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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for National Stage under 35 U.S.C. 371 and foreign priority to an effective filing date of 12/22/2021. The certified copy of parent Application No. PCT/IN2022/050959 filed 11/01/2022, which has priority to IN202141060103 filed 12/22/2021, was entered on 02/23/2024.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-9 were rejected in the Non-Final Office action mailed on 06/11/2025. Applicant’s amended claimset, entered on 09/11/2025, amended Claims 2-7, canceled Claims 1 and 9, and added new Claims 10-13. Herein this Final Office Action, Claims 2-8 and 10-13 are rejected.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 09/11/2025, with respect to Specification Amendments, have been fully considered and are not persuasive.
On Page 8 Applicant discussed amendments to the Specification. Examiner responds that the Amendments to the specification have created further confusion as to what is being disclosed and therefore, although being entered, have been objected to as discussed in greater detail below.
Applicant’s arguments filed 09/11/2025, with respect to Rejections under 35 U.S.C. 103 for Claims 2-8 and 10-13, have been fully considered and are not persuasive.
On Pages 9-12 Applicant summarizes their purported invention in detail similar to the specification and makes conclusions about the scope of the asserted “invention.” Examiner does not agree.
Examiner responds that claims (i.e. not the specification) are examined and “given their broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the specification,” per MPEP 2111, and the examined claim limitations are not imported from the specification per MPEP 2111.01.II. Much of applicant’s discussion is outside the scope of the claims.
On Pages 12-15, Applicant discusses the scope of the cited prior art of Strieder without any citations or references to the publication. Examiner does not materially disagree.
Examiner responds that, although it is difficult to follow or verify Applicant’s summary of Strieder without any citations, much of Applicant’s summary is disclosed in Strieder.
On Pages 15-16, Applicant argues “Despite these teachings, Strieder fails to disclose numerous aspects of independent claim 10. For instance, Strieder fails to disclose a system in which connection of 'unknown buyers of a product' with one other and with the company is facilitated. Strieder also fails to disclose that the plurality of repositories comprises a backend server digital profile repository for storing relationship profiles comprising relationship between the company, the first users and the second users. Further Strieder fails to disclose a product barcode generation module adapted to generate and configure a unique product barcode on each unit of the product of each company registered onto the platform in which the barcode comprises information of said unit of the product. Strieder also fails to disclose that upon scanning of the unique barcode of the product by the buyer onto the first computing device, the back-end server automatically connects the profile of the buyer to the page of the respective company to allowing the buyer to obtain precise information related to the product in real time from the respective company, and to create a two-way communication of the buyer with the respective company and with other buyers of the product to exchange information related to the product.” Examiner does not agree.
first, much of Applicant’s arguments are devoid of actual claim language. The asserted claim language is what is examined. The claims do not disclose “unknown buyers.” Although not apart of the claim, Strieder does teach registering a new user to the social networking site (¶51) and does teach privacy controls that can limit what aspects of the profile is seen by others (¶¶75-77).
Examiner responds that second, much of Applicant’s arguments are conclusory statements (i.e. merely stating that “Strieder fails to disclose” the claimed limitations, without further discussion) that don’t seem to address the previous rejection written, with citations to Strieder. As shown below in the rejection section, with citations, Strieder teaches most of the new claims. Strieder does not explicitly teach that the messaging (i.e. two-way communication) is used to exchange information related to the product. However, this defect is remedied by the newly cited art of “Social commerce: The transfer of power from sellers to buyers” (“Hajli” Technological Forecasting & Social Change 94, 350–358, 02/20/2015, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162515000141).
On Pages 16-17, Applicant argues “Strieder fails to disclose a system in which connection of 'unknown buyers of a product' with one other and with the company is facilitated. Strieder also fails to disclose that the plurality of repositories comprises a backend server digital profile repository for storing relationship profiles comprising relationship between the company, the first users and the second users. Further Strieder fails to disclose a product barcode generation module adapted to generate and configure a unique product barcode on each unit of the product of each company registered onto the platform in which the barcode comprises information of said unit of the product. Strieder also fails to disclose that upon scanning of the unique barcode of the product by the buyer onto the first computing device, the back-end server automatically connects the profile of the buyer to the page of the respective company to allowing the buyer to obtain precise information related to the product in real time from the respective company, and to create a two-way communication of the buyer with the respective company and with other buyers of the product to exchange information related to the product.” Examiner does not agree.
Examiner responds that these arguments are seemingly identical to those addressed above. Please see above and rejection section below for further detail.
On Page 17, Applicant argues “Strieder also fails to disclose a method, as claimed in independent claim 13, in which connection of 'unknown buyers of a product' with one other and with the company is facilitated. Strieder also fails to disclose the steps of connecting one or more buyers of the product from the one or more backend servers through the plurality of first and second computing devices. Further, Strieder fails to disclose the step of storing relationship profiles comprising relationship between the company, the first users and the second users. Furthermore, Strieder fails to disclose the step of generating and configuring a unique product barcode on each unit of the product of each company registered onto the platform by a product barcode generation module wherein the barcode comprises information of said unit of the product. Moreover, Strieder fails to disclose the steps of automatically connecting the profile of the buyer to the page of the respective company by the back-end server upon scanning of the unique barcode of the product by the buyer onto the first computing device allowing the buyer to obtain precise information related to the product in real time from the respective company; and automatically creating a two-way communication of the buyer with the respective company and with other buyers of the product to exchange information related to the product.” Examiner does not agree.
Examiner responds that these arguments, in reference to Claim 13, have been addressed above in reference to analogous Claim 10. Similarly, much of Applicant’s arguments are conclusory statements that don’t seem to address the previous rejection written, with citations to Strieder. The teachings of Strieder, with citations, are shown below in the rejection section.
On Pages 17-19, Applicant argues “The secondary reference, Morel, fails to overcome the shortcomings of Strieder,” and summarizes the scope of Morel. These arguments are moot in light of the additionally cited art of “Social commerce: The transfer of power from sellers to buyers” (“Hajli” Technological Forecasting & Social Change 94, 350–358, 02/20/2015, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162515000141). Examiner notes that Morel is not cited in the rejection herein.
Specification
The amendments to the specification filed on 09/11/2025 have been entered.
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Although Specification Paragraph 50, entered on 02/23/2024, had a typographical error of “a barcode generation module 150” (emphasis added), such error did not give rise to an objectionable offense, as it was corrected in the next sentence that referenced “the barcode generation module 160,” and was documented in Fig. 1 as “barcode generation module 160.” Thus, Specification Paragraph 50, entered on 02/23/2024, was in “full, clear, concise, and exact terms” under MPEP 608.01, as the intent was obvious to any person of ordinary skill in the art. However, the amendments to the specification does not remedy this typographical error, but exacerbates it. The amended Specification ¶50 is objected to for containing the typographical error of referencing “barcode generation module” as element “150” twice and introducing “information gathering module 150.” Examiner further notes the “communication medium 150” is clearly identified in Specification Paragraph 55 and Fig. 1.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are:
“an information gathering module adapted to generate and configure a unique product information on each unit of the product of each company registered onto the platform” (emphasis added) in Claim 10.
“wherein the information gathering module comprises a barcode generation module adapted to configure a social media connectivity barcode on the product” (emphasis added) in Claim 11.
“generating and configuring a unique product information of each unit of the product of each company registered onto the platform by an information gathering module” (emphasis added) in Claim 13.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claims 2-8 and 10-13 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 10 recites “an information gathering module adapted to generate and configure a unique product information on each unit of the product of each company registered onto the platform, said gathered information comprising information of said unit of the product” (emphasis added) at the second to last paragraph. Although the module is referred to as an “information gathering module,” this module is adapted to “generate and configure” unique product information. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in Claim 10. Further examination herein will interpret the limitation of Claim 10 as referencing a “a gathered information.”
Claims 2-8 and 11-12 are rejected via dependency on Claim 10.
Claim 5 recites the limitation " The system as claimed in claim [[1]]10, wherein the one or more access application comprises a first access application adapted to enable an access of the social media platform by an end-customer." Depended upon Claim 10 recites “A system for automatically connecting one or more buyers of a product with one another and with the company selling the product, onto a social media environment, the system comprising: one or more back-end servers connected to the one or more buyers through a plurality of first and second computing devices, said first computing devices residing a first access application therein and said second computing devices residing a second access application therein, said first access application and said second access application facilitating a communication of said first computing devices and said second computing devices respectively with the one or more back-end servers, . . .” Although depended upon Claim 10 introduces “a first access application” and “a second access application,” providing antecedent basis for “the one or more access application” in Claim 5, it is unclear as to whether “a first access application” of Claim 5 is a new application or referencing the “first access application” of Claim 10. Therefore, there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in Claim 5. Further examination herein will interpret “a first access application” in Claim 5 as reciting “a third access application.”
Claim 6 recites the limitation "The system as claimed in claim [[1]]10, wherein the one or more access application comprises a second application adapted to enable an access of the social media platform by one or more company Claim 10 recites “A system for automatically connecting one or more buyers of a product with one another and with the company selling the product, onto a social media environment, the system comprising: one or more back-end servers connected to the one or more buyers through a plurality of first and second computing devices, said first computing devices residing a first access application therein and said second computing devices residing a second access application therein, said first access application and said second access application facilitating a communication of said first computing devices and said second computing devices respectively with the one or more back-end servers, . . .” Although depended upon Claim 10 introduces “a first access application” and “a second access application,” providing antecedent basis for “the one or more access application” in Claim 6, it is unclear as to whether “a second access application” of Claim 5 is a new application or referencing the “second access application” of Claim 10. Therefore, there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in Claim 6. Further examination herein will interpret “a second access application” in Claim 5 as reciting “a fourth access application.”
Claim 7 recites the limitation " The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein connecting with s and end-customers allows Claim 2 recites a limitation of “one or more stake-holders” connecting to the social media page of the company, depended upon Claims 2 and 10 does not recite an “end customer,” or an “end-customer” connecting with a certain portion of the system. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in Claim 7. Further Examination herein will interpret the limitation of Claim 7 as referencing an “end-customer” connecting with the “back-end server.”
Claim 12 recites “The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the information is encoded in the barcode.” Although the depended upon Claims 10-11 recite multiple instances of “information” (e.g. “unique information,” “information of said unit,” “generated information,” and “precise information”), it is unclear as to which information is being referenced in Claim 12. Therefore, there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in Claim 12. Further examination herein will interpret the limitation of Claim 12 as stating referencing a “The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein additional information is encoded in the barcode.”
Claim 13 recites “A method for automatically connecting one or more buyers of a product with one another and with a company selling the product, onto a social media network, the method comprising: connecting one or more buyers of the product from the one or more backend servers through the plurality of first and second computing devices, . . .” (Emphasis added). There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitation in Claim 13. Further examination herein will interpret the limitation of Claim 13 as first introducing “one or more backend servers” and “a plurality of first and second computing devices.”
Claim 13 recites “generating and configuring a unique product information of each unit of the product of each company registered onto the platform by an information gathering module, said barcode comprising information of said unit of the product” at the third to last paragraph. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in Claim 13. Further examination herein will interpret the limitation of Claim 13 as referencing a “a barcode.”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 2-8 and 10-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US-20120130794-A1 ("Strieder") in view of “Social commerce: The transfer of power from sellers to buyers” (“Hajli” Technological Forecasting & Social Change 94, 350–358, 02/20/2015, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162515000141).
Regarding Claim 10, Strieder teaches “A system for automatically connecting one or more buyers of a product with one another and with the company selling the product, onto a social media environment” (Fig. 1 shows “CRM system 100.” Claim 11 states “. . . allowing the first user of the social networking site to send collective messages to second users of the social networking site, whose associated individual profiles are linked to the business profile . . .” See also Fig 6, ¶¶82-83, and ¶¶601-23 showing communication via business users and consumer users.), the system comprising:
“one or more back-end servers connected to the one or more buyers through a plurality of first and second computing devices, said first computing devices residing a first access application therein and said second computing devices residing a second access application therein, said first access application and said second access application facilitating a communication of said first computing devices and said second computing devices respectively with the one or more back-end servers” (Fig. 1 and ¶42 shows “each individual user 104 accesses the CRM system 100 by means of a mobile device 106. Suitable mobile device 106 comprises, among others, so-called smart phones, feature phones and personal digital assistants (PDA).” Specifically, Fig. 1 and ¶¶53-54 shows that “mobile device 106” uses an “app” to access the “token submission interface 150” of the “social networking site 110,” teaching the claimed limitation. Fig. 1 and ¶43 shows “The social networking site 110 may be fully incorporated into the CRM system 100 [(i.e. back-end server)], as shown in FIG. 1, . . . [i]nversely, the CRM system 100 may also be implemented as a software module within an existing social networking site.” See also Fig. 5 and ¶¶71-81 showing access to the social media site by “individual users 104” and “business users 102.”),
“said one or more back-end servers comprising a plurality of repositories, modules, and applications adapted to be accessed by the first and second access applications” (Fig. 1 and ¶43 shows “The social networking site 110 [(i.e. applications)] may be fully incorporated into the CRM system 100 [(i.e. back-end server)], as shown in FIG. 1, . . . [i]nversely, the CRM system 100 may also be implemented as a software module within an existing social networking site.” Fig. 1 and ¶¶43-44 shows that “CRM system 100” (i.e. one or more back-end servers” comprises multiple “modules.” Fig. 4A-4B and ¶70 shows that the phone accesses the web service via “applications” (i.e. first and second access applications). Fig. 5 and ¶¶77-79 shows “first data base 560,” “second data base 570,” and “third data base 580” (i.e. repositories). ¶51 shows that “the social networking site 110” comprises “applications.”),
said plurality of repositories comprising a backend server digital profile repository for storing various profiles of the buyers” (Fig. 5 and ¶79 shows “third data base 580” (i.e. a backend server digital profile repository) includes “company profiles 112 and the individual profiles 114.”),
“said profiles comprising profiles of companies, profiles of end users, relationship profiles comprising relationship between the company, the first users and the second users” (¶45 shows “The social networking site 110 comprises a plurality of profiles 112 and 114, which are associated with businesses of the business user 102 and individual user 104 [(i.e. profiles of end users)], respectively. In particular, one or more business profiles 112 [(i.e. profiles of companies)] can be associated with a business user 102 directly, indirectly via a marketing campaign managed by the business user 102 using the campaign manager 130.” ¶76 shows “All access rights are controlled by a privacy policy management subsystem 550. In a preferred embodiment, all users 102, 104 and 508 have access to the privacy policy management subsystem 550. For example, individual users 104 can define which of the information provided in the individual profiles 114 is accessible to all users of the social networking site 110 or only to users whose profile is linked to their profile 114.” ¶77 shows “The privacy policy management subsystem 550 accesses a first data base 560 comprising a set of privacy rules. The privacy rules 562 basically define the individual access rights to the resources of the social networking site 110 and/or the CRM system 100.” Thus, ¶¶76-77 teaches that the profile includes “relationship [(i.e. defined by access / privacy policy)] between the company, the first users and the second users”),
“said plurality of repositories comprising relationship history database for storing historical interactions among the various users” (Fig. 5 and ¶79 shows “the third data base 580 might also comprise messages 584 which have been sent [(i.e. historical interactions)] by users of the social networking site 110.”),
“said plurality of applications comprising at least an interaction application facilitating meaningful interactions among the first and second computing devices” (¶75 shows “The restricted interface 514 also provides a messaging subsystem 540 [(i.e. interaction application)]. All users 102, 104 and 508 can access the messaging subsystem 540. [T]he individual users 104 may use the messaging subsystem 540 . . . to send individual messages to other users of the social networking site 110, . . .” Additionally, ¶76 shows sharing of information via “profiles” between users.),
“said plurality of applications comprising audio and visual content, written content or other type of consumable content, or communications between users, and user interfaces from various devices” (¶618 shows “users can exchange messages including text, pictures, video and links.” Thus, Strieder teaches “said plurality of applications comprising audio and visual content, written content or other type of consumable content, or communications between users.” See also ¶48, ¶51, and ¶76 showing sharing profiles. ¶70 shows “However, the feature phone 450 is not necessarily equipped to execute applications that can directly communicate with a web service, the feature phone 450 may also be a smart phone that is not compatible with any application offered by the operator of the social networking site.” Thus, ¶70 teaches that there is an application offered by the operator of the social networking site to interface with the site and other phones would use a web browser to interface with the site (i.e. said plurality of applications comprising . . . user interfaces from various devices.”). See also ¶2 and ¶28 discussing device specific application.),
“said plurality of applications comprising a dedicated application specific to a user device or be programmed to operate in a web browser by using a web programming technique” (¶76 shows “For example, some limited information about a business associated with a business profile 112 might be visible by means of a web interface of the social networking site 110 to all Internet users.” Thus, Strieder teaches that applications are “be programmed to operate in a web browser by using a web programming technique.” See also ¶¶69-70 showing the web interface. ¶70 shows “However, the feature phone 450 is not necessarily equipped to execute applications that can directly communicate with a web service, the feature phone 450 may also be a smart phone that is not compatible with any application offered by the operator of the social networking site.” Thus, ¶70 teaches that there is an application offered by the operator of the social networking site (i.e. a dedicated application specific to a user device). See also ¶2 and ¶28 discussing device specific application.),
“said one or more back-end servers comprising a social media platform configured on the one or more back-end servers” (Fig. 1 and ¶43 shows “The social networking site 110 [(i.e. social media platform)] may be fully incorporated into the CRM system 100 [(i.e. back-end server)], as shown in FIG. 1, . . . [i]nversely, the CRM system 100 may also be implemented as a software module within an existing social networking site.”),
“said social media platform comprising a plurality of pages owned by companies” (¶45 shows “The social networking site 110 comprises a plurality of [business] profiles 112 and [individual personal profiles] 114, which are associated with businesses of the business user 102 and individual user 104, respectively.” (Emphasis added). ¶48 shows “Once the business user 102 has access to the CRM system 100, he or she can define at least one business profile 112 within the social networking site 110. The business profile 112 preferably comprises the name of the business, contact information such as contact e-mail address, a telephone number, pictures related to the place of business or the products on sale, service information such as opening times and information about products or special offers, and, optionally, online links to further resources such as an website of the business, a corresponding Twitter feed, and further profile pages either on the same social networking site 110 or other social networking sites.” (Emphasis added). See also ¶79 showing display of “company profiles 112” “via the social networking site.”); and
“an information gathering module adapted to generate and configure a unique product information on each unit of the product of each company registered onto the platform” (¶49 shows “Next, the business user 102 may generate one or more barcodes 170, for example so-called two-dimensional QR codes according to ISO/IEC18004 or other machine readable tokens by means of the barcode generator 120. The barcode 170 [(i.e. a unique product information)] generated by the barcode generator 120 [(i.e. information gathering module)] is associated with either the business profile 112 directly or indirectly via a campaign managed by the campaign manager 130. For example, for a relatively small business, the generated barcode 170 might be directly associated with a business profile 112 of their business. Larger businesses, however, may associate different barcodes 170 with different advertising campaigns or branches of their businesses. For this purpose, the barcode 170 comprises a unique identifier, such as a database key value, a uniform resource identifier (URI) or a uniform resource locator (URL).” (Emphasis added).¶64 shows “the barcode [(i.e. “a unique product information”)] could be attached to a property for sale [(i.e. on each unit of the product of each company registered onto the platform)].”See also Fig. 5 and ¶78 showing “second data base 570” includes “campaign information 572.”),
“said gathered information comprising information of said unit of the product” (¶48 shows “The business profile 112 preferably comprises . . . pictures related to the place of business or the products on sale [and] service information such as opening times and information about products or special offers [(information of said unit of the product)], . . .”);
“upon gathering of the unique information of the product by the buyer onto the first computing device, the back-end server automatically connects the profile of the buyer to the page of the respective company” (Fig. 1 and ¶¶53-54 shows that “mobile device 106” uses an “app” to access the “token submission interface 150” of the “social networking site 110.” ¶58 shows “If the token submission interface 150 confirms the correctness of the barcode 170 submitted by the individual user 104, in a next step, a link is created between the individual customer profile 114 and the business profile 112 by means of the link generator 160. As a consequence, both the owner of the business profile 112 as well as the individual user 104 who is associated with the individual profile 114 can obtain further information about the other party. For example, the individual user 104 might access non-public parts of the business profile 112 [(i.e. page of the respective company)] related to additional services reserved for existing customers.” See also ¶602 showing “profile pages.” Fig. 3 and ¶66 shows “[In] step 360, the barcode 170 presented in step 330 [(i.e. unique information)] can be captured [(i.e. upon gathering)] by the person associated with the individual profile 114 [(i.e. by the buyer)]. In consequence, in a step 370, the profiles 112 and 114 are linked within a social networking site 110.” (Emphasis added). The “in consequence” language preceding “step 370” in ¶66 teaches the automatic nature of the linking and the real time display of subsequent information.),
“to allow the buyer to obtain precise information related to the product in real time from the respective company” (¶76 shows “All access rights are controlled by a privacy policy management subsystem 550. In a preferred embodiment, all users 102, 104 and 508 have access to the privacy policy management subsystem 550. For example, individual users 104 can define which of the information provided in the individual profiles 114 is accessible to all users of the social networking site 110 or only to users whose profile is linked to their profile 114.” ¶58 shows “If the token submission interface 150 confirms the correctness of the barcode 170 submitted by the individual user 104, in a next step, a link is created between the individual customer profile 114 and the business profile 112 by means of the link generator 160. As a consequence, both the owner of the business profile 112 as well as the individual user 104 who is associated with the individual profile 114 can obtain further information about the other party. For example, the individual user 104 might access non-public parts of the business profile 112 related to additional services reserved for existing customers.” The “business profile 112” of the seller of the product in ¶58 teaches “precise information related to the product.”), and
to create a two-way communication of the buyer with the respective company and with other buyers of the product . . .” (¶75 shows “The restricted interface 514 also provides a messaging subsystem 540 [(i.e. interaction application)]. All users 102, 104 and 508 can access the messaging subsystem 540. [T]he individual users 104 may use the messaging subsystem 540 . . . to send individual messages to other users of the social networking site 110, . . .” ¶51 shows “The barcode 170 can then be scanned by customers of the issuing business, using their mobile devices 106 whenever they make a purchase. However, before any rewards can be awarded to any individual user 104, he or she will also need to create an individual profile 114 on the social networking site 110. Preferably, the individual profile 114 comprises as much information about the individual user 104 as desirable for marketing purposes of the business users 110. In particular, the individual profile 114 should comprise at least the real name of the customer, and at least one means of contacting him or her electronically (e.g. e-mail address or mobile phone number). In addition, in order to obtain at least some demographic information about the individual user 104, the individual profile 114 should also comprise additional information regarding his or her age or date of birth, sex, and/or a postal address. Furthermore, information regarding his or her interests, or links to further information on a private homepage or the same or other social networking sites might also be included in the individual profile 114. Of course, other information such as profile pictures of the individual user 104, links to other profiles or applications of the social networking site 110 and further content may also be included. Registration of the individual profiles 114 for individual users 104 is preferably free of charge, that is, no financial details such as credit card numbers or the like need to be supplied. Instead of creating a new profile, individual users 104 may also provide a link to an existing profile on another social networking site.” Therefore, the registration of the customer to the social networking site after scanning the barcode teaches “. . . to create a two-way communication of the buyer with the respective company and with other buyers of the product . . .” by use of the messaging to other users of the social networking site. However, Strieder does not explicitly teach using the messaging “to exchange information related to the product.”).
Strieder does not explicitly teach, but Hajli teaches that “a two-way communication of the buyer with the respective company and with other buyers of the product . . .” includes “a two-way communication of the buyer with the respective company and with other buyers of the product to exchange information related to the product” (Section “4. Discussion and conclusion of paper” on Pages 354-55 shows that users of social media share and receive information related to products and services (i.e. “a two-way communication of the buyer with the respective company and with other buyers of the product to exchange information related to the product”). Section “4. Discussion and conclusion of paper” on Page 356 shows that vendors (i.e. the respective company) participates in the exchange of information of the social platform.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Hajli with Strieder because Hajli teaches sharing and receiving product information on social media increases social support for the sale of that product (Section “4. Discussion and conclusion of paper” on Pages 354-56). Thus, combining Hajli with Strieder furthers the interest taught in Hajli, and therefore, would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Regarding Claim 2, Strieder and Hajli teach “The system as claimed in claim [[1]]10,” as shown above.
Strieder further teaches “connecting or more stake holders of the company company
Regarding Claim 3, Strieder and Hajli teach “The system as claimed in claim 2,” as shown above.
Strieder further discloses “wherein the or more stake holders comprises authorized dealers, distributors, employees, or sales agents of products of the company individual managers or other employees of the business.” See also ¶47 showing that “a business user 102” could include a shop keeper of a small business or a marketing manager of a medium or large-sized business.).
Regarding Claim 4, Strieder and Hajli teach “The system as claimed in claim [[1]]10,” as shown above.
Strieder further discloses “wherein the social media platform comprises one or more social media applications or module configured onto the back-end server” (Fig. 1 and ¶43 shows “The social networking site 110 [(i.e. social media platform)] may be fully incorporated into the CRM system 100 [(i.e. back-end server)], as shown in FIG. 1, . . . [i]nversely, the CRM system 100 may also be implemented as a software module within an existing social networking site.”).
Regarding Claim 5, Strieder and Hajli teach “The system as claimed in claim [[1]]10,” as shown above.
Strieder further discloses “wherein the one or more access application comprises a first access application adapted to enable an access of the social media platform by an end-customer” (Fig. 1 and ¶42 shows “each individual user 104 accesses the CRM system 100 by means of a mobile device 106. Suitable mobile device 106 comprises, among others, so-called smart phones, feature phones and personal digital assistants (PDA).” Specifically, Fig. 1 and ¶¶53-54 shows that “mobile device 106” uses an “app” to access the “token submission interface 150” of the “social networking site 110,” teaching the claimed limitation. See also Fig. 5 and ¶¶71-81 showing access to the social media site by “individual users 104” and “business users 102.”).
Regarding Claim 6, Strieder and Hajli teach “The system as claimed in claim [[1]]10,” as shown above.
Strieder further discloses “wherein the one or more access application comprises a second application adapted to enable an access of the social media platform by one or more company
Regarding Claim 7, Strieder and Hajli teach “The system as claimed in claim 2,” as shown above.
Strieder further discloses “wherein connecting with s and end-customers allows
Regarding Claim 8, Strieder and Hajli teach “The system as claimed in claim 7,” as shown above.
Strieder further discloses “wherein the communication comprises at least one of real time interaction for advisory and support, sharing loyalty programs, technical support, or advertisement” (Fig. 6B and ¶¶617-23 shows providing reward tokens to users, which teaches at least “sharing loyalty programs” and “advertisement.” See also ¶14, ¶26, and ¶46 showing “loyalty programs.”).
Regarding Claim 11, Strieder and Hajli teach “The system as claimed in claim 10,” as shown above.
Strieder further discloses “wherein the information gathering module comprises a barcode generation module adapted to configure a social media connectivity barcode on the product” (¶49 shows “Next, the business user 102 may generate one or more barcodes 170, for example so-called two-dimensional QR codes according to ISO/IEC18004 or other machine readable tokens [(i.e. adapted to configure a social media connectivity barcode)] by means of the barcode generator 120. The barcode 170 [(i.e. a unique product information)] generated by the barcode generator 120 [(i.e. information gathering module comprises a barcode generation module)] is associated with either the business profile 112 directly or indirectly via a campaign managed by the campaign manager 130. For example, for a relatively small business, the generated barcode 170 might be directly associated with a business profile 112 of their business. Larger businesses, however, may associate different barcodes 170 with different advertising campaigns or branches of their businesses. For this purpose, the barcode 170 comprises a unique identifier, such as a database key value, a uniform resource identifier (URI) or a uniform resource locator (URL).” (Emphasis added). ¶64 shows “the barcode could be attached to a property for sale [(i.e. on the product)].”).
Regarding Claim 12, Strieder and Hajli teach “The system as claimed in claim 11,” as shown above.
Strieder further discloses “wherein the information is encoded in the barcode” (¶49 shows “Next, the business user 102 may generate one or more barcodes 170, for example so-called two-dimensional QR codes according to ISO/IEC18004 or other machine readable tokens by means of the barcode generator 120. The barcode 170 generated by the barcode generator 120 is associated with either the business profile 112 directly or indirectly via a campaign managed by the campaign manager 130. For example, for a relatively small business, the generated barcode 170 might be directly associated with a business profile 112 of their business. Larger businesses, however, may associate different barcodes 170 with different advertising campaigns or branches of their businesses. For this purpose, the barcode 170 comprises a unique identifier, such as a database key value, a uniform resource identifier (URI) or a uniform resource locator (URL).” (Emphasis added).).
Regarding Claim 13, Strieder teaches “A method for automatically connecting one or more buyers of a product with one another and with a company selling the product, onto a social media network” (Fig. 1 shows “CRM system 100.” Claim 11 states “. . . allowing the first user of the social networking site to send collective messages to second users of the social networking site, whose associated individual profiles are linked to the business profile . . .” ¶58 and ¶66 shows automatically connecting. See also Fig 6, ¶¶82-83, and ¶¶601-23 showing communication via business users and consumer users.), the method comprising:
“connecting one or more buyers of the product from the one or more backend servers through the plurality of first and second computing devices, said first computing devices residing a first access application therein and said second computing devices residing a second access application therein, said first access application and said second access application facilitating a communication of said first computing devices and said second computing devices respectively with the one or more back-end servers” (Fig. 1 and ¶42 shows “each individual user 104 accesses the CRM system 100 by means of a mobile device 106. Suitable mobile device 106 comprises, among others, so-called smart phones, feature phones and personal digital assistants (PDA).” Specifically, Fig. 1 and ¶¶53-54 shows that “mobile device 106” uses an “app” to access the “token submission interface 150” of the “social networking site 110,” teaching the claimed limitation. Fig. 1 and ¶43 shows “The social networking site 110 may be fully incorporated into the CRM system 100 [(i.e. back-end server)], as shown in FIG. 1, . . . [i]nversely, the CRM system 100 may also be implemented as a software module within an existing social networking site.” See also Fig. 5 and ¶¶71-81 showing access to the social media site by “individual users 104” and “business users 102.”);
“adapting a plurality of repositories, modules, and applications for accessing said one or more back-end servers by the access applications” (Fig. 1 and ¶43 shows “The social networking site 110 [(i.e. applications)] may be fully incorporated into the CRM system 100 [(i.e. back-end server)], as shown in FIG. 1, . . . [i]nversely, the CRM system 100 may also be implemented as a software module within an existing social networking site.” Fig. 1 and ¶¶43-44 shows that “CRM system 100” (i.e. one or more back-end servers” comprises multiple “modules.” Fig. 4A-4B and ¶70 shows that the phone accesses the web service via “applications” (i.e. first and second access applications). Fig. 5 and ¶¶77-79 shows “first data base 560,” “second data base 570,” and “third data base 580” (i.e. repositories). ¶51 shows that “the social networking site 110” comprises “applications.”);
“storing various profiles of the buyers in a backend server digital profile repository of the plurality of repositories” (Fig. 5 and ¶79 shows “third data base 580” (i.e. a backend server digital profile repository) includes “company profiles 112 and the individual profiles 114.”),
“said profiles comprising profiles of the company, profiles of end users, relationship profiles comprising relationship between the company, the first users and the second users” (¶45 shows “The social networking site 110 comprises a plurality of profiles 112 and 114, which are associated with businesses of the business user 102 and individual user 104 [(i.e. profiles of end users)], respectively. In particular, one or more business profiles 112 [(i.e. profiles of companies)] can be associated with a business user 102 directly, indirectly via a marketing campaign managed by the business user 102 using the campaign manager 130.” ¶76 shows “All access rights are controlled by a privacy policy management subsystem 550. In a preferred embodiment, all users 102, 104 and 508 have access to the privacy policy management subsystem 550. For example, individual users 104 can define which of the information provided in the individual profiles 114 is accessible to all users of the social networking site 110 or only to users whose profile is linked to their profile 114.” ¶77 shows “The privacy policy management subsystem 550 accesses a first data base 560 comprising a set of privacy rules. The privacy rules 562 basically define the individual access rights to the resources of the social networking site 110 and/or the CRM system 100.” Thus, ¶¶76-77 teaches that the profile includes “relationship [(i.e. defined by access / privacy policy)] between the company, the first users and the second users”);
“storing historical interactions among the various users by a relationship history database of said plurality of repositories” (Fig. 5 and ¶79 shows “the third data base 580 might also comprise messages 584 which have been sent [(i.e. historical interactions)] by users of the social networking site 110.”);
“facilitating meaningful interactions among the first and second computing devices, by at least an interaction application of said plurality of applications, said plurality of applications comprising at least an interaction application facilitating meaningful interactions among the first and second computing devices” (¶75 shows “The restricted interface 514 also provides a messaging subsystem 540 [(i.e. interaction application)]. All users 102, 104 and 508 can access the messaging subsystem 540. [T]he individual users 104 may use the messaging subsystem 540 . . . to send individual messages to other users of the social networking site 110, . . .” Additionally, ¶76 shows sharing of information via “profiles” between users.),
“communicating users and user interface of the plurality of applications from various devices for accessing said audio and visual content, written content or other type of consumable content” (¶618 shows “users can exchange messages including text, pictures, video and links.” Thus, Strieder teaches “said plurality of applications comprising audio and visual content, written content or other type of consumable content, or communications between users.” See also ¶48, ¶51, and ¶76 showing sharing profiles. ¶70 shows “However, the feature phone 450 is not necessarily equipped to execute applications that can directly communicate with a web service, the feature phone 450 may also be a smart phone that is not compatible with any application offered by the operator of the social networking site.” Thus, ¶70 teaches that there is an application offered by the operator of the social networking site