exchange the ownership for value, the indication being provided at least in part by the payment processing system;
generating, based on the indication, an updated transaction availability status of the time slot to update at least the current ownership according to the transaction;
storing, the updated transaction availability status of the time slot to replace the transaction availability status;
transmitting a second notification whenever the current ownership has been updated, the second notification being based at least on the updated transaction availability status of the time slot;
and transmitting a third notification to at least one of the plurality of sources associated with the time slot whenever the current ownership has been updated.
The limitations above are processes that under broadest reasonable interpretation cover “certain methods of organizing human activity” (including sales activities or behaviors, or business relations). Specifically, enabling users to sell and purchase time slots is establishing business relationships and performing sales activities. As such, the limitations fall into certain methods of organizing human activity.
Additionally, the limitations include mental processes (including an observation, evaluation, judgment, or opinion) because they can be performed in the human mind, or by a human using pen and paper. Specifically, claims to collect and format transaction/time slot information, facilitate requests to purchase or exchange ownership of a slot, store information regarding the transaction/time slot can all be practically performed in the human mind, or by a human using pen and paper.
Independent claim 17 recites, storing, from a plurality of sources information associated with accepted reservations at different time slots to perform an activity and associated with one or more available reservations at remaining time slots to perform an activity, at least one of the accepted reservations being indicated as not currently soliciting offers, wherein at least a portion of the information is converted into a unified format;
enabling a user to receive an indication of requests that can be made for one or more of the accepted reservations and one or more of the available reservations based on the information;
enabling the user to request at least one selected from the group of: to accept at least one of the available reservations; and to make an offer to purchase one or more of the accepted reservations;
responsive to the user requesting at least one selected from the group, determining, using the information stored, an answer to the request; and
responsive to determining the answer, transmitting a notification based on the answer to the user responsive to the request, so that the user has immediate access to whether the request can be completed.
The limitations above are processes that under broadest reasonable interpretation cover “certain methods of organizing human activity” (including sales activities or behaviors, or business relations). Specifically, enabling users to sell and purchase time slots is establishing business relationships and performing sales activities. As such, the limitations fall into certain methods of organizing human activity.
Additionally, the limitations include mental processes (including an observation, evaluation, judgment, or opinion) because they can be performed in the human mind, or by a human using pen and paper. Specifically, claims to format and store time slot information and facilitate requests to purchase or exchange ownership of a slot can all be practically performed in the human mind, or by a human using pen and paper.
MPEP 2106 Step 2A- Prong 2:
The judicial exceptions are not integrated into a practical application. Claims 1, 9, and 17 as a whole amount to: merely including instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, or merely using a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea, or “apply it”; or generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use.
Independent claims 1, 9, and 17 recite the following additional elements to perform the above recited steps: a computer (claims 1 and 17), one or more centralized electronic databases (claims 1, 9 and 17), an inventory management system (claims 1, 9 and 17), a network (claims 1 and 9), a client computing device (claims 1 and 9), a payment processing system (claim 1), at least one processor (claim 9), and memory (claim 9). These additional elements are generic computer components performing generic computer functions at a high level of generality, and are recited at a high level of generality. These additional elements amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Examiner notes that performing tasks “automatically” and “dynamically” appear to refer to the claims being performed by the above-mentioned computer components and functions. As such, they are included in the analysis of additional elements above.
Furthermore, claims 1 and 9 recite the additional element of an electronic market. This additional element is described at high level of generality such that, when viewed as a whole, the additional element does no more than generally link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use (i.e., buying and selling items via computing devices).
Individually and as a whole, these additional elements do not integrate the judicial exceptions into a practical application because the claims do not: improve the functioning of the computer itself or any other technology or technical field; apply the judicial exception with, or by use of, a particular machine; effect a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing; add meaningful limitations beyond generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment to transform the judicial exception into patent-eligible subject matter; 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.
MPEP 2106 Step 2B:
Independent claims 1, 9, and 17 do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more (also known as an “inventive concept”) than the judicial exception. As discussed above, the additional elements are generic computer components performing generic computer functions at a high level of generality and/or generally link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use. Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component cannot provide an inventive concept. Alone or in combination, the additional elements do not contribute significantly more than the judicial exception and as a result, the claims are ineligible.
Dependent Claims
Dependent claims 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14-16, and 18-20, recite additional details that merely narrow the previously recited abstract idea limitations without reciting any additional elements. They are therefore, ineligible for the reasons as discussed above with respect to independent claims 1, 9, and 17. The additional elements in claims 4-6, 12, and 13 are discussed below.
MPEP 2106 Step 2A- Prong 2:
Dependent claims 4-6, 12 and 13, recite additional details that merely narrow the previously recited abstract idea. Claims 4-6, 12, and 13 also recite the additional elements of a token (claims 4, 5, 12, and 13) and blockchain (claim 6). These additional elements are recited at a high level of generality such that, when viewed as a whole, the additional elements do no more than generally link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use (i.e., using digital tokens and blockchain technology to conduct transactions) (see MPEP 2106.05(h)).
MPEP 2106 Step 2B:
With respect to claims 4-6, 12 and 13, as discussed above with respect to Step 2A Prong Two, the additional element amounts to no more than: generally linking the use of a judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use, and is not a practical application of the abstract idea. The same analysis applies here in Step 2B, i.e., (i) generally linking the use of a judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use (see MPEP 2106.05(h)), does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application at Step 2A or provide an inventive concept at Step 2B.
Therefore, the additional elements of a token and blockchain, do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application at Step 2A or provide an inventive concept at Step 2B. Thus, even when viewed as a whole, nothing in the claim adds significantly more (i.e., an inventive concept) to the abstract idea. Thus, claims 4-6, 12 and 13 are also ineligible.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 3, 7, 9, 11, 14, 15, and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0271225 to Schreiber et al. (Schreiber) in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0021789 to Craw et al. (Craw) in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2019/0303804 to Bright (Bright).
As to claim 1, Schreiber teaches, automatically calling from a plurality of sources for storage to a centralized electronic database of an inventory management system accessible to a network, respective transaction availability statuses (“… The reservation manager 120 may also have a reservation database 110 to store a variety of files used to manage reservations for sale or otherwise perform its functions …” and “… The customer listing module 314 may process the request and optionally store a listing based on the request in the reservation database 110” [0024-0027 and 0040]);
statuses including at least current ownership and available transactions of a plurality of time slots for performing an activity (“… By providing searchable listings of available reservations, buying users may find a reservation they wish to acquire and may then purchase that reservation …” and “… Each reservation may be associated with both a selling user holding the reservation and an enrolled business member. The selling user may provide other information, such as the dates and times of the reservation, the asking price for the reservation, the amount of security deposit and the full price of the reservation, or any other information …” [0019 and 0040]);
the centralized electronic database being able to dynamically update the stored respective transaction availability statuses from the plurality of sources using the inventory management system (“… In some embodiments, registered users may have enhanced search capabilities as well as the ability to save favorite searches, request e-mail updates When new listings appear matching their search requirements, or other enhanced functionalities …” [0041]);
receiving, from a client computing device connected to the network, a selection of a time slot of the plurality of time slots using an electronic market connected to the network (“At element 412, the reservation manager 120 may receive a request to purchase a particular reservation listing from a buying user and may also receive payment information at element 414 if such information is not on file for that user …” and “The buying user may then peruse the search results to see if there are any reservations they wish to purchase, and may also perform additional searches to receive different results. The user computer system may at element 612 receive a request from the buying user to purchase a particular reservation selected from the search results …” [0048 and 0057]);
the electronic market being associated with the inventory management system and able to access the centralized electronic database (“… The reservation manager 120 may also have a reservation database 110 to store a variety of files used to manage reservations for sale or otherwise perform its functions. In the depicted embodiment, the reservation database 110 is storage for the reservation management server 102 …” and “… The customer listing module 314 may process the request and optionally store a listing based on the request in the reservation database 110” [0024-0027 and 0040]);
responsive to the selection, transmitting, to the client computing device using the network, at least one transaction provided through the electronic market, the at least one transaction being selectable for requesting to be completed for the time slot (“At element 412, the reservation manager 120 may receive a request to purchase a particular reservation listing from a buying user and may also receive payment information at element 414 if such information is not on file for that user …” and “The buying user may then peruse the search results to see if there are any reservations they wish to purchase, and may also perform additional searches to receive different results. The user computer system may at element 612 receive a request from the buying user to purchase a particular reservation selected from the search results …” [0048 and 0057]);
receiving, from the client computing device, a request to complete a transaction of the at least one transaction through the electronic market with respect to ownership of the time slot (“… The reservation manager 120 may then use the payment information to charge the buying user the sale amount based on the current price of the listing they chose …” and “… The user computer system 106 may then transmit the request and/or payment information to the reservation manager at element 616 to initiate purchase of the reservation …” [0048-0049 and 0057]);
determining, using the respective transaction availability statuses accessed from the centralized electronic database, that the available transactions of the time slot include the transaction being requested (“… By providing searchable listings of available reservations, buying users may find a reservation they wish to acquire and may then purchase that reservation …” and “… In some embodiments, listings on the reservation manager 120 may be accessible to any user while some capabilities, such as customized searches, purchasing, or selling may only be available to users who have registered with the reservation manager 120 …” [0019 and 0039]);
responsive to receiving the approval, causing, the transaction being requested to be completed using a payment processing system to exchange the value, the payment processing system associated with the centralized electronic database and the electronic market via the network (“… The reservation manager 120 may then use the payment information to charge the buying user the sale amount based on the current price of the listing they chose …” and “… Payment information may be received by the user computer system 614 if it does not already have such information. The user computer system 106 may then transmit the request and/or payment information to the reservation manager at element 616 to initiate purchase of the reservation …” [0048-0049 and 0057]);
automatically generating, based on the indication, an updated transaction availability status of the time slot to update at least the current ownership according to the transaction (“… After receiving payment for the purchase of a particular reservation, the reservation manager 120 may at element 418 transfer an indication of the sale to the associated business member to facilitate transfer of the reservation by the business member from the selling user to the buying user …” and “FIG. 7 depicts an example of a flow chart 700 for transferring a reservation from a selling user to a buying user according to some embodiments …” [0048-0050 and 0058-0060]);
storing, to the centralized electronic database the updated transaction availability status of the time slot to replace the transaction availability status (“The reservation manager 120 may also have a reservation database 110 to store a variety of files used to manage reservations for sale or otherwise perform its functions …” and “… The customer listing module 314 may process the request and optionally store a listing based on the request in the reservation database 110” [0026 and 0040]);
automatically transmitting, using the network, a second notification the client computing device whenever the current ownership has been updated, the second notification being based at least on the updated transaction availability status of the time slot (“If confirmation of the reservation transfer is received from the business member computer system 108 at decision block 424, the reservation manager 120 may optionally transmit an indication of the successful transfer to the buying user and/or the selling user, after which the method may terminate …” and “The user computer system 106 may at element 514 receive notification that a listing has been purchased and may, at element 516, provide that information to the selling user …” [0050 and 0054]);
and automatically transmitting, using the network, a third notification to at least one of the plurality of sources associated with the time slot whenever the current ownership has been updated (“After receiving payment for the purchase of a particular reservation, the reservation manager 120 may at element 418 transfer an indication of the sale to the associated business member to facilitate transfer of the reservation by the business member from the selling user to the buying user …” and “The business member computer system 108 may at element 706 receive notification of the purchase of a listed reservation associated with the business member, such as via e-mail message or other communication technology …” [0049 and 0059]).
Schreiber does not teach, orchestrating, using the inventory management system, the called respective transaction availability statuses into a unified format; storing, to the centralized electronic database, the respective transaction availability statuses in the unified format. However, Craw teaches, orchestrating, using the inventory management system, the called respective transaction availability statuses into a unified format (“… The tee sheet 116 may be implemented through use of an application service provider (ASP) 136. The ASP 136 may include a database 140 to store and manage the inventory of a number of golf courses, and a communication interface 144 to provide a mechanism for communications between the tee sheet 116 and the NBGS 108 via the computer network 120 …” and “… In block 312 the NBGS 108 may receive available inventory from the tee sheet 112 in response to the polling of block 308. In block 316 the NBGS 108 may store the available inventory in an accessible manner for responding to a subsequent user query” [0012-0019 and 0041] Examiner notes that, under the broadest reasonable interpretation, a “tee sheet” is a unified format);
storing, to the centralized electronic database, the respective transaction availability statuses in the unified format (“… In various embodiments, the tee sheets may include database management systems (DBSs) such as, but not limited to, Oracle database, Microsoft SQLServer, a Java DBS, etc. and may be implemented in any of a number of different ways… ” and “… In various embodiments the cache 178 may be any repository of information and, in some embodiments, may be organized as a database used to store golf course inventory in a manner to facilitate the execution of search queries from the user portal 104 …” [0015-0018 and 0022-0023]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to include, orchestrating, using the inventory management system, the called respective transaction availability statuses into a unified format; storing, to the centralized electronic database, the respective transaction availability statuses in the unified format, as taught by Craw with the systems and methods for transferring a reservation of Schreiber. Motivation to do so comes from the teachings of Craw that doing so would allow a user to search (and subsequently book, if desired) available tee-times for a plurality of golf courses in an efficient, timely manner [0012].
Schreiber in view of Craw does not teach, the transaction being requested as an unsolicited offer to exchange the ownership for value; responsive to determining the available transactions of the time slot include the transaction being requested, transmitting, using the network, a notification to a user account associated with the electronic market based on the current ownership; receiving, from the user account using the network, approval to complete the transaction being requested; storing, using the inventory management system, an indication of the unsolicited offer to exchange the ownership for value, the indication being provided at least in part by the payment processing system. However, Bright teaches, the transaction being requested as an unsolicited offer to exchange the ownership for value (“… For example, a seller may have a reservation but has not chosen to list the reservation for possible sale; or using the GPS coordinates of seller's mobile devices 18, the server 100 may determine that one or more seller's 12 having the application 20 loaded on their mobile devices 18 may be waiting in line at the restaurant and at or near the time of the buyers 14 request …” [0041-0042]);
responsive to determining the available transactions of the time slot include the transaction being requested, transmitting, using the network, a notification to a user account associated with the electronic market based on the current ownership (“… Further, as described in more detail below, if a buyer 14 makes an offer or bid on the listed reservation in this scenario, the seller 12 will also be alerted or provided a notice and the seller 12 is provided the chance to accept the offer, make a counter-offer, deny the offer, or remove/delist the reservation” and “… If a present reservation is found, a message is sent to the mobile device 18 of the seller(s) waiting in line asking whether the seller is interested in selling their reservation. If the seller answers “yes”, a message is sent to the buyer's mobile device 18 indicating the availability of a reservation, and prompting the buyer to submit a bid. If the bid is ultimately accepted by the seller, the payment transaction is completed, and the buyer is provided the name of the seller to allow the buyer to appear at the restaurant and claim the reservation” [0033 and 0039-0041]);
receiving, from the user account using the network, approval to complete the transaction being requested (“… Further, as described in more detail below, if a buyer 14 makes an offer or bid on the listed reservation in this scenario, the seller 12 will also be alerted or provided a notice and the seller 12 is provided the chance to accept the offer, make a counter-offer, deny the offer, or remove/delist the reservation” and “… If a present reservation is found, a message is sent to the mobile device 18 of the seller(s) waiting in line asking whether the seller is interested in selling their reservation. If the seller answers “yes”, a message is sent to the buyer's mobile device 18 indicating the availability of a reservation, and prompting the buyer to submit a bid. If the bid is ultimately accepted by the seller, the payment transaction is completed, and the buyer is provided the name of the seller to allow the buyer to appear at the restaurant and claim the reservation” [0033 and 0039-0041]);
storing, using the inventory management system, an indication of the unsolicited offer to exchange the ownership for value, the indication being provided at least in part by the payment processing system (“… If a reservation buy and sell agreement is reached, the system 10 also manages payment from the buyer to the seller” and “… The server 100 also includes a communication module 108 that controls communications with a payment processor 110 that controls payments from a buyer's account to a seller's account” [0014-0015 and 0036]);
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to include, the transaction being requested as an unsolicited offer to exchange the ownership for value; responsive to determining the available transactions of the time slot include the transaction being requested, transmitting, using the network, a notification to a user account associated with the electronic market based on the current ownership; receiving, from the user account using the network, approval to complete the transaction being requested; storing, using the inventory management system, an indication of the unsolicited offer to exchange the ownership for value, the indication being provided at least in part by the payment processing system, as taught by Bright with the systems and methods for transferring a reservation of Schreiber in view of Craw. Motivation to do so comes from the teachings of Bright that doing so would facilitate the automated selling and/or buying of reservations [0001].
Regarding claim 9, this claim is essentially coextensive with claim 1 other than it recites a system instead of a method. Because Schreiber teaches a system as well as a method (see at least Schreiber [0018-0019]), claim 9 can be rejected with the same rationale as claim 1, relying on the same combination of Schreiber, Craw, and Bright to render the claim obvious. Similar dependent claims below will be treated together for the sake of brevity.
As to claims 3 and 11, Schreiber in view of Craw in view of Bright teaches all of the limitations of claims 1 and 9 as discussed above. Schreiber does not teach, wherein the time slot comprises a tee time for a golf activity. However, Craw teaches, wherein the time slot comprises a tee time for a golf activity (“Embodiments of the present invention provide an online golf reservation system (OGRS) that may allow a user to search (and subsequently book, if desired) available tee-times for a plurality of golf courses in an efficient, timely manner” [0012]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to include, wherein the time slot comprises a tee time for a golf activity, as taught by Craw with the systems and methods for transferring a reservation of Schreiber. Motivation to do so comes from the teachings of Craw that doing so would allow a user to search (and subsequently book, if desired) available tee-times for a plurality of golf courses in an efficient, timely manner [0012].
As to claims 7 and 15, Schreiber in view of Craw in view of Bright teaches all of the limitations of claims 1 and 9 as discussed above. Schreiber further teaches, wherein one or more of the at least one transaction includes submitting a bid in an auction for the time slot (“… In yet other embodiments, the asking price may be varied by auction, may have "best offer" capability, or any other means of adjusting prices …” [0047]).
As to claim 14, Schreiber in view of Craw in view of Bright teaches all of the limitations of claim 9 as discussed above. Schreiber in view of Craw does not teach, wherein the updated transaction availability status of the time slot includes information associated with the indication. However, Bright teaches, wherein the updated transaction availability status of the time slot includes information associated with the indication (“… The data that is stored in the module 106 can be continually added to by adding information on businesses already stored in the module 106, and adding additional businesses and business information as users (sellers 12, buyers 14, and businesses 16) of the system 10 refer the various businesses while using the system 10 …” and “… If the bid is ultimately accepted by the seller, the payment transaction is completed, and the buyer is provided the name of the seller to allow the buyer to appear at the restaurant and claim the reservation” [0036 and 0041]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to include, wherein the updated transaction availability status of the time slot includes information associated with the indication, as taught by Bright with the systems and methods for transferring a reservation of Schreiber in view of Craw. Motivation to do so comes from the teachings of Bright that doing so would facilitate the automated selling and/or buying of reservations [0001].
As to claim 17, Schreiber teaches, storing, from a plurality of sources into one or more centralized electronic databases of an inventory management system information associated with accepted reservations at different time slots to perform an activity and associated with one or more available reservations at remaining time slots to perform an activity (“… The reservation manager 120 may also have a reservation database 110 to store a variety of files used to manage reservations for sale or otherwise perform its functions …” and “… The customer listing module 314 may process the request and optionally store a listing based on the request in the reservation database 110” [0024-0027 and 0040]);
enabling a user to receive, provided at least in part from the one or more centralized electronic databases an indication of requests that can be made for one or more of the accepted reservations and one or more of the available reservations based on the information (“… Embodiments may also include receiving from a buying user a request to search reservation listings of reservations listed for sale and generating and transmitting search results based on the received request, where the search results include one or more reservation listings offered for sale that satisfy the received request from the buying user and a price associated with each reservation listing …” and “… The business listing module 324 may facilitate listings of reservations for sale by business members themselves instead of the owner of the reservation (i.e., the selling user). This allows business members to list reservations much like selling users utilize the customer listing module 314, as described above …” and “Once one or more reservations have been listed, the reservation manager 120 may then interact with potential buyers. At element 408, the reservation manager 120 may receive a request to search reservation listings and at element 410, the reservation manager 120 may generate and transmit search results based on the search request …” [0018-0019 and 0040-0043 and 0048]);
enabling the user to request at least one selected from the group of: to accept at least one of the available reservations; and to make an offer to purchase one or more of the accepted reservations (“The customer payment module 316 and reservation search module 318 may be used by buying users to search for and purchase a reservation …” and “… At element 412, the reservation manager 120 may receive a request to purchase a particular reservation listing from a buying user and may also receive payment information at element 414 if such information is not on file for that user …” [0041 and 0048]);
responsive to the user requesting at least one selected from the group, automatically determining, using the inventory management system to access the information stored in the one or more centralized electronic databases an answer to the request (“… The customer payment module 316 may process purchases of reservations (at a specified price) by buying users …” and “… After receiving payment for the purchase of a particular reservation, the reservation manager 120 may at element 418 transfer an indication of the sale to the associated business member to facilitate transfer of the reservation by the business member from the selling user to the buying user …” [0041 and 0048-0050] Examiner notes that, under the broadest reasonable interpretation, performing the requested transaction (i.e., processing payment and sending a confirmation) is an answer to the request);
and responsive to automatically determining the answer, automatically transmitting a notification based on the answer to the user responsive to the request, so that the user has immediate access to whether the request can be completed (“… If confirmation of the reservation transfer is received from the business member computer system 108 at decision block 424, the reservation manager 120 may optionally transmit an indication of the successful transfer to the buying user and/or the selling user, after which the method may terminate …” [0049-0050]).
Schreiber does not teach, wherein at least a portion of the information is converted into a unified format by the inventory management system for the storing. However, Craw teaches, wherein at least a portion of the information is converted into a unified format by the inventory management system for the storing (“… In various embodiments, the tee sheets may include database management systems (DBSs) such as, but not limited to, Oracle database, Microsoft SQLServer, a Java DBS, etc. and may be implemented in any of a number of different ways… ” and “… In various embodiments the cache 178 may be any repository of information and, in some embodiments, may be organized as a database used to store golf course inventory in a manner to facilitate the execution of search queries from the user portal 104 …” [0015-0018 and 0022-0023]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to include, wherein at least a portion of the information is converted into a unified format by the inventory management system for the storing, as taught by Craw with the systems and methods for transferring a reservation of Schreiber. Motivation to do so comes from the teachings of Craw that doing so would allow a user to search (and subsequently book, if desired) available tee-times for a plurality of golf courses in an efficient, timely manner [0012].
Schreiber in view of Craw does not teach, at least one of the accepted reservations being indicated as not currently soliciting offers. However, Bright teaches, at least one of the accepted reservations being indicated as not currently soliciting offers (“… For example, a seller may have a reservation but has not chosen to list the reservation for possible sale; or using the GPS coordinates of seller's mobile devices 18, the server 100 may determine that one or more seller's 12 having the application 20 loaded on their mobile devices 18 may be waiting in line at the restaurant and at or near the time of the buyers 14 request …” [0041-0042]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to include, at least one of the accepted reservations being indicated as not currently soliciting offers, as taught by Bright with the systems and methods for transferring a reservation of Schreiber in view of Craw. Motivation to do so comes from the teachings of Bright that doing so would facilitate the automated selling and/or buying of reservations [0001].
As to claim 18, Schreiber in view of Craw teaches all of the limitations of claim 17 as discussed above. Schreiber further teaches, wherein the offer to purchase or a purchase of one or more of the accepted reservations is recorded (“The reservation manager 120 may also have a reservation database 110 to store a variety of files used to manage reservations for sale or otherwise perform its functions …” [0026]).
As to claim 19, Schreiber in view of Craw teaches all of the limitations of claim 17 as discussed above. Schreiber further teaches, confirming acceptance of the offer to purchase; and providing a notification of the acceptance to the user (“… If confirmation of the reservation transfer is received from the business member computer system 108 at decision block 424, the reservation manager 120 may optionally transmit an indication of the successful transfer to the buying user and/or the selling user, after which the method may terminate …” [0049-0050]).
As to claim 20, Schreiber in view of Craw teaches all of the limitations of claim 17 as discussed above. Schreiber further teaches, wherein the user makes the offer to purchase from a secondary market (“Generally speaking, systems, methods and media for managing transfers of existing reservations are disclosed, such as by facilitating transfer of an existing reservation from one reservation holder to another …” [0018-0019] Examiner notes that purchasing existing reservations is a “secondary market”).
Claims 2 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0271225 to Schreiber et al. (Schreiber) in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0021789 to Craw et al. (Craw) in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2019/0303804 to Bright (Bright), as applied to claims 1 and 9 above, and in further view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0172314 to Patel et al. (Patel).
As to claims 2 and 10, Schreiber in view of Craw in view of Bright teaches all of the limitations of claims 1 and 9 as discussed above. Schreiber in view of Craw in view of Bright does not teach, wherein the time slot is indicated as unavailable for one or more of the at least one transaction. However, Patel teaches, wherein the time slot is indicated as unavailable for one or more of the at least one transaction (“… the reservation identifying a plurality of the time slots having a reserved or open status, and means for adjusting a status of the time slots identified in the accepting step” and “… Additional visual cues can identify a slot 15 as open, tentatively booked, reserved, and booked” [0008-0009 and 0023]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to include, wherein the time slot is indicated as unavailable for one or more of the at least one transaction, as taught by Patel with the systems and methods for transferring a reservation of Schreiber in view of Craw in view of Bright. Motivation to do so comes from the teachings of Patel that doing so would improve the process of scheduling operations to make it less time consuming, inefficient, and error prone [0004].
Claims 4-6, 12, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 20090271225 to Schreiber et al. (Schreiber) in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0021789 to Craw et al. (Craw) in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2019/0303804 to Bright (Bright), as applied to claims 1 and 9 above, in further view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2022/0108232 to Hardgrave et al. (Hardgrave).
As to claims 4 and 12, Schreiber in view of Craw in view of Bright teaches all of the limitations of claims 1 and 9 as discussed above. Schreiber in view of Craw in view of Bright does not teach, creating a token associated with the completed transaction for the time slot. However, Hardgrave teaches, creating a token associated with the completed transaction for the time slot (“… More specifically, it is the principal object of this invention to provide an ease of use for people where each asset is a specific room for a specific night and is called a Room-Night Token (RNT). A Room-Night Token is a particular type of Non-Fungible Token used specifically for one or more rooms …” [0019-0020] Examiner notes that a reservation for a room for a night is a transaction for a time slot).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to include, creating a token associated with the completed transaction for the time slot, as taught by Hardgrave with the tee time management system of Schreiber in view of Craw in view of Bright. Motivation to do so comes from the teachings of Hardgrave that doing so would provide a unique, entrusted, and advanced reservation method [0026].
As to claims 5 and 13, Schreiber in view of Craw in view of Bright and in further view of Hardgrave teaches all of the limitations of claims 4 and 12 as discussed above. Schreiber in view of Craw in view of Bright does not teach, allow the token to be traded on a secondary market. However, Hardgrave teaches, allow the token to be traded on a secondary market (“… Customers will not only be able to buy and sell RNTs, they will be able to find RNTs that they can swap for their existing RNTs, paying or receiving a differential based on current market conditions …” and “… Once an RNT block is sold by the hotel to a 3rd party, that 3rd party can resell the RNT block in the wholesale marker to other 3rd parties, who can then resell again as they see fit …” [0021 and 0059-0060]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to include, allow the token to be traded on a secondary market, as taught by Hardgrave with the tee time management system of Schreiber in view of Craw in view of Bright. Motivation to do so comes from the teachings of Hardgrave that doing so would provide a unique, entrusted, and advanced reservation method [0026].
As to claim 6, Schreiber in view of Craw in view of Bright teaches all of the limitations of claim 1 as discussed above. Schreiber in view of Craw in view of Bright does not teach, wherein storing the updated transaction availability status of the time slot is performed using blockchain. However, Hardgrave teaches, wherein storing the updated transaction availability status of the time slot is performed using blockchain (“The concept of a non-fungible token (NFT) is relatively new, but highly advantageous for this rapidly changing modern world. Basically, the NFT is a unit of data stored on a digital ledger, called a blockchain …” and “… The code and the agreements contained therein can exist across a distributed, decentralized blockchain network” [0014 and 0053]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to include, wherein storing the updated transaction availability status of the time slot is performed using blockchain, as taught by Hardgrave with the tee time management system of Schreiber in view of Craw in view of Bright. Motivation to do so comes from the teachings of Hardgrave that doing so would provide a unique, entrusted, and advanced reservation method [0026].
Claims 8 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 20090271225 to Schreiber et al. (Schreiber) in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0021789 to Craw et al. (Craw) in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2019/0303804 to Bright (Bright), as applied to claims 1 and 9 above, in further view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2023/0196214 to Cordero et al. (Cordero).
As to claims 8 and 16, Schreiber in view of Craw in view of Bright teaches all of the limitations of claims 1 and 9 as described above. Schreiber in view of Craw in view of Bright does not teach, offering, based at least in part on the request to complete the transaction, weather insurance for the time slot. However, Cordero teaches, offering, based at least in part on the request to complete the transaction, weather insurance for the time slot (“Other features or benefits may include: No penalty for rounds cancelled due to weather related delays …” [0077] Examiner notes that removing penalties for weather related delays is analogous to offering weather insurance because both ensure that a user is not penalized for the weather).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to include, offering, based at least in part on the request to complete the transaction, weather insurance for the time slot, as taught by Cordero with the tee time management system of Schreiber in view of Craw in view of Bright. Motivation to do so comes from the teachings of Cordero that doing so would reduce no-shows, increase or maximize available playing times, and increase golf course revenue [0004].
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
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/S.S.W./Examiner, Art Unit 3628
/RUPANGINI SINGH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3628