DETAILED ACTION
Acknowledgement is made of the amendment filed on 2/10/26. Claims 1-13 are currently pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(b) the invention was patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country or in public use or on sale in this country, more than one year prior to the date of application for patent in the United States.
Claim(s) 1-13 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(b) as being anticipated by Schatz (US 4,066,873).
Schatz teaches
Regarding claim 1,
a combined use transactional card including electronically readable means (symbols 18a, 18b, 18c) including financial account data by which a financial transaction can be conducted, the card also comprising further electronically readable means (embossed cardholder’s name) that is also functionally part of the transactional card and that is encoded with electrically readable data that when read by an electronic data reader for a source of the electronically readable data services access to an event that is not associated with the financial account (see column 2, lines 30-35);
regarding claim 2, the combined use transactional card of claim 1, wherein the further electronically readable means that is functionally part of the transaction card comprises a magnetic stripe (see column 4, lines 39-43);
regarding claim 3, the combined use transactional card of claim 2, wherein the magnetic stripe also comprises the electronically readable means by which a financial transaction can also be conducted, but further wherein the magnetic stripe comprises plural distinct data tracks with at least one track that contains financial account data and at least a segment of another track that provides for the source of electronically readable data that services an event that is not associated with the financial account;
regarding claim 4, the combined use transactional card of claim 2, wherein two tracks are utilized for financial transaction purposes, and at least a segment of a third track is used as the source of data for servicing an event no associated with the financial account;
regarding claim 5, the combined use transactional card of claim 1, wherein the further electronically readable means that is functionally part of the transaction card comprises an RFID transponder as a source of electronically readable data that services an event that is not associated with the financial account;
regarding claim 6, the combined use transactional card of claim 1, wherein the further electronically readable means that is functionally part of the transaction card comprises optical character recognition text;
regarding claim 7, the combined use transactional card of claim 1, wherein the further electronically readable means that is functionally part of the transaction card comprises a two- dimensional barcode;
regarding claim 8,
a method of making a combined use transactional card including electronically readable means by which a financial transaction can be conducted, the card also comprising further electronically readable means that is also functionally part of the transactional card comprising the steps of:
encoding financial data by which a financial transaction can be conducted onto the electronically readable means provided to the transactional card; and
encoding non-financial data in the further electronically readable means provided on the transactional card that when read by an electronic data reader for a source of electronically readable data can service an event that is not associated with the financial account;
regarding claim 9, the method of claim 8, wherein the step of encoding non-financial data comprises writing data to at least a separate track segment of a magnetic stripe as provided to the transactional card, which stripe also includes at least one track for receiving data during the step of encoding financial data;
regarding claim 10, the method of claim 8, wherein the step of encoding non- financial data comprises encoding data to an RFID element as provided as part of the transactional card construction, which RFID element also provides data storage for receiving data during the step of encoding financial data.
Regarding claim 11, the method of claim 8, wherein the step of encoding non- financial data comprises providing data to the transactional card in the form of optical character recognition text provided as part of the transactional card construction;
Regarding claim 12, the method of claim 8, wherein the step of encoding non- financial data comprises encoding data to two-dimensional barcode as provided on the transactional card;
Regarding claim 13, a method of using a combined use transactional card including electronically readable means by which a financial transaction can be conducted, the card also comprising further electronically readable means that is also functionally part of the transactional card and that is encoded with data that when read by an electronic data reader for the source of electronically readable data services an event that is not associated with the financial account, the method comprising the steps of:
electrically reading the further electronically readable means from the transaction card and determining the data that services an event not associated with a financial account; and
triggering a servicing for an event based upon an acceptability of the data for such specific purpose.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 2/10/26 in response to the art rejection of claims 1-13 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to the argument citing…
…the examiner contends that the limitation citing “electronically readable means including financial account data by which a financial transaction can be conducted” is read upon by the Universal Product Codes 18s of the Schatz reference considering the UPCs of Schatz encode banking institution (i.e. financial transaction information).
Furthermore, the limitation citing “the card also comprising further electronically readable means that is also functionally part of the transactional card and that is encoded with electronically readable data that when read by an electronic data reader for a source of the electronically readable data services access to an event that is not associated with the financial account data” continues to be read upon by the embossed information thereon the card of Schatz. Whereby the embossed information (including card holder’s name) is usable to access an event that is not necessarily associated with the financial account data of UPCs 18.
Per the arguments presented above, the amended claims continue to read upon the claims 1-13 and claims 1-13 remain rejected.
Conclusion
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 JAMARA ALZAIDA FRANKLIN whose telephone number is (571)272-2389. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm
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April 08, 2026
/JAMARA A FRANKLIN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
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