DETAILED ACTION
The present application is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . 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.
This Office Action is in response Applicant communication filed on 3/30/2026.
Claims
Claims 1, 3, and 20 have been amended.
Claims 1-20 are currently pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
101
The applicant argues that the claims as a whole cannot be practically performed in the human mind (see applicant’s arguments/remarks pages 8 and 9). However the examiner respectfully disagrees. The claim limitations do recite an abstract idea that can be performed in the human mind and that manages personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people (including social activities, teaching, and following rules or instructions). For example, a first user can provide their location to a second user who can then look at a physical map and identify merchants close to the first user location and rank the merchants based on how close they are to the first user location. The merchant's locations can then be provided to the first user who can then go to one of the merchants and purchase an item at the merchant. This is an abstract idea that can be performed in the human mind and by a user with pen and paper as well as a social activity between people to provide information about merchants that are nearby.
Further the applicant argues that claim 1 integrates the abstract idea into a practical application because claim 1 describes an improved system for leveraging geolocation information based on a measurement of the user device to identify merchants and complete a transaction with a merchant (see applicant’s arguments/remarks pages 9-11). However the examiner respectfully disagrees. The additional elements of the claims include a payment service system, user device, one or more processors, and one or more memory units which are just computers being used as tools to perform the abstract idea. Further, the additional elements of receiving geolocation information indicating a location of the user device based on a measurement associated with the user device, searching, through at least one data structure based on the geolocation information, and initiating processing of the transaction between the user and the merchant using the payment card information is generally linking the abstract idea to a particular technological environment. The abstract idea, as stated above, is being generally linked to computers and mobile devices communicating over a network to provide information such as location information and payment information. There is nothing in the claim that is improving upon location tracking or payment transaction technology. Therefore the abstract idea is not integrated into a practical application.
Furthermore, the applicant argues that the limitations of claim 1 perform functions that are not generic computer functions and therefore amount to significantly more than the abstract idea similar to the claims of the ‘905 and ‘911 patents at issue in Weisner v. Google LLC, 51 F.4th 1073 (Fed. Cir. 2022) (see applicant’s arguments/remarks pages 11 and 12). However the examiner respectfully disagrees. Claim 1 of the '905 and '911 patents in Weisner v. Google LLC, 51 F.4th 1073 (Fed. Cir. 2022) recite the creation and use of travel logs to improve computerized search results which the courts found to be significantly more than the abstract idea. This is different from claim 1 of this pending application which broadly recites searching for merchants based on geolocation information of a user device. The additional elements of the claim are recited at a high level of generality and are merely using computers as tools to perform the abstract idea and generally link the use of the abstract idea to a particular technological environment. Further, the use of mobile user devices to provide geolocation data to perform a search of nearby merchants and electronically processing payment transactions at merchant point-of-sale devices are well-understood, routine, conventional activities previously known to the industry. Therefore the additional elements do not provide significantly more than the abstract idea.
The examiner has considered all of the applicant's arguments but maintains the 101 rejection.
103
In applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are moot because new references have been added as necessitated by the applicant’s amendments to the claims.
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 an abstract idea without significantly more.
In the instant case, claims 1-3 are directed to a first method, claims 4-19 are directed to a second method, and claim 20 is directed to a system. Therefore, these claims fall within the four statutory categories of invention.
Claim 1 recites providing a ranked list of merchants that are nearby a user and performing a payment transaction at one of the merchants. Specifically, the claim recites “receiving… information indicating a location of the user device, the… information based on a measurement associated with the user device; receiving… from the user…, a request to search for merchants; searching… through at least one data structure based on the… information to generate a search result, wherein the at least one data structure includes information about a plurality of merchants; ranking… the search result based on relevance to the user; providing… the ranked search result to the user device; receiving… from a… merchant of the plurality of merchants, transaction information associated with a transaction between a user and the merchant, wherein the transaction information includes payment card information from a user account of the user with the merchant; initiating… processing of the transaction between the user and the merchant using the payment card information; and confirming… completion of the transaction”, which is grouped within the “mental processes” and “certain methods of organizing human activity” grouping of abstract ideas in prong one of step 2A of the Alice/Mayo test because the claims involve providing a ranked list of merchants that are nearby a user and performing a payment transaction at one of the merchants which falls under the category of concepts performed in the human mind (including an observation, evaluation, judgement, opinion) and managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people (including social activities, teaching, and following rules or instructions). Accordingly, the claims recite an abstract idea (See pages 7, 10, Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank International, et al., US Supreme Court, No. 13-298, June 19, 2014; MPEP § 2106.04(a)). Claim 4 is directed to a method that performs similar steps of claim 1 and claim 20 is directed to a system that performs the same functions of claim 1. Therefore Claims 4 and 20 are also directed to the abstract idea of providing a ranked list of merchants that are nearby a user and performing a payment transaction at one of the merchants.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because, when analyzed under prong two of step 2A of the Alice/Mayo test, the additional element(s) of claims 1, 4, and 20, such as the use of the payment service system, user device, point-of-sale, one or more processors, and one or more memory units, merely use(s) a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea. Specifically, the payment service system, user device, point-of-sale, one or more processors, and one or more memory units perform(s) the steps or functions of providing a ranked list of merchants that are nearby a user and performing a payment transaction at one of the merchants. The use of a processor/server as a tool to implement the abstract idea does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it requires no more than a computer performing functions that correspond to acts required to carry out the abstract idea. Further, the use of geolocation information and data structures generally links the judicial exception to a particular technological environment of mobile/computer electronic communication. The additional elements do not involve improvements to the functioning of a computer, or to any other technology or technical field (MPEP § 2106.05(a)), the claims do not apply the abstract idea with, or by use of, a particular machine (MPEP § 2106.05(b)), and the claims do not apply or use the abstract idea in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking the use of the abstract idea to a particular technological environment, such that the claim as a whole is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception (MPEP § 2106.05(e) and Vanda Memo). Therefore, the claims do not, for example, purport to improve the functioning of a computer. Nor do they effect an improvement in any other technology or technical field. Accordingly, the additional elements do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea, and the claims are directed to an abstract idea.
Claims 1, 4, and 20 do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because, when analyzed under step 2B of the Alice/Mayo test (See MPEP § 2106.05), the additional element(s) of using a payment service system, user device, point-of-sale, one or more processors, and one or more memory units to perform the steps amounts to no more than using a computer or processor to automate and/or implement the abstract idea of providing a ranked list of merchants that are nearby a user and performing a payment transaction at one of the merchants. As discussed above, taking the claim elements separately, the user device, one or more processors, and one or more memory units perform(s) the steps or functions of the abstract idea. Viewed as a whole, the combination of elements recited in the claims merely recite the concept of providing a ranked list of merchants that are nearby a user and performing a payment transaction at one of the merchants. Further, the use of geolocation information and data structures generally links the judicial exception (e.g. providing a ranked list of merchants that are nearby a user and performing a payment transaction at one of the merchants) to a particular technological environment (e.g. mobile/computer electronic communication) or field of use. Therefore, the use of these additional elements does no more than employ the computer as a tool to automate and/or implement the abstract idea. The use of a computer or processor to merely automate and/or implement the abstract idea cannot provide significantly more than the abstract idea itself (MPEP 2106.05(I)(A)(f) & (h)). Therefore, the claim is not patent eligible.
The dependent claims 2, 3, and 5-19 further describe the abstract idea.
Claims 2 and 7 recite the abstract idea of ranking the merchant results and providing a subset of the result according to the ranking.
Claims 3, 8, and 10 recite the abstract idea of returning results that identify merchants that are within a proximity of the user.
Claims 5 and 6 describe the first entity and the second entity.
Claim 9 recites the abstract idea of returning results of one or more second entity types that are within the same geographic location.
Claim 11 recites a user interface of a user device that is used to input the location of the user. This is merely using a computer as a tool to perform the abstract idea and is not indicative of integrating the abstract idea into a practical application or providing significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 12 recites the abstract idea of using historical information to determine user preferences to give results that are relevant to the user.
Claims 13-16 describe the user relevance criteria.
Claims 17 and 18 recite the use of a user device output interface to provide the user with the results. This is merely using a computer as a tool to perform the abstract idea and is not indicative of integrating the abstract idea into a practical application or providing significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim 19 recites the abstract idea of facilitating a transaction between the user and an entity identified in the result.
The dependent claims do not include additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application or that provide significantly more than the abstract idea. Therefore, the dependent claims are also not patent eligible.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
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.
Claims 4, 5, 7-11, 17, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as disclosed by US 20130311511 A1 (“Peng”).
Per claim 4, Peng discloses:
receiving a location associated with a user, wherein the user is associated with a first entity type of a plurality of entity types, wherein the plurality of entity types include customers and merchants (e.g. In some embodiments, the server uses the acquired geographic location information from the user's mobile terminal and looks up the geographic location zone threshold value) (Section [0020] and [0049]);
receiving a request to search for a second entity type (e.g. The database of the server, in addition to having various types of aforementioned information, also includes need information corresponding to users when the server provided location services (such as by clicking the keywords "Nearby," "Vicinity," or "Right next to me") are sent. The need information having been predetermined in advance by the server and the users of each mobile terminal. Therefore, the need information of the user relates to a product or merchant information predetermined in advance by the server and the user. For example, the predetermined need information is sent to the user in response to a location service request issued after selecting or clicking "Nearby." After the server receives the location service request sent by the mobile terminal, and after the server dissects the location service request and extracts the keyword "Nearby," the server retrieves the predetermined need information from the local database, for example, nearby merchant information: dining, entertainment, and shopping) (Section [0021] and [0029]);
searching through at least one data structure based on the location and relevance to the user to generate a search result, wherein the at least one data structure includes information about a plurality of entities of the second entity type (e.g. The server selects, from within the circle, the target information for Movie Theaters corresponding to the need information from the database. In other words, the server acquires the geographic location information of physical shops providing Movies within the circle, and the server provides to the client the geographic location information on the shops that fall within the circle. The server also provides the shop information of the physical shops. In some embodiments, in addition to the geographic location information and shop information described above, the target offer information sent to the client also includes product information) (Section [0021], [0048] and [0049]);
providing the search result (e.g. In some embodiments, after receiving geographic location information and shop information for the plurality of physical shops found, the server arranges the shops into a list based on a preset sequence, for example, in the list, Dining occurs before Movies. The server sends the list to the client, or the server forms a shop list ordered based the geographic distances recorded in the geographic location information. In some embodiments, the geographic location information is sent to the client in the form of marker points on a map) (Section [0050]).
Per claim 5, Peng discloses all the limitations of claim 4 above. Peng further discloses:
wherein the first entity type is customers, and wherein the second entity type is merchants (e.g. In one example, the server regards the products or merchants within an area having the geographic location of the mobile terminal as the center of a circle and the geographic location zone threshold value as a radius of the circle. The products or merchants within the area correspond to target information selections. The server then provides the target information to the mobile terminal of the user and displays the target information on the client of the mobile terminal, for example, as a list or as marker points on a map) (Section [0016], [0048], [0049], [0060] and [0061]).
Per claim 7, Peng discloses all the limitations of claim 4 above. Peng further discloses:
ranking a subset of the plurality of merchants based on relevance to the user to generate a ranking order, wherein the search result include the subset, and wherein providing the search result to the user device includes providing the search result to the user device according to the ranking order (e.g. In some embodiments, the server ranks the information in sequence. The target information that is in voice communication mode is ranked at the top of the list and the remaining target information is ranked at the bottom of the list. Then, the acquiring unit 510 sends the sequenced target information list to the mobile terminal client, where the sequenced target information list is displayed to the user) (Section [0050], [0064]-[0067], and [0095]).
Per claim 8, Peng discloses all the limitations of claim 4 above. Peng further discloses:
wherein the search result identifies one or more entities of the second entity type that are within a proximity of the location (e.g. In some embodiments, the server uses the acquired geographic location information from the user's mobile terminal and looks up the geographic location zone threshold value. For example, the geographic location zone threshold value for Dining is 1,500 meters and the geographic location zone threshold value for Movies is 300 meters. The server takes the geographic location corresponding to the user's geographic location information to be the center of a circle and the geographic location zone threshold value of 1,500 meters to be the radius of the circle, and selects, within the circle, target information of dining merchants corresponding to the need information Dining In other words, the server acquires the geographic location information on physical shops relating to Dining within the circle) (Section [0016], [0049], and [0051]).
Per claim 9, Peng discloses all the limitations of claim 4 above. Peng further discloses:
wherein the search result identifies one or more entities of the second entity type that are within a same geographic area as the location (e.g. The server transmits the target information to the mobile terminal, which displays the target information. For example, when the geographic location zone threshold value is found for "apparel," the geographic location zone threshold value corresponds to 2,000 meters. Accordingly, the server searches the database for geographic location information of physical shops within the geographic location zone threshold value corresponding to the radius and the user's geographic location information corresponding to the center. In the event that the physical shop information has been found within the surrounding area, the physical shop information is provided to the mobile terminal 10 of the use) (Section [0016], [0049], and [0051]).
Per claim 10, Peng discloses all the limitations of claim 4 above. Peng further discloses:
wherein the location is determined by a device associated with the user (e.g. In some embodiments, the server uses the acquired geographic location information from the user's mobile terminal and looks up the geographic location zone threshold value. For example, the geographic location zone threshold value for Dining is 1,500 meters and the geographic location zone threshold value for Movies is 300 meters. The server takes the geographic location corresponding to the user's geographic location information to be the center of a circle and the geographic location zone threshold value of 1,500 meters to be the radius of the circle, and selects, within the circle, target information of dining merchants corresponding to the need information Dining In other words, the server acquires the geographic location information on physical shops relating to Dining within the circle) (Section [0016], [0049], and [0051]).
Per claim 11, Peng discloses all the limitations of claim 4 above. Peng further discloses:
wherein the location is input into a device through a user interface, wherein the device is associated with the user (e.g. For example, after the user logs onto the shopping website client, the user browses a web page and clicks on "Nearby," "Vicinity," "Right next to me," or a similar location service initiating keyword displayed on the web page. The mobile terminal sends the location service request to the server. The location service request includes keyword information such as "Nearby," "Vicinity," or "Right next to me." The location services corresponding to the keywords "Nearby," "Vicinity," and "Right next to me" are positioning services that are preset by the server and provided to the user) (Section [0019] and [0020]).
Per claim 17, Peng discloses all the limitations of claim 4 above. Peng further discloses:
wherein providing the search result includes outputting the search result using an output interface of a device associated with the user (e.g. the server regards the products or merchants within an area having the geographic location of the mobile terminal as the center of a circle and the geographic location zone threshold value as a radius of the circle. The products or merchants within the area correspond to target information selections. The server then provides the target information to the mobile terminal of the user and displays the target information on the client of the mobile terminal, for example, as a list or as marker points on a map) (Section [0050], [0054], and [0060]).
Per claim 18, Peng discloses all the limitations of claim 4 above. Peng further discloses:
wherein providing the search result includes sending the search result to a device associated with the user (e.g. the server regards the products or merchants within an area having the geographic location of the mobile terminal as the center of a circle and the geographic location zone threshold value as a radius of the circle. The products or merchants within the area correspond to target information selections. The server then provides the target information to the mobile terminal of the user and displays the target information on the client of the mobile terminal, for example, as a list or as marker points on a map) (Section [0050], [0054], and [0060]).
Rejections under 35 § U.S.C. 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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-3 and 20, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20130311511 A1 (“Peng”) in further view of US 20120016758 A1 (“Bouaziz”).
Per claims 1 and 20, Peng discloses:
receiving, by a payment service system from a user device associated with a user, geolocation information indicating a location of the user device, the geolocation information based on a measurement associated with the user device (e.g. In some embodiments, the server uses the acquired geographic location information from the user's mobile terminal and looks up the geographic location zone threshold value. For example, the geographic location zone threshold value for Dining is 1,500 meters and the geographic location zone threshold value for Movies is 300 meters. The server takes the geographic location corresponding to the user's geographic location information to be the center of a circle and the geographic location zone threshold value of 1,500 meters to be the radius of the circle, and selects, within the circle, target information of dining merchants corresponding to the need information Dining In other words, the server acquires the geographic location information on physical shops relating to Dining within the circle. The server takes the geographic location corresponding to the user's geographic location information as the center of a circle and takes the geographic location zone threshold value of 300 meters as the radius of the circle) (Section [0049] and [051]);
receiving, by the payment service system from the user device, a request to search for merchants (e.g. The database of the server, in addition to having various types of aforementioned information, also includes need information corresponding to users when the server provided location services (such as by clicking the keywords "Nearby," "Vicinity," or "Right next to me") are sent. The need information having been predetermined in advance by the server and the users of each mobile terminal. Therefore, the need information of the user relates to a product or merchant information predetermined in advance by the server and the user. For example, the predetermined need information is sent to the user in response to a location service request issued after selecting or clicking "Nearby." After the server receives the location service request sent by the mobile terminal, and after the server dissects the location service request and extracts the keyword "Nearby," the server retrieves the predetermined need information from the local database, for example, nearby merchant information: dining, entertainment, and shopping) (Section [0021] and [0029]);
searching, by the payment service system, through at least one data structure based on the geolocation information to generate a search result, wherein the at least one data structure includes information about a plurality of merchants (e.g. The server selects, from within the circle, the target information for Movie Theaters corresponding to the need information from the database. In other words, the server acquires the geographic location information of physical shops providing Movies within the circle, and the server provides to the client the geographic location information on the shops that fall within the circle. The server also provides the shop information of the physical shops. In some embodiments, in addition to the geographic location information and shop information described above, the target offer information sent to the client also includes product information) (Section [0021], [0048], [0049], and [0051]);
ranking, by the payment service system, the search result based on relevance to the user (e.g. After receiving geographic location information and shop information for a plurality of found physical shops, the server arranges the shops into a list based on a preset sequence, for example, Beverages before Apparel, and sends the list to the client, or the server forms a shop list ordered based on the geographic distances recorded in the geographic location information. The server also displays shop information including product information corresponding to the need information. The information is also sent to the client in the form of marker points on a map) (Section [0050] and [0054]);
providing, by the payment service system, the ranked search result to the user device (e.g. After receiving geographic location information and shop information for a plurality of found physical shops, the server arranges the shops into a list based on a preset sequence, for example, Beverages before Apparel, and sends the list to the client, or the server forms a shop list ordered based on the geographic distances recorded in the geographic location information. The server also displays shop information including product information corresponding to the need information. The information is also sent to the client in the form of marker points on a map) (Section [0050] and [0054]).
Peng further discloses one or more processors; and one or more memory units communicatively coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations (e.g. The units described above can be implemented as software components executing on one or more general purpose processors, as hardware such as programmable logic devices and/or Application Specific Integrated Circuits designed to perform certain functions or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the units can be embodied by a form of software products which can be stored in a nonvolatile storage medium (such as optical disk, flash storage device, mobile hard disk, etc.), including a number of instructions for making a computer device (such as personal computers, servers, network equipment, etc.) implement the methods described in the embodiments of the present inventio) (Section [0097] and [0098]).
Although Peng discloses providing an ordered list of merchants to a user device based on the user device geolocation, Peng does not specifically disclose:
receiving, by the payment service system from a point-of-sale (POS) of a merchant of the plurality of merchants, transaction information associated with a transaction between the user and the merchant, wherein the transaction information includes payment card information from a user account of the user with the merchant;
initiating, by the payment service system, processing of the transaction between the user and the merchant using the payment card information;
confirming, by the payment service system, completion of the transaction.
However Bouaziz, in analogous art of POS payment transactions, discloses:
receiving, by the payment service system from a point-of-sale (POS) of a merchant of the plurality of merchants, transaction information associated with a transaction between the user and the merchant, wherein the transaction information includes payment card information from a user account of the user with the merchant (e.g. The first method of payment 67 may be to pay by credit or debit card, or by any other electronic funds transfer known in the art. If this option is chosen by the customer, the sales representative may choose the tender option on the interface of front-end POS software application 3 and may swipe the customer's card through card swiper 306 of holster 300, or may utilize smart card reader 308 to read information from a chip embedded in the card) (Section [0047]);
initiating, by the payment service system, processing of the transaction between the user and the merchant using the payment card information (e.g. The card information may then be communicated from holster 300 to front-end POS software application 3, whereupon front-end POS software application 3 may gather the card information and begin the authorization process by submitting the card information directly to a payment server) (Section [0047]);
confirming, by the payment service system, completion of the transaction (e.g. The payment server may forward the card information to the card provider and can either receive authorization to charge the card or receive a notice that the card has been rejected. The payment server may then forward the authorization or rejection notice to the front-end POS software application 3 where it can be accessed and viewed by the sales representative) (Section [0047]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the merchant location server of Peng to process merchant POS payment transactions, as taught by Bouaziz, in order to achieve the predictable result of providing convenience to the user by allowing them find nearby merchants and perform payment transaction at those merchants using a single service instead of requiring multiple services.
Per claim 2, Peng/Bouaziz discloses all the limitations of claim 1 above. Peng further discloses:
ranking a subset of the plurality of merchants based on relevance to the user to generate a ranking order, wherein the search result include the subset, and wherein providing the search result to the user device includes providing the search result to the user device according to the ranking order (e.g. In some embodiments, the server ranks the information in sequence. The target information that is in voice communication mode is ranked at the top of the list and the remaining target information is ranked at the bottom of the list. Then, the acquiring unit 510 sends the sequenced target information list to the mobile terminal client, where the sequenced target information list is displayed to the user) (Section [0050], [0064]-[0067], and [0095]).
Per claim 3, Peng/Bouaziz discloses all the limitations of claim 1 above. Peng further discloses:
wherein the location is determined by the user device, and wherein the search result identifies one or more merchants that are within a proximity of a location based on the geographic information (e.g. In some embodiments, the server uses the acquired geographic location information from the user's mobile terminal and looks up the geographic location zone threshold value. For example, the geographic location zone threshold value for Dining is 1,500 meters and the geographic location zone threshold value for Movies is 300 meters. The server takes the geographic location corresponding to the user's geographic location information to be the center of a circle and the geographic location zone threshold value of 1,500 meters to be the radius of the circle, and selects, within the circle, target information of dining merchants corresponding to the need information Dining In other words, the server acquires the geographic location information on physical shops relating to Dining within the circle) (Section [0016], [0049], and [0051]).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Peng, as applied to claim 4 above, in further view of US 20060191995 A1 (“Stewart”).
Per claim 6, although Peng discloses a user searching for merchants that are geographically close to the user’s device, Peng does not specifically disclose:
wherein the first entity type is merchants, and wherein the second entity type is customers.
However Stewart, in analogous art of GPS location tracking, discloses:
wherein the first entity type is merchants, and wherein the second entity type is customers (e.g. Each Transmitter 54 includes a radio transmitter and a global positioning system ("GPS") circuit for transmitting the customer's location in real time. The transmitter may preferably use either Bluetooth or WiFi wireless transmissions protocols. Thus, the merchant may track where the user spends the most time and track heavily trafficked areas in the establishment so that suppliers of goods can be charged a premium of positioning a display of products in such areas) (Section [0059]-[0063]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the location based search results of Peng to return customers instead of merchants, as taught by Stewart, in order to achieve the predictable result of providing useful customer information to merchants by allowing merchants to passively receive information about the customers who shop at their stores (See Stewart section [0063]).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Peng, as applied to claim 4 above, in further view of US 20060277271 A1 (“Morse”).
Per claim 12, although Peng discloses returning merchant search results to a user based on relevance to the user, Peng does not specifically disclose:
determining one or more preferences of the user based on historical information associated with the user, wherein the relevance to the user is based on the one or more preferences of the user.
However Morse, in analogous art of user search results, discloses:
determining one or more preferences of the user based on historical information associated with the user, wherein the relevance to the user is based on the one or more preferences of the user (e.g. The prefetching may include performing a database query, a web search, an analysis of data, or other background processing. The prefetching may also include predicting content that the most likely to be interested in, based on weighting and/or other information in the user's profile(s). For example, if a prefetch is related to the mobile user's location, the portal service may search for nearby merchants, restaurants, theatres, pubs, and the like at an optional operation 156, and prioritize the results based on the user's history of content requests while near that location) (Section [0051]-[0052]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the location based search results of Peng to consider user historical information for relevance, as taught by Morse, in order to achieve the predictable result of providing convenience to the user by learning what interests and habits the user has and providing results that are in line with their interests and habits.
Claims 13 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Peng, as applied to claim 4 above, in further view of US 8645366 B1 (“Acharya”).
Per claim 13, although Peng discloses returning merchant search results to a user based on relevance to the user, Peng does not specifically disclose:
wherein the relevance to the user is based on relevance to a second user.
However Acharya, in analogous art of generating POI recommendations, discloses:
wherein the relevance to the user is based on relevance to a second user (e.g. Some of the points of interest may be associated with expressions of interest by members of the social networking service, some of whom may be in one or more social network groups of the end-user. Expressions of interest may include: indications of preference, indications of presence or reviews. The server machine would rank the POIs within the set of POIs. A highest rank may be assigned to a subset of POIs that include expressions of interest by members of one or more social network groups of the end-user ("social network group members"). A next highest rank may be assigned to a subset of POIs that include expressions of interest by other members of the social networking service who are not members of one or more social network groups of the end-user ("social network group nonmembers"). A lowest rank may be assigned to a subset of POIs that do not include any expressions of interest by members of the social networking service) (Column 2, Ln 55 – Column 3, Ln 30).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the location based search results of Peng to consider other user interest for relevance, as taught by Acharya, in order to achieve the predictable result of providing convenience to the user by returning results that the user has a better chance of being interested in based on shared group interest or popularity.
Per claim 14, although Peng discloses returning merchant search results to a user based on relevance to the user, Peng does not specifically disclose:
wherein the relevance to the user is based on relevance to a group of users.
However Acharya, in analogous art of generating POI recommendations, discloses:
wherein the relevance to the user is based on relevance to a group of users (e.g. Some of the points of interest may be associated with expressions of interest by members of the social networking service, some of whom may be in one or more social network groups of the end-user. Expressions of interest may include: indications of preference, indications of presence or reviews. The server machine would rank the POIs within the set of POIs. A highest rank may be assigned to a subset of POIs that include expressions of interest by members of one or more social network groups of the end-user ("social network group members"). A next highest rank may be assigned to a subset of POIs that include expressions of interest by other members of the social networking service who are not members of one or more social network groups of the end-user ("social network group nonmembers"). A lowest rank may be assigned to a subset of POIs that do not include any expressions of interest by members of the social networking service) (Column 2, Ln 55 – Column 3, Ln 30).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the location based search results of Peng to consider other user interest for relevance, as taught by Acharya, in order to achieve the predictable result of providing convenience to the user by returning results that the user has a better chance of being interested in based on shared group interest or popularity.
Claims 15, 16, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Peng, as applied to claim 4 above, in further view of US 9471925 B2 (“Ramer”).
Per claim 15, although Peng discloses returning merchant search results to a user based on relevance to the user, Peng does not specifically disclose:
wherein the relevance to the user is based on an age group of the user.
However Ramer, in analogous art of generating user search results, discloses:
wherein the relevance to the user is based on an age group of the user (e.g. For example, parameters relating to a user may include age (e.g. 27), sex (e.g. male), previous user transactions (e.g. purchase of a jazz recording), and geographic location (e.g. New York City). The automatically generated search may return search results that are ranked, ordering, indexed, and or prioritized by their relevance to a user characteristic or plurality of user characteristics) (Column 15, Ln 56 – Column 16, Ln 23).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the location based search results of Peng to consider other user interest for relevance, as taught by Ramer, in order to achieve the predictable result of providing convenience to the user by returning results that the user has a better chance of being interested in based on the user’s age.
Per claim 16, although Peng discloses returning merchant search results to a user based on relevance to the user, Peng does not specifically disclose:
wherein the relevance to the user is based on an age group associated with the plurality of entities of the second entity type.
However Ramer, in analogous art of generating user search results, discloses:
wherein the relevance to the user is based on an age group associated with the plurality of entities of the second entity type (e.g. For example, parameters relating to a user may include age (e.g. 27), sex (e.g. male), previous user transactions (e.g. purchase of a jazz recording), and geographic location (e.g. New York City). The automatically generated search may return search results that are ranked, ordering, indexed, and or prioritized by their relevance to a user characteristic or plurality of user characteristics) (Column 15, Ln 56 – Column 16, Ln 23).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the location based search results of Peng to consider other user interest for relevance, as taught by Ramer, in order to achieve the predictable result of providing convenience to the user by returning results that the user has a better chance of being interested in based on age.
Per claim 19, although Peng discloses returning merchant search results to a user based on the user’s location, Peng does not specifically disclose:
facilitating a transaction between the user and an entity of the plurality of entities of the second entity type, wherein the entity is identified in the search result.
However Ramer, in analogous art of generating user search results, discloses:
facilitating a transaction between the user and an entity of the plurality of entities of the second entity type, wherein the entity is identified in the search result (e.g. The link may be to an item of goods or services for sale, to a promotion, to a content item, to an advertisement, or to other material of a commercial provider, such as a vendor of goods or services. The link may, for example, be to an item on an electronic commerce site, to an auction site, to a reverse auction site, to a news site, to an information site, or to other content on a computer network, such as web content, content located on other networks, or the like. The link may include or be associated with various e-commerce features, such as those enabling single click purchasing, bidding, targeted advertising, instant purchasing (e.g., “buy it now”), tracking of clicks or transactions, tracking of referrals, affiliate program features, or the like. In embodiments the link is a sponsored link that is presented to a user on the user interface of a mobile communication facility 102, such as a cell phone. The sponsored link may be presented in association with an implicit query 164 (and may be related to such a query)) (Column 75, Ln 12-43).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the location based merchant search results of Peng to include a link that allows the user to perform a transaction with the merchant, as taught by Ramer, in order to achieve the predictable result of providing convenience to the user by allowing them to easily complete a purchase with a merchant that is nearby.
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 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 SAX whose telephone number is 571-272-2935. The Examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8-4:30. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s supervisor, Patrick McAtee can be reached at (571) 272-7575.
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/TPS/
Examiner, Art Unit 3698
/PATRICK MCATEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3698
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