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 5/15/2026.
Claims
Claims 1, 5, and 20 have been amended.
Claims 1-20 are currently pending in the application.
Information Disclosure Statements
The Information Disclosure Statements (IDS) that were filed on 2/13/2026 and 7/1/2026 have been considered.
Response to Arguments
101
The examiner has considered all of the applicant’s arguments and withdraws the previous 101 rejection in view of the applicant’s amendments. The claims recite the use of a camera to capture an image and then using the image to personalize the appearance of a virtual card which is not an abstract idea.
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.
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 1-14, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20110178924 A1 (“Briscoe)”, in further view of US 5814796 (“Benson”).
Per claim 1, Briscoe discloses:
receiving a first input within an application on the first device, the first input indicative of a first selection associated with an appearance of a card, wherein the first selection includes the image (e.g. The stored logos may include images and/or text. Additionally or alternatively, the client 102 may provide the logo via the client interface 110. The client-provided logo is stored in the logo database 114. The client-provided logo may be permanently stored in the logo database 114 or temporarily stored until the card has been delivered. Additionally or alternatively, the logos may be the logos of the selected merchants) and (e.g. The client interface 110 receives design data from the client 102 indicating a selected card background from the displayed card backgrounds. The client interface 110 receives additional design data from the client for customizing the appearance of the selected background of the card. For example, the client 102 can drag the background to a particular position on the card and adjust the scale of the background with respect to the card) (Section [0031], [0032], and [0050]-[0053]);
receiving a second input within the application, the second input indicative of a second selection associated with a usage of the card (e.g. Each of the participating merchants is associated with a category based on the products (e.g., goods or services) sold by the merchant. In the example illustrated by FIG. 5B, Coach.RTM., Dillard's.RTM., Eddie Bauer.RTM., Gap.RTM., Lands' End.RTM., Macys'.RTM., Marshalls.RTM., Sephora.RTM., and Talbots.RTM. are associated with the "Apparel/Accessories" category because they sell apparel and/or accessories. In FIG. 5C, Gap.RTM. is selected as a merchant) (Section [0047]-[0049]);
personalizing the appearance of the card based on the first selection to cause a user interface to display the card including the image… (e.g. The stored logos may include images and/or text. Additionally or alternatively, the client 102 may provide the logo via the client interface 110. The client-provided logo is stored in the logo database 114. The client-provided logo may be permanently stored in the logo database 114 or temporarily stored until the card has been delivered. Additionally or alternatively, the logos may be the logos of the selected merchants) and (e.g. Based on the design data received by the client interface 110, the client interface 110 displays a preview of the card according to the selected design data and allows the client 102 to change the selections until the client 102 indicates that the selections are final (e.g., requests the card is printed or transmitted)) (Section [0031], [0032], and [0050]-[0053]).
personalizing the usage of the card based on the second selection (e.g. The client 102 may select between one and six merchants (or more) for a particular card from the various categories. The selected merchants are the exclusive merchants with whom a transaction using the card will be authorized) (Section [0048]-[0050]);
transmitting, to a second device, the card with the appearance, wherein the card is usable to facilitate a transaction according to the usage selected via the first device (e.g. When the client interface 110 receives the response from the client 102 indicating the selected category, the client interface 110 displays merchant identifying data for the merchants associated with the selected category. The client 102 may select between one and six merchants (or more) for a particular card from the various categories. The selected merchants are the exclusive merchants with whom a transaction using the card will be authorized) and (e.g. responsive to the client interface 110 receiving an indication that the client 102 has completed the personalized message customization, the client interface 110 prompts the client 102 to finalize the creation of the card by the selecting that the card be printed (or, in the case of a virtual card, selecting that the card by transmitted)) (Section [0048]-[0050] and [0054]).
Although Briscoe discloses a client device that can submit design data such as images to personalize the look of a physical and virtual card, Briscoe does not specifically disclose that the images are captured, using a camera. Specifically Briscoe does not disclose:
capturing, using a camera of a first device, an image;
…captured by the camera of the first device.
However Benson, in analogous art of personalizing the look of cards, discloses:
capturing, using a camera of a first device, an image (e.g. An image capturing device V, such a video camera, video capture board, or optical scanner, may also be provided in the system S to provide photo-images to the terminal T. The personal computer OC may be used to digitize or modify the captured image for application on the card C) (Column 4, Ln 28-40 and Column 15, Ln 33-48);
…captured by the camera of the first device (e.g. An image capturing device V, such a video camera, video capture board, or optical scanner, may also be provided in the system S to provide photo-images to the terminal T. The personal computer OC may be used to digitize or modify the captured image for application on the card C) (Column 4, Ln 28-40 and Column 15, Ln 33-48).
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 client device of Briscoe to include the use of a camera to capture the image data used to customize the card appearance, as taught by Benson, in order to achieve the predictable result of providing convenience to the user by allowing them to easily capture any image that they want to put on their custom card.
Per claims 5 and 20, Briscoe discloses:
receiving at least one input through a user interface of the first device, the at least one input indicative of a first selection associated with an appearance of a transaction medium, the at least one input indicative of a second selection associated with a usage of the transaction medium, wherein the first selection includes the image (e.g. The stored logos may include images and/or text. Additionally or alternatively, the client 102 may provide the logo via the client interface 110. The client-provided logo is stored in the logo database 114. The client-provided logo may be permanently stored in the logo database 114 or temporarily stored until the card has been delivered. Additionally or alternatively, the logos may be the logos of the selected merchants) and (e.g. The client interface 110 receives design data from the client 102 indicating a selected card background from the displayed card backgrounds. The client interface 110 receives additional design data from the client for customizing the appearance of the selected background of the card. For example, the client 102 can drag the background to a particular position on the card and adjust the scale of the background with respect to the card) and (e.g. In particular, the exemplary method illustrates a client's interaction with the client interface 110 to specify account parameters (e.g., merchants and amount) for the account represented by the card based on account parameters stored in an account parameters database 124 and design data (e.g., card background, client logo, personalized message) for the customizing the graphical material which is part of the card based on design data stored in a design database 108) and (e.g. When the client interface 110 receives the response from the client 102 indicating the selected category, the client interface 110 displays merchant identifying data for the merchants associated with the selected category. The client 102 may select between one and six merchants (or more) for a particular card from the various categories. The selected merchants are the exclusive merchants with whom a transaction using the card will be authorized) (Section [0031], [0032], and [0047]-[0053]);
personalizing the appearance of the transaction medium based on the first selection to cause an interface to display the card including the image… (e.g. The stored logos may include images and/or text. Additionally or alternatively, the client 102 may provide the logo via the client interface 110. The client-provided logo is stored in the logo database 114. The client-provided logo may be permanently stored in the logo database 114 or temporarily stored until the card has been delivered. Additionally or alternatively, the logos may be the logos of the selected merchants) and (e.g. Based on the design data received by the client interface 110, the client interface 110 displays a preview of the card according to the selected design data and allows the client 102 to change the selections until the client 102 indicates that the selections are final (e.g., requests the card is printed or transmitted)) (Section [0031], [0032], and [0050]-[0053]).
personalizing the usage of the transaction medium based on the second selection (e.g. The client 102 may select between one and six merchants (or more) for a particular card from the various categories. The selected merchants are the exclusive merchants with whom a transaction using the card will be authorized) (Section [0048]-[0050]);
providing, to a second device, the transaction medium, wherein the transaction medium is personalized with the appearance, and wherein the transaction medium is usable to facilitate a transaction according to the usage, selected via the first device (e.g. When the client interface 110 receives the response from the client 102 indicating the selected category, the client interface 110 displays merchant identifying data for the merchants associated with the selected category. The client 102 may select between one and six merchants (or more) for a particular card from the various categories. The selected merchants are the exclusive merchants with whom a transaction using the card will be authorized) and (e.g. responsive to the client interface 110 receiving an indication that the client 102 has completed the personalized message customization, the client interface 110 prompts the client 102 to finalize the creation of the card by the selecting that the card be printed (or, in the case of a virtual card, selecting that the card by transmitted)) (Section [0048]-[0050] and [0054]).
Further Briscoe discloses one or more processors; and one or more memory units (e.g. In an embodiment, the client interface 110 further includes a memory for storing instructions and a processor for executing the stored instructions and Internet access. The processor communicates with the design database 108, the input component, the output component, the memory, and the card creator 112 and executes the stored instructions accordingly) (Section [0033]).
Although Briscoe discloses a client device that can submit design data such as images to personalize the look of a physical and virtual card, Briscoe does not specifically disclose that the images are captured, using a camera. Specifically Briscoe does not disclose:
capturing, using a camera of a first device, an image;
…captured by the camera of the first device.
However Benson, in analogous art of personalizing the look of cards, discloses:
capturing, using a camera of a first device, an image (e.g. An image capturing device V, such a video camera, video capture board, or optical scanner, may also be provided in the system S to provide photo-images to the terminal T. The personal computer OC may be used to digitize or modify the captured image for application on the card C) (Column 4, Ln 28-40 and Column 15, Ln 33-48);
…captured by the camera of the first device (e.g. An image capturing device V, such a video camera, video capture board, or optical scanner, may also be provided in the system S to provide photo-images to the terminal T. The personal computer OC may be used to digitize or modify the captured image for application on the card C) (Column 4, Ln 28-40 and Column 15, Ln 33-48).
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 client device of Briscoe to include the use of a camera to capture the image data used to customize the card appearance, as taught by Benson, in order to achieve the predictable result of providing convenience to the user by allowing them to easily capture any image that they want to put on their custom card.
Per claims 2 and 6, Briscoe/Benson discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and 5 above. Briscoe further discloses:
wherein the transaction medium is a gift card (e.g. For example, the cards may be stored value cards (e.g., gift cards, phone cards, pre-paid credit/debit cards)) (Section [0027]).
Per claims 3 and 7, Briscoe/Benson discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and 5 above. Briscoe further discloses:
wherein the transaction medium is a physical transaction medium, and wherein the appearance includes at least one of an image, a text-based message, or a layout (e.g. The client 102 provides the message via the client interface 110 using text to enter the message. For example, the text may include the prospective recipient cardholder's name (e.g., "John Sales"). In another example, the text additionally or alternatively describes the employer's incentive program or theme (e.g., "great sales"). The client 102 may select via the client interface 110 additional design data for customizing the appearance of the entered company) (Section [0027] and [0051]-[0053]).
Per claims 4 and 9, Briscoe/Benson discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and 5 above. Briscoe further discloses:
wherein the usage indicates one or more merchants that the transaction medium is usable to transact with (e.g. The client 102 may select between one and six merchants (or more) for a particular card from the various categories. The selected merchants are the exclusive merchants with whom a transaction using the card will be authorized) (Section [0048]-[0049]).
Per claim 8, Briscoe/Benson discloses all the limitations of claim 5 above. Briscoe further discloses:
wherein the transaction medium is a digital transaction medium, and wherein the appearance includes at least one of an image, a video, audio data, a text-based message, or a layout (e.g. The client 102 provides the message via the client interface 110 using text to enter the message. For example, the text may include the prospective recipient cardholder's name (e.g., "John Sales"). In another example, the text additionally or alternatively describes the employer's incentive program or theme (e.g., "great sales"). The client 102 may select via the client interface 110 additional design data for customizing the appearance of the entered company) (Section [0027] and [0051]-[0053]).
Per claim 10, Briscoe/Benson discloses all the limitations of claim 5 above. Briscoe further discloses:
wherein the usage indicates at least one type of merchant that the transaction medium is usable to transact with (e.g. The categories of merchants (e.g., Apparel/Accessories, Sports/Recreation, Home Goods, Gifts, Spend Back to You) are displayed to the client 102 via the client interface 110 and the client 102 responds via the client interface 110 to indicate a selected category. When the client interface 110 receives the response from the client 102 indicating the selected category, the client interface 110 displays merchant identifying data for the merchants associated with the selected category. The client 102 may select between one and six merchants (or more) for a particular card from the various categories. The selected merchants are the exclusive merchants with whom a transaction using the card will be authorize) (Section [0048]-[0049]).
Per claim 11, Briscoe/Benson discloses all the limitations of claim 5 above. Briscoe further discloses:
wherein the usage indicates an amount of funds that are usable to transact with using the transaction medium (e.g. the client interface 110 displays value data for allowing the client 102 to select the amount for the balance of the card via the client interface 110. The amount may be a currency amount ($25, $50, $100) or a product amount (e.g., 1 DVD player model no. XYZ)) (Section [0050]).
Per claim 12, Briscoe/Benson discloses all the limitations of claim 5 above. Briscoe further discloses:
wherein the transaction medium is at least one of a credit card or a debit card (e.g. For example, the cards may be stored value cards (e.g., gift cards, phone cards, pre-paid credit/debit cards)) (Section [0027]).
Per claim 13, Briscoe/Benson discloses all the limitations of claim 5 above. Briscoe further discloses:
wherein the transaction medium includes an optical code that optically encodes transaction information, wherein the optical code is one of a 1-dimensional barcode, a 2-dimensional barcode, a quick response (QR) code, or a 3-dimensional barcode (e.g. Unless otherwise specified herein, "card" includes (1) a physical card including a plastic or paper card with a magnetic stripe, bar code or other indicator indicative of an account number or other account indicative information, and/or (2) a virtual card, such as a display or screen shot for a mobile phone or for another portable device (e.g., a flash drive, smart chip, a laptop or portable computer), or for a computer device (e.g., a desktop computer) in combination with data indicative of an account number or other account indicative information) (Section [0018]).
Per claim 14, Briscoe/Benson discloses all the limitations of claim 5 above. Briscoe further discloses:
wherein providing the transaction medium includes sending the transaction medium (e.g. responsive to the client interface 110 receiving an indication that the client 102 has completed the personalized message customization, the client interface 110 prompts the client 102 to finalize the creation of the card by the selecting that the card be printed (or, in the case of a virtual card, selecting that the card by transmitted) (Section [0054]).
Per claim 19, Briscoe/Benson discloses all the limitations of claim 5 above. Briscoe further discloses:
wherein the at least one input is associated with a user, and wherein providing the transaction medium includes providing the transaction medium to the user (e.g. responsive to the client interface 110 receiving an indication that the client 102 has completed the personalized message customization, the client interface 110 prompts the client 102 to finalize the creation of the card by the selecting that the card be printed (or, in the case of a virtual card, selecting that the card by transmitted) (Section [0054]).
Claims 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Briscoe/Benson, as applied to claim 5 above, in further view of US 20140074704 A1 (“White”).
Per claim 15, Briscoe/Benson discloses all the limitations of claim 5 above. Although Briscoe/Benson discloses providing the personalized transaction medium, Briscoe/Benson does not specifically disclose:
wherein providing the transaction medium includes adding a transaction dataset associated with the transaction medium to an application that includes shortcuts to transaction datasets.
However White, in analogous art of personalizing gift cards, discloses:
wherein providing the transaction medium includes adding a transaction dataset associated with the transaction medium to an application that includes shortcuts to transaction datasets (e.g. The unique ID code may be received from the web browser running on the recipient's portable electronic device. Responsive to determining the unique ID code at block 211, an electronic passbook file is created, for example, by the prepaid instrument provider server(s) at block 213. The electronic passbook file may include the balance, the name of the sender, and the URL associated with the selected electronic gift card. At block 215, the unique electronic passbook file is transmitted to the recipient for automatic exportation into the recipient's electronic passbook) (Section [0033] and [0048]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the transmission of the transaction medium of Briscoe/Benson to include the use of a digital wallet or passbook, as taught by White, in order to achieve the predictable result of providing convenience to the user by allowing them to organize and store all their virtual cards in an application for easy use.
Per claim 16, Briscoe/Benson/White discloses all the limitations of claim 15 above. Briscoe further discloses:
wherein the user interface is part of the application (e.g. A client interface 110 interacts with the client 102 of the kiosk 104 to customize the physical card. In particular, the client interface 110 is connected to the design database 108 and interacts with the client 102 to select design data from the design database 108 which is printed on a physical form of a physical card to create individualized, customized physical cards according client choices. In the alternative when the card is a virtual card, the system 100 includes a housing unit (e.g., kiosk 104) which houses a processor for defining plurality of customizable virtual cards 106. Each of the plurality of customizable virtual cards 106 represents unique account data between a cardholder and merchants to be selected by the client when creating the card. A design database 108 stores data for customizing the display of the virtual cards to be displayed on a mobile or other device) (Section [0024], [0026], and [0027]).
Per claim 17, Briscoe/Benson/White discloses all the limitations of claim 15 above. White further discloses:
facilitating a transaction using the transaction dataset retrieved from the application (e.g. The web pages 502, 602, 702 can include an indicium 508 indicating the amount of the selected electronic gift card and the name of the sender, along with the merchant's logo 504, and indication 506 that the selected electronic gift card is an electronic gift card (as opposed to, for example, a stored value or loyalty card, so as not to confuse the user 14), and the terms and conditions interface control button 528. Referring to FIG. 7, the third web page 702 includes a barcode 704, which can correspond to the barcode 514 if displayed on the web page 502, associated with the electronic gift card. A merchant can scan this barcode 704 at a point of sale (POS) terminal to complete a sales transaction using the remaining balance (in this example $54.95) selected electronic gift card to fund part or all of the purchase of an item or service. Alternately, the device 12 can include a near-field communication (NFC) module for transmitting at least the card number and PIN number associated with the selected electronic gift card) (Section [0033] and [0068]).
The motivation to combine White with Briscoe/Benson is disclosed above with reference to claim 15.
Per claim 18, Briscoe/Benson discloses all the limitations of claim 5 above. Although Briscoe/Benson discloses providing the personalized transaction medium, Briscoe/Benson does not specifically disclose:
wherein the at least one input is associated with a first user, and wherein providing the transaction medium includes providing the transaction medium to a second user.
However White, in analogous art of personalizing gift cards, discloses:
wherein the at least one input is associated with a first user, and wherein providing the transaction medium includes providing the transaction medium to a second user (e.g. As seen in FIG. 2A (left), the user (a fictitious "Derek F.") of the portable electronic device 112 has received an electronic notification, in the form of an email 140, indicating that another person (a fictitious "Jeremy P.") has sent to the user an electronic gift card (eGC)) (Section [0034], [0037], and Fig. 2a).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the transmission of the transaction medium of Briscoe/Benson to include sending the personalized gift card to another user, as taught by White, in order to achieve the predictable result of providing convenience to the user by allowing the user to specify who to send the gift card to saving the user time by not having to manually provide the gift card to the intended recipient.
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 . 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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