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 .
Acknowledgement
The Applicant’s Amendment/Request for Reconsideration dated 06/18/2026 is acknowledged.
Status of Claims
Claims 1, 10 and 20 are amended.
Claim 12 is cancelled.
Claims 1-11 and 13-20 are pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
The previous 35 U.S.C 103 rejection in regards to Tyson-Quah in view of Chow is withdrawn.
The remaining issues are presented below.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 11 and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
“wherein the computing system is configured such that the server is…(ii) unable to the access the liquidity data stored in the transaction ledger…”
should be
-- wherein the computing system is configured such that the server is…(ii) unable to --
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 10-11 and 13-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 10 recites, “A computer-implemented method…comprising:…receiving, by the server…, a message indicating liquidity data…, the liquidity data including a balance for processing the payment request, in unavailable from a transaction ledger…at a time the server is unable to access the liquidity data stored in the transaction ledger…in response to the message: determining, by the server, a context of the payment request;” According to the specification, “[0029]… a server computing device receives first signals from a payor computing device providing a payment request including context data related to the payment request.” The specification describes that a server receives signals which provide context data, but nothing else. Under the broadest reasonable interpretation, “determining…” in an computer-implemented method connotes a process/steps or algorithm that provides the function, but it appears that the specification merely describes the provision of signals to the server that carry context data and does not sufficiently describe the steps/process/algorithm or procedure that the server performs to carry out the function of “determining a context of the payment request”. Thus, it is maintained that the specification does not provide sufficient detail so that one of ordinary skill in the art would understand how the inventor intended the server to perform the function of “determining…a context…”, or how the function is achieved. [see MPEP 2161.01 (I)]
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the access" in the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL S FELTEN whose telephone number is (571)272-6742. The examiner can normally be reached Flex.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ryan D Donlon can be reached at 5712703602. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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DANIEL S. FELTEN
Examiner
Art Unit 3692
/DANIEL S FELTEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3692
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