DETAILED ACTION
Status of Application
This action is a Final Rejection. This action is in response to the amendment and response filed on October 7, 2025.
Claims 5-8 have been canceled.
Claim 14 has been added.
Claims 1-4 and 9-13 have been amended.
Claims 1-4 and 9-14 are pending and rejected.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . 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.
Response to Arguments
Regarding the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101, Applicant argues that the claims do not recite an abstract idea under step 2A, prong one. Remarks at 9-12. Claim 1 is reproduced below with limitations reciting an abstract idea displayed in bold.
1. An information processing apparatus comprising:
at least one memory storing instructions, and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to:
accept designated information, specified by a user as for each of a plurality of stores and regarding a payment method applied to payment processing at each of the plurality of stores, the designated information indicating whether to use first privilege information for a payment of the payment processing, and the designated information further indicating second privilege information as obtainable through the payment and by a given destination;
manage, for each of the plurality of stores, biometric information of the user and the designated information in association with each other;
acquire the biometric information of the user from a terminal among a plurality of terminals that are installed in a store of the plurality of stores;
specify the designated information, based on the biometric information of the user; and
cause the terminal to execute the payment processing by using the designated information as specified based on the biometric information of the user.
But for the information processing apparatus, claim 1 recites limitations of accepting payment method information and privilege information, managing biometric information and the payment/privilege information, acquiring biometric information, specifying the payment/privilege information based on the biometric information, and executing a payment. These claimed features are all an abstract idea as they include the processing of payments, marketing, sales, and business relations.
Applicant further argues that the “accept” limitation of claim 1 reflects an improvement and refers to paragraphs 0007-0012, 0027, and 0083-0092 of the Specification. Remarks at 13-14. However, Applicant has not shown that there is an improvement to the technology, but instead has shown an alleged improvement to the business process, which is the abstract idea.
Applicant points to new claim 14. Remarks at 14. However, new claim 14 is using a programmed general purpose device to implement a payment provide privilege information to the giving destination, i.e., implement an abstract idea.
As such, the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101 is maintained.
Regarding the art rejections, the rejections have been withdrawn in light of Applicant’s amendments. Although individual claim concepts were found in the art (see Chen, which is cited at the end of this Office action), the independent claims as a whole were not found in or made obvious by the prior art.
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 1-4 and 9-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as being directed to non-statutory subject matter because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Step 1: Does the Claim Fall within a Statutory Category? (see MPEP 2106.03)
Yes, with respect to claims 1-4 and 14, which recite an information processing apparatus and, therefore, are directed to the statutory class of machine or manufacture.
Yes, with respect to claim 9, which recites a method and, therefore, is directed to the statutory class of process.
Yes, with respect to claims 10-13, which recite a non-transitory computer readable medium and, therefore, are directed to the statutory class of manufacture.
Step 2A, Prong One: Is a Judicial Exception Recited? (see MPEP 2106.04(a))
The following claims (Claims 1-4 and 14 are representative) identify the limitations that recite the abstract idea in regular text and that recite additional elements in bold:
1. An information processing apparatus comprising:
at least one memory storing instructions, and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to:
accept designated information, specified by a user as for each of a plurality of stores and regarding a payment method applied to payment processing at each of the plurality of stores, the designated information indicating whether to use first privilege information for a payment of the payment processing, and the designated information further indicating second privilege information as obtainable through the payment and by a given destination;
manage, for each of the plurality of stores, biometric information of the user and the designated information in association with each other;
acquire the biometric information of the user from a terminal among a plurality of terminals that are installed in a store of the plurality of stores;
specify the designated information, based on the biometric information of the user; and
cause the terminal to execute the payment processing by using the designated information as specified based on the biometric information of the user.
2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to:
manage, for each of the plurality of stores, the biometric information of the user and a plurality of payment methods in association with each other, together with priority information specifying priorities of the plurality of payment methods including the payment method and a second payment method, and
cause the terminal to execute the payment processing by using the second payment method, as having a next priority, when the payment using the payment method, as having a higher priority than the next priority, is determined to be unable to be performed.
3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to determine to cause and to cause the terminal to output information to the user during the payment to which the designated information is applied.
4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to determine that the information includes at least one of third privilege information applied for each of a plurality of payment methods, the first privilege information, and a cumulative value of the third privilege information, the plurality of payment methods includes the payment method.
14. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to:
cause, based on the designated information indicating that the first privilege information is to be used at a time of the payment, the terminal to execute the payment processing, by using the payment method and the first privilege information, at the time of the payment; and
provide, through the payment and based on the designated information indicating the giving destination, the second privilege information to the giving destination.
Yes. But for the recited additional elements as shown above in bold, the remaining limitations of the claims recite certain methods of organizing human activity. The claims are directed to identifying a payer and executing a payment. This type of method of organizing human activity is a fundamental economic practice because it includes processing a payment and a commercial interaction such as marketing or sales activities or behaviors and business relations. Thus, the claims recite an abstract idea.
Step 2A, Prong Two: Is the Abstract Idea Integrated into a Practical Application? (see MPEP 2106.04(d))
No. The claims as a whole merely use a computer as a tool to perform the abstract idea. The computing components (i.e., additional elements that are in bold above) are recited at a high level of generality and are merely invoked as a tool to implement the steps. For example, only a programmed general purpose computing device is needed to implement the claimed process. Simply implementing the abstract idea on a generic computer is not a practical application of the abstract idea. Additionally, there is no improvement to the functioning of a computer or technology. Therefore, the abstract idea is not integrated into a practical application.
Step 2B: Does the Claim Provide an Inventive Concept? (see MPEP 2106.05)
No. As discussed with respect to Step 2A, Prong 2, the additional elements in the claims, both individually and in combination, amount to no more than tools to perform the abstract idea. Merely performing the abstract idea using a computer cannot provide an inventive concept. Therefore, the claims do not provide an inventive concept.
As such, the claims are not patent eligible.
Relevant Prior Art
The following reference is relevant to Applicant’s invention:
Chen, U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2007/0088610 A1. This reference teaches a system and method to enable a consumer to redeem loyalty points and coupons. See paragraph 0020 (“The Consumer 14 earns loyalty points by spending money 22 at Store C 18. The Loyalty Program 12 credits the Consumer 14 with loyalty points 24 when the Consumer 14 shops with the loyalty program card 22.”); paragraph 0025 (“With reference to FIG. 2, in the present method, BonusMe 10 facilitates the dollar flow, loyalty flow, and point flow between the Loyalty Program 12, the Consumer 14, Store B 16, and Store C 18. In this example, Store B 16 and Store C 18 are representative of a plurality of participating stores. Store B 16 notifies BonusMe 10 of a new promotional item and the points to be charged step 120. Generally, the points to be charged are for the promotional item can dynamically vary from day to day, and the promotional item can also vary from day to day. This is in contrast to the prior art where promotional items are redeemed for static point amounts that are generally availed for long periods of time. Also, in the prior art, points can only be redeemed for promotional items offered by a single store chain, for example, D' Agostinos Grocery Store.RTM.. The present invention promotes real time dynamic rewards at many different stores.”); paragraph 0027 (“The present invention tracks the money the consumer spends at the Vendor 18 using the loyalty program card and allocates loyalty points to the consumer's loyalty point account step 122. The consumer selects a promotional item using the BonusMe interface step 124 redeeming a predetermined amount of loyalty points. BonusMe deducts points from the consumer's loyalty point account step 126 and facilitates payment from the Loyalty Program 12 to the Vendor 18 for the promotional item. BonusMe notifies the Vendor 18 of the consumer's selection step 128.”).
Liu, Feifei. “Making Cutting-Edge Technology Approachable: A Case Study of Facial-Recognition Payment in China,” https://www.nngroup.com/articles/face-recognition-pay/ (May 10, 2020). This reference discusses facial-recognition payment.
Email Communications
Per MPEP 502.03, Applicant may authorize email communications by filing Form PTO/SB/439, available at https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/sb0439.pdf, via the USPTO patent electronic filing system.
Conclusion
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELIZABETH H ROSEN whose telephone number is (571) 270-1850 and email address is elizabeth.rosen@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 10 AM ET - 7 PM ET.
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/ELIZABETH H ROSEN/Primary Examiner, 3693
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