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 .
Examiner finds no 35 USC 101 rejections in the current claim language.
Examiner finds no antecedent basis concerns in the current claim language.
Double Patenting Considerations:
U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 18/884,531 (CIP of the present Application):
The claim language of related patent ‘531 (same assignee (Sandata Tech.) and 2 common inventors) does not disclose the “sending, from a second computing device, second verification data, the second verification data based on the first verification data” (and other detailed steps), as seen in the independent claim language of the present Application.
Therefore, there are no double patenting rejections in the current Application with regard to ‘531.
U.S. Pat. No. 12,489,752; (CIP of the present Application):
The claim language of related patent ‘752 (same assignee (Sandata Tech.) and 2 common inventors) does not disclose the “the request including a request for payment for performance of the service” and “sending, from a second computing device, second verification data, the second verification data based on the first verification data” (and other detailed steps), as seen in the independent claim language of the present Application.
Therefore, there are no double patenting rejections in the current Application with regard to ‘752.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
The priority data section of the specification (“CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS”; see specification amendment on 08/25/2024) should be updated (18/534,079 (now U.S. Patent No. 12,113,793)).
Appropriate correction is required.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
Claims 21 – 36 and 40 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 – 13, 15, and 17 of U.S. Patent No. 12,113,793. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because of the mapping below.
Claim 21 of the present Application maps to claim 1 of ‘793.
21. A method performed to coordinate data exchange among a plurality of devices, the method comprising (“A method performed by a coordination server to coordinate data exchange among a plurality of devices, the method comprising”):
receiving, from a first computing device, first verification data and a request, the first verification data associated with performance of a service and the request including a request for payment for performance of the service (“receiving, from a service server, first verification data and a request, the first verification data associated with performance of the service and the request including a request for payment for performance of the service”);
sending, from a second computing device, second verification data, the second verification data based on the first verification data (“sending, to an exchange server, second verification data, the second verification data based on the first verification data”); and
receiving, from the second computing device in response to receipt of the second verification data, a reply (“receiving, from the exchange server in response to receipt of the second verification data and the request by the exchange server, a reply”).
Similarly, claims 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, map to claims 6, 7, 8, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, and 12 of ‘793 respectively.
Claim 35 of the present Application maps to claim 13 of ‘793.
35. A system for coordinating data exchange among a plurality of devices, the system comprising (“A system for coordinating data exchange among a plurality of devices, an apparatus comprising”):
a processing system that includes one or more processors and one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors, the processing system configured to (“a processing system that includes one or more processors and one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors, the processing system configured to”):
receive, from a first computing device, first verification data and a request, the first verification data associated with performance of a service and the request including a request for payment for performance of the service (“receive, from a service server, first verification data and a request, the first verification data associated with performance of the service and the request including a request for payment for performance of the service”);
send, from a second computing device, second verification data, the second verification data based on the first verification data (“send, to an exchange server, second verification data, the second verification data based on the first verification data”); and
receive, from the second computing device in response to receipt of the second verification data, a reply (“receive, from the exchange server in response to receipt of the second verification data and the request by the exchange server, a reply”).
Similarly, claim 36 maps to claim 15 of ‘793.
Claim 40 of the present Application maps to claim 17 of ‘793.
40. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising (“A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising”):
receiving, from a first computing device, first verification data and a request, the first verification data associated with performance of a service and the request including a request for payment for performance of the service (“receiving, from a service server, first verification data and a request, the first verification data associated with performance of the service and the request including a request for payment for performance of the service”);
sending, from a second computing device, second verification data, the second verification data based on the first verification data (“sending, to an exchange server, second verification data, the second verification data based on the first verification data”); and
receiving, from the second computing device in response to receipt of the second verification data, a reply (“receiving, from the exchange server in response to receipt of the second verification data and the request by the exchange server, a reply”).
The current claim language is not rejected under statutory double patenting because the independent claims of the present Application are broader than the claim language in ‘793.
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/KENNETH R COULTER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2445
/KRC/