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 .
Election/Restrictions
Examiner notes the Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II, claims 12-20 on January 12, 2026.
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 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. In the instant case, claim 12 is directed to a “peer-to-peer cash transfer application system enabled by near-field communication”.
Claim 12 is directed to the concept of “peer-to-peer cash transfer” which is grouped under “organizing human activity… fundamental economic practice (transferring money between people is a fundamental economic practice) and commercial or legal interactions (transferring money between people is a type of legal agreement)” in prong one of step 2A (See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)). Claim 12 recites triggering a notification to a user and recording an action taken by the user, where the action is taken by selecting an option on the notification. Accordingly, the claim recites an abstract idea (See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)).
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because, when analyzed under prong two of step 2A (See MPEP 2106.04(d)), the additional elements of the claim such as first and second mobile devices, a cash transfer application, and near-field communication represent the use of a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea and/or does no more than generally link the abstract idea to a particular field of use (MPEP 2106.05(f)&(h)). Therefore, the additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application as they do no more than represent a computer performing functions that correspond to (i.e. implement) the acts of peer-to-peer cash transfer.
When analyzed under step 2B (See MPEP 2106.05), the claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception itself. Viewed as a whole, the combination of elements recited in the claims merely describe the concept of peer-to-peer cash transfer using computer technology (e.g. mobile devices). Therefore, the use of these additional elements does no more than employ a computer as a tool to automate and/or implement the abstract idea, which cannot provide significantly more than the abstract idea itself (MPEP 2106.05(I)(A)(f) & (h)).
Dependent claims 13-20 do not remedy the deficiencies of the independent claims and are rejected accordingly. The dependent claims further refine the abstract idea of the independent claims and do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application In this case, all claims have been reviewed and are found to be substantially similar and linked to the same abstract idea (see Content Extraction and Transmission LLC v. Wells Fargo (Fed. Cir. 2014)).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 12-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Griffin US 2017/0140368.
As per claim 12:
Griffin discloses a peer-to-peer cash transfer application system enabled by near-field communication (abstract), said system comprising:
first and second mobile devices each including a processor, memory and near-
field communication (NFC) capability, the mobile devices further including internet communication to a remote computing device which interacts with the mobile devices in running the cash transfer application (Fig 6 client devices 105 and 110, ¶¶ [0039]-[0042] ‘mobile device’), where the cash transfer application is configured for performing steps including;
detecting that NFC has been established between the mobile devices, where the NFC is established upon the mobile devices being brought into close physical proximity of less than five centimeters separation (¶¶ [0053] “activation of one or more of the applications may occur upon “tapping” or bringing the mobile device 105 in close proximity with another NFC enabled device”, [0013]-[0014] “close proximity, abstract);
triggering a notification to a user of the first mobile device, by the cash transfer
application upon detection of the NFC (¶¶ [0054]-[0055], [0057]-[0058]); and
recording an action taken by the user of the first mobile device, where the action
is taken by selecting an option on the notification provided by the application ¶¶ [0054]-[0055], [0057]-[0058]).
As per claim 13:
Griffin further discloses the system according to Claim 12 wherein the internet communication is carried over a cellular communication network, a WiFi channel connected to an internet service provider network, or both (¶¶ [0045], [0050]).
As per claim 14:
Griffin further discloses the system according to Claim 12 wherein, after triggering a notification to the user of the first mobile device, ongoing communication and interaction between the mobile devices is carried out using another, non-NFC, communication channel, where the other communication channel includes peer-to-peer WiFi or Bluetooth (¶¶ [0014], [0021], [0033]-[0035]).
As per claim 15:
Griffin further discloses the system according to Claim 12 further comprising, after detecting that the NFC has been established, determining a status of the cash transfer application on the mobile devices (Fig 9, [0053]-[0054]).
As per claim 16:
Griffin further discloses the system according to Claim 15 wherein determining the status of the cash transfer application includes determining whether both of the mobile devices have the cash transfer application installed, and determining whether each mobile device user is established as a contact of each other mobile device user in the cash transfer application (¶¶ [0066]-[0068], [0042]-[0043], Fig 7 [0050]-[0053]; Fig 9 ‘share contact info’, additionally, the only reason to share contact information or receive contact information is when contact information is not already available to either user).
As per claim 17:
Griffin further discloses the system according to Claim 12 wherein the notification is displayed on a display page on the first mobile device, the notification including a selectable option to add a user of the second mobile device as a contact in the cash transfer application, the notification further including a selectable option to send cash to the user of the second mobile device or request a payment from the user of the second mobile device (¶¶ [0066]-[0068], [0042]-[0043] Fig 9 ‘share contact info’, additionally, the only reason to share contact information or receive contact information is when contact information is not already available to either user).
As per claim 18:
Griffin further discloses the system according to Claim 17 wherein, upon selection of the option to add the user of the second mobile device as a contact, the user of the second mobile device receives a notification of a request to share contact information which may be approved or declined (¶¶ [0066]-[0068], [0042]-[0043], [0056]).
As per claim 19:
Griffin further discloses the system according to Claim 17 wherein, upon selection of the option to send cash to the user of the second mobile device, an available account balance for the user of the first mobile device is displayed along with a prompt to enter a cash send amount, and the user of the second mobile device receives a notification of receipt of the cash send amount (Figs 6&9 shows PayPal balance available, ¶¶ [0054]-[0056], [0066]).
As per claim 20:
Griffin further discloses the system according to Claim 17 wherein, upon selection of the option to request a payment from the user of the second mobile device, a prompt to enter a payment request amount is displayed to the user of the first mobile device, the user of the second mobile device receives a notification of the payment request amount along with an available account balance for the user of the second mobile device, and the notification of the payment request amount may be approved or declined by the user of the second mobile device (Figs 6&9 shows PayPal balance available, ¶¶ [0054]-[0056], [0066]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Jones US 2008/0270300 Chougule US 2017/0193468 Burns US 2015/0019432 Fisher US 2013/0013353
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID P SHARVIN whose telephone number is (571)272-9863. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9 am - 5 pm EST.
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/DAVID P SHARVIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3692
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