DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Prosecutorial Standing
2. This communication is in response to the Application filed on 10.28.2024. Claims 1-2 will be subject to further examination and evaluation in due course, and will be presented for examination, as detailed below.
Oath/Declaration
3. The Applicant’s oath/declaration has been reviewed by the Examiner and is found to conform to the requirements prescribed in 37 C.F.R. 1.63.
Information Disclosure Statement
4. As required by M.P.E.P. 609(C), the Applicant' s submission of the Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) dated 10.28.2024 is acknowledged by the Examiner. The cited references have been considered in the examination of the claims. As required by M.P.E.P 609 C (2), a copy of the PTOL-1449 initialed, signed and dated by the Examiner is attached to the instant Office action.
Priority / Filing Date
5. Applicant's claim for priority of PRO 62/965,258 Application filed on 01.24.2020 is acknowledged. The Examiner takes the PRO date of 01.24.2020 into consideration.
Double Patenting
6. 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 §§ 706.02(l)(1) - 706.02(l)(3) 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.
7. Claims 1-2 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 and 13 of U.S. Patent No. 12,131,295. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the clams are directed to the same invention.
The mapping of claim 1 of the immediate application to claim 1 of the patent follows:
Current Application
US Patent Number
12,131,295
Claim 1: A proximity zone reporting system comprising: a computer server having a memory storing user data of a plurality of users; and a plurality of user computing devices of the plurality of users coupled to the computer server through operation of an application, the computer server programmed to: generate and establish a proximity zone at a specified geo-location; receive a first signal from each of the plurality of user computing devices that each of the plurality of user computing devices have entered the proximity zone and store in the memory of the server a time and date of each of the plurality of user computing devices entered the proximity zone; receive a second signal from each of the plurality of user computing devices that each of the plurality of user computing devices have exited the proximity zone and store in the memory of the server a time and date each of the plurality of user computing devices exited the proximity zone; automatically determine an accumulated amount of time each of the plurality of user computing devices was within the proximity zone during a designated period of time by adding one or more instances of each of the plurality of user computing devices entering the proximity zone and exiting the proximity zone; and generate a report of the location, time and accumulated amount of time each of the plurality of user computing devices was within the proximity zone in response to receiving a request for the report.
Claim 1. A volunteer reporting system comprising: a computer server having a memory storing organization data of an organization and user data of a user; and a user computing device of the user coupled to the computer server, the computer server programmed to: generate and establish a proximity zone at a specified geo-location comprising a geofence; receive a first signal from the user computing device that the user computing device has entered the proximity zone and store in the memory of the server a time and date the user computing device entered the proximity zone; receive a second signal from the user computing device that the user computing device has exited the proximity zone and store in the memory of the server a time and date the user computing device exited the proximity zone; automatically determine an accumulated amount of time the user computing device has been within the proximity zone during a designated period of time by adding one or more instances of the user computing device entering the proximity zone and exiting the proximity zone; and generate a report of the location, time and accumulated amount of time the user computing device is within the proximity zone in response to receiving a request for the report.
Allowable Subject Matter
8. The cited claims 1-2 will be considered for allowance if a terminal disclaimer is timely filed. 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 a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
Conclusion
9. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The PTO-1449 forms have been reviewed and considered by the Examiner.
US 11,432,257, Griffin: discloses a device that can receive a proximity message comprising a base station identifier and a network address.
US 2018/0302875, Hobbs: discloses a method can include identifying, by a computing device, a geographic proximity of an entity, establishing, by the computing device, direct short-range communications with the entity, the computing device and the entity being able to communicate with one another using a short-range communication protocol.
US 9,408,034, Zhu: discloses a network-centric device discovery solution that leverages area event location services. A proximity server (PS) performing device discovery for a discoverer mobile initiate an area event, via a location server, for each device subscribed to the same proximity service group as the discoverer mobile and camped on the same zone as the discoverer mobile.
10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Garcia Ade whose telephone number is (571)272-5586. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday.
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, Florian Zeender can be reached on 517-272-6790. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Garcia Ade/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627
GARCIA ADE
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3687
/GA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627