DETAILED ACTION
Status of Application
This action is a Non-Final Rejection. This action is in response to the application filed on November 8, 2024 and the preliminary amendment filed on November 7, 2025.
Claims 2, 10, and 13-20 have been canceled.
Claim 1 has been amended.
Claims 1, 3-9, 11, and 12 are pending and rejected.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . 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.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on November 8, 2024 and January 14, 2025 have 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, 3-9, 11, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as being directed to non-statutory subject matter because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Step 1: Does the Claim Fall within a Statutory Category? (see MPEP 2106.03)
Yes, with respect to claims 1, 3-9, 11, and 12, which recite a system and, therefore, are directed to the statutory class of machine or manufacture.
Step 2A, Prong One: Is a Judicial Exception Recited? (see MPEP 2106.04(a))
The following claims identify the limitations that recite the abstract idea in regular text and that recite additional elements in bold:
1. A system for performing a gift card purchase and activation in a retail environment, the system comprising:
a point of sale (POS) terminal configured to process a purchase and activation of a gift card;
a card identifier and access code system in network communication with the POS terminal and configured to generate and assign unique identifying information to the gift card in response to the purchase and activation of the gift card at the POS terminal; and
wherein the POS terminal is configured to perform operations comprising:
scanning, using a scanning device of the POS terminal, a barcode of the gift card to identify the gift card;
transmitting, to the card identifier and access code system, a request for the unique identifying information for the gift card, wherein the request includes a public encryption key associated with the identified gift card;
receiving, from the card identifier and access code system and in response to the card identifier and access code system (i) generating the unique identifying information for the gift card and (ii) encrypting the unique identifying information using the public key, the encrypted unique identifying information for the gift card;
decrypting, using a private key associated with the identified gift card, the encrypted unique identifying information;
generating instructions for applying at least a portion of the unique identifying information onto a surface of the gift card; and
returning the instructions for execution.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein, in response to receiving payment, at the POS terminal, for the purchase and activation of the gift card, the POS terminal is configured to perform the operation comprising transmitting, to the card identifier and access code system, a request for the unique identifying information for the gift card.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the unique identifying information is a card number associated with the identified gift card.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the unique identifying information is a PIN associated with the identified gift card.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the unique identifying information comprises a card number and a PIN associated with the identified gift card.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the POS terminal comprises an encryption mechanism, the encryption mechanism being configured to maintain the public key and the private key associated with the gift card.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions comprise applying the unique identifying information onto a back surface of the gift card.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions comprise a plurality of application steps, wherein each of the plurality of application steps comprises applying a subset of values in the unique identifying information onto the surface of the gift card.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions comprise applying each character of the unique identifying information individually.
12. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions comprise applying each character of the unique identifying information in a randomized order.
Yes. But for the recited additional elements as shown above in bold, the remaining limitations of the claims recite certain methods of organizing human activity. The claims are directed to purchasing and activating gift cards. This type of method of organizing human activity is a commercial interaction such as agreements in the form of contracts, legal obligations, sales activities or behaviors, and business relations. Thus, the claims recite an abstract idea.
Step 2A, Prong Two: Is the Abstract Idea Integrated into a Practical Application? (see MPEP 2106.04(d))
No. The claims as a whole merely use a computer as a tool to perform the abstract idea. The computing components (i.e., additional elements that are in bold above) are recited at a high level of generality and are merely invoked as a tool to implement the steps. For example, only a programmed general purpose computing device (i.e., POS terminal) is needed to implement the claimed process. Simply implementing the abstract idea on a generic computer is not a practical application of the abstract idea. Additionally, there is no improvement to the functioning of a computer or technology. Therefore, the abstract idea is not integrated into a practical application.
Step 2B: Does the Claim Provide an Inventive Concept? (see MPEP 2106.05)
No. As discussed with respect to Step 2A, Prong 2, the additional elements in the claims, both individually and in combination, amount to no more than tools to perform the abstract idea. Merely performing the abstract idea using a computer cannot provide an inventive concept. Therefore, the claims do not provide an inventive concept.
As such, the claims are not patent eligible.
35 USC §§ 102 and 103
The Office action does not include a rejection under 35 USC §§ 102 or 103. The embodiment of claim 1, as a whole, was not found to be disclosed in or obvious in light of the prior art. Although there is prior art that discloses customized printed gift cards, the particular way in which the claimed POS terminal performs the process was not similar to the prior art.
Relevant Prior Art
The following references are relevant to Applicant’s invention:
Curtis, U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2024/0047382 A1. This reference teaches a system or purchasing physical gift cards at a kiosk. A personalized message can be printed into a customizable card.
Letson et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2017/0221019 A1. This reference teaches a system for creating a purchase voucher.
Deubell et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2013/0297431 A1. This reference teaches a method for generating a gift card by a kiosk with a gift card printer.
Briscoe et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2011/0178924 A1. This reference teaches a personalized prepaid card.
Oles, U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2008/0235095 A1. This reference teaches a gift card kiosk that generates customizable gift cards.
Shin, U.S. Patent Number 7,290,705 B1. This reference teaches a system for personalizing and dispensing gift cards.
Perlow et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2006/0259189 A1. This reference teaches a self-service kiosk for customizing, printing, and dispensing a gift card.
Grider, U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2006/0190332 A1. This reference teaches a system for purchasing and dispensing customized gift cards.
Email Communications
Per MPEP 502.03, Applicant may authorize email communications by filing Form PTO/SB/439, available at https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/sb0439.pdf, via the USPTO patent electronic filing system.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELIZABETH H ROSEN whose telephone number is (571) 270-1850 and email address is elizabeth.rosen@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 10 AM ET - 7 PM ET.
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/ELIZABETH H ROSEN/Primary Examiner, 3693
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