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 .
Claims Status
Claims 1-18 were previously pending.
Claims 4-7, 10-11 and 15-16 were amended via preliminary amendment.
Claims 14 and 17-18 were canceled via preliminary amendment.
Claims 19-23 were added via preliminary amendment.
Claims 1-13, 15-16 and 19-23 are pending and rejected.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/21/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
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 1-13, 15-16 and 19-23 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.
Step 1:
Claims 1-13 are directed to a method, which is a process. Claim 15 is directed to a non-transitory computer readable medium, which is an apparatus. Claims 16 and 19-23 are directed to a device, which is a machine. Therefore, claims 1-13, 15-16 and 19-23 are directed to one of the four statutory categories of invention.
Step 2A (Prong 1):
Representative claim 1 sets forth the following limitations which recite the abstract idea of providing product information:
in response to receiving a target call request from a first user for a target commodity combination, determining to-be-added commodities in the target commodity combination to be added to a commodity list of a live session, the target commodity combination comprising a commodity in a commodity pool corresponding to the first user and/or a commodity outside the commodity pool corresponding to the first user;
obtaining respective commodity source categories of the to-be-added commodities and a first ranking order of the to-be-added commodities in the target commodity combination, the commodity source categories representing sources of the to-be-added commodities;
obtaining a second ranking order of existing commodities in the commodity list of the live session; and
adding the to-be-added commodities into the commodity list of the live session based on the commodity source categories and the first and second ranking orders.
The recited limitations above set forth steps to provide product information. These limitations amount to certain methods of organizing human activity, including commercial or legal interactions (e.g. advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors).
Such concepts have been identified by the courts as abstract ideas (see: MPEP 2106).
Step 2A (Prong 2):
Examiner notes that representative claim 1 fails to recite additional elements such as a processor, etc. However, even with additional features such as these, the claims would fail to integrate the recited judicial exception into a practical application of the exception. The claims would merely include instruction to implement an abstract idea on a computer, or to merely use a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea, while the additional elements would do no more than generally link the use of a judicial exception to a particular field of technological environment or field of use.
Furthermore, this is also because the claim would fail to (i) reflect an improvement in the functioning of a computer, or an improvement to other technology or technical field, (ii) implement a judicial exception with a particular machine, (iii) effect a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing, or (iv) apply the judicial exception in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment.
In view of the above, under Step 2A (Prong 2), claim 1 does not integrate the recited exception into a practical application (see again: MPEP 2106).
Step 2B:
When taken individually or as a whole, the lack of additional elements of claim 1 do not provide an inventive concept (i.e. whether the additional elements amount to significantly more than the exception itself). As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional elements of a processor or computer to perform the steps would amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component cannot provide an inventive concept. Certain additional elements also recite well-understood, routine, and conventional activity (See MPEP 2106.05(d)).
Even if considered as an ordered combination, any additional elements of claim 1 do not add anything further than when they are considered individually.
In view of the above, claim 1 does not provide an inventive concept under step 2B, and is ineligible for patenting.
Dependent claims 2-13 recite further complexity to the judicial exception (abstract idea) of claim 1, such as by further defining the steps for providing product information. Thus, each of claims 2-13 are held to recite a judicial exception under Step 2A (Prong 1) for at least similar reasons as discussed above.
Therefore, dependent claims 2-13 do not add “significantly more” to the abstract idea. The dependent claims recite additional functions that describe the abstract idea and only generally link the abstract idea to a particularly technological environment, and applied on a generic computer. Further, the additional limitations fail to provide an improvement to the functioning of the computer, another technology, or a technical field.
Even when viewed as an ordered combination, the dependent claims simply convey the abstract idea itself applied on a generic computer and are held to be ineligible under Steps 2A/2B for at least similar rationale as discussed above regarding claim 1.
The analysis above applies to all statutory categories of invention. Regarding independent claims 15 (medium) and 16 (device), the claims recite substantially similar limitations as set forth in claim 1. As such, claims 15 and 16 and their dependents 19-23 are rejected for at least similar rationale as discussed above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-7, 10, 15-16 and 19-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Liu et al. (U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2024/0303716 A1).
Regarding claims 1, 15 and 16, Liu teaches a method (and related medium and device) for commodity information processing, comprising:
in response to receiving a target call request from a first user for a target commodity combination, determining to-be-added commodities in the target commodity combination to be added to a commodity list of a live session, the target commodity combination comprising a commodity in a commodity pool corresponding to the first user and/or a commodity outside the commodity pool corresponding to the first user (Fig. 3, 4; para [0047], user page 30 can be denoted as the live page, and the live page 30 can be the live page of the APP as described above, and the live page can be a page capable of playing a multi-card aggregation feed flow after the APP is started...shopping cart identification 32 is triggered, a commodity list of all commodities in the live channel can be displayed);
obtaining respective commodity source categories of the to-be-added commodities and a first ranking order of the to-be-added commodities in the target commodity combination, the commodity source categories representing sources of the to-be-added commodities (para [0074], hot sale identification can be determined according to a type of the commodity; para [0052], hot sale identification in some embodiments can indicate a hot sale condition of the commodity, for example, by means of the hot sale identification, it is indicated that the sales volume of the commodity is greater than a preset sales volume or a sales volume rank of the commodity);
obtaining a second ranking order of existing commodities in the commodity list of the live session (para [0052], there can be other shapes or settings as long as they can identify that the commodity being recommended is in the hot sale state.); and
adding the to-be-added commodities into the commodity list of the live session based on the commodity source categories and the first and second ranking orders (para [0059], after the hot sale information is displayed on the user page 40 is shown as the user page 45, and after the user opens the commodity list).
Regarding claims 2 and 19, Liu teaches the above method and device of claims 1 and 16. Liu also teaches wherein the adding the to-be-added commodities into the commodity list of the live session based on the commodity source categories and the first and second ranking orders comprises:
determining respective first order attribute values of the to-be-added commodities based on the first ranking order and the respective commodity source categories of the to-be-added commodities (para [0072], obtaining attribute information of the resource; and determining the popularity information corresponding to the resource according to the attribute information of the resource.);
determining respective target orders of the to-be-added commodities in the commodity list of the live session based on the respective first order attribute values of the to-be-added commodities and the second ranking order of the existing commodities in the commodity list of the live session (para [0073], server 20 can obtain the attribute information of the resource, wherein the attribute information can be quantity information and time information of the resource, and then determine the popularity information corresponding to the resource according to the attribute information of the resource.); and
adding the to-be-added commodities into the commodity list of the live session based on the respective target orders of the to-be-added commodities in the commodity list of the live session (para [0059], after the hot sale information is displayed on the user page 40 is shown as the user page 45, and after the user opens the commodity list).
Regarding claims 3 and 20, Liu teaches the above method and device of claims 2 and 19. Liu also teaches wherein the determining respective first order attribute values of the to-be-added commodities based on the first ranking order and the respective commodity source categories of the to-be-added commodities comprises:
obtaining first time information of a reception of the target call request (para [0075], server 20 obtains the transfer volume and the promotion time of the resource in the live channel, wherein the transfer volume refers to the sales volume of the commodity in the live channel, the promotion time can be understood as an on-shelf time of the commodity in the live channel, and the on-shelf time is also a sale time);
obtaining respective pre-set consuming time durations of the commodity source categories (para [0075], promotion time can be understood as an on-shelf time of the commodity in the live channel);
and determining, for each of the to-be-added commodities, the respective first order attribute value based on the first time information, the respective pre-set consuming time duration of the to-be-added commodity and a respective position of the to-be-added commodity in the first ranking order (para [0075], server 20 obtains the transfer volume and the promotion time of the resource in the live channel, wherein the transfer volume refers to the sales volume of the commodity in the live channel, the promotion time can be understood as an on-shelf time of the commodity in the live channel, and the on-shelf time is also a sale time).
Regarding claims 4 and 21, Liu teaches the above method and device of claims 2 and 19. Liu also teaches wherein the determining respective target orders of the to-be-added commodities in the commodity list of the live session based on the respective first order attribute values of the to-be-added commodities and the second ranking order of the existing commodities in the commodity list of the live session comprises:
obtaining second order attribute values of the existing commodities in the second ranking order (para [0072], obtaining attribute information of the resource; and determining the popularity information corresponding to the resource according to the attribute information of the resource.); and
determining respective orders of the to-be-added commodities in the commodity list of the live session based on the first order attribute values of the to-be-added commodities and the second order attribute values of the existing commodities (para [0073], server 20 can obtain the attribute information of the resource, wherein the attribute information can be quantity information and time information of the resource, and then determine the popularity information corresponding to the resource according to the attribute information of the resource.).
Regarding claims 5 and 22, Liu teaches the above method and device of claims 2 and 19. Liu also teaches wherein the adding the to-be-added commodities into the commodity list of the live session based on the respective target orders of the to-be-added commodities in the commodity list of the live session comprises:
sequentially checking respective livestream authority of the first user for the to-be-added commodities based on the respective target orders of the to-be added commodities in the commodity list of the live session (para [0054], in case that the hot sale information (popularity information) of the commodity (resource) being recommended is obtained, the hot sale information is displayed in the area on the live page which is associated with the first multimedia information. For example, in the user page 30, in case that the hot sale information of the commodity involved in the recommendation card 31 is obtained, it is indicated that the commodity is a hot sale commodity, so that the hot sale identification and the accumulated sales volume in the hot sale information are displayed on the live page); and
in accordance with a determination that the checking of the livestream authority for a to-be- added commodity is passed, adding the to-be-added commodity into the commodity list of the live session (para [0054], user page 33 is a page displayed after the hot sale information of the commodity is obtained, and the user page 33 is, on the basis of the user page 30, added with the hot sale information 34 and the hot sale identification 35, for identifying that the commodity being recommended belongs to a hot sale commodity in the live channel).
Regarding claims 6 and 23, Liu teaches the above method and device of claims 2 and 19. Liu also teaches further comprising: in response to receiving a target adding request from the first user for a specified to-be- added commodity failing to be added, adding the specified to-be-added commodity into the commodity list of the live session based on the first order attribute value of the specified to-be- added commodity (para [0059], after the hot sale information is displayed on the user page 40 is shown as the user page 45, and after the user opens the commodity list).
Regarding claim 7, Liu teaches the above method of claim 1. Liu also teaches wherein the in response to receiving a target call request from a first user for a target commodity combination, determining to-be-added commodities in the target commodity combination to be added to a commodity list of a live session comprises:
in response to receiving the target call request from the first user for the target commodity combination, obtaining the first commodity number of commodities in the target commodity combination and identification information of commodities in the target commodity combination (para [0051], sale information of the commodity, the popularity identification can be understood as a hot sale identification, and the transfer volume of the resource can be understood as a sales volume of the commodity);
obtaining the second commodity number of the existing commodities in the commodity list of the live session of the first user and identification information of the existing commodities (para [0047], After the shopping cart identification 32 is triggered, a commodity list of all commodities in the live channel can be displayed;);
obtaining the third number of commodities in the commodity pool corresponding to the first user (para [0047], After the shopping cart identification 32 is triggered, a commodity list of all commodities in the live channel can be displayed;); and
determining the to-be-added commodities based on the first commodity number, the identification information of commodities in the target commodity combination, the second commodity number, the identification information of the existing commodities and the third commodity number (para [0047], a shopping cart identification 43, and multimedia information 44 of other commodities).
Regarding claim 10, Liu teaches the above method of claim 1. Liu also teaches further comprising:
obtaining a reason for an addition failure corresponding to a to-be-added commodity failing to be added (para [0064], After the live channel service 505 displays the hot sale information, in case that the sales volume of the commodity is updated in the message service 502, the updated sales volume is directly sent to the live channel service 505 for display); and
displaying the reason for the addition failure to the first user (para [0064], After the live channel service 505 displays the hot sale information, in case that the sales volume of the commodity is updated in the message service 502, the updated sales volume is directly sent to the live channel service 505 for display).
Potentially Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-9 and 11-13 are objected to as being dependent upon rejected base claims 1 and 7, but would be allowable over the prior art (though still ineligible under 35 USC 101) if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANAND LOHARIKAR whose telephone number is 571-272-8756. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 9am – 5pm.
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/ANAND LOHARIKAR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3689
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