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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
This communication is a First Office Action on the merits in reply to application number 18/963,714 filed on 11/28/2024. Applicant’s response filed on 05/13/2026 amends claim 2. Claims 1-2 are currently pending and have been examined.
Claims 3-5 are accompanied by a status identifier of “Original,” which renders the amendment non-compliant with 37 CFR 1.121(c) because claims 3-5 are non-elected and therefore must be accompanied by a status identifier of “Withdrawn.” The amendment is nevertheless accepted in pursuit of compact prosecution, however any future claim listing(s) require a status identifier of “withdrawn” for claims 3-5.
Election/Restriction
Applicant’s election of Invention I (claims 1-2) in the reply filed on 05/13/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
PNG
media_image1.png
360
876
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Claims 3-5 (Invention II) are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119 and/or 35 U.S.C. 120 is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) filed on 11/28/2024 has been considered.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to for the following reason:
The Specification contains embedded hyperlinks and/or other forms of browser-executable code (Spec. at paragraph [0024]). Applicant is required to delete the embedded hyperlinks and/or other forms of browser-executable code. See 37 CFR 1.57(e) and MPEP § 608.01 (VII).
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. In the instant application, these claim limitations are: access reception unit, content change unit, content transmission unit, access history transmission unit, and memory unit (claim 1). Based on a review of the Specification, the structure for performing the functions of the units is a general-purpose computer/server device, including its processor/CPU, physical memory, and network interface hardware (Spec. at pars. 21 and 50-58).
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation of “…using an access identifier (e.g., URL) included,” however the phrase "e.g., URL" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitation(s) following “e.g.” are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d). Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 1 further recites the limitation of “the memory unit,” however this limitation lacks antecedent basis because it has not been introduced into the claim, rendering the claim scope unclear. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 1 further recites the limitation of “the customer’s user terminal” and “the customer’s terminal” and “the user terminal,” however these limitations lack antecedent basis because they have not been introduced into the claim, rendering the claim scope unclear. Furthermore, it is unclear whether “the customer’s user terminal” and “the customer’s terminal” and “the user terminal” are intended to refer to the same limitation or whether they are intended as different limitations, which renders the claim scope ambiguous. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 2 depends from claim 1 and fails to cure the deficiencies noted above, and is therefore indefinite based on its inheritance of the deficiencies of parent claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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 of this title, 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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. §103 as unpatentable over Kandregula (US 2014/0110468) in view of Oberbrunner (US Patent No. 11,928,748).
Claim 1: Kandregula teaches a product description support system executed by a computer system including a management server (pars. 17-19, 100, and Fig. 10: FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an example processor platform 1000 capable of executing the instructions of FIGS. 6, 7, 8, and/or 9 to implement the example on-device meter 132 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2; processor platform 1000 can be, for example, a server; some examples, QR codes are used in advertising. Using QR code in advertising enables a user to gather additional information about the product(s) and/or advertisement(s) that they are looking at. For example, a QR code may comprise a link to a website where a user can navigate to purchase the product associated with the QR code), comprising:
an access reception unit that accepts access performed using an access identifier (e.g., URL) included in a code pre-associated with a product when read by the customer's user terminal (pars. 17-20, 33, 38-39, and 46: e.g., Using QR code in advertising enables a user to gather additional information about the product(s); For example, a QR code may comprise a link to a website where a user can navigate to purchase the product associated with the QR code; QR code may be used on a food product to enable a user to lookup nutritional information related to that food product; Users typically use smartphones with QR reader and/or scanner applications to read and/or scan QR codes. The QR reader application uses a camera of the smartphone to take an image of the QR code, decode the QR code, and perform an action based on the decoded QR code. For example, the action might be displaying a website retrieved from an address (e.g., a universal resource locator (URL)) encoded by the QR code in a browser of the smartphone; See also, par. 77: describing that the disclosed functions may be embodied as hardware or software [thus teaching the claimed units]);
a content change unit that selects content data corresponding to the access identifier from among multiple pieces of pre-stored content data according to predetermined provision conditions, thus changing the content data associated with the access identifier (pars. 30, 68, and Fig. 4: In some other examples, QR codes, when scanned, direct the mobile device to the monitoring data collection site rather than to a third party system. The monitoring data collection site then records the access based on the QR code and redirects the mobile device to the third-party site. The third-party site then provides information to the mobile device associated with the QR code that was scanned. In some examples, redirecting the mobile device is implemented by transmitting a redirect message to the mobile device; when any of the QR codes associated with the first advertisement are scanned, the information at the redirect URL is displayed. However, any other redirect URL may alternatively be used to, for example, display different information based on the scanned QR code (e.g., a webpage displayed when a QR code on a billboard is scanned may be different from a webpage displayed when a QR code in a magazine is scanned); redirect URLs may be used for different advertisements. For example, advertisement 2 (e.g., the fourth example row 465) is associated with a redirect URL that is different from the redirect URL associated with the first advertisement; See also, par. 77: describing that the disclosed functions may be embodied as hardware or software [thus teaching the claimed units]);
a content transmission unit that sends the changed content data to the customer's terminal for display, allowing it to be viewed on the user terminal (pars. 45-46, 56-57, and 88-90: the network communicator 210 may be implemented by any other type of network interface; Internet request handler 320 then transmits a redirect instruction including the redirect URL to the mobile device 130, thereby instructing the mobile device 130 to request a resource located at the redirect URL. (block 740). In the illustrated example, the redirect URL is transmitted using a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) redirect instruction; browser 215 of the mobile device 130 then receives the redirect instruction from the Internet request handler 320. (block 745). Based on the received redirect instruction, the browser 215 navigates to and/or transmits a request to the redirect URL specified by the redirect instruction. The browser 215 then displays information received in response to the redirected request; implemented by a browser capable of displaying websites and/or other Internet media (e.g., product information, advertisements, videos, images, etc.) via the mobile device; See also, par. 77: describing that the disclosed functions may be embodied as hardware or software [thus teaching the claimed units]); and
an access history management unit that records the provision history of each content data (pars. 32, 55, 70-74, 88, 92, 94, 98 and Fig. 5: monitoring data collection site 110 of the illustrated example is a server and/or database that collects and/or receives information related to the usage of QR codes; FIG. 5 is an example data table 500 representing QR code exposures and/or impressions that may be stored by the example monitoring data collection site; data table 500 identifies…timestamp of the request; timestamp column 510 of the illustrated example of FIG. 5 represents a time when information associated with the QR code (e.g., a website) was presented; timestamp column 510 may alternatively represent a time when the QR code was scanned by the mobile device 130. Storing a timestamp (e.g., date and/or time) enables analysis of when users scanned a particular QR code; See also, par. 77: describing that the disclosed functions may be embodied as hardware or software [thus teaching the claimed units]).
Kandregula does not teach wherein the content change unit selects content data by adopting one of the following methods: Method 1) selecting content data from among the multiple pieces of content data that satisfies a predetermined provision count; Method 2) obtaining an access count N, which is the number of accesses to the access identifier used by the customer's user terminal, and selecting content data from among the multiple pieces of content data where the access count N satisfies the provision count; Method 3) selecting more detailed content data from among the multiple pieces of content data according to the access count N; Method 4) managing the user level of the customer, increasing the user level as the number of accesses to the access identifier used by the customer's user terminal increases, and, if the customer requests to view content data at a level lower than the current user level, adjusting the user level to the requested content level, and selecting content data from among the multiple pieces of content data according to the user level; Method 5) obtaining the most recent access date and time of the access identifier used by the customer's user terminal and selecting content data based on the elapsed time since that access date and time; Method 6) identifying the average viewing time or the ratio of viewing time for videos related to past accesses on the customer's user terminal and selecting video content data with a playback time corresponding to the average viewing time or the ratio of viewing time from among the multiple pieces of content data; Method 7) selecting content data from among the multiple pieces of content data based on the purchase rate of the product within a specified time after viewing, in descending order of purchase rate; Method 8) storing, in the memory unit of the management server, information associating each product with a sales region and information associating each piece of content data with a provision region and time period, identifying the product associated with the URL used in the access, specifying the sales region of the identified product, and selecting content data from among the multiple pieces of content data where the sales region of the identified product corresponds to the provision region and the current time corresponds to the time period; Method 9) selecting different content data depending on whether the product associated with the URL used in the access has already been purchased; and Method 10) obtaining at least one of gender, age group, or occupation from the attribute information of the customer who performed the access on the user terminal, and selecting content data from among the multiple pieces of content data that satisfies the target attributes using the information in the memory unit (Examiner’s Note: The preceding limitation, as recited, requires the content change u nit to perform to select content data using any one of the 10 listing methods, such that the limitation is met by a prior art reference teaching at least one of the listed methods).
Oberbrunner teaches wherein the content change unit selects content data by adopting one of the following methods: Method 1) selecting content data from among the multiple pieces of content data that satisfies a predetermined provision count (col. 7 lines 28-34 and col. 31 lines 55-60: e.g., processor 104 tracks the number of times a QR code for a work piece has been scanned, and once the number of scans reach or surpass a preset scan threshold, processor 104 may modify creative work class 116 to a class that is more profitable to the author/creator, such as changing it to a class that includes royalties on resale; method 700 may further include monitoring, by the processor, the number of times the machine-readable code has been scanned. In a further embodiment, method 700 may include re-classifying, by the processor, creative work class 116 as a function of the number; See also, col. 32 lines 7-8: implementations discussed above employing software and/or software modules [functioning as the content change unit]); Method 2) obtaining an access count N, which is the number of accesses to the access identifier used by the customer's user terminal, and selecting content data from among the multiple pieces of content data where the access count N satisfies the provision count; Method 3) selecting more detailed content data from among the multiple pieces of content data according to the access count N; Method 4) managing the user level of the customer, increasing the user level as the number of accesses to the access identifier used by the customer's user terminal increases, and, if the customer requests to view content data at a level lower than the current user level, adjusting the user level to the requested content level, and selecting content data from among the multiple pieces of content data according to the user level; Method 5) obtaining the most recent access date and time of the access identifier used by the customer's user terminal and selecting content data based on the elapsed time since that access date and time; Method 6) identifying the average viewing time or the ratio of viewing time for videos related to past accesses on the customer's user terminal and selecting video content data with a playback time corresponding to the average viewing time or the ratio of viewing time from among the multiple pieces of content data; Method 7) selecting content data from among the multiple pieces of content data based on the purchase rate of the product within a specified time after viewing, in descending order of purchase rate; Method 8) storing, in the memory unit of the management server, information associating each product with a sales region and information associating each piece of content data with a provision region and time period, identifying the product associated with the URL used in the access, specifying the sales region of the identified product, and selecting content data from among the multiple pieces of content data where the sales region of the identified product corresponds to the provision region and the current time corresponds to the time period; Method 9) selecting different content data depending on whether the product associated with the URL used in the access has already been purchased; and Method 10) obtaining at least one of gender, age group, or occupation from the attribute information of the customer who performed the access on the user terminal, and selecting content data from among the multiple pieces of content data that satisfies the target attributes using the information in the memory unit (Examiner’s Note: The preceding claim language includes a listing of methods 2-10, which are not required to be performed because the claim scope covers “one of [methods thru 10],” which is taught by Oberbrunner’s teaching of the first method of the alternatively claimed ten methods).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Kandregula with Oberbrunner because the references are analogous since they are each directed to features for computer-implemented features for using Quick Response (QR) codes to monitor track user behavior with a product related thereto, which is within Applicant’s field of endeavor of distributing content to a consumer based on an code associated with a product, and because modifying Kandregula with Oberbrunner’s feature for selecting content data satisfying a predetermined provision count, as claimed, would serve the motivation to help a company understand usage of QR codes (e.g., trends) and make business decisions based thereon, e.g., marketing campaign decisions (Kandregula at par. 19); and further obvious because the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. §103 as unpatentable over Kandregula (US 2014/0110468) in view of Oberbrunner (US Patent No. 11,928,748), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Khedkar et al. (US Patent No. 6,609,118, hereinafter “Khedkar”).
Claim 2: Kandregula, in view of Oberbrunner, teaches wherein the content change unit…select any of methods 1 to 10, and adopts the method … (as discussed above in the rejection of claim 1, which is incorporated herein), but does not explicitly teach instructs a generative AI to select…and adopts the method selected by the generative AI.
Khedkar teaches instructs a generative AI to select…and adopts the method selected by the generative AI (col. 1 lines 55-60, col. 5 lines 20-46, claim 26, and Fig. 4: process, called AIGEN, is a generative artificial intelligence method that trains a fuzzy-neural network using a subset of cases from a case-base, and produces a run-time system to provide; AIGEN system 30 uses a network 34 comprising six inputs 42-47 and one output 40. Four of the inputs 42-45 are used to partition the input space into sixteen overlapping sets, and give rise to sixteen fuzzy rules. The remaining two inputs 46, 47 are used only by the consequents of the rules. Each of the sixteen fuzzy rules provide an output (i.e., a prediction based on the six input variables), and the outputs are then combined using interpolative reasoning to produce an estimate of the subject property's value 40).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Kandregula/Oberbrunner with Khedkar because the references are analogous since Kandregula/Oberbrunner are each directed to features for computer-implemented features for using Quick Response (QR) codes to monitor track user behavior with a product related thereto, which is within Applicant’s field of endeavor of distributing content to a consumer based on an code associated with a product, whereas Khedkar’s use of generative AI to aid with market value decisions is reasonably pertinent to the problem with which applicant is concerned (automated provision of marketing intelligence), and because modifying Kandregula/Oberbrunner to include Khedkar’s generative AI functionality, as claimed, would serve the motivation to employ machine-learning processes to promote computational efficiency (Oberbrunner at col. 17 lines 35-59); and further obvious because the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
O’Connor (US 2013/0193200): discloses features for tracking items and providing information using QR codes, including selecting content data corresponding to the access identifier from among multiple pieces of pre-stored content data according to predetermined provision conditions, thus changing the content data associated with the access identifier (pars. 21-22: e.g., user scans QR code 112, in this scenario, located on product 110, using mobile communications device 102 (also referred to as user device 102). QR code 112 encodes product identification information. In one embodiment, QR code 112 encodes product information including the make and model of the particular product. In another embodiment, QR code 112 encodes product information identifying the particular product with which QR code 112 is associated (e.g., a unique serial number associated with the particular product). In another embodiment, QR code 112 encodes information concerning variations of a product such as release version, configuration version, etc.).
Burkhart et al. (US 2015/0041530): discloses features for creating and managing dynamic QR codes, including tracking a number of detected scans by different consumer devices (at least pars. 12 and 62).
Ionescu et al. (US 2013/0018726): discloses features for communicating personalized messages using Quick Response (QR) codes, including tracking the number of times a QR code is accessed or generated for a particular merchant (at least pars. 41 and 54).
Stancioff et al. (US 2014/0108104): discloses features for performance tracking for motivating individuals to capture consumer data via mobile devices, including tracking the number of successful interactions, e.g. QR codes scanned by a consumer on an individual and product or service basis (at least par. 27).
M. N. Riaz, "Smartphones usage in information retrieval under multichannel settings: An assessment of technological triggers," 2017 International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies (ICICT), Karachi, Pakistan, 2017, pp. 185-189: discloses commercial tagging practices, such as the use of QR codes and NFC does to provide additional information specific to a product.
K. Kaarthik, T. Manibharathi and D. Rakshith, "QR Code based Shopping System," 2022 International Conference on Applied Artificial Intelligence and Computing (ICAAIC), Salem, India, 2022, pp. 1005-1010: discloses the generation of Quick Response (QR) codes for products to improve a customer’s shopping experience.
Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application or concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to Timothy A. Padot whose telephone number is 571.270.1252. The Examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday, 8:30 - 5:30. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s supervisor, Brian Epstein can be reached at 571.270.5389. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571- 273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for published applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Patent Center for authorized users only. Should you have questions about access to Patent Center, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). 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) Form at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/uspto-automated- interview-request-air-form.
/TIMOTHY PADOT/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3625
06/01/2026
Prosecution Insights