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 the Application
This action is in response to the Amendment filed on 7/9/2026, and is a Final Office Action. Claims 1-2, 4-21 are pending in the application.
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 1-2, 4-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more.
Claim 1 is directed towards a method, thus meeting the Step 1 eligibility criterion. Claim 1 does recite the abstract concept of a commercial interaction/fundamental economic practice, which has been identified as an abstract idea by the MPEP. The relevant claimed limitations include: obtaining following information and subscription information associated with a first user account / pre-processing the obtained following information and subscription information to generate a compact feed layout representation, wherein the compact feed layout representation comprises a structured dataset defining parameters including: positions of content blocks on a feed page in which content is arranged, a number of content items per block, and display parameters for each block, determined based on an existence of a second user account for which following is set by the first user account according to the following information and an existence of an item group subscribed by the first user account according to the subscription information / wherein the pre-processing includes: extracting feed content related to the second user account followed by the first user account according to the following information and feed content related to the item group subscribed by the first user account according to the subscription information / assembling the compact feed layout representation and the extracted feed content into a transmission package including code configured to control user interface (UI) rendering by causing to render the feed page using the positions of content blocks, the number of content items per block, and the display parameters as predefined in the structured dataset according to the compact feed layout representation / transmitting the transmission package to the first user account for display of the feed page according to the compact feed layout representation. Applicant’s Spec. further describes the context of the claimed invention as pertaining to the commercial interaction realm: “method and apparatus for a social networking service”, “providing a feed page, in which the type of content included and the method of arranging the content are determined according to subscription information and following information of a suer”, “The item group may be a set of at least one object that may be classified into at least one category by certain criteria, for example, a set of place objects registered in a map app, a set of place objects classified into a specific category (e.g., a restaurant, a cafe, and a tourist attraction), a set of place objects classified into a specific category and a similar category, and a set of shopping product objects registered on an e-commerce platform. The item group may be generated by the user account. The user account may generate or register at least one item (e.g., a place object and a shopping product object) that is registered on the server or on a platform interoperating with the server as an item group.”. Claim 1 also recites the abstract concept of a mental concept – I.e. mental process that can be performed in the human mind or using pen/paper, including an observation/evaluation/judgment, which has been identified as an abstract idea by the MPEP: obtaining following information and subscription information associated with a first user account / pre-processing the obtained following information and subscription information to generate a compact feed layout representation. These claimed limitations, under their broadest reasonable interpretation, cover performance in the human mind but for the recitation of generic computing elements – see below, thus still being in the mental process category. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. Claim 1 includes the additional elements of a user terminal / user device including a user interface / server; they represent generic computing elements. The additional elements do not , alone or in combination , improve the functioning of the computing device or another technology/technical field, nor do they apply or use the judicial exception in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking its use to a particular technological environment. The claim is directed to an abstract idea. Claim 1 does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception, because as noted above, the claimed computing elements represent computing elements; they are recited at a high level of generality. The additional elements do not, alone or in combination, improve the functioning of the computing device or another technology/technical field, nor do they apply or use the judicial exception in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking its use to a particular technological environment. Therefore, Claim 1 does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea itself. The claim is not patent eligible.
Independent claims 14, 15, 16, 20 are directed to a method, storage medium, server, and terminal, respectively, for performing similar claimed limitations to those of claim 1; they recite the same abstract ideas as Claim 1. Claims 14, 15, 16, 20 perform the claimed limitations using only generic components of a networked computer system. Therefore, claims 14, 15, 16, 20 are directed to an abstract idea without significantly more for the reasons given in the discussion of claim 1.
Remaining dependent claims 2, 4-13, 17-19, 21 further recite and narrow the abstract ideas of independent claims 1 / 16. The claims do not include any other additional elements. There are no other additional elements that, alone or in combination with the other additional elements, improve the functioning of the computing device or another technology/technical field, or apply or use the judicial exception in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking its use to a particular technological environment. Therefore, the claims above do not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea itself. The claims are not patent eligible.
The prior art of record does not teach neither singly nor in combination the limitations of claims 1-2, 4-21.
Dayon (20150019575) teaches filtering feed content in a social networking system into user-customizable feed channels, including: receive criteria customized by a user, the criteria defining a plurality of feed channels, each feed channel defined by a respective one or more of the criteria; access content of one or more feeds, the content published to the one or more feeds by or regarding one or more data sources in an enterprise social networking system, the data sources comprising one or more identifiable records stored in a database, the records comprising business information of one or more business organizations; identify portions of the feed content, each identified portion satisfying the respective one or more criteria defining a feed channel; and provide data at a user device, the user device being operable to process the data to display a list of the feed channels, each feed channel in the displayed list being user-selectable to cause the display of the feed channel to include only the portion of feed content satisfying the one or more criteria defining a selected feed channel. However, it lacks the combination of claimed elements of the pending independent claims.
When taken as a whole, the claims are not rendered obvious as the available prior art does not suggest or otherwise render obvious the noted features nor does the available prior art suggest or otherwise render obvious further modification of the evidence at hand. Such modifications would require substantial reconstruction relying solely on improper hindsight bias, and thus would not be obvious.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments have been fully considered; Applicant argues with substance:
The cited prior art does not teach the amended claim limitations of the pending independent claims
Examiner agrees. The prior art rejection of the pending independent claims has been overcome and has been withdrawn. Dayon (20150019575) teaches filtering feed content in a social networking system into user-customizable feed channels, including: receive criteria customized by a user, the criteria defining a plurality of feed channels, each feed channel defined by a respective one or more of the criteria; access content of one or more feeds, the content published to the one or more feeds by or regarding one or more data sources in an enterprise social networking system, the data sources comprising one or more identifiable records stored in a database, the records comprising business information of one or more business organizations; identify portions of the feed content, each identified portion satisfying the respective one or more criteria defining a feed channel; and provide data at a user device, the user device being operable to process the data to display a list of the feed channels, each feed channel in the displayed list being user-selectable to cause the display of the feed channel to include only the portion of feed content satisfying the one or more criteria defining a selected feed channel. However, it lacks the combination of claimed elements of the pending independent claims.
When taken as a whole, the claims are not rendered obvious as the available prior art does not suggest or otherwise render obvious the noted features nor does the available prior art suggest or otherwise render obvious further modification of the evidence at hand. Such modifications would require substantial reconstruction relying solely on improper hindsight bias, and thus would not be obvious.
The Examiner has interpreted the previously claimed embodiments as merely reciting a commercial interaction/fundamental economic practice. See, e.g., Office Action at 2, 4 and 6. Applicant respectfully disagrees with this characterization of the claimed embodiments. While the claimed embodiments may be useful in a commercial context, the claims do not merely recite the performance of a some known business practice along with a requirement to perform the practice on a computer or using the Internet. Instead, the claims integrate the specific recited processes into a practical application, namely a specific technological workflow for improving the feed-generation pipeline. Therefore, amended claim 1, when evaluated as a whole, and in accordance with the Desjardins Memo and updated MPEP §2106 integrates any alleged abstract idea into a practical application by improving the server-based feed-generation pipeline under Step 2A, Prong Two. Specifically, the claims recite generating or receiving a transmission package that includes code having a compact feed layout representation comprising a structured dataset defining parameters used to actively control a user interface rendering process of a device of a user (e.g., a terminal) and extracted feed content. The operations performed to generate the transmission package are not merely abstract mathematical operations, but are an integral part of the feed-generation pipeline. For example, geolocation-based processing performed by the server as part of the feed- generation pipeline is used to extract at least one place object as a candidate item based on a distance between a location of the place object and the first user's terminal, and on a comparison to a threshold distance (which effectively filters the amount of data to be processed and transmitted). The generated feed content includes an interfacing object comprising that distance. This is an improvement in the functioning of the computer system itself. In addition, the claims, as a practical matter, cannot be practiced in the human mind, which cannot generate or process code defining parameters of a dataset of a compact feed layout representation of a transmission package in order to control a user interface rendering process of a terminal to which the transmission package including the code is transmitted, or generate geolocation-based data by calculating the distance between a place object and the first user's terminal, comparing it to a threshold distance to extract a candidate, and generating feed content including an interfacing object comprising that distance. Thus, the technical solution of the claimed embodiments correspond to that of the eligible claim 2 in USPTO Subject Matter Eligibility Examples: Example 1. Turning to the specifics, the independent claims 1, 14, 15, 16 and 20 are generally directed to improving the technical process of providing feed content to operating terminals based on following and subscribing information in a social networking service. See, e.g., paragraphs 34-127 of the application as filed. A technical problem arises because the composition of the feed page should dynamically change depending on each user's following and subscription status. The specification describes a technical solution in which the server determines the feed layout structure, selects and filters the appropriate content based on that layout, assembles the final feed package, and then transmits the assembled package to the client device. The assembled package includes code having a compact feed layout representation comprising a structured dataset that defines rendering parameters, and extracted feed content. This server-side processing pipeline is the mechanism that addresses the technical problem. See, e.g., paragraphs 20 and 132-135 of the application as filed.The compact layout representation of the claims is not merely a display of information, but rather includes a structured dataset including code and detailed parameters used for user interface rendering. The compact layout representation generated by the server is a structural dataset that dictates how the user interface of the client device (terminal) renders the feed page according to the code of the transmission package, and is not merely an abstract idea. By generating a compact layout representation including a dataset that specifies positions, sizes, and counts of content blocks, the server offloads layout and rendering computation from the client device, providing a specific improvement to the functioning of the computing system. See, e.g., paragraphs 46 and 47 of the application as filed. For example, the server can determine the content to be included in the feed page through technical processing involving location-based computation. The system can perform geolocation-based computational processing - including distance calculation and threshold comparison - to extract a candidate item. This is not an abstract information extraction, but a technical operation on real-world positional data that improves system efficiency by offloading location-based filtering to the server where it can be efficiently processed, and reducing the amount of data that must be transmitted and that the client must process. See, e.g., paragraph 69 of the application as filed. The description associated with FIGS. 6A-6D demonstrates that the claimed feed functionality is not an abstract presentation of information. Rather, the feed page can be technically integrated into a map application that supports navigation, place-object data structures, and location-based UI transitions. The feed content is rendered within specific map- app UI screens and relies on place objects, place groups, and interactive map-linked interface elements. This shows that the invention operates within a concrete technical environment and controls the rendering of structured geospatial data on a client device, thereby improving the functioning of the computing system rather than implementing an abstract idea. See, e.g., paragraphs 93-100 of the application as filed. For example, with respect to independent claims 1, 15 and 16, the generating by a server of code having a compact feed layout representation comprising a structured dataset defining rendering parameters including positions of content on a feed page, a number of content items per block, and display parameters per block facilitates efficiently generating and transmitting a transmission package including the compact feed layout representation and extracted feed content for rendering a feed page by a user device. The extracting feed content, for example, comprises extracting at least one place object as a candidate item based on a geolocation-based computation comprising calculating a distance between a location of the place object and a location of the terminal of the first user account and comparing the calculated distance to a threshold distance, and generating, by the server, feed content including an interfacing object associated with the extracted place object, the interfacing object comprising the calculated distance. Similarly, with respect to claims 14 and 20, the reception of a transmission package from a server including a compact feed layout representation comprising a structured dataset defining rendering parameters including positions of content blocks on a feed page, a number of content items per block, and display parameters for each block, and extracted feed content, facilitates efficiently receiving content for and rendering a feed page by the terminal, reducing computational burdens on the terminal. The extracted feed content comprises at least one place object as a candidate item based on a geolocation-based computation comprising calculating a distance between a location of the place object and a location of the terminal of the first user account and comparing the calculated distance to a threshold distance, and an interfacing object associated with the extracted place object, the interfacing object comprising the calculated distance. As can be seen, the claims do not merely recite the desired result (improving the technical process of providing feed content to operating terminals based on following and subscribing information in a social networking service), but instead claim an improvement in the technical field by specifying details of specific multi-step processes to generate and provide extracted feed content and to provide code having a compact feed layout representation to a terminal for rendering by the terminal, while reducing computational loads on the terminal. In addition to not being merely directed to an abstract idea, the multi-step process of generating the code having the compact feed layout representation would, when considered as an ordered combination, amount to significantly more than merely reciting a commercial interaction/fundamental economic practice, as contended by the Examiner. Accordingly, the Examiner is respectfully requested to withdraw the rejections of the claims under 35 U.S.C. Section 101.
As noted above, the pending claims do recite an abstract idea, and the additional elements do not, alone or in combination, integrate the recited abstract idea into a practical application nor do they represent significantly more than the abstract idea itself. Presenting targeted content to a user based on following/subscription information represents a business practice/goal, not other technology/technical field. Thus , improving this practice relates to a business practice optimization, not to an improvement to other technology/technical field. Applicant’s Spec. further describes the context of the claimed invention as pertaining to the commercial interaction realm, and describes the claimed invention as seeking to, when implemented, optimize a business practice/goal: “method and apparatus for a social networking service”, “providing a feed page, in which the type of content included and the method of arranging the content are determined according to subscription information and following information of a suer”, “The item group may be a set of at least one object that may be classified into at least one category by certain criteria, for example, a set of place objects registered in a map app, a set of place objects classified into a specific category (e.g., a restaurant, a cafe, and a tourist attraction), a set of place objects classified into a specific category and a similar category, and a set of shopping product objects registered on an e-commerce platform. The item group may be generated by the user account. The user account may generate or register at least one item (e.g., a place object and a shopping product object) that is registered on the server or on a platform interoperating with the server as an item group.” There is no technical support/technical evidence in the Spec., including the paras noted above by the Applicant, that the claimed invention, when implemented, improves the functioning of the computing device itself or other technology/technical field. The pending instant claimed invention and USPTO Example 2 have different fact patterns and claim sets, thus the two are not analogous. Furthermore, in Example 2 it was deemed that the invention pertains to a visitor of a host's website clicking on an advertisement for a third-party product displayed on the host's website, whereby the visitor is no longer being transported to the third party's website. In Example 2, instead of losing visitors to the third-party's website, the host website can send its visitors to a web page on an outsource provider's server that incorporates "look and feel" elements from the host website, and provides visitors with the opportunity to purchase products from the third-party merchant without actually entering that merchant's website. Id. at 1257-58. Here, in contrast to the claims of Example 2, the present claims are not necessarily rooted in computer technology to solve Internet-centric problems. See DDR Holdings, 773 F.3d at 1257. Unlike Example 2, Applicant’s device is not claimed as solving or otherwise addressing an Internet-centric problem, but rather is directed to an abstract idea as discussed supra.
In response to the argument that “by generating a compact layout representation…the server offloads layout and rendering computation from the client device, providing a specific improvement to the functioning of the computing system”, the Examiner notes that reduced processing computation/payload represents an inherent benefit of processing less data – i.e. if a computing system (e.g. a client device, or a server) processes less data, than it is inherent that the system’s computational/processing payload will decrease, and vice versa.
The pending claims and USPTO Example 1 have different fact patterns and claim sets, and thus the two are not analogous. Furthermore, in Example 1, it was deemed that claim 1 was patent eligible since it does not recite an abstract idea; claim 2 was deemed patent eligible since it is not directed towards an abstract idea. Contrary to Example 1 , Claims 1-2, the pending claims do recite an abstract idea, as noted above.
See Office Action above for the detailed, reasoned 35 USC 101 analysis.
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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEXANDRU CIRNU whose telephone number is (571)272-7775. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9:00am-5pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Ilana Spar can be reached on (571) 270-7537. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571- 273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
Sincerely,
/Alexandru Cirnu/
Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3622
8/27/2026
Prosecution Insights