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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 3/3/2026 has been entered.
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, 4-20 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 / wherein the pre-processing includes: extracting the feed content related to a second user account followed by the first user account according to the following information and feed content related to an 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 configured to control user interface (UI) rendering / 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.
Claim 14 is directed towards a method, thus meeting the Step 1 eligibility criterion. Claim 14 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: receiving a transmission package including: a compact feed layout representation comprising a structured dataset defining rendering parameters including: positions of content blocks on a feed page into which feed content is arranged, a number of content items per block, and displaying parameters for each block / extracted feed content related to a second user account followed by the first user account according to following information and feed content relating to an item group subscribed by the first user account according to subscription information / rendering of the feed page according to the structured dataset of the compact feed layout representation and the extracted feed content of the transmission package.
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 14 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: receiving a transmission package including: a compact feed layout representation comprising a structured dataset defining rendering parameters including: positions of content blocks on a feed page into which feed content is arranged, a number of content items per block, and displaying parameters for each block. This claimed limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers 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 14 includes the additional elements of a user terminal/server/ a user interface; 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 14 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 generic 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 14 does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea itself. The claim is not patent eligible.
Independent claims 15, 16, 20 are directed to a storage medium, server, and terminal, respectively, for performing the method of claims 1 / 14; they recite the same abstract ideas as Claims 1/14. Claims 15, 16, 20 perform the methods of claims 1 / 14 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 claims 1 / 14.
Remaining dependent claims 2, 4-13, 17-19 further recite and narrow the abstract ideas of independent claims 1 / 14 / 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.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 5 , 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable in view of Dayon (20150019575) in further view of Oliveira (20120042240).
As per Claims 1, 15, 16, Dayon teaches a method ,computer readable storage medium and server comprising:
Obtaining, by the server, following information and subscription information associated with a first user account; (at least: para 20, 27; determining page feed based on the data – at least fig3-5 and associated/related text, para 41-42. The server represents a generic computing element that performs the claimed limitations- at least: para 4, 74)
Dayton teaches following/subscription data, as noted above, and Oliveira further teaches:
Pre-processing, by the server, the obtained 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 into which content is arranged, a number of content items per block, and display parameters for each block, wherein the pre-processing includes : (at least: para 44, 47, 49)
It would have been obvious for someone skilled in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify Dayon’s existing features, with Oliveira’s feature of Pre-processing, by the server, the obtained 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 into which content is arranged, a number of content items per block, and display parameters for each block, wherein the pre-processing includes, to display page content in regions comprising ordered graphical items – Oliveira, abstract and para 1, 7-8. Furthermore, the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Dayon in view of Oliveira further teach:
extracting feed content related to a second user account followed by the first user account according to the following information and feed content related to an item group subscribed by the first user account according to the subscription information and assembling, by the server, the compact feed layout representation and the extracted feed content into a transmission package configured to control user interface (UI) rendering of a device of the first user; and transmitting, by the server, the transmission package to a terminal of the first user account for display of the feed page according to the compact feed layout representation (the user terminal represents a generic computing element that performs the claimed limitations. Oliveira, at least: para 11 – users subscribing to feed content, and Dayon- at least para 20- users subscribing to content. Oliveira- the remaining claimed limitations: at least para 14-15: claimed computing devices; at least fig4 and associated/related text- icon 406; para 15, 22)
As per Claim 2, Dayon in view of Oliveira teach:
the following information comprises one of second user account information, which is information related to a second user account for which following is set by the first user account, and information indicating that there is no other user account for which following is set by the first user account. (Dayon - the following information comprises one of second user account information, which is information related to a second user account for which following is set by the first user account: at least para 20, 27, 41-42)
As per Claim 4, Dayon in view of Oliveira teach:
determining the layout of the feed page to include arrangement information of a first type of feed content related to content generated by a second user account, based on second user account information included in the following information; or determining the layout of the feed page to include arrangement information of a second type of feed content related to a recommendation corresponding to the second user account information. (Dayon: determining the layout of the feed page to include arrangement information of a first type of feed content related to content generated by a second user account, based on second user account information included in the following information: at least para 20, 27, 41-42, 29-30)
As per Claim 5, Dayon in view of Oliveira teach:
generating, based on arrangement information of a first type of feed content included in the layout, feed content comprising a post generated by a second user account included in the following information; or generating, based on the arrangement information of the first type of feed content included in the layout, feed content related to an item group generated by the second user account. (Dayon: generating, based on arrangement information of a first type of feed content included in the layout, feed content comprising a post generated by a second user account included in the following information – at least: para 20, 27, 41-42, 29-32)
As per Claim 7, Dayon in view of Oliveira teach:
Generating the compact feed layout representation comprises at least one of: determining, based on an item group included in the subscription information, the layout of the feed page to include arrangement information of a third type of feed content related to an update of the item group (Dayon: at least para 20, 27, 41-42, 29-30)
As per Claim 8, Dayon in view of Oliveira teach:
Generating the compact feed layout representation comprises at least one of: generating feed content notifying that new item information has been added to an item group included in the subscription information, based on arrangement information of a third type of feed content included in the layout of the feed page. (Dayon: at least para 20, 27, 41-42, 29-30, fig 3-5 and associated/related text)
As per Claim 17, Dayon in view of Oliveira teach:
determining a layout of the feed page to include arrangement information of a first type of feed content related to content generated by a second user account, based on second user account information included in the following information; or determining the layout of the feed page to include arrangement information of a second type of feed content related to a recommendation corresponding to the second user account information. (Dayon: determining the layout of the feed page to include arrangement information of a first type of feed content related to content generated by a second user account, based on second user account information included in the following information: at least para 20, 27, 41-42, 29-30)
As per Claim 18, Dayon in view of Oliveira teach: configured to perform at least one of: determining , based on an item group included in the subscription information, a layout of the feed page to include arrangement information of a third type of feed content related to an update of the item group ( Dayon: at least para 20, 27, 41-42, 29-30)
As per Claims 14, 20, Dayon teaches a method and terminal comprising:
Extracted feed content related to a second user account followed by the first user account (at least para 20, 27; fig3-5 and associated/related text, para 41-42)
Oliveira further teaches:
Receiving, from a server, a transmission package including: a compact feed layout representation comprising a structured dataset defining rendering parameters including: positions of content blocks on a feed page into which feed content is arranged, a number of content items per block, and display parameters for each block; (at least para 44, 47, 49)
Extracted feed content related to a second user account followed by the first user account according to following information and feed content relating to an item group subscribed by the first user account according to subscription information; Controlling user interface (UI) rendering of the feed page according to the structured dataset of the compact feed layout representation and the extracted feed content of the transmission package. (Oliveira- at least para 11 – users subscribing to feed content. Dayon- at least para 20: users subscribing to content. Oliveira – the remaining claimed limitations: at least para 14-15, fig4 and associated/related text, and para 15, 22)
It would have been obvious for someone skilled in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify Dayon’s existing features, with Oliveira’s features noted above, to display page content in regions comprising ordered graphical items – Oliveira, abstract and para 1, 7-8. Furthermore, the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Claims 6 , 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable in view of Dayon (20150019575) in further view of Oliveira (20120042240 ) in even further view of Su (20210019839).
As per Claim 6, Dayon in view of Oliveira teach generating feed content to be included in the layout, based on second account data, and second user account data included in the following information, as noted above, and Su further teaches arrangement information of a type of feed content included a layout that recommends a user account, for which following is set by a second user account as a following target. (at least: abstract, para 21-26)
It would have been obvious for someone skilled in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify Dayon’s existing features, combined with Oliveira’s existing features, with Su’s feature of arrangement information of a type of feed content included a layout that recommends a user account, for which following is set by a second user account as a following target, to provide a peer-to-peer recommendation process that involves providing social media accounts to a recommender to recommend to a recommendee- Su, abstract. Furthermore, the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
As per Claim 9, Dayon in view of Oliveira teach generating feed content to be included in the layout, based on second account data, and second user account data included in the following information, as noted above, and Su further teaches generating , based on arrangement information of a feed content, feed content that recommends a user account as a following target – at least: abstract, para 21-26)
It would have been obvious for someone skilled in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify Dayon’s existing features, combined with Oliveira’s existing features, with Su’s feature of generating , based on arrangement information of a feed content, feed content that recommends a user account as a following target, to provide a peer-to-peer recommendation process that involves providing social media accounts to a recommender to recommend to a recommendee- Su, abstract. Furthermore, the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
As per Claims 10, 19, Dayon in view of Oliveira teach generating feed content to be included in the layout, based on second account data, and second user account data included in the following information, as noted above, and Su further teaches determining content to include arrangement information of content related to a recommendation of a following target - at least: abstract, para 21-26.
It would have been obvious for someone skilled in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify Dayon’s existing features, combined with Oliveira’s existing features, with Su’s feature of determining content to include arrangement information of content related to a recommendation of a following target, to provide a peer-to-peer recommendation process that involves providing social media accounts to a recommender to recommend to a recommendee- Su, abstract. Furthermore, the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
As per Claim 11, Dayon in view of Oliveira teach generating feed content, as noted above, and Su teaches:
Extracting at least one user account as a candidate based on at least one of location information of the terminal of the first user account; Generating feed content that recommends following the extracted candidate. (at least: para 1, 38, 55, 34, 88)
It would have been obvious for someone skilled in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify Dayon’s existing features, combined with Oliveira’s existing features, with Su’s features of extracting at least one user account as a candidate based on at least one of location information of the terminal of the first user account; generating feed content that recommends following the extracted candidate, to provide a peer-to-peer recommendation process that involves providing social media accounts to a recommender to recommend to a recommendee- Su, abstract. Furthermore, the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
As per Claim 12, Dayon in view of Oliveira teach generating feed content, as noted above, and Su teaches:
Extracting at least one user account as a candidate based on at least one of location information of the terminal of the first user account; Generating feed content that recommends following the extracted candidate. (at least: para 1, 38, 55, 34, 88)
It would have been obvious for someone skilled in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify Dayon’s existing features, combined with Oliveira’s existing features, with Su’s features of extracting at least one user account as a candidate based on at least one of location information of the terminal of the first user account; generating feed content that recommends following the extracted candidate, to provide a peer-to-peer recommendation process that involves providing social media accounts to a recommender to recommend to a recommendee- Su, abstract. Furthermore, the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
As per Claim 13, Dayon in view of Oliveira teach generating feed content, as noted above, and Su teaches:
Extracting at least one user account as a candidate based on at least one of location information of the terminal of the first user account; Generating feed content that recommends a subscription to the extracted candidate. (at least: para 1, 38, 55, 34, 88)
It would have been obvious for someone skilled in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify Dayon’s existing features, combined with Oliveira’s existing features, with Su’s features of extracting at least one user account as a candidate based on at least one of location information of the terminal of the first user account; generating feed content that recommends a subscription to the extracted candidate, to provide a peer-to-peer recommendation process that involves providing social media accounts to a recommender to recommend to a recommendee- Su, abstract. Furthermore, the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments have been fully considered; Applicant argues with substance:
The Examiner has interpreted the 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 Internet. Instead, the claims recite generating or receiving a transmission package that includes 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). This is an improvement in the functioning of the computer itself. In addition, the claims, as a practical matter, cannot be practiced in the human mind, which cannot generate or process defined 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. Thus, the technical solution of the claimed embodiments correspond to that of the eligible claim 19 in USPTO Subject Matter Eligibility Examples: Example 2. 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 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., paragraph 20 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 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, 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, threshold comparison, and region matching to select candidate item groups. This is not an abstract information selection, but a technical operation on real-world positional data that improves system efficiency by offloading location-based filtering to the server and reducing the amount of data 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 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. 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. 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 provide extracted feed content and a compact feed layout representation to a terminal for rendering by the terminal, while reducing computational loads on the terminal. Accordingly, the Examiner is respectfully requested to withdraw the rejections of the pending claims under 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. See Office Action above for the detailed, reasoned 35 USC 101 analysis.
The Examiner does not identify particular features in Oliveira that allegedly correspond to specific recited features of claim 14. Instead, the Examiner appears to generally point to portions of Oliveira as disclosing multiple features of the claim. As best understood, the Examiner appears to rely on Figures 3-5 and paragraphs 20, 27, 41 and 42 as allegedly disclosing receiving a transmission package including the italicized features of claim 14: "a compact feed layout representation comprising a structured dataset defining rendering parameters including: positions of content blocks on a feed page into which feed content is arranged, a number of content items per block, and display parameters for each block." The Examiner appears to rely on paragraphs 4, 44, 47, 49 and 74 as allegedly disclosing that the transmission package also includes the underlined features of claim 14: "extracted feed content related to a second user account followed by the first user account according to following information and feed content relating to an item group subscribed by the first user account according to subscription information." Applicant respectfully disagrees for at least two reasons. First, there does not appear to be any discussion in Oliveira of receiving "a transmission package ... including a compact feed layout representation." Instead, Oliveira appears to be directed to a method, performed by a client 128, of generating a page layout for displaying a plurality of graphical items received by the client device 128 in a stream of digital content. The receiving client device 128 appears to make the decisions regarding how to partition a page and an order in which to display the plurality of graphical items received in the stream of digital content. See, e.g., paragraphs 19-22 of Oliveira. Thus, Oliveira, instead of disclosing receiving a transmission package including a compact feed layout representation comprising a structured dataset defining rendering parameters, actually teaches away from the claimed embodiment of independent claim 14. Second, while paragraph 11 appears to disclose subscription feed servers, there does not appear to be any disclosure in the cited portions or elsewhere in Oliveira of a received transmission package including "extracted feed content related to a second user account followed by the first user account according to following information and feed content relating to an item group subscribed by the first user account according to subscription information," as recited.
The Dayon and Su references are not relied upon by the Examiner to reject claim 14, and do not appear to cure the deficiencies of Oliveira in any event. To the extent the Examiner relies on Dayon (see the rejection of claim 1 on pages 7-9) or Su as allegedly disclosing the features of claim 14, Dayon merely discloses filtering content into feeds and user-defined channels, while Su teaches peer-to-peer recommendations and location filtering. Thus, the references, considered alone or in combination, do not disclose receiving a transmission packet (or generating such a transmission packet) including a compact feed layout representation comprising a structured dataset defining rendering parameters, and including extracted feed content related to a second user account followed by a first user account according to the following information and feed content related to an item group subscribed by the first user account according to the subscription information, as generally recited by independent claim 14. While the language and scope of independent claims 1, 15, 16 and 20 are not identical to the language and scope of independent claim 14, the allowability of independent claims 1, 15, 16 and 20 will be apparent in view of the discussion herein. The dependent claims are allowable at least by virtue of their dependencies.
Claim 14 is taught by Dayon in view of Oliveira, as noted above.
As per Claims 14, 20, Dayon teaches a method and terminal comprising:
Extracted feed content related to a second user account followed by the first user account (at least para 20, 27; fig3-5 and associated/related text, para 41-42)
Oliveira further teaches:
Receiving, from a server, a transmission package including: a compact feed layout representation comprising a structured dataset defining rendering parameters including: positions of content blocks on a feed page into which feed content is arranged, a number of content items per block, and display parameters for each block; (at least para 44, 47, 49)
Extracted feed content related to a second user account followed by the first user account according to following information and feed content relating to an item group subscribed by the first user account according to subscription information; Controlling user interface (UI) rendering of the feed page according to the structured dataset of the compact feed layout representation and the extracted feed content of the transmission package. (Oliveira- at least para 11 – users subscribing to feed content. Dayon- at least para 20: users subscribing to content. Oliveira – the remaining claimed limitations: at least para 14-15, fig4 and associated/related text, and para 15, 22)
It would have been obvious for someone skilled in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify Dayon’s existing features, with Oliveira’s features noted above, to display page content in regions comprising ordered graphical items – Oliveira, abstract and para 1, 7-8. Furthermore, the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Conclusion
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/Alexandru Cirnu/
Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3622
4/6/2026
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