DETAILED ACTION
The following is a non-final, first office action in response to the application filed August 29, 2024. Claims 1-20 are currently pending and have been examined.
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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (abstract idea) without significantly more.
Step 1: Statutory Category
(MPEP § 2106)
The claims are directed to a method, computer-readable medium, and a system.
Conclusion: The claims are directed to a statutory category: a process, article of manufacture, and a machine, as defined under 35 U.S.C. § 101.
Regarding Claim 1:
Step 2A, Prong One: Judicial Exception – Abstract Idea
(MPEP § 2106.04)
The claim recites limitations that collectively describe processing transaction data to determine eligibility for an achievement and providing a notification, which constitutes an abstract idea.
The abstract idea includes, for example:
receiving event data describing a consumer transaction;
transmitting the event data to an engine configured to provide rewards;
comparing event attributes to criteria stored in a rule database to determine eligibility; and
transmitting an achievement notification to a graphical user interface.
These limitations amount to organizing human activity and data analysis, specifically a rewards or loyalty determination based on transaction data, which can be performed mentally or with pen and paper and is a fundamental economic practice implemented using generic computer components.
Step 2A, Prong Two: Integration into a Practical Application
(MPEP § 2106.04(d))
The claim does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application.
The additional elements—such as transmitting data “in real time,” use of an “engine,” storage of criteria in a “rule database,” and displaying a notification via a GUI—are described at a high level and merely represent generic computer functions used to carry out the abstract idea.
The claim does not:
improve the functioning of a computer or network,
recite a specific technical solution to a technical problem, or
apply the abstract idea in a manner that imposes a meaningful limit beyond the idea itself.
Instead, the additional elements simply use computers as tools to perform the abstract rewards-eligibility determination and notification. Therefore, the claim is not integrated into a practical application.
Step 2B: Inventive Concept
(MPEP § 2106.05)
The claim does not recite an inventive concept sufficient to transform the abstract idea into patent-eligible subject matter.
The additional elements, considered individually and in combination, reflect well-understood, routine, and conventional activities, such as receiving transaction data, applying rules to determine eligibility, and transmitting notifications to a user interface using generic computing components.
No element or ordered combination of elements adds significantly more than the abstract idea itself.
Therefore, the claim is not directed to patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101.
Regarding Claims 8 and 15
Independent claims 8 and 15 are parallel in scope to claim 1 and ineligible for similar reasons.
Regarding Claims 2-7, 9-14, and 16-20
Dependent claims 2-7, 9-14, and 16-20 merely set forth further embellishments to the abstract idea, and therefore do not confer eligibility on the claimed invention and are ineligible for similar reasons to claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mosites et al (US 2014/0330624 A1).
Regarding claims 1, 8, and 15, Mosites discloses A method comprising:
receiving event data from a merchant system, wherein the event data describes a consumer transaction with the merchant system, wherein the consumer transaction occurs between a consumer device and the merchant system, and wherein the consumer transaction occurs outside of an engine and an enrolled activity (Mosites: Figure 4 - Merchant Networking System, Game Network System);
transmitting in real-time the event data to the engine, wherein the consumer transaction occurs outside of the engine and wherein the engine is configured to provide rewards based on the enrolled activity; determining, by the engine, that the event data is eligible for an achievement by comparing event attributes associated with the event data to one or more criteria stored in a rule database (Mosites: Figure 1);
transmitting in real-time, by the engine, and in response to the determining, an achievement notification to a graphical user interface (GUI) of a consumer device, wherein the achievement notification indicates the achievement towards a reward (Mosites: Figure 2 - Present incentive reward to user).
Regarding claims 2, 9, and 16, Mosites discloses all of the limitations as noted above in claims 1, 8, and 15. Mosites further discloses wherein the consumer transaction includes a purchase, a payment, a travel event, a purchase at a specific merchant, a purchase in a specific category, a purchase using a specified payment mechanism, or a purchase on a specific date or time (Mosites: Figure 1 - items only sold by MERCHANT.com).
Regarding claims 3, 10, and 17, Mosites discloses all of the limitations as noted above in claims 1, 8, and 15. Mosites further discloses wherein the one or more criteria comprise spending a specified amount with a transaction account in a fixed period (Mosites: paragraph [0033] - In one embodiment, the incentive reward may only be offered for a limited time.).
Regarding claims 4, 11, and 18, Mosites discloses all of the limitations as noted above in claims 1, 8, and 15. Burgiss does not expressly disclose wherein the one or more criteria associated with the enrolled activity comprise a purchase in a specific category exceeding a specified amount. However these differences are only found in the nonfunctional descriptive material and are not functionally involved in the steps recited. The steps would be performed the same regardless of the type of criteria. This descriptive material will not distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art in terms of patentability, see In re Gulack, 70 F.2d 1381, 1385, 217 USPQ 401 (Fed. Cir. 1983); In re Lowry, 32 F.3d 1579, 32 USPQ2d 1031 (Fed. Cir. 1994).
Regarding claims 5, 12, and 19, Mosites discloses all of the limitations as noted above in claims 1, 8, and 15. Mosites further discloses wherein the reward is for completing a plurality of achievements (Mosites: paragraph [0021] - For example, the incentive reward may be game points, gold coins, experience points, character levels, character attributes, virtual cash, virtual items, etc).
Regarding claims 6, 13, and 20, Mosites discloses all of the limitations as noted above in claims 1, 8, and 15. Mosites further discloses wherein the achievement notification further indicates a subsequent event that would obtain another achievement towards a reward (Mosites: paragraph [0021] - For example, the incentive reward may be game points, gold coins, experience points, character levels, character attributes, virtual cash, virtual items, etc).
Regarding claims 7 and 14, Mosites discloses all of the limitations as noted above in claims 1 and 8. Mosites further discloses parsing, by an event manager in the engine, the event data into the event attributes specifying one or more components of the consumer transaction (Mosites: Figure 2, paragraph [0041] - The tracking pixel URL may include the unique offer identifier as a parameter string, allowing the game system 320b to correlate the previously transmitted offer to the purchase transaction. Once game system 320b has confirmed that User 101 has placed an order for the item on merchant system 320a, the game system can then provide the incentive reward to User 101 or his player character at step 280).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
PTO-892 Reference U discloses AR-Based Point System for Game-like Shopping Experience.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeffrey Smith can be reached at (571) 272-6763. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
KATHLEEN GAGE PALAVECINO
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3688
/KATHLEEN PALAVECINO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3688