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 .
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL.
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 extension fee 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.
Status of the Application
The following is a Final Office Action in response to Examiner's communication of 10/27/2025, Applicant, on 02/06/2026.
Status of Claims
Claims 14-16 are currently amended.
Claims 1-20 are currently pending following this response.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 02/06/2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the Examiner.
New matter
No new matter has been added to the amended claims.
Response to Arguments - 35 USC § 101
The arguments have been fully considered, but they are not persuasive.
Regarding applicant’s arguments on pages 9-16
The Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Claims can recite abstract ideas even if they are claimed as being performed on a computer. The Supreme Court recognized this in Benson, determining that a mathematical algorithm for converting binary coded decimal to pure binary within a computer’s shift register was an abstract idea. The Court concluded that the algorithm could be performed purely mentally even though the claimed procedures "can be carried out in existing computers long in use, no new machinery being necessary." 409 U.S at 67, 175 USPQ at 675. See also Mortgage Grader, 811 F.3d at 1324, 117 USPQ2d at 1699 (concluding that concept of "anonymous loan shopping" recited in a computer system claim is an abstract idea because it could be "performed by humans without a computer’).
Collecting data, recognizing certain data within the collected data set, and storing that recognized data in a memory in Content Extraction is according to the court an abstract idea that is similar to other concepts that have been identified as abstract by the courts. Present claim 1 is collecting and analyzing data using a generic computer processor. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude based on the similarity of the idea described in this claim to several abstract ideas found by the courts that claim 1 is directed to an abstract idea. Adjusting communication setting as argued by Applicant can be interpreted as simply changing the setting of the number of emails sent out to user following the analysis. The Examiner submits that changing settings of electronic communication is not actually changing anything physically. As such, changing settings of electronic communication is still abstract.
Further, the additional elements in the claims (“from a first profile database” and “from a second profile database”) do not improve any existing technology. Applicant’s arguments regarding a practical application under Step2A are not persuasive because changing the setting for example for the number of phone calls does not necessary mean performing more phone calls (positively reciting). Similarly, change the setting to decrease communication frequency by 50%, does not really mean, with BRI, performing the 50% cut back on communication frequency. There are no technical improvements of any kind in the present claims. As a result, the additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application, Step 2A Prong Two.
Because the Examiner has determined that the judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application, the Examiner proceeds to Step 2B of the Eligibility Guidelines, which asks whether there is an inventive concept. In making this Step 2B determination, the Examiner must consider whether there are specific limitations or elements recited in the claim “that are not well - understood, routine, conventional activity in the field, which is indicative that an inventive concept may be present” or whether the claim “simply appends well-understood, routine, conventional activities previously known to the industry, specified at a high level of generality, to the judicial exception, indicative that an inventive concept may not be present.” Eligibility Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. 56 (footnote omitted). The Examiner must also consider whether the combination of steps perform “in an unconventional way and therefore include an ‘inventive step,’ rendering the claim eligible at Step 2B” Id. In this part of the analysis, the Examiner considers “the elements of each claim both individually and ‘as an ordered combination’” to determine “whether the additional elements ‘transform the nature of the claim’ into a patent-eligible application.” Alice, 134 S. Ct. at 2354. As discussed above, there is no evidence in the record that the data analyzing steps of determining behavioral category is accomplished in a non-conventional way. The Examiner therefore concludes that the claims used generic, conventional, technology to implement the abstract idea of users’ segmentation based on profile and demographic data and product recommendation and that there is no improvement to an “existing technology.”
The Examiner submits that it is obvious (evidence) from the cited references by the Examiner that the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements and "encoding the demographic data from the first profile database and the demographic data from the second profile database into a feature vector" is an incident to the nature of machine learning.
In conclusion, the Examiner maintains the rejections of the pending claims under 35 USC § 101 in the present office action.
Response to Arguments - 35 USC § 103
The arguments have been fully considered and found to be persuasive.
Regarding applicant’s arguments on pages 16-18
None of the cited documents by the Examiner, taken individually or in combination, discloses or suggests the features in the independent claims, nor could a person skilled in the art easily conceive of such features even in the light of common technical knowledge at the time of filing. The pending claims 1-20 are therefore distinguished from the prior arts cited by the Examiner.
In conclusion, the Examiner withdraws the rejections of the pending claims under 35 USC § 103 in the present office action.
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 non-statutory subject matter. Specifically, claims 1-20 are directed to an abstract idea without additional elements to integrate the claims into a practical application or to amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claims 1-20, even if the claims were directed to a process, machine, or manufacture (Step 1), however the claims are directed to the abstract idea of users’ segmentation based on profile and demographic data and product recommendation.
With respect to Step 2A Prong One of the frameworks, claim 1 recites an abstract idea. Claim 1 includes limitations for “A method comprising: retrieving behavioral data and demographic data of at least one user; retrieving demographic data for the at least one user; encoding the demographic data from the first profile database and the demographic data from the second profile database into a feature vector representing demographic data from the first and the second profile database; inputting the behavioral data and the feature vector representing demographic data from the first and the second profile database into a machine learning model, the machine learning model trained on a training set including demographic data and behavioral data; receiving, as an output from the machine learning model, an activity parameter characterizing a predicted activity occurring within a time window; determining, based on the activity parameter, a category to which the behavioral data and the demographic data belong; and adjusting a communication setting of an electronic communication management system based on the determined category”
The limitations above recite an abstract idea under Step 2A Prong One. More particularly, the limitations above recite certain methods of organizing human activity associated with managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people because the element describe a process for users’ segmentation and product recommendation. As a result, claim 1 recites an abstract idea under Step 2A Prong One.
Claims 14 and 18 recite substantially similar limitations to those presented with respect to claim 1. As a result, claims 14 and 18 recite an abstract idea under Step 2A Prong One for the same reasons as stated above with respect to claim 1. Similarly, claims 2-13, 15-17, and 19-20 recite certain methods of organizing human activity associated with managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people because the element describe a process for users segmentation and recommend product. As a result, claims 2-13, 15-17, and 19-20 recite an abstract idea under Step 2A Prong One.
With respect to Step 2A Prong Two of the framework, claim 1 does not include additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. Claim 1 includes additional elements that do not recite an abstract idea. The additional elements of claim 1 include “from a first profile database” and “from a second profile database”. When considered in view of the claim as a whole, the recited computer elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because the computer elements are generic computer elements that are merely used as a tool to perform the recited abstract idea. When considered in view of the claim as a whole, the step of “retrieving” does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because “retrieving” is an insignificant extra solution activity to the judicial exception. With respect to the use of machine learning techniques, it is common practice that such computational models/techniques and algorithms are per se of an abstract mathematical nature, irrespective of whether they can be “trained” based on training data. Hence, a mathematical method may contribute to the technical character of an invention, if it serves as technical purpose or if it regards as specific technical implementation motivated by the internal function of a computer. Elements in the present claims do not solve a technical problem, but an administrative/business method, i.e. users’ segmentation and product recommendation. Since the mathematical algorithms or models used in the present application do not serve a technical purpose, but a business purpose, and their implementation does not go beyond generic technical implementation, the use of the artificial intelligence techniques, do not contribute to a technical character and they are to be part of the abstract idea. As a result, claim 1 does not include additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application under Step 2A Prong Two.
As noted above, claims 14 and 18 recite substantially similar limitations to those recited with respect to claim 1. Although claim 14 further recites “A system comprising: an activity parameter generator” and claim 18 further recites “A non-transitory computer readable storage medium and a processor”, when considered in view of the claims as a whole, the recited computer elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because the computer elements are generic computer elements that are merely used as a tool to perform the recited abstract idea. As a result, claims 14 and 18 do not include additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application under Step 2A Prong Two.
Claims 2-13, 15-17, and 19-20 include additional elements beyond those recited by independent claims 1, 14, and 18. The additional elements in the dependent claims include “encoding” as in claims 3, “receiving” as in claim 4. When considered in view of the claims as a whole, the recited computer elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because the computer elements are generic computer elements that are merely used as a tool to perform the recited abstract idea. When considered in view of the claim as a whole, the step of “receiving” does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because “receiving” is an insignificant extra solution activity to the judicial exception. As a result, claims 2-13, 15-17, and 19-20 do not include additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application under Step 2A Prong Two.
With respect to Step 2B of the framework, claim 1 does not include additional elements amounting to significantly more than the abstract idea. As noted above, claim 1 includes additional elements that do not recite an abstract idea. The additional elements of claim 1 include “from a first profile database” and “from a second profile database”. The recited computer elements do not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea because the computer elements are generic computer elements that are merely used as a tool to perform the recited abstract idea. The step of “retrieving” does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea because “retrieving” is well-understood, routine, and conventional computer function in view of MPEP 2106.05(d)(ll), and training a machine learning model is used to apply the abstract idea. As a result, claim 1 does not include additional elements that amount to significantly more than the abstract idea under Step 2B.
As noted above, claims 14 and 18 recite substantially similar limitations to those recited with respect to claim 1. Although claim 14 further recites “A system comprising: an activity parameter generator” and claim 18 further recites “A non-transitory computer readable storage medium and a processor”, the recited computer elements do not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea because the computer elements are generic computer elements that are merely used as a tool to perform the recited abstract idea. Further, looking at the additional elements as an ordered combination adds nothing that is not already present when considering the additional elements individually. As a result, claims 14 and 18 do not include additional elements that amount to significantly more than the abstract idea under Step 2B.
Claims 2-13, 15-17, and 19-20 include additional elements beyond those recited by independent claims 1, 14, and 18. The additional elements in the dependent claims include “encoding” as in claims 3, “receiving” as in claim 4. The recited computer elements do not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea because the computer elements are generic computer elements that are merely used as a tool to perform the recited abstract idea. The step of “receiving” does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea because “receiving” is well-understood, routine and conventional. As a result, claims 2-13, 15-17, and 19-20 do not include additional elements that amount to significantly more than the abstract idea under Step 2B.
Therefore, the claims are directed to an abstract idea without additional elements amounting to significantly more than the abstract idea. Accordingly, claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as being directed to non-statutory subject matter.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendments and arguments dated 02/06/2026 necessitated the updating of the 35 USC § 101 and the 35 USC § 103 rejections of the pending claims presented in the present 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).
Any inquiry concerning this communication from the Examiner should be directed to Abdallah El-Hagehassan whose contact information is (571) 272-0819 and Abdallah.el-hagehassan@uspto.gov The Examiner can normally be reached on Monday- Friday 8 am to 5 pm.
If attempts to reach the Examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s supervisor, Rutao Wu can be reached on (571) 272-6045. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/ABDALLAH A EL-HAGE HASSAN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3623