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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
Claim 14 is canceled. Claim 21 is new and claims 1, 9, 13,16 and 19 are amended.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments regarding the 103 rejection of the claims are convincing and the claim rejection is amended in view of an updated search of the prior art.
Applicant’s arguments regarding the 112 rejections of the claims have been considered. The rejection of claim 14 is withdrawn with its cancelation. The rejection of claim 13 remains and is modified in view of the amendment. The rejection of claim 9 is withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments regarding the 101 rejection of the claim have been considered and are partially persuasive. The Office has modified the rejection to reflect an updated abstract idea grouping. The Office notes that the addition of the amended subject matter merely adds more elements to the list of data used to make the allocation determinations but do not change the fact that the claims represent an abstract idea and the application of the abstract idea by computer. Additionally, the computer determinations do no more than perform automatically what a human may perform manually, applicant’s arguments to Desjardins notwithstanding. Applicant’s arguments to an inventive concept are likewise not convincing since it is already established that budgeting is an abstract idea.
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.
Claim(s) 1-13 and 15-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s):
1. A method, implemented at least in part by one or more computing devices of a financial service, the method comprising:
receiving, from a computing device of a user of the financial service, a request to allocate, between at least a first financial account of the user and a second financial account of the user, one or more deposits of funds, received at a user account of the user from a payor,
wherein the user is associated with a user identifier, the payor is associated with a payor identifier, the first financial account is associated with a first account identifier and a first ledger, and the second financial account is associated with a second account identifier and a second ledger, and
wherein the first ledger and the second ledger are maintained by the financial service;
receiving an indication of a deposit, wherein the indication includes the user identifier, the payor identifier, and an amount of deposited funds;
determining, based at least in part on the user identifier and the payor identifier, that the deposit is one of the one or more deposits of funds associated with the request to allocate;
determining, based at least in part on one or more past transactions associated with the user identifier and without user input, a first suggested balance of the first financial account and a second suggested balance of the second financial account;
determining, based at least in part on the request to allocate, the first suggested balance, and the second suggested balance, an allocation comprising a first portion of the amount of deposited funds allocated to the first financial account and a second portion of the amount of deposited funds allocated to the second financial account;
causing the first portion to be deposited to the first financial account and the second portion to be deposited to the second financial account; and
updating, in near real-time, the first ledger and the second ledger to reflect the deposit of the first portion to the first financial account and the second portion to the second financial account.
The claim recites certain methods of organizing human activity, managing personal behavior or interactions between people, because the claims are directed to budgeting similar to Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Capital One Bank (USA), 792 F.3d 1363, 115 USPQ2d 1636 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II)(C), where the business relation is between a party submitting a request and a source (bank) processing the request.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the claims are performed by generic computers (computing device, processors and instructions) and represent adding the words “apply it”, or the like. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because for the reasons above.
Claims 16 and 19 are similarly rejected.
The dependent claims merely narrow the abstract idea and, as a whole and in combination comprise the abstract idea with the words “apply it”, as above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-8, 10-12 and 15-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cook (2014/0344141) in view of Wadley (2017/0126581).
Cook discloses:
A method, implemented at least in part by one or more computing devices of a financial service, the method comprising:
receiving, from a computing device of a user of the financial service, a request to allocate, between at least a first financial account of the user and a second financial account of the user, one or more deposits of funds, received at a user account of the user from a payor ([0009] Accordingly, what is needed is an on-line tool to allow such pre-specified automatic/adaptive transfers to designated accounts for each withdraw or deposit made to the owner's primary account. Such an on-line feature offered by financial institutions will allow the user to consistently apply a set of rules for each deposit/withdraw that will result in the user being more financially responsible. [0011] At some time prior to a deposit, the owner accesses a web site provided by the bank that allows the owner to specify a percentage of the deposits that are to be allocated to other accounts.),
wherein the user is associated with a user identifier (0029, the user initially logs into the Bank 1 server), the payor is associated with a payor identifier (0055, ADT Payroll account (the user's employer's direct deposit account), the first financial account is associated with a first account identifier and a first ledger, and the second financial account is associated with a second account identifier and a second ledger (See fig. 3, ledger of accounts by financial institutions are suggested by the reference), and
wherein the first ledger and the second ledger are maintained by the financial service (The establishment and maintenance of bank accounts by a financial institution suggests the maintenance of ledgers for those accounts);
receiving an indication of a deposit ([0048] In step 28, the Bank 1 server determines if there is a deposit to the primary account (Account 1).), wherein the indication includes the user identifier, the payor identifier, and an amount of deposited funds;
determining, based at least in part on the user identifier and the payor identifier(See 0029 and 0055 above), that the deposit is one of the one or more deposits of funds associated with the request to allocate ([0049] If so, then in step 30, the Bank 1 server determines whether the allocations are authorized by applying the rules set by the user…);
determining, based at least in part on the request to allocate, an allocation comprising a first portion of the amount of deposited funds allocated to the first financial account and a second portion of the amount of deposited funds allocated to the second financial account ([0050] If so, then in step 32, the Bank 1 server initiates the transfer of the percentages of the newly deposited funds in accordance with the user's rules to the various accounts…);
causing the first portion to be deposited to the first financial account and the second portion to be deposited to the second financial account (See 0050 above); and
updating, in near real-time, the first ledger and the second ledger to reflect the deposit of the first portion to the first financial account and the second portion to the second financial account ([0051] In step 34, the Bank 1 server sends a report (or makes one available on-line) to the user identifying the various transfers and the balances.).
Cook does not disclose:
determining, based at least in part on one or more past transactions associated with the user identifier and without user input, a first suggested balance of the first financial account and a second suggested balance of the second financial account;
determining, based at least in part on the request to allocate, the first suggested balance, and the second suggested balance, an allocation
However, Wadley discloses at least in: [0008] In other specific embodiments of the system the historical resource utilization database is further defined as a transaction history database, such as a financial transaction history database that is configured to catalog records of users' transaction history, such as financial transaction history. In such embodiments of the system, the first resource monitoring database is configured to access the transaction history database to monitor users' transaction history and the resource re-allocation engine is configured to logically determine the volume of resources to re-allocate based on a users' transaction history.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to modify Cook with the intelligent re-allocation of Wadley based on the background of Wadley which states:
[0002] In managing resources it is necessary to make intelligent and informed decisions as to re-allocation of resources. In this regard, intelligent decisions as to re-allocation need to make sure that the proper volume or amount of resources are re-allocated. In order to make such an intelligent or informed decision, it is necessary to know resource utilization history, as well as, planned future utilization of resources. In addition, insuring proper volume or amount of re-allocation it may also be beneficial to properly time the re-allocation, so that resources can be provide maximum benefit. The second suggested balance is merely a duplication of parts (MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B)).
Claims 16 and 19 are similarly rejected.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first financial account and the second financial account are sub-accounts of the user account ([0012] For example, the owner of the checking account may initially set up a retirement account, a vacation account, a college account, and a tax account in the same bank (the first bank) as the checking account or in a different bank or financial institution.).
Claim 17 is similarly rejected.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving, from the computing device of the user, a request to establish the first financial account and the second financial account ([0012] For example, the owner of the checking account may initially set up a retirement account, a vacation account, a college account, and a tax account in the same bank (the first bank) as the checking account or in a different bank or financial institution.); and
based at least in part on the request to establish, establishing the first financial account and the second financial account (See 0012 above), wherein establishing includes:
assigning the first account identifier to the first financial account and the second account identifier to the second financial account (Per 0012, retirement account, vacation account, etc.); and
generating the first ledger to be associated with the first financial account and the second ledger to be associated with the second financial account (The establishment of bank accounts suggests that ledgers will also be created to track transactions and balances).
4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of:
the first financial account is a spending account and the second financial account is a savings account (0012, checking and vacation accounts);
the first financial account is a first savings account and the second financial account is a second savings account;
the first financial account is a first spending account and the second financial account is a second spending account; or
at least one of the first financial account or the second financial account is an account associated with a line of credit.
Claim 20 is similarly rejected.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the request to allocate specifies a default financial account (0013, For example, the first priority allocation for a new deposit may be 25% to the tax account, the second priority allocation may be 10% to the retirement account, the third priority allocation may be 10% to the college account, and the fourth priority allocation may be 10% to the vacation account. The remainder remains in the checking account.).
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the allocation is based at least in part on a percentage, a fixed amount, or a balance of at least one of the first financial account or the second financial account (0013).
Claim 18 is similarly rejected.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the allocation is based at least in part on a user preference (0013).
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the user preference is received from the computing device of the user responsive to a query to the user regarding the user preference ([0031] In one embodiment, the user is led through a series of menus, walking the user through the process of setting up the allocations and rules by presenting the user with various blank boxes to fill in and instructions.).
Cook does not disclose:
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first suggested balance is based at least in part on a balance of the first financial account determined to be sufficient to cover a monthly spend from the first financial account, wherein the monthly spend is based at least in part on the one or more past transactions.
However, Wadley discloses [0002] In managing resources it is necessary to make intelligent and informed decisions as to re-allocation of resources. In this regard, intelligent decisions as to re-allocation need to make sure that the proper volume or amount of resources are re-allocated. In order to make such an intelligent or informed decision, it is necessary to know resource utilization history, as well as, planned future utilization of resources. In addition, insuring proper volume or amount of re-allocation it may also be beneficial to properly time the re-allocation, so that resources can be provide maximum benefit.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to modify Cook with the intelligent re-allocation of Wadley based on the above.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the payor is an employer of the user (The owner then uses the inventive on-line feature provided by the first bank to specify a certain percentage of each paycheck to be allocated to the various accounts and the priorities of the allocations.).
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first account identifier comprises a first alphanumeric string of characters and the second account identifier comprises a second alphanumeric string of characters, and wherein the request to allocate includes the first account identifier and the second account identifier (Fig. 3).
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12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: causing presentation, on the computing device of the user, a notification that the first portion was deposited to the first financial account and the second portion was deposited to the second financial account ([0051] In step 34, the Bank 1 server sends a report (or makes one available on-line) to the user identifying the various transfers and the balances.); and
receiving, from the computing device of the user, a command to transfer at least a portion of the amount to another sub-account.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the first financial account is a business financial account of the user and the second financial account is a personal financial account of the user ([0015] The above scenario is likely to be a common scenario; however, for small business owners that have more complex business needs, the allocations may include allocations to employees' pensions, allocations to business improvements, etc.).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claim 13 recites “The method of claim 8, wherein the query is received while at least one deposit of the one or more deposits is pending. “ The specification fails to disclose this limitation. The Office has reviewed the specification for the word “pending” and finds no similar disclosure.
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 WILLIAM E RANKINS whose telephone number is (571)270-3465. The examiner can normally be reached on 9-530 M-F.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Bennett Sigmond can be reached on 303-297-4411. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WILLIAM E RANKINS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3694