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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 04/22/2026 has a been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 04/22/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues, “the invention of claim 1 "provides a more reliable method of generating route information in an environment where normal location services are often unreliable due to poor reception... a technical solution for a situation where poor radio signal reception is the cause of the problem is the definition of a "technical improvement." For at least this reason, Applicant respectfully requests that the Examiner reconsider the basis for maintaining this rejection, and withdraw the rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 101.” The Examiner disagrees. Applicant is not providing a technical solution to the problem of poor reception as much as Applicant is providing a solution to not being able to find a seat in a venue. This problem, again is not a problem rooted in computer technology.
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, 3-6 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more.
MPEP 2106 Step 2A-Prong 1
The claims recite:
obtain the information regarding the ticket to cause at least one of the at least one gate to send a ticket authentication request regarding the ticket to an authentication to receive an authentication result from the authentication and to control the indicator to output an indication corresponding to the authentication result, wherein the ticket authentication request comprises the information regarding the ticket and information regarding a location of the gate at a time the gate terminal receives the information regarding the ticket; to receive the ticket authentication request from the gate terminal and to authenticate the information regarding the ticket and to provide the authentication result and route generation to generate route information based on the information regarding the ticket and the information regarding the location of the gate at the time the gate terminal receives the information regarding the ticket, wherein the route information comprises a route from the location of the gate at a time the gate receives the information regarding the ticket to the visitor terminal acquires the ticket information output by the visitor that is information based on a route from a gate location where the gate terminal that has acquired the ticket information is located to a destination location associated with the ticket information regarding the ticket; and to provide the route information to the visitor terminal either directly or through the gate terminal, wherein the visitor terminal computer program code further comprises:
map generation configured to cause at least one of the at least one visitor to cause a map of a venue associated with the ticket to be displayed wherein the map comprises a graphical representation of the route. and presents the provided route information.
The claims falls into the abstract idea groupings of (b) Certain Methods Of Organizing Human Activity ** fundamental economic principles or practices (including hedging, insurance, mitigating risk) commercial or legal interactions (including agreements in the form of contracts; legal obligations; advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors; business relations) managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people (including social activities, teaching, and following rules or instructions)**
The limitations under their broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of business relations, but for the recitation of generic computer components. That is, other than recited, “electronic ticket management system, server, visitor terminal, gate terminal, processor, computer-readable medium, display, computer program code, optical scanner, light and audio, interface, terminal memory, authentication server, gate terminal processor, ticket acquisition code, server memory, server processor route generation code, visitor terminal program code, map generation and display code, graphical representation”, nothing in the claim element precludes the step from practically being certain methods of organizing human activity. Accordingly, the claims recite an abstract idea.
MPEP 2106 Step 2A-Prong 2
The recited limitations are not indicative of integration into a practical application. In particular, the claims only recite the following additional elements, “electronic ticket management system, server, visitor terminal, gate terminal, processor, computer-readable medium.” These additional elements are recited at a high-level of generality such that in conjunction with the abstract limitations, they amount to no more than:
Adding the words “apply it” (or an equivalent) with the judicial exception, or mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, or merely uses a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea - see MPEP 2106.05(f);
- (“electronic ticket management system, server, visitor terminal, gate terminal, processor, computer-readable medium, display, computer program code, optical scanner, light and audio, interface, terminal memory, authentication server, gate terminal processor, ticket acquisition code, server memory, server processorroute generation code, visitor terminal program code, map generation and display code, graphical representation”)
iv. Generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use, -(gate);
The claims do not include additional elements individually or in an ordered combination that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. Integration into a practical application requires the additional element(s) to apply, rely on, or use the judicial exception in a manner that imposes a meaningful limit on the judicial exception, such that the claim is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception. This is not the case in the instant application. Further, as discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional elements amount to no more than: mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component and generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use.
MPEP 2106 Step 2B
Eligibility requires that the claim recites additional elements that amount to an inventive concept (aka “significantly more”) than the recited judicial exception. As discussed above, this is where the instant application falls short. The claims do not include additional elements individually or in an ordered combination that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception.
Dependent Claims Step 2A:
The limitations of the dependent claims but for those addressed below merely set forth further refinements of the abstract idea without changing the analysis already
presented (that is, they further limit the organizing of human activities at step 2A —
Prong One without adding any new additional elements other than those already
analyzed above with respect to the independent claims at 2A) — Prong Two; While claims 3-5 describe varied codes and terminals, these additional elements do not remedy the deficiencies as they generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use.
Dependent Claims Step 2B:
The dependent claims merely use the same general technological environment
and instructions to implement the abstract idea as the independent claims without
adding any new additional elements. Accordingly, they are not directed to significantly
more than the exception itself, and are not eligible subject matter under § 101.
The claims are not rejected by the prior art of record.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TONYA S JOSEPH whose telephone number is (571)270-1361. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6:30-2:30, First Fridays Off.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Shannon Campbell can be reached at (571) 272-5587. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TONYA JOSEPH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3628
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