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 .
Status of Claims
Office Action is in response to the Applicant's amendments and remarks filed7/23/2024. Claims 21-34 and 37-38 were cancelled. Claims 1-20 and 35-36 are presently pending and presented for examination.
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 1-20 and 35-36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claim recites method for detecting and classifying anomalies.
Step 2A – Prong 1
Independent Claims 1 as a whole recite a method of organizing human activity. The limitations from exemplary Claim 1 reciting “selecting anomaly classification algorithm; executing at least one outer iteration comprising: determining a current detection of a plurality of anomalies in a dataset of a wafer, the wafer comprising a plurality of structures; obtaining an unsupervised or semi-supervised clustering of the current detection of the plurality of anomalies; executing multiple inner iterations, at least some of the inner iterations comprising: using the anomaly classification algorithm to determine a current classification of the plurality of anomalies in the dataset; based on at least one decision criterion, selecting at least one anomaly of the current detection of the plurality of anomalies by selecting at least one cluster of the clustering for presentation to a user via a [...] configured to allow the user to assign one or more class labels of a current set of classes to each of the at least one cluster; and re-training the anomaly classification algorithm based on anomalies annotated by the user in an inner iteration of the current or any previous outer iteration, detecting and classifying anomalies in the [...] dataset of the wafer” is a method of managing interactions between people, which falls into the certain methods of organizing human activity grouping, additionally mathematical concepts such as mathematical relationships, mathematical formulas or equations and mathematical calculations as the machine learning model can be computed using pen and paper to provide detection and classification of anomalies. The mere recitation of a generic computer (computer-implemented, machine learning, imaging, semiconductor, user interface in claim 1) does not take the claim out of the methods of organizing human activity grouping. Thus, the claim recites an abstract idea.
Step 2A - Prong 2: Claims 1-20 and 35-36 and their underlining limitations, steps, features and terms, are further inspected by the Examiner under the current examining guidelines, and found, both individually and as a whole, not to include additional elements that are sufficient to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. The limitations are directed to limitations referenced in MPEP 2106.05 that are not enough to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. Limitations that are not enough include, as a non-limiting or non-exclusive examples, such as: (i) adding the words "apply it" (or an equivalent) with the judicial exception, or mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, e.g., a claim to an abstract idea requiring no more than a generic computer to perform generic computer functions, (ii) insignificant extra solution activity, and/or (iii) generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the claim recites the additional elements of (computer-implemented, machine learning, imaging, semiconductor, user interface in claim 1). The computer-implemented, machine learning, imaging, semiconductor, user interface in claim 1, are recited at a high level of generality and are generically recited computer elements. The generically recited computer elements amount to simply implementing the abstract idea on a computer. The combination of these additional elements are additional elements do no more than generally link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use. Accordingly, in combination, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea.
The claim do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because, as discussed above, the additional elements do no more than generally link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use. Thus, even when viewed as an ordered combination, nothing in the claims add significantly more (i.e. an inventive concept) to the abstract idea. The claims are ineligible.
Dependent claims 2-20 and 35-36 are also directed to same grouping of methods of organizing human activity. The additional elements of the computer-implemented, machine learning in claims 3, 35-36; imaging in claim 3; semiconductor in claim 9; user interface in claims 13 and 17; machine-readable hardware in claim 35-36; storage devices in claim 35-36; processing device in claims 35-36, are additional elements do no more than generally link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use. Accordingly, in combination, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea.
Novel/Non-Obvious Subject Matter
Examiner has determined that all of Applicant’s claims have overcome having prior art rejections. The reason for this is that Examiner does not believe that, at the time of Applicant’s priority date, it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art to combine prior art disclosures to result in the particular combination of elements/limitations in that claim, including the particular configuration of the elements/limitations with respect to each other in the particular combination, without the use of impermissible hindsight.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to IBRAHIM EL-BATHY whose telephone number is (571)272-7545. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9am - 7pm.
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/IBRAHIM N EL-BATHY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3626
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