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 .
Detailed Action
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/2/25 has been entered.
In amendments dated 12/2/25, Applicant amended claims 1, 4-7, 13, 15-16, and 19, canceled claims 2-3, 14, and 20, and added new claims 21-24. Claims 1, 4-13, 15-19, and 21-24 are presented for examination.
Rejections under 35 U.C.C. 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, 4-13, 15-19, and 21-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to mental processes without significantly more. Independent claims 1, 13, and 19 each recites inputting, to a large language model (LLM), a first generative prompt based at least in part on the natural language query, the LLM outputting a summary of the natural language query for vector embedding; performing a recursive expansion of data metrics for the natural language query based at least in part on the data metric, each step of the recursive expansion comprising: inputting, to the LLM. an additional generative prompt associated with an expansion of a set of data metrics of the multi-tenant database system, the LLM outputting a set of additional summaries for the vector embedding in response to the additional generative prompt; and limiting a quantity of steps of the recursive expansion based at least in part on a threshold depth for recursion. Inputting a first generative prompt and an additional generative prompt are each recited broadly and are mental processes accomplishable in the human mind or on paper. Performing a recursive expansion of data metrics and limiting a quantity of steps of the recursive expansion are each recited broadly and are mental processes accomplishable in the human mind or on paper. Each claim recites additional elements of receiving, from a user device, a natural language query associated with a data metric of a multi-tenant database system; receiving, from a vector database associated with the multi-tenant database system, one or more query response portions based at least in part on respective distances between a vector representing the summary of the natural language query and one or more vectors representing the one or more query response portions; and receiving, from the vector database, a set of additional query response portions based at least in part on the set of additional summaries, which are each input steps and insignificant extra-solution activity. Each claim also recites an additional element of transmitting, to the user device, a response to the natural language query based at least in part on the one or more query response portions and the set of additional query response portions for each step of the recursive expansion, which is an output step and also insignificant extra-solution activity. Claim 13 recites an apparatus comprising one or more memories storing processor-executable code and one or more processors, and claim 19 recites a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code, which are each generic components of a computer. Examiner notes paragraphs 0004 and 0014 describes how CRM systems support natural language queries but “the CRM system may fail to expand the scope of the query to determine underlying factors that can indirectly affect the data metric,” and “searching a full set of CRM data to detect any driving factors may involve a significant processing overhead, effectively reducing the efficiency of answering user queries.” Paragraph 0015 describes some of the steps claimed showing how the invention addresses these drawbacks in the prior art, but the claim steps do not recite inventive details that show a particular improvement in any technology or function of a computer per MPEP 2106.04(d) and do not recite any unconventional steps in the invention per MPEP 2106.05(a). Thus the recited mental processes are not integrated into a practical application. Taking the claims as a whole, the receiving steps are broadly recited and amount to receiving data over a network per network 119 in Figure 1 described in specification paragraph 0019, and are each routine and conventional activity per the list of such activities in MPEP 2106.05(d) part II. The transmitting step is also broadly recited and amounts to sending data over a network per network 119 in Figure 1 described in specification paragraph 0019, and is also routine and conventional activity per the list of such activities in MPEP 2106.05(d) part II. The recited one or more memories storing processor-executable code, one or more processors, and non-transitory computer-readable medium are still generic components of a computer. Thus the claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the recited mental processes.
Claims 4 and 21 each recites receiving, from the user device, an indication of the threshold depth for recursion (receiving an indication is receiving data across a network and is routine and conventional activity per the list of such activities in MPEP 2106.05(d) part II). Claims 5 and 22 each recites setting the threshold depth for recursion to a default value (setting data is a mental process accomplishable in the human mind or on paper). Claims 6 and 15 each recites inputting, to the LLM and for a first step of the recursive expansion, a second generative prompt associated with broadening from the data metric to a first set of additional data metrics, the LLM outputting a set of non-specific metrics relating to the data metric (inputting data to a model is a mental process accomplishable in the human mind or on paper); and receiving, from the vector database, the first set of additional data metrics based at least in part on the set of non-specific metrics relating to the data metric, wherein the additional generative prompt for the first step of the recursive expansion is based at least in part on the first set of additional data metrics (receiving a set of metrics is receiving data across a network and is routine and conventional activity per the list of such activities in MPEP 2106.05(d) part II). Claims 7 and 16 each recites inputting, to the LLM, a second generative prompt based at least in part on the natural language query, the one or more query response portions, and the set of additional query response portions for each step of the recursive expansion, wherein the LLM outputs the response to the natural language query (inputting data to a model is a mental process accomplishable in the human mind or on paper).
Claims 8 and 17 each recites retrieving, from the multi-tenant database system, a plurality of data metrics associated with data for a customer relationship management (CRM) system (retrieving data is routine and conventional activity per the list of such activities in MPEP 2106.05(d) part II); inputting, to the LLM, one or more generative prompts based at least in part on the plurality of data metrics, the LLM outputting a plurality of summaries of the data for the CRM system (inputting data to a model is a mental process accomplishable in the human mind or on paper); and embedding the plurality of summaries as a plurality of vectors in a vector space corresponding to the vector database associated with the multi-tenant database system, wherein the plurality of vectors comprises the one or more vectors representing the one or more query response portions (embedding data as vectors creating or adding data as vectors and is a mental process accomplishable in the human mind or on paper). Claims 9 and 18 each recites updating the plurality of vectors embedded in the vector space based at least in part on an update to the data for the CRM system (updating vectors is saving data in the vectors and is routine and conventional activity per the list of such activities in MPEP 2106.05(d) part II).
Claim 10 recites wherein: the data for the CRM system corresponds to a first tenant of a plurality of tenants of the multi-tenant database system (determining data corresponds to a first tenant is a judgement and a mental process); and the vector database corresponds to data summaries for the first tenant (determining stored data corresponds to other data is a mental process). Claims 11 and 23 each recites wherein the natural language query associated with the data metric comprises a question asking why a change occurred to the data metric in the multi-tenant database system (a query asking a question is a mental process). Claims 12 and 24 each recites wherein the one or more query response portions indicate one or more changes to other data metrics in the multi-tenant database system that affected the data metric in the multi-tenant database system (response portions indicating changes to data is a mental process accomplishable in the human mind or on paper).
Rejections to Applicant’s Remarks
Regarding rejections of claims 1-20 under 35 U.S.C. 101 for reciting mental processes without significantly more, Applicant’s amendments and arguments have been considered but are not persuasive. On pages 10-12 of his Remarks, Applicant discusses Step 2A Prong Two and asserts claims 1, 13, and 19 each recite a practical application “for at least the reason that they include features that improve a processing overhead associated with searching for driving factors of data metrics in a multi-tenant database system.” Applicant cites the amended limitations “performing a recursive expansion of data metrics for the natural language query based at least in part on the data metric,” and “limiting a quantity of steps of the recursive expansion based at least in part on a threshold depth for recursion.” Examiner disagrees as these limitations are broad and lack details of the invention that might show an improvement in processing overhead with searching for driving factors of data metrics. Examiner notes there are no steps recited that actually expand on any data metrics or recite how such an expansion occurs and involves a data metric i.e. how the data metric is a driving factor for other metrics. Applicant states some of the support for the amended claims is in figure 3C and Examiner also notes details for the recursive expansion are found in specification paragraphs 0046-0047. While the claims recite “limiting a quantity of steps of the recursive expansion” Examiner does not see any recursive steps recited other than inputting a additional generative prompt to an LLM, applying the LLM, which is not significantly more than an abstract idea per Recentive Analytics v. Fox Broadcasting Corp. (134 F.4th 1205, 2025 U.S.P.Q.2d 628), receiving query portions from a database. Thus Examiner does not see how processing overhead is limited from these steps.
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRUCE M MOSER whose telephone number is (571)270-1718. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9a-5p.
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/BRUCE M MOSER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2154 1/24/26