DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to Application 18/931,937 filed on 10/30/2024.
In the instant application, claims 1 and 12 are independent claims; Claims 1-22 have been examined and are pending. This action is made non-final.
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 .
Drawings
The drawings submitted on 10/30/2024 are acceptable.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/30/2025 was filed before the mailing date of the first office action on the merits. The submissions are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are 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 obviousness-type 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); and 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 a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the conflicting 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.
Effective January 1, 1994, a registered attorney or agent of record may sign a terminal disclaimer. A terminal disclaimer signed by the assignee must fully comply with 37 CFR 3.73(b).
Independent Claims 1 and 12 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting over claims 1 and 11 of US Patent No. 12189912 (hereinafter 912) since the claims, if allowed, would improperly extend the "right to exclude" already granted in the patent.
Instant Application 18/931,937
Patent 912’
Claim 1:
A system for gathering qualifying responses, the system comprising: a user device configured to:
+ communicate to a user a prompt;
+ receive a response from the user;
+ determine a response time as a function of the response; and
+ transmit the response and the response time to a computing device; and the computing device configured to: receive the response and the response time from the user device;
+ identify a minimum time necessary for a human to read and respond to the prompt; and
+ determine whether the response is a qualifying response as a function of the response time and the minimum time necessary for a human to read and respond to the prompt.
Claim 12:
A method of gathering qualifying responses, the method comprising:
+ using a user device, communicating to a user a prompt;
+ using the user device, receiving a response from the user;
+ using the user device, determining a response time as a function of the response;
+ using the user device, transmitting the response and the response time to a computing device;
+ using a computing device, receiving the response and the response time from the user device;
+ using the computing device, identifying a minimum time necessary for a human to read and respond to the prompt; and
+ using the computing device, determining whether the response is a qualifying response as a function of the response time and the minimum time necessary for a human to read and respond to the prompt.
Claim 1:
A system for gathering qualifying responses, the system comprising: a user device configured to:
+ communicate to the user a first prompt as, wherein the first prompt is directed to the user's emotion;
+ receive a first response from the user;
+ determine a first response time;
+ communicate to the user a second prompt, wherein the second prompt is directed to a cause of the user's emotion, wherein the second prompt is communicated to the user after the first prompt is communicated to the user;
+ receive a second response from the user;
+ determine a second response time; communicate to the user a third prompt, wherein the third prompt is directed to a more specific cause of the user's emotion, wherein the third prompt is communicated to the user after the second prompt is communicated to the user;
+ receive a third response from the user; and determine a third response time; and
+ transmit the first, second, and third responses, and the first, second, and third response times to a computing device; and a computing device configured to: receive the first, second, and third responses, and the first, second, and third response times from the user device;
+ identify the minimum time necessary for a human to read and respond to the first prompt;
+ identify the minimum time necessary for a human to read and respond to the second prompt;
+ identify the minimum time necessary for a human to read and respond to the third prompt; and
+ determine whether the first, second and third responses are qualifying responses as a function of the first, second and third response times and the minimum time necessary for a human to read and respond to the first, second and third prompts.
Claim 11:
A method of gathering qualifying responses, the method comprising:
+ using a user device, communicating to the user a first prompt as, wherein the first prompt is directed to the user's emotion;
+ using a user device, receiving a first response from the user;
+ using a user device, determining a first response time; using a user device, communicating to the user a second prompt, wherein the second prompt is directed to a cause of the user's emotion, wherein the second prompt is communicated to the user after the first prompt is communicated to the user; using a user device,
+ receiving a second response from the user; using the user device,
+ determining a second response time; using the user device, communicating to the user a third prompt, wherein the third prompt is directed to a more specific cause of the user's emotion, wherein the third prompt is communicated to the user after the second prompt is communicated to the user; using the user device,
+ receiving a third response from the user; and using the user device, determining a third response time; and
+ using the user device, transmitting the first, second, and third responses, and the first, second, and third response times to a computing device; and
+ using a computing device, receiving the first, second, and third responses, and the first, second, and third response times from the user device;
+ using the computing device, identifying the minimum time necessary for a human to read and respond to the first prompt; using the computing device, identifying the minimum time necessary for a human to read and respond to the second prompt; using the computing device, identifying the minimum time necessary for a human to read and respond to the third prompt; and
+ using the computing device, whether the first, second and third responses are qualifying responses as a function of the first, second and third response times and the minimum time necessary for a human to read and respond to the first, second and third prompts.
As can be seen from the table above, independent Claim 1 of the instant application is anticipated by Claim 1 of 912’, in that Claim 1 of 912’ contains all the limitations of claim 1 of the instant application therefore is not patently distinct from the earlier patent claim and as such is unpatentable for obvious-type double patenting. Claim 12 is similarly mapped to claim 11 of 912’ as such is unpatentable for obvious-type double patenting. The instant application claim is broader in every aspect than the patent claim and is therefore an obvious variant thereof.”
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-22 are allowed when the double patenting issues are resolved.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record on form PTO-892 and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Applicant is required under 37 C.F.R. § 1.111(c) to consider these references fully when responding to this action.
It is noted that any citation to specific, pages, columns, lines, or figures in the prior art references and any interpretation of the references should not be considered to be limiting in any way. A reference is relevant for all it contains and may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill in the art. In re Heck, 699 F.2d 1331, 1332-33,216 USPQ 1038, 1039 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (quoting In re Lemelson, 397 F.2d 1006,1009, 158 USPQ 275,277 (CCPA 1968)).
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Tam T. Tran whose telephone number is (571) 270-5029. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM.
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, William L. Bashore can be reached on 571-272-4088. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TAM T TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2174
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