DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, 18/774,965, was filed on June 17, 2024, and does not claim priority from any domestic or foreign application.
The effective filing date is after the AIA date of March 16, 2013, and so the application 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.
Status of the Application
This Non-Final Office Action is in response to Applicant’s communication of June 17, 2024.
Claims 1, 4-6, 9-10, and 14-20 are pending, of which claims 1, 10, and 20 are independent.
All pending claims have been examined on the merits.
Claim Objections
Claim 16 is objected to because of the following informalities: “update the underwriting criteria in the database in real time in real time” should be “update the underwriting criteria in the database in real time”. Appropriate correction is required.
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, 4-6, 9-10, and 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea, without “significantly more”.
Based on the flowchart in MPEP § 2106, Step 1 of the Alice/Mayo analysis is: “Is the claim to a process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter?”
In regards to Step 1 of the Alice/Mayo analysis, claim 1 is an apparatus claim, independent claim 10 is a method claim, and claim 20 is an article of manufacture claim or product by process claim (“non-transitory computer readable medium”).
For the sake of compact prosecution, we continue with the Alice/Mayo “abstract idea” analysis.
Step 2A, prong 1 of the Alice/Mayo analysis is: “Does the claim recite a law of nature, a natural phenomenon (product of nature), or an abstract idea?”
In regards to Step 2A, prongs 1 and 2 of the Alice/Mayo analysis, the abstract idea elements recited in independent claim 1 are shown in italic font. (The “additional elements” and “extra solution steps” are shown in italic and underlined font):
1. (Currently Amended) A system, comprising:
a computing device having a processor and a memory in communication with said processor, wherein said memory is configured to store one or more instructions executable by said processor,
wherein the computing device is in communication with a server and a database via a network,
wherein the database is configured to store underwriting criteria of one or more financial institutions, and the server is configured to synchronize and update the underwriting criteria in the database in real time in response to changes received from the financial institutions, thereby ensuring up-to-date eligibility evaluation and eliminating potential discrepancies or delays by the processor,
wherein said processor is configured to cause the system to perform multiple operations, including:
retrieving, via the network, updated underwriting criteria from the database;
generating, by a question generation module, a series of questions based on the retrieved underwriting criteria, wherein the series of questions including at least nine questions configured to obtain information relevant to the underwriting criteria to assess a user's eligibility for a preliminary loan pre-approval;
displaying, by a display module, the series of questions to one or more users to respond using a user interface of the computing device;
collecting, by a data acquisition module, responses from the one or more users to the series of questions;
analyzing, by an analyzing module, the collected responses to determine a preliminary loan pre-approval status for the one or more users without initiating credit inquiries on a credit report of the one or more users and without requiring submission of personal information of the one or more users before pre-approval, wherein the analyzing module evaluates the collected responses against the synchronized underwriting criteria retrieved from the database;
displaying, by the display module, the preliminary loan pre-approval status along with competitive interest rates offered by the one or more financial institutions based on the analyzed responses; and
providing, by a learning module, a comprehensive array of multimedia resources comprising videos and interactive tutorials that explain a rationale behind the series of questions and the factors influencing the preliminary loan pre-approval status and the interest rates.
More specifically, claims 1, 4-6, 9-10, and 14-20 recite an abstract idea: “Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity", specifically “Commercial or Legal Interactions (Including Agreements in the form of Contracts; Legal Obligations; Advertising, Marketing, or Sales Activities or Behaviors; Business Relations)”, as discussed in MPEP §2106(a)(2) Parts (I) and (II), and in the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance.
The “Commercial or Legal Interactions” elements include:
“generating, by a question generation module, a series of questions based on the retrieved underwriting criteria, wherein the series of questions including at least nine questions configured to obtain information relevant to the underwriting criteria to assess a user's eligibility for a preliminary loan pre-approval”.
“analyzing, by an analyzing module, the collected responses to determine a preliminary loan pre-approval status for the one or more users without initiating credit inquiries on a credit report of the one or more users and without requiring submission of personal information of the one or more users before pre-approval, wherein the analyzing module evaluates the collected responses against the synchronized underwriting criteria retrieved from the database”.
Moreover, claims 1, 4-6, 9-10, and 14-20 recite “Mathematical Concepts", specifically “Mathematical Relationships”, “Mathematical Formulas or Equations”, and “Mathematical Calculations”, as discussed in MPEP §2106.04(a)(2) Part (IV), and in the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance.
The mathematical elements include:
“generating, by a question generation module, a series of questions based on the retrieved underwriting criteria, wherein the series of questions including at least nine questions configured to obtain information relevant to the underwriting criteria to assess a user's eligibility for a preliminary loan pre-approval”.
“analyzing, by an analyzing module, the collected responses to determine a preliminary loan pre-approval status for the one or more users without initiating credit inquiries on a credit report of the one or more users and without requiring submission of personal information of the one or more users before pre-approval, wherein the analyzing module evaluates the collected responses against the synchronized underwriting criteria retrieved from the database”.
The “additional elements” include: “a computing device”, “a processor”, “a memory”, “a server”, “a database”, and “a network”.
Moreover, “additional extra-solution elements” include:
“wherein the computing device is in communication with a server and a database via a network”,
“wherein the database is configured to store underwriting criteria of one or more financial institutions”,
“retrieving, via the network, updated underwriting criteria from the database”,
“displaying, by a display module, the series of questions to one or more users to respond using a user interface of the computing device”,
“collecting, by a data acquisition module, responses from the one or more users to the series of questions”,
“displaying, by the display module, the preliminary loan pre-approval status along with competitive interest rates offered by the one or more financial institutions based on the analyzed responses”,
“providing, by a learning module, a comprehensive array of multimedia resources comprising videos and interactive tutorials that explain a rationale behind the series of questions and the factors influencing the preliminary loan pre-approval status and the interest rates”.
Step 2A, prong 2 of the Alice/Mayo analysis is “Does the claim recite additional elements that integrate elements that integrate the judicial exception into a practical application?”
In regards to Step 2A, prong 2 of the Alice/Mayo analysis, this abstract idea is not integrated into a practical application, because:
The claim is directed to an abstract idea with additional generic computer elements. The generically recited computer elements (“a computing device”, “a processor”, “a memory”, “a server”, “a database”, and “a network”) do not add a meaningful limitation to the abstract idea, because they amount to simply implementing the abstract idea on a computer. The claim amounts to adding the words "apply it" (or an equivalent) with the abstract idea, or mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, or merely uses a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea.
The extra-solution activities (“wherein the computing device is in communication with a server and a database via a network”, “wherein the database is configured to store underwriting criteria of one or more financial institutions”, “retrieving ... updated underwriting criteria from the database”, “displaying ... the series of questions to one or more users to respond using a user interface of the computing device”, “collecting ... responses from the one or more users to the series of questions”, “displaying ... the preliminary loan pre-approval status along with competitive interest rates offered by the one or more financial institutions based on the analyzed responses”, and “providing ... a comprehensive array of multimedia resources”) do not add a meaningful limitation to the method, as they are insignificant extra-solution activity;
The combination of the abstract idea with the additional elements (generically recited computer elements), and/or with the extra-solution activities, does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application.
Step 2B of the Alice/Mayo analysis is: “Does the claim recite additional elements that amount to significantly more than the judicial exception?”
In regards to Step 2B of the Alice/Mayo analysis, the claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the abstract idea, because:
When considering the elements "alone and in combination" (“a computing device”, “a processor”, “a memory”, “a server”, “a database”, and “a network”), they do not add significantly more (also known as an "inventive concept") to the exception, because they amount to simply implementing the abstract idea on a computer. Instead, they merely add the words "apply it" (or an equivalent) with the abstract idea, or mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, or merely use a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea.
In regards to the extra solution activities (“wherein the computing device is in communication with a server and a database via a network”, “wherein the database is configured to store underwriting criteria of one or more financial institutions”, “retrieving ... updated underwriting criteria from the database”, “displaying ... the series of questions to one or more users to respond using a user interface of the computing device”, “collecting ... responses from the one or more users to the series of questions”, “displaying ... the preliminary loan pre-approval status along with competitive interest rates offered by the one or more financial institutions based on the analyzed responses”, and “providing ... a comprehensive array of multimedia resources”), these are recognized as such by the court decisions listed in MPEP § 2106.05(d).
More specifically, in regards to the “storing” and “retrieving” steps, see the court cases Versata Dev. Group, Inc. v. SAP Am., Inc., 793 F.3d 1306, 1334, 115 USPQ2d 1681, 1701 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (storing and retrieving information in memory); and OIP Techs., Inc., v. Amazon.com, Inc., 788 F.3d 1359, 1363, 115 USPQ2d 1090, 1092-93 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (storing and retrieving information in memory).
More specifically, in regards to the “collecting” and “communicating” steps, see the court cases OIP Techs., Inc., v. Amazon.com, Inc., 788 F.3d 1359, 1363, 115 USPQ2d 1090, 1093 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (sending messages over a network) and (presenting offers and gathering statistics), OIP Techs., 788 F.3d at 1362-63, 115 USPQ2d at 1092-93; buySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 765 F.3d 1350, 1355, 112 USPQ2d 1093, 1096 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (computer receives and sends information over a network).
Moreover, in regards to the “displaying” and “providing” steps, see Apple, Inc. v. Ameranth, Inc., 842 F.3d 1229, 120 U.S.P.Q.2d 1844 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (Holding that the claimed menu graphic user interface is an abstract idea under 35 USC §101, because claimant "[did] not claim a particular way of programming or designing the software to create menus that have these features, but instead merely claims the resulting systems").
Moreover, in regards to “apply it”, according to MPEP § 2106.05(f)(2):
Use of a computer or other machinery in its ordinary capacity for economic or other tasks (e.g., to receive, store, or transmit data) or simply adding a general purpose computer or computer components after the fact to an abstract idea (e.g., a fundamental economic practice or mathematical equation) does not integrate a judicial exception into a practical application or provide significantly more. See Affinity Labs v. DirecTV, 838 F.3d 1253, 1262, 120 USPQ2d 1201, 1207 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (cellular telephone); TLI Communications LLC v. AV Auto, LLC, 823 F.3d 607, 613, 118 USPQ2d 1744, 1748 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (computer server and telephone unit). Similarly, "claiming the improved speed or efficiency inherent with applying the abstract idea on a computer" does not integrate a judicial exception into a practical application or provide an inventive concept. Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Capital One Bank (USA), 792 F.3d 1363, 1367, 115 USPQ2d 1636, 1639 (Fed. Cir. 2015).
In contrast, a claim that purports to improve computer capabilities or to improve an existing technology may integrate a judicial exception into a practical application or provide significantly more. McRO, Inc. v. Bandai Namco Games Am. Inc., 837 F.3d 1299, 1314-15, 120 USPQ2d 1091, 1101-02 (Fed. Cir. 2016); Enfish, LLC v. Microsoft Corp., 822 F.3d 1327, 1335-36, 118 USPQ2d 1684, 1688-89 (Fed. Cir. 2016). See MPEP §§ 2106.04(d)(1) and 2106.05(a) for a discussion of improvements to the functioning of a computer or to another technology or technical field.
The Examiner holds that the independent claims “use a computer or other machinery in its ordinary capacity for economic or other tasks (e.g., to receive, store, or transmit data)” or “simply add a general purpose computer or computer components after the fact to an abstract idea”.
Independent claims 10 and 20 are rejected on the same grounds as independent claim 1. Independent claim 20 is also rejected on the grounds that it recites a computer-readable medium, which is merely another generic computer component.
All dependent claims are also rejected, because they merely further define the abstract idea.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claim 1, 4-6, 9-10, and 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2015/0206234 A1 to Forrester et al. (“Forrester”. Eff. Filed on Jan. 17, 2014. Published on Jul. 23, 2015) in view of US 2016/0189119 A1 to Bowman et al. (“Bowman”. Eff. Filed on Dec. 31, 2014. Published on Jun. 30, 2016), and further in view of US 9,892,462 B1 to Ross et al. (“Ross”. Eff. Filed on Dec. 23, 2013. Published on Feb. 13, 2018).
In regards to claim 1,
1. (Currently Amended) A system, comprising:
a computing device having a processor and a memory in communication with said processor, wherein said memory is configured to store one or more instructions executable by said processor,
(See Forrester, para. [0038]: “Consistent with disclosed embodiments, components of system 100, including financial service system 110, buyer system 120, and dealership system(s) 130, may also include one or more memory devices (such as memories 112, 122, 132, 134, and 136) as shown in exemplary form in FIG. 1. The memory devices may store software instructions that are executed by processors 111, 121, 131, 133, and 135, such as one or more applications, network communication processes, operating system software, software instructions relating to the disclosed embodiments, and any other type of application or software known to be executable by processing devices. The memory devices may be a volatile or non-volatile, magnetic, semiconductor, tape, optical, removable, nonremovable, or other type of storage device or non-transitory computer-readable medium. The memory devices may be two or more memory devices distributed over a local or wide area network, or may be a single memory device. In certain embodiments, the memory devices may include database systems, such as database storage devices, including one or more database processing devices configured to receive instructions to access, process, and send information stored in the storage devices. By way of example, database systems may including Oracle™ databases, Sybase™ databases, or other relational databases or non-relational databases, such as Hadoop sequence files, HBase, or Cassandra.”)
wherein the computing device is in communication with a server and a database via a network,
(See Forrester, para. [0031]: “FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system 100 consistent with disclosed embodiments. In one aspect, system environment 100 may include a financial service provider 105, financial service system 110, buyer system 120, one or more dealership systems 130, and network 140.”)
(See Forrester, para. [0040]: “Network 140 may be any type of network that facilitates communications and data transfer between components of system environment 100, such as, for example, financial service system 110, buyer system 120, and dealership system(s) 130. Network 140 may be a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), such as the Internet, and may be a single network or a combination of networks. Further, network 140 may reflect a single type of network or a combination of different types of networks, such as the Internet and public exchange networks for wireline and/or wireless communications. Network 140 may utilize cloud computing technologies that are familiar in the marketplace. Moreover, any part of network 140 may be implemented through traditional infrastructures or channels of trade, to permit operations associated with financial accounts that are performed manually or in-person by the various entities illustrated in FIG. 1. Network 140 is not limited to the above examples and system 100 may implement any type of network that allows the entities (and others not shown) included in FIG. 1 to exchange data and information.”)
generating, by a question generation module, a series of questions based on the retrieved underwriting criteria, wherein the series of questions including at least nine questions configured to obtain information relevant to the underwriting criteria to assess a user's eligibility for a preliminary loan pre-approval;
(See Forrester, para. [0061]: “FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary loan approval process 500, consistent with disclosed embodiments. As an example, FIG. 5 is disclosed in connection with financial service system 110. In some embodiments, loan approval process 500 may correspond to determining financing information associated with an item in Step 240. After receiving buyer financial information and vehicle information, financial service provider 110 may determine prospective financing terms for the item or items (Step 510).”)
(See Forrester, para. [0077]: “FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary user interface that may be provided by the disclosed embodiments to provide a prospective buyer with determined financing information for an item and facilitate submission or adjustment of buyer financial information. For example, as described above in association with vehicle loan process 200 and loan information collection process 400, financial service system 110 may be configured to collect buyer financial information and, through a real-time API, receive financing information for presentation to the prospective buyer determined based at least in part on the collected buyer financial information. Aspects of the disclosed embodiments include software processes that, when executed by processors 111 and 121, generate and provide the content, questions, solicitations, etc. included in the user interface provided to buyer system 120 to receive, and process the information. Queries presented to the buyer may include, but are not limited to, questions requesting details associated with buyer loan preferences.”)
The Examiner holds that a limited number of questions (e.g. exactly nine questions) is an obvious variation of Forrester’s disclosure of “questions, solicitations, etc. included in the user interface provided to buyer system 120 to receive, and process the information”
displaying, by a display module, the series of questions to one or more users to respond using a user interface of the computing device;
(See Forrester, para. [0008]: “Consistent with another disclosed embodiment, a buyer system for presenting personalized financing information associated with at least one item contained within an inventory listing is disclosed. The buyer system may include interface hardware configured to display information received from a dealership server, including the at least one item, memory hardware storing instructions, and processing hardware configured to execute the instructions to receive, from a dealership server, information associated with a dealership website, including the at least one item. The processing hardware may further execute the instructions to display, via the interface hardware, the information associated the dealership website, receive, via the interface hardware, buyer identification information and buyer financial information, and provide, to the dealership server, the buyer identification information and buyer financial information for providing, with information associated with the at least one item, to a financial service system for determination of financing information. The processing hardware may further execute the instructions to receive, from the dealership server, the financing information including prospective financing terms for the at least one item, and display, via the interface hardware, the prospective financing terms in association with the at least one item.
(See Forrester, para. [0077]: “For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a dealership website 810 associated with dealership system(s) 130 may interact with the real-time API to provide the prospective buyer with a vehicle loan notification 820. Vehicle loan notification 820 may include determined financing information, including an approval limit 822. The prospective buyer may provide buyer loan preferences through the real-time API via buyer system 120 by adjusting the adjustable down payment bar 824 and entering trade-in vehicle information 826. Aspects of the disclosed embodiments may allow buyer system 120 to select answers to the various queries presented. In some embodiments, buyer system 120 may select desired answers from drop-down menus. In other embodiments, the prospective buyer may be able to type in answers to the queries using a user input/output device (touchscreen, keyboard, voice command, or other suitable input mechanism) associated with buyer system 120. The user interface of FIG. 8 is exemplary and not limiting to the aspects of the disclosed embodiments. Other formats, types of content, queries, mechanisms for uploading, etc. can be implemented to allow financial service system 110 to receive, process, and display general desired item information from buyer system 120.”)
collecting, by a data acquisition module, responses from the one or more users to the series of questions;
(See Forrester, para. [0077]: “FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary user interface that may be provided by the disclosed embodiments to provide a prospective buyer with determined financing information for an item and facilitate submission or adjustment of buyer financial information. For example, as described above in association with vehicle loan process 200 and loan information collection process 400, financial service system 110 may be configured to collect buyer financial information and, through a real-time API, receive financing information for presentation to the prospective buyer determined based at least in part on the collected buyer financial information. Aspects of the disclosed embodiments include software processes that, when executed by processors 111 and 121, generate and provide the content, questions, solicitations, etc. included in the user interface provided to buyer system 120 to receive, and process the information. Queries presented to the buyer may include, but are not limited to, questions requesting details associated with buyer loan preferences. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a dealership website 810 associated with dealership system(s) 130 may interact with the real-time API to provide the prospective buyer with a vehicle loan notification 820. Vehicle loan notification 820 may include determined financing information, including an approval limit 822. The prospective buyer may provide buyer loan preferences through the real-time API via buyer system 120 by adjusting the adjustable down payment bar 824 and entering trade-in vehicle information 826. Aspects of the disclosed embodiments may allow buyer system 120 to select answers to the various queries presented. In some embodiments, buyer system 120 may select desired answers from drop-down menus. In other embodiments, the prospective buyer may be able to type in answers to the queries using a user input/output device (touchscreen, keyboard, voice command, or other suitable input mechanism) associated with buyer system 120. The user interface of FIG. 8 is exemplary and not limiting to the aspects of the disclosed embodiments. Other formats, types of content, queries, mechanisms for uploading, etc. can be implemented to allow financial service system 110 to receive, process, and display general desired item information from buyer system 120.”)
analyzing, by an analyzing module, the collected responses to determine a preliminary loan pre-approval status for the one or more users without initiating credit inquiries on a credit report of the one or more users and without requiring submission of personal information of the one or more users before pre-approval, wherein the analyzing module evaluates the collected responses against the synchronized underwriting criteria retrieved from the database;
(See Forrester, para. [0051]: “Dealership system(s) 130 may receive buyer financial information typically required in order to provide loan information (Step 350). In some embodiments, when the prospective buyer requests financing for one or more items on the dealership website, this information need not be re-entered by the user. Additionally or alternatively, the received buyer financial information may be provided to financial service system 110 (via, e.g., an API) for determining pre-approved loan terms allowing dealership system 130 to provide a personalized experience on the dealership website. For example, dealership system 130 may generate financing options personalized to the prospective buyer's according to the pre-approved loan terms without the prospective buyer requesting financing information.”)
displaying, by the display module, the preliminary loan pre-approval status along with competitive interest rates offered by the one or more financial institutions based on the analyzed responses; and
(See Forrester, para. [0051]: “Dealership system(s) 130 may receive buyer financial information typically required in order to provide loan information (Step 350). In some embodiments, when the prospective buyer requests financing for one or more items on the dealership website, this information need not be re-entered by the user. Additionally or alternatively, the received buyer financial information may be provided to financial service system 110 (via, e.g., an API) for determining pre-approved loan terms allowing dealership system 130 to provide a personalized experience on the dealership website. For example, dealership system 130 may generate financing options personalized to the prospective buyer's according to the pre-approved loan terms without the prospective buyer requesting financing information.”)
(See Forrester, para. [0079]: “For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a dealership individual vehicle listing website 1010 associated with dealership system(s) 130 may interact with the real-time API to provide the prospective buyer with a vehicle loan term display 1012, a trade-in information link 1014, an insurance button 1016, and a reserve item button 1018. Vehicle loan term display 1012 may display the vehicle price, monthly payment, and APR interest rate associated with the listed vehicle. The prospective buyer may provide buyer loan preferences via buyer system 120 by selecting trade-in information link 1014, which allows the buyer to input or edit information relating to a trade-in vehicle. The prospective buyer may provide buyer loan preferences buyer system 120 by selecting insurance button 1016, which allows the buyer to choose an extended warranty at an additional cost of $6 per month and/or gap insurance at an additional cost of $6 per month. The prospective buyer may provide buyer loan preferences through the real-time API via buyer system 120 by selecting reserve item button 1018, which may call, e-mail, or otherwise initiate contact with the dealer associated with the listed item via buyer system 120.”)
However, under a conservative interpretation of Forrester, it could be argued that Forrester does not explicitly teach the italicized portions below, which are taught by Bowman:
providing, by a learning module, a comprehensive array of multimedia resources comprising videos and interactive tutorials that explain a rationale behind the series of questions and the factors influencing the preliminary loan pre-approval status and the interest rates.
(See Bowman, para. [0023]: “In certain example embodiments, a service provider system that executes a financial transaction requested by a requestor (e.g., a payment processor system that executes an online bill pay transaction) may generate the content to be associated with the financial transaction. As previously noted, the content generated by the service provider system may be structured data such as remittance data/information having a structure and/or format capable of being interpreted by one or more other systems (e.g., a core account processing system, an accounts receivable system, etc.). In other example embodiments, the content generated by the service provider system may be other types of textual content, image content, or multimedia content. For example, the service provider system may generate textual content, image content, and/or multimedia content corresponding to a sales receipt, an invoice, a bill, a payment coupon or voucher, terms and conditions for a purchase, terms of a loan (e.g., interest rate, loan term, etc.), share-of-wallet, contract terms, insurance terms for accepting funds, a passcode/registration code for a purchased membership, an instruction manual for a purchased item, and so forth. It should be appreciated that the above examples are merely illustrative and not exhaustive.”)
The Examiner holds that “videos and interactive tutorials” are obvious variations of Bowman’s disclosure of “textual content, image content, and/or multimedia content”.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA), before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include in the systems and methods for exporting auto finance information, as taught by Forrester, with facilitating presentation of content relating to a financial transaction, as further taught by Bowman above, because “In addition to providing functionality for initiating financial transactions and managing financial accounts, online financial applications generally provide financial account holders with various financial transaction and account information relating to pending and processed financial transactions” (See Bowman, para. [0002]).
However, under a conservative interpretation of Forrester in view of Bowman, it could be argued that Forrester in view of Bowman does not explicitly teach the italicized portions below, which are taught by Ross:
wherein said processor is configured to cause the system to perform multiple operations, including:
retrieving, via the network, updated underwriting criteria from the database;
wherein the database is configured to store underwriting criteria of one or more financial institutions, and the server is configured to synchronize and update the underwriting criteria in the database in real time in response to changes received from the financial institutions, thereby ensuring up-to-date eligibility evaluation and eliminating potential discrepancies or delays by the processor,
(See Ross, Abstract: “Systems and methods for automating best practices involved in the underwriting process are disclosed. A computer system performs a risk classification of a potential customer based on a set of factors, company's underwriting standards, and best practices gathered from top performing underwriters. The computer system is able to improve the quality of its output over time by learning from previous outcomes, updating underwriting standards, and updating best underwriting practices.”)
(See Ross, col. 1, lines 52 to col.2, line 3: “The present disclosure is directed to a method for automating best practices involved in an underwriting process. An underwriting system gathers a company's underwriting standards and best practices from top performing underwriters. The underwriting system offers solutions in a fast, accurate and consistent manner. Furthermore, the underwriting system continually evolves by updating company's underwriting standards and best underwriting practices. In one embodiment, a computer executed method for automating an underwriting process is provided. The method includes retrieving, by a heuristic module of a server, a set of factors associated with a potential customer from one or more data sources and calculating, by the heuristic module, a risk score for each factor in the set of factors. The method further includes classifying, by the heuristic module, the potential customer into a risk category by executing a statistical learning technique that emulates resolution patterns of top performing underwriters, and assessing, by the heuristic module, a premium for the potential customer based on the corresponding risk category.”)
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA), before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include in the systems and methods for exporting auto finance information, as taught by Forrester, with facilitating presentation of content relating to a financial transaction, as further taught by Bowman above, because “In addition to providing functionality for initiating financial transactions and managing financial accounts, online financial applications generally provide financial account holders with various financial transaction and account information relating to pending and processed financial transactions” (See Bowman, para. [0002]), and to include a “Heuristic model for improving the underwriting process”, as taught by Ross, because “In one embodiment, the company periodically updates its underwriting standards and best underwriting practices so that underwriting platform keeps improving the quality of its output over time.” (See Ross, col.8, lines 43-45).
In regards to claim 2, it has been cancelled.
In regards to claim 3, it has been cancelled.
In regards to claim 4,
4. (Currently Amended) The system of claim 1, wherein the computing device includes at least one of a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet, a personal computer, a workstation, and internet-connected devices.
(See Forrester, para. [0034]: “Financial service system 110 may include one or more components that perform processes consistent with the disclosed embodiments. For example, financial service system 110 may include one or more computers (e.g., servers, database systems, etc.) configured to execute software instructions programmed to perform aspects of the disclosed embodiments, such as generating financial service accounts, maintaining accounts, processing information relating to accounts, etc.”)
(See Forrester, para. [0040]: “Network 140 may be any type of network that facilitates communications and data transfer between components of system environment 100, such as, for example, financial service system 110, buyer system 120, and dealership system(s) 130. Network 140 may be a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), such as the Internet, and may be a single network or a combination of networks. Further, network 140 may reflect a single type of network or a combination of different types of networks, such as the Internet and public exchange networks for wireline and/or wireless communications.”)
(See Forrester, para. [0045]: “Financial service system 110 or another computer device may be used to determine the financing information, and corresponding loan terms, associated with the item (i.e., the vehicle(s) identified on the dealership's website) to be purchased. In one embodiment, determining financing information associated with the at least one item may include determining an interest rate, loan duration, payment frequency, payment amount, and any fees associated with the loan.”)
In regards to claim 5,
5. (Currently Amended) The system of claim 1, wherein the display module includes at least one of a screen, a monitor, a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, a light-emitting diode (LED) display, and visual output units.
(See Forrester, para. [0077]: “For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a dealership website 810 associated with dealership system(s) 130 may interact with the real-time API to provide the prospective buyer with a vehicle loan notification 820. Vehicle loan notification 820 may include determined financing information, including an approval limit 822. The prospective buyer may provide buyer loan preferences through the real-time API via buyer system 120 by adjusting the adjustable down payment bar 824 and entering trade-in vehicle information 826. Aspects of the disclosed embodiments may allow buyer system 120 to select answers to the various queries presented. In some embodiments, buyer system 120 may select desired answers from drop-down menus. In other embodiments, the prospective buyer may be able to type in answers to the queries using a user input/output device (touchscreen, keyboard, voice command, or other suitable input mechanism) associated with buyer system 120. The user interface of FIG. 8 is exemplary and not limiting to the aspects of the disclosed embodiments. Other formats, types of content, queries, mechanisms for uploading, etc. can be implemented to allow financial service system 110 to receive, process, and display general desired item information from buyer system 120.”)
In regards to claim 6,
6. (Currently Amended) The system of claim 1, wherein the user interface includes at least one of a touch screen, a keyboard, a mouse, voice recognition modules, gesture recognition sensors, and virtual reality interfaces.
(See Forrester, para. [0081]: “Aspects of the disclosed embodiments may allow buyer system 120 to select answers to the various queries presented. In some embodiments, buyer system 120 may select desired answers from drop-down menus. In other embodiments, the prospective buyer may be able to type in answers to the queries using a user input/output device (touchscreen, keyboard, voice command, or other suitable input mechanism) associated with buyer system 120. The user interface of FIG. 10 is exemplary and not limiting to the aspects of the disclosed embodiments. Other formats, types of content, queries, mechanisms for uploading, etc. can be implemented to allow financial service system 110 to receive, process, and display general desired item information from buyer system 120.”)
In regards to claim 7, it has been cancelled.
In regards to claim 8, it has been cancelled.
In regards to claim 9,
9. (Currently Amended) The system of claim 1, wherein the network includes at least one of a local area network (LAN), a cellular network, a wide area network (WAN), an intranet, a virtual private network (VPN), and wireless networks that use radio frequency (RF) and infrared (IR) technology.
(See Forrester, para. [0031]: “FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system 100 consistent with disclosed embodiments. In one aspect, system environment 100 may include a financial service provider 105, financial service system 110, buyer system 120, one or more dealership systems 130, and network 140.”)
(See Forrester, para. [0040]: “Network 140 may be any type of network that facilitates communications and data transfer between components of system environment 100, such as, for example, financial service system 110, buyer system 120, and dealership system(s) 130. Network 140 may be a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), such as the Internet, and may be a single network or a combination of networks. Further, network 140 may reflect a single type of network or a combination of different types of networks, such as the Internet and public exchange networks for wireline and/or wireless communications. Network 140 may utilize cloud computing technologies that are familiar in the marketplace. Moreover, any part of network 140 may be implemented through traditional infrastructures or channels of trade, to permit operations associated with financial accounts that are performed manually or in-person by the various entities illustrated in FIG. 1. Network 140 is not limited to the above examples and system 100 may implement any type of network that allows the entities (and others not shown) included in FIG. 1 to exchange data and information.”)
In regards to claim 10, it is rejected on the same grounds as claim 1.
10. (Currently Amended) A computer-implemented method, comprising:
retrieving, by a processor of a computing device, underwriting criteria of one or more financial institutions stored in a database,
(See Forrester, para. [0043]: “The prospective buyer may be prompted, through buyer system 120, to enter or otherwise provide financial information associated with the prospective buyer (Step 220). In some embodiments, receiving the loan request in Step 210 and prompting the prospective buyer to enter financial information in Step 220 may occur substantially simultaneously. In alternative embodiments, prompting the prospective buyer to enter financial information may occur at a later time following receipt of the loan request. In some embodiments, financial information may relate to loan criteria and buyer loan optimization preferences, which may affect loan terms. Information relating to loan criteria may help financial service provider 105 evaluate the risk of the loan and may include details about the prospective buyer and/or the item to be purchased. For example, information relating to loan criteria may include the automobile make(s), model(s), trim package, and year(s), the Vehicle Identification Number(s) (VIN), proof of income, proof of insurance, back-end product information, trade-in equity, vehicle mileage, and the like.”)
generating, by a question generation module, a series of questions based on the retrieved underwriting criteria, wherein the series of questions including at least nine questions configured to obtain information relevant to the underwriting criteria to assess a user's eligibility for a preliminary loan pre-approval;
(See Forrester, para. [0077]: “FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary user interface that may be provided by the disclosed embodiments to provide a prospective buyer with determined financing information for an item and facilitate submission or adjustment of buyer financial information. For example, as described above in association with vehicle loan process 200 and loan information collection process 400, financial service system 110 may be configured to collect buyer financial information and, through a real-time API, receive financing information for presentation to the prospective buyer determined based at least in part on the collected buyer financial information. Aspects of the disclosed embodiments include software processes that, when executed by processors 111 and 121, generate and provide the content, questions, solicitations, etc. included in the user interface provided to buyer system 120 to receive, and process the information. Queries presented to the buyer may include, but are not limited to, questions requesting details associated with buyer loan preferences.”)
The Examiner holds that a limited number of questions (e.g. exactly nine questions) is an obvious variation of Forrester’s disclosure of “questions, solicitations, etc. included in the user interface provided to buyer system 120 to receive, and process the information”
displaying, by a display module, the series of questions to one or more users to respond using a user interface of the computing device;
collecting, by a data acquisition module, responses from the one or more users to the series of questions;
(See Forrester, para. [0051]: “Dealership system(s) 130 may receive buyer financial information typically required in order to provide loan information (Step 350). In some embodiments, when the prospective buyer requests financing for one or more items on the dealership website, this information need not be re-entered by the user. Additionally or alternatively, the received buyer financial information may be provided to financial service system 110 (via, e.g., an API) for determining pre-approved loan terms allowing dealership system 130 to provide a personalized experience on the dealership website. For example, dealership system 130 may generate financing options personalized to the prospective buyer's according to the pre-approved loan terms without the prospective buyer requesting financing information.”)
(See Forrester, para. [0079]: “For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a dealership individual vehicle listing website 1010 associated with dealership system(s) 130 may interact with the real-time API to provide the prospective buyer with a vehicle loan term display 1012, a trade-in information link 1014, an insurance button 1016, and a reserve item button 1018. Vehicle loan term display 1012 may display the vehicle price, monthly payment, and APR interest rate associated with the listed vehicle. The prospective buyer may provide buyer loan preferences via buyer system 120 by selecting trade-in information link 1014, which allows the buyer to input or edit information relating to a trade-in vehicle. The prospective buyer may provide buyer loan preferences buyer system 120 by selecting insurance button 1016, which allows the buyer to choose an extended warranty at an additional cost of $6 per month and/or gap insurance at an additional cost of $6 per month. The prospective buyer may provide buyer loan preferences through the real-time API via buyer system 120 by selecting reserve item button 1018, which may call, e-mail, or otherwise initiate contact with the dealer associated with the listed item via buyer system 120.”)
analyzing, by an analyzing module, the collected responses to determine a preliminary loan pre-approval status for the one or more users without initiating credit inquiries on a credit report of the one or more users and without requiring submission of personal information of the one or more users before pre-approval, wherein the analyzing module evaluates the collected responses against the synchronized underwriting criteria retrieved from the database;
(See Forrester, para. [0051]: “Dealership system(s) 130 may receive buyer financial information typically required in order to provide loan information (Step 350). In some embodiments, when the prospective buyer requests financing for one or more items on the dealership website, this information need not be re-entered by the user. Additionally or alternatively, the received buyer financial information may be provided to financial service system 110 (via, e.g., an API) for determining pre-approved loan terms allowing dealership system 130 to provide a personalized experience on the dealership website. For example, dealership system 130 may generate financing options personalized to the prospective buyer's according to the pre-approved loan terms without the prospective buyer requesting financing information.”)
displaying, by the display module, the preliminary loan pre-approval status along with competitive interest rates offered by the one or more financial institutions based on the analyzed responses; and
(See Forrester, para. [0008]: “Consistent with another disclosed embodiment, a buyer system for presenting personalized financing information associated with at least one item contained within an inventory listing is disclosed. The buyer system may include interface hardware configured to display information received from a dealership server, including the at least one item, memory hardware storing instructions, and processing hardware configured to execute the instructions to receive, from a dealership server, information associated with a dealership website, including the at least one item. The processing hardware may further execute the instructions to display, via the interface hardware, the information associated the dealership website, receive, via the interface hardware, buyer identification information and buyer financial information, and provide, to the dealership server, the buyer identification information and buyer financial information for providing, with information associated with the at least one item, to a financial service system for determination of financing information. The processing hardware may further execute the instructions to receive, from the dealership server, the financing information including prospective financing terms for the at least one item, and display, via the interface hardware, the prospective financing terms in association with the at least one item.
However, under a conservative interpretation of Forrester, it could be argued that Forrester does not explicitly teach the italicized portions below, which are taught by Bowman:
providing, by a learning module, a comprehensive array of multimedia resources comprising videos and interactive tutorials that explain a rationale behind the series of questions and the factors influencing the preliminary loan pre-approval status and the interest rates.
(See Bowman, para. [0023]: “In certain example embodiments, a service provider system that executes a financial transaction requested by a requestor (e.g., a payment processor system that executes an online bill pay transaction) may generate the content to be associated with the financial transaction. As previously noted, the content generated by the service provider system may be structured data such as remittance data/information having a structure and/or format capable of being interpreted by one or more other systems (e.g., a core account processing system, an accounts receivable system, etc.). In other example embodiments, the content generated by the service provider system may be other types of textual content, image content, or multimedia content. For example, the service provider system may generate textual content, image content, and/or multimedia content corresponding to a sales receipt, an invoice, a bill, a payment coupon or voucher, terms and conditions for a purchase, terms of a loan (e.g., interest rate, loan term, etc.), share-of-wallet, contract terms, insurance terms for accepting funds, a passcode/registration code for a purchased membership, an instruction manual for a purchased item, and so forth. It should be appreciated that the above examples are merely illustrative and not exhaustive.”)
The Examiner holds that “videos and interactive tutorials” are obvious variations of Bowman’s disclosure of “textual content, image content, and/or multimedia content”.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA), before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include in the systems and methods for exporting auto finance information, as taught by Forrester, with facilitating presentation of content relating to a financial transaction, as further taught by Bowman above, because “In addition to providing functionality for initiating financial transactions and managing financial accounts, online financial applications generally provide financial account holders with various financial transaction and account information relating to pending and processed financial transactions” (See Bowman, para. [0002]).
However, under a conservative interpretation of Forrester in view of Bowman, it could be argued that Forrester in view of Bowman does not explicitly teach the italicized portions below, which are taught by Ross:
wherein the underwriting criteria is synchronized and updated in real time by a server in communication with the database;
(See Ross, Abstract: “Systems and methods for automating best practices involved in the underwriting process are disclosed. A computer system performs a risk classification of a potential customer based on a set of factors, company's underwriting standards, and best practices gathered from top performing underwriters. The computer system is able to improve the quality of its output over time by learning from previous outcomes, updating underwriting standards, and updating best underwriting practices.”)
(See Ross, col. 1, lines 52 to col.2, line 3: “The present disclosure is directed to a method for automating best practices involved in an underwriting process. An underwriting system gathers a company's underwriting standards and best practices from top performing underwriters. The underwriting system offers solutions in a fast, accurate and consistent manner. Furthermore, the underwriting system continually evolves by updating company's underwriting standards and best underwriting practices. In one embodiment, a computer executed method for automating an underwriting process is provided. The method includes retrieving, by a heuristic module of a server, a set of factors associated with a potential customer from one or more data sources and calculating, by the heuristic module, a risk score for each factor in the set of factors. The method further includes classifying, by the heuristic module, the potential customer into a risk category by executing a statistical learning technique that emulates resolution patterns of top performing underwriters, and assessing, by the heuristic module, a premium for the potential customer based on the corresponding risk category.”)
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA), before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include in the systems and methods for exporting auto finance information, as taught by Forrester, with facilitating presentation of content relating to a financial transaction, as further taught by Bowman above, because “In addition to providing functionality for initiating financial transactions and managing financial accounts, online financial applications generally provide financial account holders with various financial transaction and account information relating to pending and processed financial transactions” (See Bowman, para. [0002]), and to include a “Heuristic model for improving the underwriting process”, as taught by Ross, because “In one embodiment, the company periodically updates its underwriting standards and best underwriting practices so that underwriting platform keeps improving the quality of its output over time.” (See Ross, col.8, lines 43-45).
In regards to claim 11, it has been cancelled.
In regards to claim 12, it has been cancelled.
In regards to claim 13, it has been cancelled.
In regards to claim 14, it is rejected on the same grounds as claim 4.
In regards to claim 15,
15. (Currently Amended) The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the computing device is in communication with the server and the database via a network.
(See Forrester, para. [0031]: “FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system 100 consistent with disclosed embodiments. In one aspect, system environment 100 may include a financial service provider 105, financial service system 110, buyer system 120, one or more dealership systems 130, and network 140.”)
(See Forrester, para. [0040]: “Network 140 may be any type of network that facilitates communications and data transfer between components of system environment 100, such as, for example, financial service system 110, buyer system 120, and dealership system(s) 130. Network 140 may be a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), such as the Internet, and may be a single network or a combination of networks. Further, network 140 may reflect a single type of network or a combination of different types of networks, such as the Internet and public exchange networks for wireline and/or wireless communications. Network 140 may utilize cloud computing technologies that are familiar in the marketplace. Moreover, any part of network 140 may be implemented through traditional infrastructures or channels of trade, to permit operations associated with financial accounts that are performed manually or in-person by the various entities illustrated in FIG. 1. Network 140 is not limited to the above examples and system 100 may implement any type of network that allows the entities (and others not shown) included in FIG. 1 to exchange data and information.”)
In regards to claim 16,
16. (Currently Amended) The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the server is configured to:
update the underwriting criteria in the database in real time in real time in response to changes received from the financial institutions, thereby ensuring up-to-date eligibility evaluation and eliminating potential discrepancies or delays by the processor.
(See Ross, Abstract: “Systems and methods for automating best practices involved in the underwriting process are disclosed. A computer system performs a risk classification of a potential customer based on a set of factors, company's underwriting standards, and best practices gathered from top performing underwriters. The computer system is able to improve the quality of its output over time by learning from previous outcomes, updating underwriting standards, and updating best underwriting practices.”)
(See Ross, col. 1, lines 52 to col.2, line 3: “The present disclosure is directed to a method for automating best practices involved in an underwriting process. An underwriting system gathers a company's underwriting standards and best practices from top performing underwriters. The underwriting system offers solutions in a fast, accurate and consistent manner. Furthermore, the underwriting system continually evolves by updating company's underwriting standards and best underwriting practices. In one embodiment, a computer executed method for automating an underwriting process is provided. The method includes retrieving, by a heuristic module of a server, a set of factors associated with a potential customer from one or more data sources and calculating, by the heuristic module, a risk score for each factor in the set of factors. The method further includes classifying, by the heuristic module, the potential customer into a risk category by executing a statistical learning technique that emulates resolution patterns of top performing underwriters, and assessing, by the heuristic module, a premium for the potential customer based on the corresponding risk category.”)
In regards to claim 17, it is rejected on the same grounds as claim 9.
In regards to claim 18, it is rejected on the same grounds as claim 5.
In regards to claim 19, it is rejected on the same grounds as claim 6.
In regards to claim 20, it is rejected on the same grounds as claim 1.
20. (Currently Amended) A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that,
when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method, wherein the method comprising:
generating a series of questions based on underwriting criteria, wherein the series of questions including at least nine questions configured to obtain information relevant to the underwriting criteria to assess a user's eligibility for a preliminary loan pre-approval;
(See Forrester, para. [0077]: “FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary user interface that may be provided by the disclosed embodiments to provide a prospective buyer with determined financing information for an item and facilitate submission or adjustment of buyer financial information. For example, as described above in association with vehicle loan process 200 and loan information collection process 400, financial service system 110 may be configured to collect buyer financial information and, through a real-time API, receive financing information for presentation to the prospective buyer determined based at least in part on the collected buyer financial information. Aspects of the disclosed embodiments include software processes that, when executed by processors 111 and 121, generate and provide the content, questions, solicitations, etc. included in the user interface provided to buyer system 120 to receive, and process the information. Queries presented to the buyer may include, but are not limited to, questions requesting details associated with buyer loan preferences.”)
The Examiner holds that a limited number of questions (e.g. exactly nine questions) is an obvious variation of Forrester’s disclosure of “questions, solicitations, etc. included in the user interface provided to buyer system 120 to receive, and process the information”
providing the series of questions to one or more users to respond using a user interface;
collecting responses from the one or more users to the series of questions;
analyzing the collected responses to determine a preliminary loan pre-approval status for the one or more users without initiating credit inquiries on a credit report of the one or more users and without requiring submission of personal information of the one or more users before pre-approval;
(See Forrester, para. [0051]: “Dealership system(s) 130 may receive buyer financial information typically required in order to provide loan information (Step 350). In some embodiments, when the prospective buyer requests financing for one or more items on the dealership website, this information need not be re-entered by the user. Additionally or alternatively, the received buyer financial information may be provided to financial service system 110 (via, e.g., an API) for determining pre-approved loan terms allowing dealership system 130 to provide a personalized experience on the dealership website. For example, dealership system 130 may generate financing options personalized to the prospective buyer's according to the pre-approved loan terms without the prospective buyer requesting financing information.”)
However, under a conservative interpretation of Forrester, it could be argued that Forrester does not explicitly teach the italicized portions below, which are taught by Bowman:
providing a comprehensive array of multimedia resources comprising videos and interactive tutorials that explain a rationale behind the series of questions and the factors influencing the preliminary loan pre-approval status and the interest rates.
(See Bowman, para. [0023]: “In certain example embodiments, a service provider system that executes a financial transaction requested by a requestor (e.g., a payment processor system that executes an online bill pay transaction) may generate the content to be associated with the financial transaction. As previously noted, the content generated by the service provider system may be structured data such as remittance data/information having a structure and/or format capable of being interpreted by one or more other systems (e.g., a core account processing system, an accounts receivable system, etc.). In other example embodiments, the content generated by the service provider system may be other types of textual content, image content, or multimedia content. For example, the service provider system may generate textual content, image content, and/or multimedia content corresponding to a sales receipt, an invoice, a bill, a payment coupon or voucher, terms and conditions for a purchase, terms of a loan (e.g., interest rate, loan term, etc.), share-of-wallet, contract terms, insurance terms for accepting funds, a passcode/registration code for a purchased membership, an instruction manual for a purchased item, and so forth. It should be appreciated that the above examples are merely illustrative and not exhaustive.”)
The Examiner holds that “videos and interactive tutorials” are obvious variations of Bowman’s disclosure of “textual content, image content, and/or multimedia content”.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA), before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include in the systems and methods for exporting auto finance information, as taught by Forrester, with facilitating presentation of content relating to a financial transaction, as further taught by Bowman above, because “In addition to providing functionality for initiating financial transactions and managing financial accounts, online financial applications generally provide financial account holders with various financial transaction and account information relating to pending and processed financial transactions” (See Bowman, para. [0002]).
However, under a conservative interpretation of Forrester in view of Bowman, it could be argued that Forrester in view of Bowman does not explicitly teach the italicized portions below, which are taught by Ross:
providing the preliminary loan pre-approval status along with competitive interest rates offered by the one or more financial institutions based on the analyzed responses; and
(See Ross, Abstract: “Systems and methods for automating best practices involved in the underwriting process are disclosed. A computer system performs a risk classification of a potential customer based on a set of factors, company's underwriting standards, and best practices gathered from top performing underwriters. The computer system is able to improve the quality of its output over time by learning from previous outcomes, updating underwriting standards, and updating best underwriting practices.”)
(See Ross, col. 1, lines 52 to col.2, line 3: “The present disclosure is directed to a method for automating best practices involved in an underwriting process. An underwriting system gathers a company's underwriting standards and best practices from top performing underwriters. The underwriting system offers solutions in a fast, accurate and consistent manner. Furthermore, the underwriting system continually evolves by updating company's underwriting standards and best underwriting practices. In one embodiment, a computer executed method for automating an underwriting process is provided. The method includes retrieving, by a heuristic module of a server, a set of factors associated with a potential customer from one or more data sources and calculating, by the heuristic module, a risk score for each factor in the set of factors. The method further includes classifying, by the heuristic module, the potential customer into a risk category by executing a statistical learning technique that emulates resolution patterns of top performing underwriters, and assessing, by the heuristic module, a premium for the potential customer based on the corresponding risk category.”)
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA), before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include in the systems and methods for exporting auto finance information, as taught by Forrester, with facilitating presentation of content relating to a financial transaction, as further taught by Bowman above, because “In addition to providing functionality for initiating financial transactions and managing financial accounts, online financial applications generally provide financial account holders with various financial transaction and account information relating to pending and processed financial transactions” (See Bowman, para. [0002]), and to include a “Heuristic model for improving the underwriting process”, as taught by Ross, because “In one embodiment, the company periodically updates its underwriting standards and best underwriting practices so that underwriting platform keeps improving the quality of its output over time.” (See Ross, col.8, lines 43-45).
Response to Amendments
Re: Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
In regards to the 35 USC § 101 rejections, these rejections have been amended, as necessitated by Applicant’s amendments to the claims.
In regards to the newly amended feature in dependent claim 16, which is also partially amended in to the independent claims 1, 10, and 20:
update the underwriting criteria in the database in real time in real time in response to changes received from the financial institutions, thereby ensuring up-to-date eligibility evaluation and eliminating potential discrepancies or delays by the processor.
The Examiner holds that these features are an improvement to the abstract idea of a loan “underwriting process”, rather than a technological improvement.
Re: Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In regards to the 35 USC § 103 rejections, these rejections have been amended, as necessitated by Applicant’s amendments to the claims.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications should be directed to Examiner Ayal Sharon, whose telephone number is (571) 272-5614, and fax number is (571) 273-1794. The Examiner can normally be reached from Monday to Friday between 9 AM and 6 PM. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, SPE Christine Behncke can be reached at (571) 272-8103 or at christine.behncke@uspto.gov. The fax number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
Sincerely,
/Ayal I. Sharon/
Examiner, Art Unit 3695
December 30, 2025