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 .
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 17 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because they are drawn to a computer program product which is comprised of computer software per se.
Claim 17 is drawn towards “a computer program” with a number of broadening statements. A program “when executed by a processor, causes the processor to” and which in the specification “may be stored in storage” (Paras 131-132 and 135). There is no claim language such as “non-transitory computer readable medium” or the express recitation of hardware structure (“when executed by a processor” is not the same as “a processor and a computer program.”)
Claim 20 suffers the same deficiency.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-12, 15-16 and 18-19 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: upon further review of the environment, the combination is novel and non-obvious.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. They regard the environment that the invention resides in.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MELVIN H POLLACK whose telephone number is (571)272-3887. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Oscar Louie can be reached at (571)270-1684. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MELVIN H POLLACK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2445
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