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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/26/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that the claims are no longer directed to an abstract odea. The Examiner disagrees. Applicant’s claims remain directed to certain methods of organizing human activity. Namely, managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people (including social activities, teaching, and following rules or instructions). Applicant’s claims are directed to a worker installing cups on a golf course based on the information sent by a processor. This is plainly certain methods of organizing human activity.
Applicant further argues that the claims recite a technical architecture and also provide a technical improvement to a golf course and therefore are eligible. The Examiner disagrees. While Applicant’s claims recite computer structure, it is recited at a high level of generality. Applicant further argues regarding an improvement to technology, “…"[t]his configuration provides round times that take into account the weather data and cup positions on the golf course for the round day. Thus, the accuracy of round time estimation is improved.". The Examiner disagrees. Contrary to Applicant’s assertions, this is not a technical solution, but a business improvement in a golf course setting. Further, Applicant’s claims do not provide a technical solution to a problem that is rooted in computer technology. Applicant’s claims seek to solve a problem whose roots exist in a pre-Internet world and are now being solved through the use of generic computing components/additional elements. Applicant’s claimed components, when taken alone or as a whole or as an ordered combination do not improve these components, nor do they provide a practical application.
Applicant further argues, “…Third, and significantly, the claims produce a tangible, physical improvement. The specification at paragraph [0116] explains that the cup position constraints "avoid situations in which the cup position is set at the same position every day and the grass on the green is damaged." Grass is not an abstract concept. Grass is a physical, tangible thing. Preventing damage to grass is an improvement to a physical object in the real world.” While grass is not an abstract concept, the idea of not damaging grass is not a problem rooted in computer technology. Applicant’s claims remain directed to the abstract idea without significantly more. Accordingly. Applicant’s arguments are not persuasive and the rejections are maintained.
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 1-2, 4-5 and 7-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more.
MPEP 2106 Step 2A-Prong 1
The claims recite:
obtain weather data for a day on a golf course by communicating with a website, the golf course including holes and the weather data including a weather forecast for the day;
obtain recommended cup positions set respectively in the holes for the day, each of the recommended cup positions being set in a corresponding recommended cup area that is located away from one or more reference positions by a predetermined distance or more, the one or more reference positions being one or more past cup positions that were set during a specified period before the round day;
estimation code configured to cause at least one processor of the one or more processors to estimate a round time for the day from the weather data and the cup positions;
provide the estimated round time and a green area including the recommended cup areas on used by a manager of the golf course, such that when the manager selects one of the recommended cup positions, the round time corresponding to the selected recommended cup position is displayed; and
register, confirmed cup positions when the recommended cup positions are confirmed as the confirmed cup positions for the day in response to an operation to the manager of the golf course; and
transmit data of the confirmed cup positions to a used by a worker who will install the cups over a network, thereby avoiding a situation in which a cup position is set at the same position every day and grass on a green is damaged.
The claims falls into the abstract idea groupings of (b) Certain Methods Of Organizing Human Activity ** fundamental economic principles or practices (including hedging, insurance, mitigating risk) commercial or legal interactions (including agreements in the form of contracts; legal obligations; advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors; business relations) managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people (including social activities, teaching, and following rules or instructions)** and (c) mental processes—concepts performed in the human mind- (including an observation, evaluation, judgment, opinion).
The limitations under their broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of certain methods of organizing human activity and mental processes, but for the recitation of generic computer components. That is, other than recited, “one or more processors; memory, programs, one or more computers”, nothing in the claim element precludes the step from practically being certain methods of managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people and concepts performed in the human mind. Accordingly, the claims recite an abstract idea.
MPEP 2106 Step 2A-Prong 2
The recited limitations are not indicative of integration into a practical application. In particular, the claims only recite the following additional elements, processors; memory, programs, . These additional elements are recited at a high-level of generality such that in conjunction with the abstract limitations, they amount to no more than:
Adding the words “apply it” (or an equivalent) with the judicial exception, or mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, or merely uses a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea - see MPEP 2106.05(f);
- (varied codes, one or more processors, memory, programs, non-transitory computer readable medium, one or more computers, a manager terminal, screen, worker terminal, website, network)
iv. Generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use, -(golf course)
The claims do not include additional elements individually or in an ordered combination that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. Integration into a practical application requires the additional element(s) to apply, rely on, or use the judicial exception in a manner that imposes a meaningful limit on the judicial exception, such that the claim is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception. This is not the case in the instant application. Further, as discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional elements amount to no more than: mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component and generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use.
Step 2B
Eligibility requires that the claim recites additional elements that amount to an inventive concept (aka “significantly more”) than the recited judicial exception. As discussed above, this is where the instant application falls short. The claims do not include additional elements individually or in an ordered combination that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception
Dependent Claims Step 2A:
The limitations of the dependent claims but for those addressed below merely set forth further refinements of the abstract idea without changing the analysis already
presented (that is, they further limit the organizing of human activities at step 2A —
Prong One without adding any new additional elements other than those already
analyzed above with respect to the independent claims at 2A — Prong Two. While Claim 2 describes varied codes and a golf course; Claim 4-processor, code; Claim 5-code, processor and golf course; Claim 7-processor, golf course, and varied code; Claim 8-varied code and processor; Claim 8-varies and processor, Claim 11-golf course, these additional elements do not remedy the deficiencies.
Dependent Claims Step 2B:
The dependent claims merely use the same general technological environment
and instructions to implement the abstract idea as the independent claims without
adding any new additional elements. Accordingly, they are not directed to significantly
more than the exception itself, and are not eligible subject matter under § 101.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TONYA S JOSEPH whose telephone number is (571)270-1361. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6:30-2:30, First Fridays Off.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Shannon Campbell can be reached at (571) 272-5587. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TONYA JOSEPH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3628