DETAILED ACTION
Applicants canceled claims 1-20 and added new claims 21-40 in the preliminary amendment dated 9/23/2024.
Applicants amended claims 25, and 34 in the preliminary amendment dated 7/22/2025.
Claims 21-40 are pending.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 9/23/2024 is being considered by the examiner.
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 filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,118,870 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because both are directed to receiving first information identifying exchanges of data during a first temporal interval, determining that a second exchange of data is capable of initiation during a second temporal interval, based upon the second device being dispose within a threshold distance of the geographical position of the first device, transmitting data including digital content to the second device.
18/893,761 Application
U.S. Patent No. 12,118,870 B2
21. An apparatus, comprising: a communications interface; a memory storing instructions; and at least one processor coupled to the communications interface and the memory, the at least one processor being configured to execute the instructions to: receive, via the communications interface, first information identifying one or more first exchanges of data initiated at a first device during a first temporal interval; based on the at least a portion of the first information, determine that a second exchange of data is capable of initiation at the first device during a second temporal interval, and obtain, from the memory, digital content representative of an incentive to initiate the second data exchange during the second temporal interval; based on positional data characterizing a geographic position of a second device, determine that the second device is disposed within a threshold distance of a geographic position of the first device; and based on the determination that the second device is disposed within the threshold distance of the geographic position of the first device, transmit notification data that includes the digital content to the second device via the communications interface
Claims 31, 40 as well
1. An apparatus, comprising: a communications unit; a storage unit storing instructions; and at least one processor coupled to the communications unit and the storage unit, the at least one processor being configured to execute the instructions to: receive, via the communications unit, first information identifying first purchase transactions initiated at a terminal device during a first temporal interval; compute, based on the first information, an expected value of an aggregate transaction parameter of the first purchase transactions during a second temporal interval; determine that the expected value is inconsistent with a target value of the aggregate transaction parameter during the second temporal interval; based on the determination that the expected value is inconsistent with the target value, load, from the storage unit, second information characterizing a second purchase transaction capable of initiation at the terminal device during the second temporal interval, the second information comprising digital content representative of an incentive to initiate the second purchase transaction during the second temporal interval; receive, via the communications unit, positional data from a client device, the positional data characterizing a geographic position of the client device within a geographic region; based on the positional data, determine that the client device is disposed within a threshold distance of a geographic position of the terminal device; and based on the determination that the client device is disposed within the threshold distance of the geographic position of the terminal device, and based on a determination that the client device exhibits a first device characteristic associated with the second purchase transaction, transmit, via the communications unit, a portion of the second information to the client device, the transmitted portion of the second information causing the client device to present data associated with the second purchase transaction on a corresponding interface, the presented data comprising the digital content
22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device, the second device comprises a client device
Claim 32 as well
1. An apparatus, comprising: a communications unit; a storage unit storing instructions; and at least one processor coupled to the communications unit and the storage unit, the at least one processor being configured to execute the instructions to: receive, via the communications unit, first information identifying first purchase transactions initiated at a terminal device during a first temporal interval…receive, via the communications unit, positional data from a client device,…
23. wherein the notification data causes the second device to present a portion of the digital content within a digital interface
Claim 39 as well
1. An apparatus, comprising: …transmit, via the communications unit, a portion of the second information to the client device, the transmitted portion of the second information causing the client device to present data associated with the second purchase transaction on a corresponding interface, the presented data comprising the digital content
24. wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to receive the first information from the first device via the communications interface
Claim 33 as well
1. An apparatus, comprising: …transmit, via the communications unit, a portion of the second information to the client device, the transmitted portion of the second information causing the client device to present data associated with the second purchase transaction on a corresponding interface, the presented data comprising the digital content
25. based on an application of a machine learning process or an artificial intelligence process to the portion of the first information, compute an expected value of an aggregate parameter of the one or more first data exchanges during the second temporal interval; determine that the expected value is inconsistent with a target value of the aggregate parameter during the second temporal interval; and based on the determination that the expected value is inconsistent with the target value, determine that the second data exchange is capable of initiation at the first device during the second temporal interval, and obtain the digital content from the memory
Claim 34 as well
1. An apparatus, comprising:…compute, based on the first information, an expected value of an aggregate transaction parameter of the first purchase transactions during a second temporal interval; determine that the expected value is inconsistent with a target value of the aggregate transaction parameter during the second temporal interval; based on the determination that the expected value is inconsistent with the target value, load, from the storage unit, second information characterizing a second purchase transaction capable of initiation at the terminal device during the second temporal interval, the second information comprising digital content representative of an incentive to initiate the second purchase transaction during the second temporal interval…
26. obtain second information characterizing the second data exchange from the memory, the second information comprising the digital content; and generate the notification data, the notification data comprising at least a portion of the second information, and the portion of the second information comprising the digital content
Claim 35 as well
1. An apparatus, comprising:… load, from the storage unit, second information characterizing a second purchase transaction capable of initiation at the terminal device during the second temporal interval, the second information comprising digital content representative of an incentive to initiate the second purchase transaction during the second temporal interval…transmit, via the communications unit, a portion of the second information to the client device, the transmitted portion of the second information causing the client device to present data associated with the second purchase transaction on a corresponding interface, the presented data comprising the digital content
27. wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive the positional data from the second device via the communications interface; and store the positional data within a corresponding portion of the memory
Claim 36 as well
1. An apparatus, comprising: …receive, via the communications unit, positional data from a client device, the positional data characterizing a geographic position of the client device within a geographic region;…
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to store the positional data within a corresponding portion of the storage unit
28. wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to: determine that the second device exhibits a value of a device characteristic associated with the second data exchange; and based on the determination that the second device is disposed within the threshold distance of the geographic position of the first device, and based on the determination that the second device exhibits the value of the device characteristic, transmit the notification data to the second device via the communications interface
Claim 37 as well
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to: identify and load, from the storage unit, a value of a second device characteristic; based on the second device characteristic value and the second information, determine that the initiation of the second purchase transaction is feasible during the second temporal interval; and transmit, via the communication unit, the portion of the second information to the client device when the client device exhibits the first device characteristic associated with the second transaction, when the geographic position of the client device is disposed within the threshold distance of the geographic position of the terminal device, and when the initiation of the second purchase transaction is feasible during the second temporal interval.
29. wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to: obtain, from the memory, additional positional data characterizing geographic positions of a plurality of third devices that exhibit the value of the device characteristic; based on the additional positional data, determine that the geographic position of each of the plurality of third devices is disposed within the threshold distance of the geographic position of the first device; and based on the determination that the geographic position of each of the plurality of third devices is disposed within the threshold distance of the geographic position of the first device, transmit the notification data to each of the plurality of third devices via the communications interface
Claim 38 as well
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to: Identify and load, from the storage unit, additional positional data characterizing geographic positions of a plurality of client devices that exhibit the device characteristic associated with the second purchase transaction; determine that the geographic position of each of the plurality of client devices is disposed within the threshold distance of the geographic position of the terminal device; and based on the determination that the geographic position of each of the plurality of client devices is disposed within the threshold distance of the geographic position of the terminal device, transmit, via the communications unit, the portion of the second information to each of the plurality of client devices.
30. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the second temporal interval occurs subsequent to the first temporal interval
Claim 32 as well
10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second temporal interval occurs subsequent to the first temporal interval.
Conclusion
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/SURAJ M JOSHI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2447 January 10, 2026