DETAILED ACTION
The following is a final office action in response to the amendment filed June 10, 2026. Claims 1-20 are currently pending and have been examined.
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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's 101 arguments have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Step 2A, Prong One
Applicant's arguments have been fully considered but are not persuasive. Claim 1 recites a method of facilitating a retail purchase by obtaining item and shopping cart identifiers, receiving an indication to complete a purchase, establishing a connection with a payment service, and transmitting payment information to complete the transaction. Collectively, these limitations describe a commercial interaction, namely the processing of a purchase transaction, which falls within the certain methods of organizing human activity grouping of abstract ideas identified in the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance. Although the claim recites obtaining identifiers using an NFC reader and communicating with a payment terminal service, these additional technological components merely serve as tools to implement the commercial interaction and do not alter the character of the claim as being directed to an abstract idea.
Step 2A, Prong Two
Applicant's arguments regarding a technical improvement have been considered but are not persuasive. While the Specification describes benefits such as increased checkout throughput and elimination of traditional checkout bottlenecks, the claim does not recite any improvement to NFC technology, payment terminal technology, network communications, or other computer functionality. Rather, the claim recites using an NFC reader to obtain identifiers from NFC tags, establishing a secure connection with a payment terminal service, and transmitting transaction information using conventional computing components performing their ordinary functions. The asserted improvement is directed to conducting the commercial transaction in a different manner rather than improving the functioning of the underlying technology itself. Accordingly, the additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application.
Step 2B
Applicant's arguments that the claimed limitations are not well-understood, routine, or conventional have been considered but are not persuasive. The claim recites generic computing components, including a processor, memory, NFC reader, NFC tags, and communication with a payment terminal service, each performing its ordinary and expected function of reading identifiers, receiving user input, establishing a communication session, and transmitting transaction information. Applicant has not identified, nor does the claim recite, any unconventional operation of these components or any technological improvement resulting from their implementation. Even when considered as an ordered combination, the additional elements merely automate the abstract idea of completing a retail purchase using conventional computer technology and therefore do not amount to significantly more than the judicial exception itself.
Applicant's prior art arguments have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant contends that Vukich does not disclose establish a secure connection with a payment terminal service associated with the terminal identifier. Vukich, though does indeed teach establish a secure connection with a payment terminal service associated with the terminal identifier (Vukich: paragraph [0118] - In some implementations, secure element 274 may host a personalized card application and a cryptographic key required to perform a financial transaction (e.g., with transaction terminal 220).). Vukich thereby teaches the claimed limitation.
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (abstract idea) without significantly more.
Step 1: Statutory Category
(MPEP § 2106)
Claims 1-20 are directed towards a system, method and a computer-readable medium. The claims are directed to a statutory category: a machine, a process, and an article of manufacture as defined under 35 U.S.C. § 101.
Regarding Claim 1:
Step 2A, Prong One: Judicial Exception – Abstract Idea
(MPEP § 2106.04)
The claim recites a fundamental commercial interaction / transaction processing concept—i.e., facilitating a purchase by identifying goods, associating them with a cart/terminal, and completing payment through a service—implemented using generic computing components and communications.
Limitations that collectively describe the abstract idea include:
Obtaining an item identifier (SKU) (i.e., identifying goods for purchase).
Obtaining a shopping cart identifier and terminal identifier (i.e., associating the transaction context).
Receiving a user input to complete purchase (i.e., initiating checkout).
Establishing a connection to a payment terminal service (i.e., contacting a payment processor/terminal).
Sending SKU + payment instrument + cart identifier for completion (i.e., executing payment/checkout).
Step 2A, Prong Two: Integration into a Practical Application
(MPEP § 2106.04(d))
The claim includes concrete components (NFC reader, NFC tags on item/cart) and a “secure connection,” but as claimed they function primarily as data capture and data transmission mechanisms to carry out the underlying commercial transaction.
Additional elements beyond the abstract idea:
“computing device comprising a processor, a memory”
“near-field communication (NFC) reader”
“item NFC tag attached to the item”
“cart NFC tag attached to the shopping cart”
“establish a secure connection”
“payment terminal service associated with the terminal identifier”
Integration analysis:
The claim does not recite a technological improvement to NFC communications (e.g., a new NFC protocol, tag authentication scheme, collision handling, anti-skimming technique, or reduced-latency/energy method).
“Secure connection” is recited at a result level without specific technical steps (e.g., key exchange, tokenization flow, device attestation, mutual authentication, cryptographic binding of SKU/cart/terminal, etc.).
The NFC reads are used to gather identifiers, and the remainder is conventional checkout messaging to a payment service—i.e., using technology as a tool to perform an abstract commercial process.
On this record, the claim does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application; it appears to be directed to the abstract idea.
Step 2B: Inventive Concept
(MPEP § 2106.05)
The additional elements (processor/memory, NFC reader + tags, establishing a secure connection, sending transaction data to a payment terminal service) appear to be conventional, routine, and generic computer/networking and NFC-identification functions used in their ordinary capacities to implement purchase completion.
No persuasive “inventive concept” is evident because the claim does not recite a specific technical mechanism that improves security, NFC operation, device pairing, or payment terminal interoperability beyond functional results.
Therefore, the claim is not directed to patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101.
Regarding Claim 8 and 15
Independent claims 8 and 15 are parallel in scope to claim 1 and ineligible for similar reasons.
Regarding Claims 2-7, 9-14, and 16-19
Dependent claims 2-7, 9-14, and 16-20 merely set forth further embellishments to the abstract idea, and therefore do not confer eligibility on the claimed invention and are ineligible for similar reasons to claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 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 –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Vukich et al (US 2022/0218125 A1).
Regarding claims 1, 8, and 15, Vukich discloses a system comprising:
obtain, via the NFC reader, a stock keeping unit (SKU) identifier for an item from an item NFC tag attached to the item; (Vukich: Figure 1, paragraph [0036] - The one or more price tags may have wireless communication (e.g., Bluetooth communication, NFC communication, cellular communication, radio communication, and/or the like) capabilities. A price tag may be associated with an item. The price tag may include the item data related to the item the price tag is associated with. Item data may identify a stock keeping unit (SKU) of the item);
obtain, via the NFC reader, a shopping cart identifier and a terminal identifier from a cart NFC tag attached to the shopping cart (Vukich: Figure 1A, paragraph [0023] - As further shown in FIG. 1A, and by reference number 105, the multi-function transaction card may receive, from one or more shelf sensors and via wireless communications (e.g., Bluetooth communications, NFC communications, cellular communications, radio communications, and/or the like), first data indicating that one or more items have been removed from one or more shelves by the customer of the merchant);
receive a user input indicating that a purchase of the item is to be completed; (Vukich: paragraph [0072]] - In some implementations, the registration form may have fields for the customer to input information into. The fields may relate to registration information, account information (e.g., transaction account information associated with the customer), multi-function transaction card information, customer preferences, and/or the like);
establish a secure connection with a payment terminal service associated with the terminal identifier (Vukich: paragraph [0118] - In some implementations, secure element 274 may host a personalized card application and a cryptographic key required to perform a financial transaction (e.g., with transaction terminal 220).);
send the SKU for the item, a payment instrument, and the shopping cart identifier to the payment terminal service via the secure connection (Vukich: Figure 1B - provide item data and customer data).
Regarding claims 2, 9, and 16, Vukich discloses all of t wherein the terminal identifier is a decentralized identifier (DID) and the secure connection is a DIDComm connection. However these differences are only found in the nonfunctional descriptive material and are not functionally involved in the steps recited. The steps would be performed the same regardless of the type of terminal identifier and secure connection. This descriptive material will not distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art in terms of patentability, see In re Gulack, 70 F.2d 1381, 1385, 217 USPQ 401 (Fed. Cir. 1983); In re Lowry, 32 F.3d 1579, 32 USPQ2d 1031 (Fed. Cir. 1994).
Regarding claims 3, 10, and 17, Vukich discloses all of the limitations as noted above in claims 1, 8, and 15. Vukich further discloses obtain a price for the item from the item NFC tag attached to the item; and update a subtotal for the shopping cart based at least in part on the price for the item (Vukich: Figure 1E - compute total cost of items).
Regarding claims 4, 11, and 18, Vukich discloses all of the limitations as noted above in claims 1, 8, and 15. Vukich further discloses receive a request, via the NFC reader, for the shopping cart identifier from an exit security system; and provide, via the NFC reader, the shopping cart identifier to the exit security system (Vukich: paragraph [0062] - The receipt may enable the customer to exit the store without triggering one or more security devices associated with the store. For example, a security device may detect the receipt (e.g., from the multi-function transaction card and/or the client device).).
Regarding claims 5 and 12 , Vukich discloses all of the limitations as noted above in claims 4 and 11. Vukich further discloses wherein the exit security system is configured to confirm that the item associated with the shopping cart has been paid for (Vukich: paragraph [0062] - The receipt may enable the customer to exit the store without triggering one or more security devices associated with the store. For example, a security device may detect the receipt (e.g., from the multi-function transaction card and/or the client device).).
Regarding claims 6, 13, and 19, Vukich discloses all of the limitations as noted above in claims 1, 8, and 15. Vukich further discloses link the SKU for the item to the shopping cart identifier (Vukich: paragraph [0069] - The program data may include item data (e.g., identifying a SKU of the item, a manufacturer of the item, a description of the item, a material of the item, a size of the item, a color of the item, a package associated with the item, a warranty term associated with the item, a price of the time, a promotion and/or rebate offered by the merchant for the item, and/or the like), transaction data, merchant data (e.g., merchant identifier, a transaction account identifier for a transaction account associated with the merchant, and/or the like), customer data (a multi-function transaction card identifier for the multi-function transaction card associated with the customer, a transaction account identifier for a transaction account associated with the customer, client device data associated with the client device of the customer, and/or the like), and/or the like).
Regarding claims 7, 14, and 20, Vukich discloses all of the limitations as noted above in claims 1, 8, and 15. Vukich further discloses receive a user input indicating a selection of the payment instrument from a plurality of stored payment instruments (Vukich: paragraph [0072]] - In some implementations, the registration form may have fields for the customer to input information into. The fields may relate to registration information, account information (e.g., transaction account information associated with the customer), multi-function transaction card information, customer preferences, and/or the like).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KATHLEEN G PALAVECINO whose telephone number is (571)270-1355. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-4.
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KATHLEEN GAGE PALAVECINO
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3688
/KATHLEEN PALAVECINO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3688
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