Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/953,462

TRUTH-BASED, SYNTHETIC, PARTIAL-ENTITY KNOWLEDGE SOURCING AND TRADEABLE ASSET CREATION BASED THEREON

Final Rejection §101§103
Filed
Nov 20, 2024
Examiner
SCHEUNEMANN, RICHARD N
Art Unit
3624
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Bank of America Corporation
OA Round
2 (Final)
6%
Grant Probability
At Risk
3-4
OA Rounds
2y 0m
Est. Remaining
15%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants only 6% of cases
6%
Career Allowance Rate
35 granted / 560 resolved
-45.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+8.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 11m
Avg Prosecution
32 currently pending
Career history
622
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
36.4%
-3.6% vs TC avg
§103
39.7%
-0.3% vs TC avg
§102
7.8%
-32.2% vs TC avg
§112
15.9%
-24.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 560 resolved cases

Office Action

§101 §103
DETAILED ACTION Introduction This Final Office Action is in response to amendments and remarks filed on April 27, 2026, for the application with serial number 18/953,462. Claims 1, 3, 4, 11, 13, 14, and 20 are amended. Claims 2 and 12 are canceled. Claims 1-3-11, and 13-20 are pending. Response to Remarks/Amendments 35 USC §101 Rejections The Applicant traverses the rejection of the claims as being directed to an ineligible abstract idea, contending that the claims do not recite an abstract idea. Specifically, the Applicant submits that a human being could not review issuance characteristics. See Remarks p. 9. The Examiner respectfully disagrees. The present claims recite steps that, at least, could be implemented on paper by a human being. However, a general purpose computer using artificial intelligence is recited for implementing the abstract idea. No apparent improvement to machine learning or artificial intelligence is recited in the claims. Instead, artificial intelligence is used to implement the abstract idea. The Applicant further contends that the claims recite an improvement to a computer interface prompt. See Remarks p. 10. In response, the Examiner submits that the prompt could be generated on paper by a human being, but a general purpose computer with a user interface is recited for providing the prompt. No apparent improvement to computer technology is recited in the claims. The claimed process is not rooted in computer technology. The recited prompt appears to be, at best, the recitation of software. The use of software to operate a computer is understood and inherent in any computer-based process. The Applicant additionally submits that the present claims recite a practical application of any alleged abstract idea. See Remarks p. 11. For essentially the same reasons discussed, above, the Examiner respectfully disagrees. The claims do not provide a solution that is rooted in computer technology or any other technical field. The Applicant further contends that the claims are subject matter eligible because the claimed process is unconventional. In response, the Examiner points out that lack of conventionality does not imply subject matter eligibility. Additional elements outside the scope of the identified abstract idea have been considered, but those elements have been found to amount to generic computer hardware. An abstract idea without significantly more is just that – an abstract idea. The rejection for lack of subject matter eligibility is updated and maintained. 35 USC §103 Rejections Amendments to the claims changed the scope of the claims, necessitating further search and consideration of the prior art. A new search returned the Vaidyanathan reference, which is cited in the rejection of the independent claims, below. The Applicant’s arguments with respect to the outstanding prior art rejection are moot in light of the newly cited reference. 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. The Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) provides detailed rules for determining subject matter eligibility for claims in §2106. Those rules provide a basis for the analysis and finding of ineligibility that follows. Claims 1-3-11, and 13-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101. The claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter because the claimed invention recites a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more. Under Step 1 of the subject matter eligibility analysis, claims(s) 1-3-11, and 13-20 are all directed to one of the four statutory categories of invention. However, under step 2A, prong one, the claims recite a judicial exception: prompting a user to transact a long position or a short position for a security (as evidenced by exemplary independent claim 1: “(prompting . . . the user to transact the requested long position or the requested short position;”), an abstract idea. Certain methods of organizing human activity are ineligible abstract ideas, including managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people. See MPEP §2106.04(a). The limitations of exemplary claim 1 include: “receiving . . . a request to transact a long position or a short position;” “determining . . . a set of issuance characteristics;” “determine which of the set of issuance characteristics are necessary and sufficient to transact a long position or a short position;” “data-mining . . . a database of historic information . . . to determine whether the set of issuance characteristics are capable of supporting the request to transact;” “testing . . . the [historic information] to determine whether the issuance characteristics support the request to transact;” and “prompting . . . the user to transact the requested long position or the requested short position.” The steps are all steps for managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people related to the abstract idea of prompting a user to transact a long position or a short position for a security that, when considered alone and in combination, are part of the abstract idea of prompting a user to transact a long position or a short position for a security. The dependent claims further recite steps for managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people that are part of the abstract idea of prompting a user to transact a long position or a short position for a security. These claim elements, when considered alone and in combination, are considered to be abstract ideas because they are directed to a method of organizing human activity which includes determining whether to enter a contract to issue securities for a tracking stock. Under step 2A, prong two, of the subject matter eligibility analysis, a claim that recites a judicial exception must be evaluated to determine whether the claim provides a practical application of the judicial exception. Additional elements of the independent claims amount to generic computer hardware and software that does not provide a practical application (an application programming interface, processor, and display screen in independent claim 1; and a system with an application programming interface, processor, and display in independent claim 11). See MPEP §2106.04(d)[I]. The claims do not recite an improvement to another technology or technical field, nor do they recite an improvement to the functioning of the computer itself. See MPEP §2106.05(a). Because the claims only recite use of a generic computer, they do not apply the judicial exception with a particular machine. See MPEP §2106.05(b). Under step 2B of the subject matter eligibility analysis, the claims do not integrate the abstract idea into a judicial exception. Referring to the additional elements provided in the analysis in step one, above, the generic computer hardware does not provide significantly more than the recited abstract idea. See MPEP §2106.05(f). For these reasons, the claims do not provide a practical application of the abstract idea, nor do they amount to significantly more than an abstract idea under step 2B of the subject matter eligibility analysis. Using a generic computer to implement an abstract idea does not provide an inventive concept. Therefore, the claims recite ineligible subject matter under 35 USC §101. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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. Claim(s) 1 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20130173494 A1 to Tayeb et al. (hereinafter ‘TAYEB’) in view of US 11620706 B2 to Trevathan et al. (hereinafter ‘TREVATHAN’), US 20240273630 A1 to Fujimara (hereinafter ‘FUJIMARA’), and US 20160343078 A1 to Vaidyanathan et al. (hereinafter ‘VAIDYANATHAN’). Claim 1 (Currently Amended) TAYEB discloses a method for truth-based, synthetic, partial-entity knowledge sourcing and tradeable asset creation based thereon (see ¶[0048] and [0051]; a knowledge bourse for trading of an asset), TAYEB does not specifically disclose, but TREVATHAN discloses, said method comprising: receiving, via an application programming interface (“API”) (see col 5, ln 53-65; it is suitable to capture data through API cooperation or capture by the scraping method if possible), TAYEB further discloses a request to transact a long position or a short position (see ¶[0052]; the buyer has the right to buy the commodity (underlying futures contract) or enter a long position, that is, a position in which the trader has bought a futures contract that does not offset a previously established short position. A call writer (seller) has the obligation to sell the commodity (or enter a short position, which is the opposite of a long position) with respect to a performance of a selected aspect of a larger entity (see ¶[0186]; knowledge Tracking Stocks 323 trade as separate securities. As a result, if the unit or division does well, the value of the tracking stock may increase--even if the company as a whole performs poorly; the opposite may also be true. Knowledge Tracking Stocks will make it easier for companies to raise capital for specific knowledge product/service instead of spinning off the line of business into a separate company); TAYEB does not specifically disclose, but FUJIMARA discloses, determining, using artificial intelligence (“AI”) (see ¶[0740]; a phase of processing into a fixed format may be included. A display phase may be included. AI (e.g., machine-learning or intelligence computation) phase may be included. Data associated with trading data includes technical indicators, tables such as stock price data, and issue data), running on a processor (see ¶[0150]-[151] and Figs. 1 and 2; servers with processors), TAYEB further discloses a set of issuance characteristics, the set of issuance characteristics that are required to support the request to transact the long position or short position (see ¶[0005] and [0036]; negotiable instruments issued by a knowledge-based organization, and a plurality of rules governing activities directed to the knowledge market offerings and knowledge financial products. See again ¶[0052]; enter a long position or a short position). TAYEB does not specifically disclose, but VAIDYANATHAN discloses, said issuance characteristics comprising Parent Corporation Ticker (see ¶[0083]; stock ticker symbols), Parent Corporation Name (see again ¶[0083]; company name), Underlying Division (see ¶[0043]; the universe of assets is divided into blocks and sectors), Underlying Industry Sector (see again ¶[0043]; the universe of assets is divided into blocks and sectors) Underlying Industry Group (see again ¶[0043]; the universe of assets is divided into blocks and sectors. See also ¶[0031]-[0033]; group assets into classes) Internet (see ¶[0009], [0028], and [0031]; wireless links to the internet. Fundamental asset information), Underlying Industry Sub-Group (see ¶[0032]-[0033] and [0043]-[0045]; assets may be sub-divided into various groupings. The universe of assets may be divided into industry sectors), Instrument Name (see ¶[0047] and Table 4; portfolio name), Synthetic Tracking Stock (see again ¶[0083]; stock ticker symbols), Instrument ID (see ¶[0031]; asset classes), Instrument Type (see again ¶[0031]; asset classes), Valuation (see ¶[0035]-[0039]; value), Dividend (see ¶[0042] and Table 3; dividend-yield), and Country Code (see ¶[0083]; list the country for the assets). TAYEB further discloses wherein the Al is further operable to cull information from a historical set of issued securities to determine which of the set of issuance characteristics are necessary and sufficient to transact a long or short position with respect to the performance of a selected aspect of the larger entity (see ¶[0005] and [0036]; negotiable instruments issued by a knowledge-based organization, and a plurality of rules governing activities directed to the knowledge market offerings and knowledge financial products. See again ¶[0052]; enter a long position or a short position. See also ¶[0210]-[0211] and [0230]-[0233]; The party agreeing to buy the underlying knowledge product/service in the future assumes a long position, and the party agreeing to sell the knowledge product/service in the future assumes a short position. Conditions of a short sale comprise: one agrees to deliver what he sells at a later date. If one does not deliver, he will stand any loss that the buyer may suffer as a result of an advance in price between the time one makes the sale and the time he cancels out his delivery obligation by means of an offsetting purchase. When one sells a knowledge commodity future short, one does so under these conditions. Of course, if prices decline during the period one is short, then one realizes a profit on the transaction); data-mining, using the processor, a database of historic information in order to retrieve legacy data representative of the set of issuance characteristics to provide a basis upon which to determine whether the set of issuance characteristics are capable of supporting the request to transact the long position or short position (see ¶[0046] and [0129]-[0140]; In an KIPO, the issuer obtains the assistance of an underwriting firm, which helps it determine whether to issue common security or preferred security, the best offering price, and the time to bring it to market. KIPOs can be a risky investment. For the individual investor, it is difficult to predict what the stock will do on its initial day of trading and in the near future because there is often little historical data with which to analyze the organization, especially if it's main trade is knowledge. Also, most of the KIPOs are from institutions going through a transitory growth period, which are subject to additional uncertainty regarding their future values. The plan comprises financial history and projections including historical financial statement for the last 3-5 years); testing, using the processor, the legacy data of the set of issuance characteristics to determine whether the issuance characteristics support the request to transact the long position or the short position (see ¶[0122]-[0128]; assess stock option or purchase plans); in response to a determination that the issuance characteristics support the request to transact the long position or the short position, prompting, using the processor in communication with a display screen associated with a computing device associated with a user, the user to transact the requested long position or the requested short position (see ¶[0209]; Knowledge Commodities Spot Trading/Market 51 is any transaction where delivery either takes place immediately, or with a minimum lag between the trade and delivery due to technical constraints. See also ¶[0276]-[0281]; minimize transaction costs to determine whether to execute the trade). TAYEB discloses a knowledge bourse for trading in knowledge stocks. TREVATHAN discloses a trading platform that is executed through an application programming interface. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to include the application programming interface as taught by TREVATHAN in the system executing the method of TAYEB with the motivation to executed stock trades. TAYEB discloses a knowledge bourse for trading in knowledge stocks that are fungible, negotiable instruments that are issued by an organization (see ¶[0005]). FUJIMARA discloses an information processing system that includes trading data, including issue data, that is processed using artificial intelligence. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to include the artificial intelligence as taught by FUJIMARA in the system executing the method of TAYEB with the motivation to trade in stocks. TAYEB discloses a knowledge bourse for trading in knowledge stocks. VAIDYANATHAN discloses customizing a portfolio of securities that includes various information relating to the securities. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to include the information as taught by VAIDYANATHAN in the system executing the method of TAYEB with the motivation to trade in stocks and securities. Claim 11 (Currently Amended) TAYEB discloses a system for administering truth-based, synthetic, partial-entity knowledge sourcing and tradeable asset creation based thereon (see ¶[0048] and [0051]; a knowledge bourse for trading of an asset), TAYEB does not specifically disclose, but TREVATHAN discloses, said system comprising: an application programming interface (“API”) (see col 5, ln 53-65; it is suitable to capture data through API cooperation or capture by the scraping method if possible), TAYEB further discloses, the API operable to receive a request to transact a long position or a short position (see ¶[0052]; the buyer has the right to buy the commodity (underlying futures contract) or enter a long position, that is, a position in which the trader has bought a futures contract that does not offset a previously established short position. A call writer (seller) has the obligation to sell the commodity (or enter a short position, which is the opposite of a long position) with respect to a performance of a selected aspect of a larger entity (see ¶[0186]; knowledge Tracking Stocks 323 trade as separate securities. As a result, if the unit or division does well, the value of the tracking stock may increase--even if the company as a whole performs poorly; the opposite may also be true. Knowledge Tracking Stocks will make it easier for companies to raise capital for specific knowledge product/service instead of spinning off the line of business into a separate company). TAYEB does not specifically disclose, but FUJIMARA discloses, a processor (see ¶[0150]-[151] and Figs. 1 and 2; servers with processors), the processor operable to run artificial intelligence (“AI”) (see ¶[0740]; a phase of processing into a fixed format may be included. A display phase may be included. AI (e.g., machine-learning or intelligence computation) phase may be included. Data associated with trading data includes technical indicators, tables such as stock price data, and issue data). TAYEB further discloses the AI operable to determine a set of issuance characteristics, the set of issuance characteristics that are required to support the request to transact the long position or short position (see ¶[0005] and [0036]; negotiable instruments issued by a knowledge-based organization, and a plurality of rules governing activities directed to the knowledge market offerings and knowledge financial products. See again ¶[0052]; enter a long position or a short position). TAYEB does not specifically disclose, but VAIDYANATHAN discloses, said issuance characteristics comprising Parent Corporation Ticker (see ¶[0083]; stock ticker symbols), Parent Corporation Name (see again ¶[0083]; company name), Underlying Division (see ¶[0043]; the universe of assets is divided into blocks and sectors), Underlying Industry Sector (see again ¶[0043]; the universe of assets is divided into blocks and sectors) Underlying Industry Group (see again ¶[0043]; the universe of assets is divided into blocks and sectors. See also ¶[0031]-[0033]; group assets into classes) Internet (see ¶[0009], [0028], and [0031]; wireless links to the internet. Fundamental asset information), Underlying Industry Sub-Group (see ¶[0032]-[0033] and [0043]-[0045]; assets may be sub-divided into various groupings. The universe of assets may be divided into industry sectors), Instrument Name (see ¶[0047] and Table 4; portfolio name), Synthetic Tracking Stock (see again ¶[0083]; stock ticker symbols), Instrument ID (see ¶[0031]; asset classes), Instrument Type (see again ¶[0031]; asset classes), Valuation (see ¶[0035]-[0039]; value), Dividend (see ¶[0042] and Table 3; dividend-yield), and Country Code (see ¶[0083]; list the country for the assets). TAYEB further discloses wherein the Al is further operable to cull information from a historical set of issued securities to determine which of the set of issuance characteristics are necessary and sufficient to transact a long or short position with respect to the performance of a selected aspect of the larger entity (see ¶[0005] and [0036]; negotiable instruments issued by a knowledge-based organization, and a plurality of rules governing activities directed to the knowledge market offerings and knowledge financial products. See again ¶[0052]; enter a long position or a short position. See also ¶[0210]-[0211] and [0230]-[0233]; The party agreeing to buy the underlying knowledge product/service in the future assumes a long position, and the party agreeing to sell the knowledge product/service in the future assumes a short position. Conditions of a short sale comprise: one agrees to deliver what he sells at a later date. If one does not deliver, he will stand any loss that the buyer may suffer as a result of an advance in price between the time one makes the sale and the time he cancels out his delivery obligation by means of an offsetting purchase. When one sells a knowledge commodity future short, one does so under these conditions. Of course, if prices decline during the period one is short, then one realizes a profit on the transaction); a database for storing historic information for providing responses to data-mining by the processor, said responses corresponding to legacy data representative of the set of issuance characteristics, said responses for providing a basis upon which to determine whether the set of issuance characteristics are capable of supporting the request to transact the long position or short position (see ¶[0046] and [0129]-[0140]; In an KIPO, the issuer obtains the assistance of an underwriting firm, which helps it determine whether to issue common security or preferred security, the best offering price, and the time to bring it to market. KIPOs can be a risky investment. For the individual investor, it is difficult to predict what the stock will do on its initial day of trading and in the near future because there is often little historical data with which to analyze the organization, especially if it's main trade is knowledge. Also, most of the KIPOs are from institutions going through a transitory growth period, which are subject to additional uncertainty regarding their future values. The plan comprises financial history and projections including historical financial statement for the last 3-5 years); wherein the processor is further operable to: test the legacy data of the set of issuance characteristics, said testing for determining whether the issuance characteristics support the request to transact the long position or the short position (see ¶[0122]-[0128]; assess stock option or purchase plans); and in response to a determination that the issuance characteristics support the request to transact the long position or the short position, prompt, in communication with a display screen associated with a computing device associated with a user, the user to transact the requested long position or the requested short position (see ¶[0209]; Knowledge Commodities Spot Trading/Market 51 is any transaction where delivery either takes place immediately, or with a minimum lag between the trade and delivery due to technical constraints. See also ¶[0276]-[0281]; minimize transaction costs to determine whether to execute the trade). TAYEB discloses a knowledge bourse for trading in knowledge stocks. TREVATHAN discloses a trading platform that is executed through an application programming interface. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to include the application programming interface as taught by TREVATHAN in the system executing the method of TAYEB with the motivation to executed stock trades. TAYEB discloses a knowledge bourse for trading in knowledge stocks that are fungible, negotiable instruments that are issued by an organization (see ¶[0005]). FUJIMARA discloses an information processing system that includes trading data, including issue data, that is processed using artificial intelligence. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to include the artificial intelligence as taught by FUJIMARA in the system executing the method of TAYEB with the motivation to trade in stocks. TAYEB discloses a knowledge bourse for trading in knowledge stocks. VAIDYANATHAN discloses customizing a portfolio of securities that includes various information relating to the securities. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to include the information as taught by VAIDYANATHAN in the system executing the method of TAYEB with the motivation to trade in stocks and securities. Claim(s) 3, 4, 13, and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20130173494 A1 to TAYEB et al. in view of US 11620706 B2 to TREVATHAN et al. US 20240273630 A1 to FUJIMARA, and US 20160343078 A1 to VAIDYANATHAN et al. as applied to claims 1 and 2 above, and further in view of US 10861101 B1 to HARDING et al. Claim 3 (Currently Amended) The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, and VAIDYANATHAN discloses the method as set forth in claim [sic] 1. The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, and VAIDYANATHAN does not specifically disclose, but HARDING discloses, wherein the using the AI is further operable to revise, based on the information culled from the historical set of issued securities, the set of issuance characteristics, wherein said revising comprises removing one of the issuance characteristics (see col 15, ln 3-24; identify certain terms or elements in a contract that are value diminishing based on trends to modify the contract). TAYEB discloses a knowledge bourse for trading in knowledge stocks that are fungible, negotiable instruments that are issued by an organization (see ¶[0005]) to contracting parties (see ¶[0006]). HARDING discloses a managing system using contracts, where contracts are modified based on historical data for similar contracts. It would have been obvious to modify contracts based on historical data as taught by HARDING in the system executing the method of TAYEB with the motivation to modify value diminishing terms. Claim 4 (Currently Amended) The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, and VAIDYANATHAN discloses the method as set forth in claim 3. The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, and VAIDYANATHAN does not specifically disclose, but HARDING discloses, wherein the AI is further operable to revise, based on the information culled from the historical set of issued securities, the set of issuance characteristics, wherein said revising comprises adding an additional issuance characteristic (see col 15, ln 3-24; identify certain terms or elements in a contract that are value diminishing based on trends to modify the contract). TAYEB discloses a knowledge bourse for trading in knowledge stocks that are fungible, negotiable instruments that are issued by an organization (see ¶[0005]) to contracting parties (see ¶[0006]). HARDING discloses a managing system using contracts, where contracts are modified based on historical data for similar contracts. It would have been obvious to modify contracts based on historical data as taught by HARDING in the system executing the method of TAYEB with the motivation to modify value diminishing terms. Claim 13 (Currently Amended) The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, and VAIDYANATHAN discloses the system as set forth in claim 11. The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, and VAIDYANATHAN does not specifically disclose, but HARDING discloses, wherein the using the AI is further operable to revise, based on the information culled from the historical set of issued securities, the set of issuance characteristics, wherein said revising comprises removing one of the issuance characteristics (see col 15, ln 3-24; identify certain terms or elements in a contract that are value diminishing based on trends to modify the contract). TAYEB discloses a knowledge bourse for trading in knowledge stocks that are fungible, negotiable instruments that are issued by an organization (see ¶[0005]) to contracting parties (see ¶[0006]). HARDING discloses a managing system using contracts, where contracts are modified based on historical data for similar contracts. It would have been obvious to modify contracts based on historical data as taught by HARDING in the system executing the method of TAYEB with the motivation to modify value diminishing terms. Claim 14 (Currently Amended) The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, and VAIDYANATHAN discloses the system as set forth in claim 11. The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, and VAIDYANATHAN does not specifically disclose, but HARDING discloses, wherein the AI is further operable to revise, based on the information culled from the historical set of issued securities, the set of issuance characteristics, wherein said revising comprises adding an additional issuance characteristic (see col 15, ln 3-24; identify certain terms or elements in a contract that are value diminishing based on trends to modify the contract). TAYEB discloses a knowledge bourse for trading in knowledge stocks that are fungible, negotiable instruments that are issued by an organization (see ¶[0005]) to contracting parties (see ¶[0006]). HARDING discloses a managing system using contracts, where contracts are modified based on historical data for similar contracts. It would have been obvious to modify contracts based on historical data as taught by HARDING in the system executing the method of TAYEB with the motivation to modify value diminishing terms. Claim(s) 5 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20130173494 A1 to TAYEB et al. in view of US 11620706 B2 to TREVATHAN et al., US 20240273630 A1 to FUJIMARA, and US 20160343078 A1 to VAIDYANATHAN et al. as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of US 11720887 B1 to Arvanaghi et al. (hereinafter ‘ARVANAGHI’). Claim 5 (Original) The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, and VAIDYANATHAN discloses the method as set forth in claim 1. The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, and VAIDYANATHAN does not specifically disclose, but ARVANAGHI discloses, further comprising using the processor to transact a transaction corresponding to the long or short position using a smart contract deployed on a blockchain (see col 35, ln 54-col 36, ln 15; security tokens for interests in a venture may issue in the form of smart contracts. The security token ledger may be published to a blockchain). TAYEB discloses a knowledge bourse for trading in knowledge stocks that are fungible, negotiable instruments that are issued by an organization (see ¶[0005]). ARVANAGHI discloses issuing tokens for securities in a venture using a smart contract that is maintained on a blockchain ledger. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to include the blockchain as taught by ARGANAGHI in the system executing the method of TAYEB with the motivation to issue knowledge stocks. Claim 15 (Original) The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, and VAIDYANATHAN discloses the system as set forth in claim 11. The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, and VAIDYANATHAN does not specifically disclose, but ARVANAGHI discloses, wherein the processor is further operable to transact a transaction corresponding to the long or short position using a smart contract deployed on a blockchain (see col 35, ln 54-col 36, ln 15; security tokens for interests in a venture may issue in the form of smart contracts. The security token ledger may be published to a blockchain). TAYEB discloses a knowledge bourse for trading in knowledge stocks that are fungible, negotiable instruments that are issued by an organization (see ¶[0005]). ARVANAGHI discloses issuing tokens for securities in a venture using a smart contract that is maintained on a blockchain ledger. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to include the blockchain as taught by ARGANAGHI in the system executing the method of TAYEB with the motivation to issue knowledge stocks. Claim(s) 6 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20130173494 A1 to TAYEB et al. in view of US 11620706 B2 to TREVATHAN et al., US 20240273630 A1 to FUJIMARA, and US 20160343078 A1 to VAIDYANATHAN et al. as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of US 20030144944 A1 to Kalt et al. (hereinafter ‘KALT’). Claim 6 (Original) The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, and VAIDYANATHAN discloses the method as set forth in claim 1. The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, and VAIDYANATHAN does not specifically disclose, but KALT discloses, further comprising maintaining a viability of the prompting for a pre-determined period of time (see ¶[0007]; advisory information may specify a stock issue and type of option, and a duration period before expiration of the option, and a time interval appropriate for buying or selling the option). TAYEB discloses a knowledge bourse for trading in knowledge stocks that are fungible, negotiable instruments that are issued by an organization (see ¶[0005]). KALT discloses a financial instruments trading system that includes a duration period for buying and selling options. It would have been obvious to include the duration period as taught by KALT in the system executing the method of TAYEB with the motivation to issue and trade knowledge stocks. Claim 16 (Original) The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, and VAIDYANATHAN discloses the system as set forth in claim 11. The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, and VAIDYANATHAN does not specifically disclose, but KALT discloses, wherein the processor is further operable to maintain a viability of the prompting for a pre-determined period of time (see ¶[0007]; advisory information may specify a stock issue and type of option, and a duration period before expiration of the option, and a time interval appropriate for buying or selling the option). TAYEB discloses a knowledge bourse for trading in knowledge stocks that are fungible, negotiable instruments that are issued by an organization (see ¶[0005]). KALT discloses a financial instruments trading system that includes a duration period for buying and selling options. It would have been obvious to include the duration period as taught by KALT in the system executing the method of TAYEB with the motivation to issue and trade knowledge stocks. Claim(s) 7, 8, 17, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20130173494 A1 to TAYEB et al. in view of US 11620706 B2 to TREVATHAN et al. US 20240273630 A1 to FUJIMARA, and US 20160343078 A1 to VAIDYANATHAN et al. as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of US 20240161118 A1 to Sarkisyan et al. (hereinafter ‘SARKISYAN’). Claim 7 (Original) The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, and VAIDYANATHAN discloses the method as set forth in claim 1. The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, and VAIDYANATHAN does not specifically disclose, but SARKISYAN discloses, wherein the prompting comprises prompting a selected group of users (see ¶[0030]-[0035]; notifications sent to invited users135. User chooses key parties, sends invitation for signing the contract to other users with consensus order 137 status 2 140 Users sign the contract). TAYEB discloses a knowledge bourse for trading in knowledge stocks that are fungible, negotiable instruments that are issued by an organization (see ¶[0005]) to contracting parties (see ¶[0006]). SARKISYAN discloses smart contracts where contracting parties are invited to sign the contract. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to include the inviting of contracting parties for signing the contract as taught by SARKISYAN in the system executing the method of TAYEB with the motivation to issue securities to contracting parties. Claim 8 (Original) The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, VAIDYANATHAN, and SARKISYAN discloses the method as set forth in claim 7. TAYEB does not specifically disclose, but SARKISYAN discloses, wherein each of the selected group of users is identified in the request to transact (see ¶[0030]-[0035]; notifications sent to invited users135. User chooses key parties, sends invitation for signing the contract to other users with consensus order 137 status 2 140 Users sign the contract). TAYEB discloses a knowledge bourse for trading in knowledge stocks that are fungible, negotiable instruments that are issued by an organization (see ¶[0005]) to contracting parties (see ¶[0006]). SARKISYAN discloses smart contracts where contracting parties are invited to sign the contract. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to include the inviting of contracting parties for signing the contract as taught by SARKISYAN in the system executing the method of TAYEB with the motivation to issue securities to contracting parties. Claim 17 (Original) The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, and VAIDYANATHAN discloses the system as set forth in claim 11. The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, and FUJIMARA does not specifically disclose, but SARKISYAN discloses, wherein processor is operable to prompt a selected group of users (see ¶[0030]-[0035]; notifications sent to invited users135. User chooses key parties, sends invitation for signing the contract to other users with consensus order 137 status 2 140 Users sign the contract). TAYEB discloses a knowledge bourse for trading in knowledge stocks that are fungible, negotiable instruments that are issued by an organization (see ¶[0005]) to contracting parties (see ¶[0006]). SARKISYAN discloses smart contracts where contracting parties are invited to sign the contract. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to include the inviting of contracting parties for signing the contract as taught by SARKISYAN in the system executing the method of TAYEB with the motivation to issue securities to contracting parties. Claim 18 (Original) The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, VAIDYANATHAN, and SARKISYAN discloses the system as set forth in claim 17. TAYEB does not specifically disclose, but SARKISYAN discloses, wherein each of the selected group of users is identified in the request to transact a short position or a long position (see ¶[0030]-[0035]; notifications sent to invited users135. User chooses key parties, sends invitation for signing the contract to other users with consensus order 137 status 2 140 Users sign the contract). TAYEB discloses a knowledge bourse for trading in knowledge stocks that are fungible, negotiable instruments that are issued by an organization (see ¶[0005]) to contracting parties (see ¶[0006]). SARKISYAN discloses smart contracts where contracting parties are invited to sign the contract. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to include the inviting of contracting parties for signing the contract as taught by SARKISYAN in the system executing the method of TAYEB with the motivation to issue securities to contracting parties. Claim(s) 9, 10, 19, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20130173494 A1 to TAYEB et al. in view of US 11620706 B2 to TREVATHAN et al., US 20240273630 A1 to FUJIMARA, US 20160343078 A1 to VAIDYANATHAN et al., and US 20240161118 A1 to SARKISYAN et al. as applied to claims 1 and 7 above, and further in view of US RE47060 E to Sweeting (hereinafter ‘SWEETING’). Claim 9 (Original) The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, VAIDYANATHAN, and SARKISYAN discloses the method as set forth in claim 7. The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, VAIDYANATHAN, and SARKISYAN does not explicitly disclose, but SWEETING discloses, wherein the prompting further comprises making a market by presenting a bid price and an offer price to the selected group of users for the long position or the short position with respect to the performance of the selected aspect of the larger entity (see col 2, ln 45-col 3, ln 30; an improved pricing system with decreased bid and offer prices). TAYEB discloses a knowledge bourse for trading in knowledge stocks that are fungible, negotiable instruments that are issued by an organization (see ¶[0005]). SWEETING discloses a trading system with price improvement that includes altering the bid price and offer price. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to include the improved pricing as taught by SWEETING in the system executing the method of TAYEB with the motivation to provide a system for trading stocks. Claim 10 (Original) The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, and VAIDYANATHAN discloses the method as set forth in claim 1. The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, and VAIDYANATHAN does not explicitly disclose, but SWEETING discloses, wherein the prompting further comprises posting a tradeable option by posting a bid price and an offer price for the performance of the selected aspect of the larger entity (see col 6, ln 45-59; traders may submit bids (i.e., prices they are willing to purchase an item) and/or offers (i.e., prices they are willing to sell an item). A trader may respond to bids or offers by submitting sell (or hit) or buy (or lift or take) commands to the trading system. A trade is executed when a trader issues a hit or lift (or take) command in response to a bid or offer, respectively). TAYEB discloses a knowledge bourse for trading in knowledge stocks that are fungible, negotiable instruments that are issued by an organization (see ¶[0005]). SWEETING discloses a trading system that includes issued securities with bid prices and offer prices. It would have been obvious to include the bid prices and offer prices as taught by SWEETING in the system executing the method of TAYEB with the motivation to provide a system for trading knowledge stocks. Claim 19 (Original) The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, VAIDYANATHAN, and SARKISYAN discloses the system as set forth in claim 18. The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, FUJIMARA, VAIDYANATHAN, and SARKISYAN does not explicitly disclose, but SWEETING discloses, wherein the processor is further operable to make a market in a metric related to the performance of the selected aspect of the larger entity, the processor operable to present, to the selected group of users a market bid price and a market offer price for the metric (see col 2, ln 45-col 3, ln 30; an improved pricing system with decreased bid and offer prices). TAYEB discloses a knowledge bourse for trading in knowledge stocks that are fungible, negotiable instruments that are issued by an organization (see ¶[0005]). SWEETING discloses a trading system with price improvement that includes altering the bid price and offer price. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to include the improved pricing as taught by SWEETING in the system executing the method of TAYEB with the motivation to provide a system for trading stocks. Claim 20 (Currently Amended) The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, VAIDYANATHAN, and FUJIMARA discloses the system as set forth in claim 11. The combination of TAYEB, TREVATHAN, VAIDYANATHAN, and FUJIMARA does not explicitly disclose, but SWEETING discloses, wherein the processor is further operable to post a tradeable option, said tradeable option being based, at least in part, on the performance of the selected aspect of the larger entity (see col 6, ln 45-59; traders may submit bids (i.e., prices they are willing to purchase an item) and/or offers (i.e., prices they are willing to sell an item). A trader may respond to bids or offers by submitting sell (or hit) or buy (or lift or take) commands to the trading system. A trade is executed when a trader issues a hit or lift (or take) command in response to a bid or offer, respectively). TAYEB discloses a knowledge bourse for trading in knowledge stocks that are fungible, negotiable instruments that are issued by an organization (see ¶[0005]). SWEETING discloses a trading system that includes issued securities with bid prices and offer prices. It would have been obvious to include the bid prices and offer prices as taught by SWEETING in the system executing the method of TAYEB with the motivation to provide a system for trading knowledge stocks. 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 RICHARD N SCHEUNEMANN whose telephone number is (571)270-7947. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm EST. 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, Patricia Munson can be reached at 571-270-5396. 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. /RICHARD N SCHEUNEMANN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3624
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Prosecution Timeline

Nov 20, 2024
Application Filed
Jan 16, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §101, §103
Apr 27, 2026
Response Filed
Jun 29, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §101, §103 (current)

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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
6%
Grant Probability
15%
With Interview (+8.3%)
3y 11m (~2y 0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 560 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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