Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/930,551

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MANAGING ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS

Final Rejection §103§DOUBLEPATENT
Filed
Oct 29, 2024
Priority
Dec 28, 2020 — continuation of 17/135,370
Examiner
WONG, ERIC TAK WAI
Art Unit
3693
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
PayPal Inc.
OA Round
2 (Final)
51%
Grant Probability
Moderate
3-4
OA Rounds
2y 1m
Est. Remaining
64%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 51% of resolved cases
51%
Career Allowance Rate
269 granted / 532 resolved
-1.4% vs TC avg
Moderate +14% lift
Without
With
+13.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
4y 0m
Avg Prosecution
26 currently pending
Career history
580
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
32.4%
-7.6% vs TC avg
§103
34.8%
-5.2% vs TC avg
§102
15.3%
-24.7% vs TC avg
§112
10.7%
-29.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 532 resolved cases

Office Action

§103 §DOUBLEPATENT
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 . Claim Status The claims filed 5/22/2026 are entered. Claims 1-20 are pending. Claims 1, 8, and 15 are independent. Claims 1-3, 5-11, and 14-20 are currently amended. Claims 4 and 12-13 are original. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed 5/22/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Double Patenting Applicant’s arguments with regard to the prior double patenting rejection of claims 1-20 have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection necessitated by the current amendment presented herein. 35 U.S.C. 103 Applicant’s arguments with regard to the prior rejections under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection necessitated by the current amendment. Claim Objections Claim 18 is objected to because of the following informalities: the claim recites “…using an identifier of the, and…”, which is understood as “…using an identifier of the server, and…”. 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 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. The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual 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/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer. US Patent 11,727,394 Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 2, 4 and 8 of U.S. Patent No. 11,727,394 B2 in view of Cho (US 2014/0040120 A1), further in view of Lau (US 2020/0342439 A1). The instant claims share substantially similar limitations as the reference claims as demonstrated below. Instant Claims Reference Claims (U.S. Patent No. 11,727,394 B2) 1. A user device, comprising: a non-transitory memory storing instructions; and one or more hardware processors coupled with the non-transitory memory and configured to execute the instructions from the non-transitory memory to cause the user device to: receive, by a digital wallet application of the user device associated with a user, transaction information associated with an electronic transaction between the user and a merchant; determine, from a plurality of financial instruments associated with the digital wallet application, a first financial instrument for processing the electronic transaction, wherein the first financial instrument is determined for processing the transaction independent of the transaction information; generate, for the electronic transaction and based on the first financial instrument, a digital token; process the electronic transaction using the first financial instrument; subsequent to transmitting the digital token detect that the user device is no longer associated with the computer network limiting condition; in response to detecting that the user device is no longer associated with the computer network limiting condition, determine, from the plurality of financial instruments, a second financial instrument for processing the electronic transaction; and cause the server to re-process the electronic transaction based on the second financial instrument. 1. A system, comprising: a non-transitory memory; and one or more hardware processors coupled with the non-transitory memory and configured to read instructions from the non-transitory memory to cause the system to perform operations comprising: receiving, from an electronic payment tool associated with a first user and via a first network, transaction information associated with an electronic transaction between the first user and a merchant, wherein the transaction information comprises transaction data specific to the electronic transaction including a monetary amount associated with the electronic transaction; receiving, via a payment network different from the first network, a first digital token corresponding to the electronic payment tool associated with the first user; in response to receiving the first digital token, accessing a digital wallet associated with the electronic payment tool, wherein the digital wallet is linked to a plurality of financial instruments associated with the first user; determining, from the plurality of financial instruments, a first financial instrument for processing the electronic transaction; processing the electronic transaction using the digital wallet without transferring first funds from a funding account of the first financial instrument, wherein the processing the electronic transaction comprises: creating a receivable record in an account database for storing the transaction information associated with the electronic transaction based on the first digital token received via the payment network, wherein the receivable record comprises allocation data indicating an initial allocation of the monetary amount associated with the electronic transaction to the first financial instrument associated with the digital wallet, and purchase data indicating at least one of an MCC code associated with the electronic transaction, a purchase category associated with the electronic transaction, or a merchant identifier of the merchant; transmitting second funds from an account associated with the system in the monetary amount to the merchant; and transmitting, to a merchant server associated with the merchant, a message indicating a successful processing of the electronic transaction; subsequent to the processing the electronic transaction, determining a second financial instrument, from the plurality of financial instruments, for use in the electronic transaction; in response to determining the second financial instrument for use in the electronic transaction, re-processing the electronic transaction using the second financial instrument via a series of commands transmitted within the payment network, wherein the re-processing the electronic transaction using the second financial instrument comprises charging at least a portion of the monetary amount to the second financial instrument for repaying the at least the portion of the monetary amount to the account associated with the system, wherein the charging comprises transmitting the series of commands to the payment network for transferring the at least the portion of the monetary amount from the second financial instrument to the account associated with the system and communicating the purchase data stored in the receivable record to an issuer host associated with the second financial instrument via the payment network; updating the receivable record based on the re-processing of the electronic transaction using the second financial instrument; and transmitting, to a user device associated with the first user, a notification indicating a completion of the re-processing of the electronic transaction using the second financial instrument. 2. The user device of claim 1, wherein the network resource limiting condition is associated with a computer network usage of the user device being above a threshold. See below. 3. The user device of claim 1, wherein the computer network limiting condition is associated with a network connectivity bandwidth of the user device. See below. 4. The user device of claim 1, wherein the digital token is generated using an identifier associated with the server, and wherein the digital token is routed from the POS device to the server via a payment network based on the identifier associated with the server. See below. 5. The user device of claim 1, wherein the data is determined based on the transaction information. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the determining the second financial instrument for use in the electronic transaction is based on at least one of the monetary amount associated with the electronic transaction or a rewards program associated with the second financial instrument 6. The user device of claim 5, wherein the data comprises transaction history information associated with the user, wherein determining the second financial instrument for processing the electronic transaction is further based on the transaction history information. 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: subsequent to the processing the electronic transaction, receiving, from the first user via the electronic payment tool, an input indicating a selection of a third financial instrument of the plurality of financial instruments for the re-processing the electronic transaction; and in response to the receiving the input from the first user, providing a notification to the first user indicating that the second financial instrument is an optimal financial instrument for the electronic transaction based on a set of criteria. 7. The user device of claim 1, wherein executing the instructions further causes the user device to: prompt, via a user interface associated with the digital wallet application, the user for a financial instrument selection for the electronic transaction; and receive, via the user interface, the financial instrument selection, wherein determining the first financial instrument is based on the financial instrument selection received via the user interface. 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: subsequent to the processing the electronic transaction, receiving, from the first user via the electronic payment tool, an input indicating a selection of a third financial instrument of the plurality of financial instruments for the re-processing the electronic transaction; and in response to the receiving the input from the first user, providing a notification to the first user indicating that the second financial instrument is an optimal financial instrument for the electronic transaction based on a set of criteria. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the causing the re-processing of the electronic transaction comprises: causing the server to transmit a series of commands to a payment network for charging the second financial instrument a monetary amount associated with the electronic transaction and to communicate the transaction information to an issuer host associated with the second financial instrument via the payment network. 1… in response to determining the second financial instrument for use in the electronic transaction, re-processing the electronic transaction using the second financial instrument via a series of commands transmitted within the payment network, wherein the re-processing the electronic transaction using the second financial instrument comprises charging at least a portion of the monetary amount to the second financial instrument for repaying the at least the portion of the monetary amount to the account associated with the system, wherein the charging comprises transmitting the series of commands to the payment network for transferring the at least the portion of the monetary amount from the second financial instrument to the account associated with the system and communicating the purchase data stored in the receivable record to an issuer host associated with the second financial instrument via the payment network; 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the electronic transaction is associated with a purchase of an item from the merchant, and wherein the transaction information comprises a merchant category code (MCC) code associated with the merchant and a category of the item. 1… creating a receivable record in an account database for storing the transaction information associated with the electronic transaction based on the first digital token received via the payment network, wherein the receivable record comprises allocation data indicating an initial allocation of the monetary amount associated with the electronic transaction to the first financial instrument associated with the digital wallet, and purchase data indicating at least one of an MCC code associated with the electronic transaction, a purchase category associated with the electronic transaction, or a merchant identifier of the merchant; 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the determining the second financial instrument for use in the electronic transaction is further based on at least one of a monetary amount associated with the electronic transaction or a rewards program associated with the second financial instrument. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the determining the second financial instrument for use in the electronic transaction is based on at least one of the monetary amount associated with the electronic transaction or a rewards program associated with the second financial instrument. 12. The method of claim 8, further comprising: receiving an indication that the electronic transaction has been re-processed based on the second financial instrument; and providing a notification on a user interface of the digital wallet application based on the indication. 1… updating the receivable record based on the re-processing of the electronic transaction using the second financial instrument; and transmitting, to a user device associated with the first user, a notification indicating a completion of the re-processing of the electronic transaction using the second financial instrument. 13. The method of claim 8, wherein the user is a first user, and wherein the method further comprises: detecting, via the digital wallet application, an indication to split the electronic transaction with a second user; determining a first rewards amount corresponding to the first user and a second rewards amount corresponding to the second user; and in response to detecting a payment from the second user to the first user corresponding to the electronic transaction, allocating the second rewards amount to a rewards account associated with the second user. 8. The system of claim 1, the operations further comprising: detecting an indication to split the electronic transaction with a second user; determining a first rewards amount corresponding to the first user and a second rewards amount corresponding to the second user; and in response to detecting a payment from the second user to the first user corresponding to the electronic transaction, allocating the second rewards amount to a rewards account associated with the second user. 14. The method of claim 8, further comprising: prompting, via a user interface associated with the digital wallet application, the user for a financial instrument selection for the electronic transaction; and receiving, via the user interface, the financial instrument selection, wherein the determining the first financial instrument is based on the financial instrument selection received via the user interface. 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: subsequent to the processing the electronic transaction, receiving, from the first user via the electronic payment tool, an input indicating a selection of a third financial instrument of the plurality of financial instruments for the re-processing the electronic transaction; and in response to the receiving the input from the first user, providing a notification to the first user indicating that the second financial instrument is an optimal financial instrument for the electronic transaction based on a set of criteria. 16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the computer network resource is associated with a signal strength associated with the user device. See below. 17. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the computer network resource is associated with a network connectivity of the user device. See below. 18. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the digital token is generated using an identifier of the server associated with the digital wallet application, and wherein the digital token is routed, from the POS device via a payment network, to the server based on the identifier. See below. 19. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the data comprises transaction history information associated with the user, and wherein the determining the second financial instrument is further based on the transaction history information. 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: subsequent to the processing the electronic transaction, receiving, from the first user via the electronic payment tool, an input indicating a selection of a third financial instrument of the plurality of financial instruments for the re-processing the electronic transaction; and in response to the receiving the input from the first user, providing a notification to the first user indicating that the second financial instrument is an optimal financial instrument for the electronic transaction based on a set of criteria. 20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise: prompting, via a user interface associated with the digital wallet application, the user for a financial instrument selection for the electronic transaction; and receiving, via the user interface, the financial instrument selection, wherein the determining the first financial instrument is further based on the financial instrument selection received via the user interface. 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: subsequent to the processing the electronic transaction, receiving, from the first user via the electronic payment tool, an input indicating a selection of a third financial instrument of the plurality of financial instruments for the re-processing the electronic transaction; and in response to the receiving the input from the first user, providing a notification to the first user indicating that the second financial instrument is an optimal financial instrument for the electronic transaction based on a set of criteria. As shown above, instant claim 1 shares substantially similar limitations as reference claim 1. Reference claim 1 does not explicitly disclose, but Cho teaches transmitting the digital token to a point-of-sale (POS) device of the merchant via a short-range wireless communication established between the user device and the POS device (see paras. 0112, 0115, 0122); and detecting a computer resource limiting condition associated with the user device; and performing a payment in response to detecting the computer resource limiting condition associated with the user device (see paras. 0113-0116, 0120). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of the reference claim to include the features taught by Cho. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification to enable flexible wireless payments in a power off or low battery state (see Cho, paras. 0031-0037). Reference claim 1 does not explicitly disclose, but Lau teaches: detecting a network limiting condition (see para. 0195); in response to detecting the user device is no longer associated with the network limiting condition, transmit the transaction information to a server (see para. 0207). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of the reference claim to include the feature taught by Lau. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification to facilitate an offline transaction and to compare the transaction information to that sent by the terminal (see Lau, para. 0195, 0207). Instant independent claims 8 and 15 are method and non-transitory machine-readable medium claims sharing substantially similar limitations as instant claim 1. As such, the claims are similarly rejected over reference claim 1 in view of Cho. Instant claims 2-3 and 16-17 are similarly rejected over reference claim 1 in view of Cho and Lau. Subject to broadest reasonable interpretation, the claim limitations encompass the thresholds and conditions disclosed by Cho and Lau. Regarding instant claims 4 and 18, reference claim 1 does not explicitly disclose, but Cho teaches wherein the digital token is generated using an identifier associated with the server, and wherein the digital token is routed from the POS device to the server via a payment network based on the identifier associated with the server (see para. 0122, wherein the payment credit card information includes a Bank Identification Number (BIN) which is used for routing, as known in the art). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system and product of the reference claim to include the feature taught by Cho. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification to flexible payments in a power off or low battery state (see Cho, paras. 0031-0037). Instant claims 5-7, 9-14, and 19-20 share substantially similar limitations as reference claims 1, 2, 4, and 8. The claims are rejected over the corresponding reference claims as mapped above. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claims 1, 3-9, 11-12, and 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cho (US 2014/0040120 A1) in view of Lau (US 2020/0342439 A1), further in view of Lafeer (US 2018/0218352 A1). Regarding claims 1, 8, and 15, Cho discloses a user device, associated method, and associated machine-readable medium, comprising: a non-transitory memory storing instructions (see paras. 0088-0090); and one or more hardware processors coupled with the non-transitory memory and configured to execute the instructions from the non-transitory memory (see paras. 0088-0090) to cause the user device to: receive, via a digital wallet application of the user device associated with a user, transaction information associated with an electronic transaction between the user and a merchant (see paras. 0113-0116); detect a computer resource limiting condition associated with the user device (see paras. 0113-0116); in response to detecting the computer resource limiting condition associated with the user device, determine, from a plurality of financial instruments associated with the digital wallet application, a first financial instrument for processing the electronic transaction, wherein the first financial instrument is determined for processing the transaction independent of the transaction information (see paras. 0113-0116, 0120, wherein a default payment card is used when the device is in a low-battery state); generate, for the electronic transaction and based on the first financial instrument, a digital token (see para. 0122, wherein “digital token” reasonably encompasses the digital data representing the financial instrument read and transmitted to the point-of-sale to effectuate the payment, wherein the limitation does not necessarily further limit the token, e.g. to a surrogate PAN); transmit the digital token to a point-of-sale (POS) device of the merchant via a short-range wireless communication established between the user device and the POS device, wherein transmitting the digital token to the POS device causes the POS device to process the electronic transaction using the first financial instrument (see para. 0112, 0115, 0122); subsequent to transmitting the digital token to the POS device, detect that the user device is no longer associated with the computer processing limiting condition (see paras. 0099-0105, 0130, wherein the power state of the mobile terminal may be subsequently be greater). Cho does not explicitly disclose, but Lau teaches: detecting a network limiting condition (see para. 0195); in response to detecting the user device is no longer associated with the network limiting condition, transmit the transaction information to a server (see para. 0207); It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device, method, and product of Cho to include the feature of Lau. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification to facilitate an offline transaction and to compare the transaction information to that sent by the terminal (see Lau, para. 0195, 0207). Cho does not explicitly disclose, but Lafeer teaches: in response to detecting that the user device is no longer associated with the computer processing limiting condition, determine, from the plurality of financial instruments, a second financial instrument for processing the electronic transaction (see Fig. 9; paras. 0082-0090, wherein “in response to detecting that the user device is no longer associated with the computer processing limiting condition” reasonably encompasses when the device battery is at an adequate level to run the application); cause a server to re-process the electronic transaction based on the second financial instrument (see Fig. 9; paras. 0082-0090). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device, method, and product of Cho to include the feature taught by Lafeer. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification to allow the user to select an appropriate financial service account to be used in completing a transaction sometime after the transaction between the user and the merchant occurs (see Lafeer, para. 0092). Regarding claim 3, the combination set forth with regard to the base claim teaches wherein the computer network limiting condition is associated with a network connectivity bandwidth of the user device (see Cho paras. 0113-0116, 120, wherein battery state of charge is reasonably “associated with” network connectivity bandwidth; Lau paras. 0195, 0207). Regarding claims 4 and 18, Cho discloses wherein the digital token is generated using an identifier associated with the server, and wherein the digital token is routed from the POS device to the server via a payment network based on the identifier associated with the server (see para. 0122, wherein the payment credit card information includes a Bank Identification Number (BIN) used for routing, as known in the art). Regarding claim 5, Lafeer teaches wherein the data is determined based on the transaction information (see para. 0092). Regarding claims 6 and 19, Lafeer teaches wherein the data comprises transaction history information associated with the user, wherein determining the second financial instrument for processing the electronic transaction is further based on the transaction history information (see Fig. 9; paras. 0082-0090). Regarding claims 7 and 20, Lafeer teaches wherein executing the instructions further causes the user device to: prompt, via a user interface associated with the digital wallet application, the user for a financial instrument selection for the electronic transaction; and receive, via the user interface, the financial instrument selection, wherein determining the first financial instrument is based on the financial instrument selection received via the user interface (see Fig. 9; paras. 0082-0090). Regarding claim 9, Lafeer teaches causing the server to transmit a series of commands to a payment network for charging the second financial instrument a monetary amount associated with the electronic transaction and to communicate the transaction information to an issuer host associated with the second financial instrument via the payment network (see Figs. 7-9; para. 0079-0080, wherein the transaction is completed through typical payment processing procedures, which includes communication to an issuer). Regarding claim 11, Lafeer teaches wherein the data is determined based on at least one of a monetary amount associated with the electronic transaction or a rewards program associated with the second financial instrument (see para. 0003, 0092). Regarding claim 12, Lafeer teaches receiving an indication that the electronic transaction has been re-processed based on the second financial instrument; and providing a notification on a user interface of the digital wallet application based on the indication (see para. 0080-0081). Regarding claim 14, Lafeer teaches prompting, via a user interface associated with the digital wallet application, the user for a financial instrument selection for the electronic transaction; and receiving, via the user interface, the financial instrument selection, wherein the determining the first financial instrument is based on the financial instrument selection received via the user interface (see Fig. 9; paras. 0082-0090). Regarding claim 16, Cho discloses wherein the computer network resource is associated with a signal strength associated with the user device (see paras. 0113-0116, 0120, wherein battery state of charge is reasonably “associated with” computer processing availability). Regarding claim 17, Cho discloses wherein the computer network resource is associated with a network connectivity of the user device (see paras. 0113-0116, wherein battery state of charge is reasonably “associated with” network connectivity). Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cho (US 2014/0040120 A1) in view of Lau (US 2020/0342439 A1), further in view of Lafeer (US 2018/0218352 A1), further in view of Ely (US 2016/0095017 A1). Regarding claim 2, Cho does not explicitly disclose, but Ely teaches wherein the computer network limiting condition is associated with a computer network usage of the user device being above a threshold (see para. 0127). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Cho further to include the feature of Ely. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification to restrict network access to a client device based on determining that the resource usage has exceeded the threshold value (see Ely, para. 0131). Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cho (US 2014/0040120 A1) in view of Lau (US 2020/0342439 A1), further in view of Lafeer (US 2018/0218352 A1), further in view of Shrivastava (US 2014/0019352 A1). Regarding claim 10, Cho discloses wherein the electronic transaction is associated with a purchase of an item from the merchant (see para. 0110, wherein performing a transaction at a point-of-sale terminal encompasses purchasing an item from a merchant). Cho does not explicitly disclose, but Shrivastava teaches wherein the transaction information comprises a merchant category code (MCC) code associated with the merchant and a category of the item (see para. 0215). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Cho to include the feature of Shrivastava. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification allow the wallet to implement rules for using funds (see Shrivastava, para. 0215). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Bhat (US 2019/0130385 A1) discloses a computer program product for facilitating offline transactions including: a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith. The program instructions are executable by a user device to cause the user device to: receive an offline payment request from a merchant payment system via local communications; provide a payment approval message to the merchant payment system via the local communications to cause the merchant payment system to store the payment approval message; and provide offline transaction information to the payment server corresponding to the payment approval message; and provide the offline transaction information to the payment server corresponding to the payment approval message to the payment server when the user device and the payment server are connected via a network. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIC T WONG whose telephone number is (571)270-3405. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm M-F. 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, Michael W Anderson can be reached at 571-270-0508. 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. /ERIC T WONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3693 ERIC WONG Primary Examiner Art Unit 3693
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 29, 2024
Application Filed
Feb 26, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103, §DOUBLEPATENT
Apr 22, 2026
Interview Requested
Apr 30, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
May 02, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
May 22, 2026
Response Filed
Aug 20, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103, §DOUBLEPATENT
Sep 14, 2026
Interview Requested

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SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MACHINE LEARNING USING ADVERSARIAL LEARNING AND DATA TRANSFORMATION
1y 11m to grant Granted Jul 28, 2026
Patent 12639765
SELECTIVE SUPPRESSION OF IMPLIED CONTRACT GENERATION
3y 6m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Patent 12639698
Systems, Methods, and Computer Program Products for Automatically Selecting a Card for Contactless Payment
1y 8m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
51%
Grant Probability
64%
With Interview (+13.5%)
4y 0m (~2y 1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 532 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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