DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
This action is in response to Application 19/004,600 filed 12/30/2024 with priority to Provisional Application 63/615,964 filed 12/29/2023. Claims 1-21 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 .
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 1-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claim recites the implementation of a reward program through a distributed ledger system.
The limitations of receiving and evaluating transaction data, tracking transaction data, making determination based on transaction data, and generating and providing rewards, is a process that under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers a certain method of organizing human activity, specifically commercial interaction of managing transactions and marketing activities. This is similar to In re Ferguson and OIP Technology as this is directed towards the execution of a loyalty/reward program for incentivizing additional transactions with a merchant. As such, the invention as claimed is directed towards a certain method of organizing human activity, specifically commercial interactions.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. In particular, the claim recites the additional elements of utilizing generic computer components such as processor and memory to perform the method steps, and utilizing a distributed ledger system. The generic computer components are recited at a high-level of generality (i.e., as a generic processor performing a generic computer function of receiving information, comparing information to rules and thresholds, generating records, and providing output) such that it amounts no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. The invention further recites the concept of utilizing a distributed ledger for tracking activities and providing rewards. The Examiner notes this is still considered well-understood, routine, and conventional functions in computer and blockchain technology as discussed in www.IBM.com/topics/blockchain, wherein the abstract idea of facilitating a reward program utilizes this particular technology. Accordingly, this additional element does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claim is directed to an abstract idea.
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional element of using a processor and distributed ledger to perform the steps amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component and a particular computer environment. Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component cannot provide an inventive concept. The claim is not patent eligible.
The dependent claims are further directed towards the judicial exception without significantly more. The dependent claims provide limitations on additional abstract steps of receiving/interpretating information similar to Content Extraction (such as claim 2), additional conventional format of information (such as claim 3), additional limitations of utilizing well-understood, routine and conventional computer functions/technology (such as claims 4-6), and additional rules/properties of the abstract information (such as claim 7). These are still directed towards the judicial exception as these further define the abstract elements such as further defining the information and relationship between the information, and additional well-understood, routine, and conventional computer functions. They are not significantly more as they do not further integrate the judicial exception into a practical application and the additional element amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. The dependent claims is not patent eligible.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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, 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1, 4, 8, 11, 15, 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ortiz et al. (US 20190073666 A1) (hereafter Ortiz), in view of Berman (US 20190197574 A1) (hereafter Berman).
As per claim 1:
A computer-implemented method, comprising:
receiving transaction data associated with a user, wherein the transaction data corresponds to transactions between a user and a merchant system; (See Ortiz ¶0117, “Customers may utilize the system 200 by accessing products 202 (e.g., credit cards, mobile wallets) through channels 203 (e.g., point of sale devices, ATMs, terminals), where they may engage in various transactions whereby they earn points, redeem points, generating the virtual currency, as a result of client participation (earn/redeem), etc. Such transactions could lead to instructions, queries and/or requests to be transmitted in relation to the distributed ledgers maintained under 206 through interface layer 204.” Ortiz discloses receiving transaction data between a consumer and merchant.)
automatically evaluating the transaction data according to a set of rules, wherein the set of rules defines parameters for generating transaction tokens according to a set of transaction characteristics associated with the merchant system; (See Ortiz ¶0167, “As a specific example, a user may spend $100 at a merchant. Based on the use case of FIG. 6, the payment may trigger a reward to be earned (e.g., set at a predefined rate of 1 point per $100 spent). The merchant may be set up such that the merchant's payment terminals and/or the merchant is a node maintaining a distributed ledger. The merchant's payment terminal may receive payment from the user's preferred payment method (e.g., debit card, credit card), and the merchant's payment terminal may then access the interface layer to interact with the distributed ledger, the merchant's payment terminal sending an instruction to the interface layer to credit the user's account with 1 point. The interface layer interprets this instruction, and matches the transaction data to trigger a reward by initiating a blockchain function call (encoding and/or encapsulating the instructions such that a corresponding blockchain record can be created). This blockchain record can be provided to the distributed ledger, and propagated across the various nodes through communication links until the blockchain record exists on all (or almost all) of the distributed ledgers held at various nodes.” Ortiz discloses the concept of evaluating the transaction data to determine eligibility of the transaction and how to record the transaction to a distributed ledger.)
dynamically generating a transaction token in a decentralized distributed ledger, (See Ortiz ¶0169, “At steps 1.1-1.3, a transaction occurs and the interface unit 310 is configured to receive the electronic instructions from the payment terminals (e.g., credit card processors, merchant devices) and extract a set of control commands to generate/provision virtual tokens. In some scenarios, the payment terminals may also permit the user to utilize (e.g., redeem) credits in view of a transaction, and in this scenario, the virtual tokens corresponding to the credits would be processed in a transaction.” Ortiz discloses the concept of generating and recording transaction information.)
wherein the transaction token is associated with a digital wallet corresponding to the user, (See Ortiz ¶0174 , “In some embodiments, the period of time and the number of confirmations is determined based on factors including value of transaction, a confidence score associated with a particular merchant or user profile/wallet, the number of nodes, the distribution of control related to the nodes, among others. Based on confirmed transactions, financial reward accounts, profiles, etc. are updated to reflect a new level of tokens (e.g., amount of virtual currency). Each additional confirmation decreases the risk of a double spending attach, and nodes for confirmation, in some embodiments, are selected to avoid undesired clustering. For example, nodes for querying confirmations may be selected randomly, or geographically/virtually separated to avoid correlation and “neighborhoods” of nodes.” Ortiz discloses the concept the transaction information is associated with a digital wallet.)
and wherein the transaction token is dynamically generated by a cryptocontract deployed in the decentralized distributed ledger; (See Ortiz ¶0259, “A rationale for adopting blockchain platforms is to better transform and operate current enterprise business processes, as the business process in enterprise goes hand in hand with smart contracts in blockchain. In particular, the data configuration (integration, storage, security), in the context of business processes, has increased value, as the business process provides the context around how data is used in the entire flow. As blockchain is provided in relation to cross-enterprise trade, the matter of “centralized” vs “non-centralized” also has to be considered from the perspectives of business processes and data processes.” Ortiz discloses interactions to be managed by contracts deployed on the ledger.)
providing an indication that the rewards token is redeemable for use with the merchant system, wherein when the rewards token is redeemed, the merchant system performs one or more actions associated with a new transaction between the user and the merchant system. (See Ortiz ¶0108, “The interface layer 204 may provide multiple systems, including a consumer rewards administration system, a merchant rewards administration system, an operational administration system, and a blockchain rewards ledger system, according to some embodiments. For example, the consumer rewards administration system may be configured to provide an ability to inquire regarding point balances, an ability to redeem points, an ability to transfer points to another entity, an ability to request refunds/returns, integration into the merchant portals, to allow consumers to pay with their rewards currency, as in some scenarios, the consumer is already authenticated either through online banking or merchant portal. For example, the merchant rewards administration system may be configured to provide an ability to inquire regarding point balances, an ability to transfer points to another entity, an ability to accept/reject consumer requests, and an ability to merchants to publish and manage their redemption rules. For example, the operational administration system may be configured to provide complex rewards reports by merchants and consumers, to service the consumer and merchant requests, and to support inquiries regarding the exchange rate between merchant points and rewards currency.” Ortiz discloses providing an interface with indication of available rewards for redemption in new transactions.)
Although Ortiz discloses the above-enclosed invention including the concept of tracking transactions and issuing rewards using a distributed ledger, Ortiz fails to explicitly disclose the concept of utilizing a threshold number of purchases to issue rewards.
However Berman as shown, which talks about a loyalty program marketplace, teaches the concept of s threshold number of purchases to issue rewards.
determining that a threshold amount of transaction tokens is associated with the digital wallet, wherein the threshold amount of transaction tokens includes the transaction token and previously recorded transaction tokens associated with the user; (See Berman ¶0036, “In the example embodiment, transaction application 112 determines if the aggregated transactions satisfy one or more requirements (decision 306). In the example embodiment, the one or more requirements may include a threshold dollar amount, an amount of time, a number of transactions, or a similar transactional requirement. For example, transaction application 112 may determine that the aggregated transactions satisfy the one or more requirements if: 1) a transactional amount associated with the aggregated transactions exceeds a threshold dollar amount; 2) an amount of time that has passed since the earliest transaction of the aggregated transactions was processed exceeds a threshold amount of time; or 3) the number of transactions associated with the aggregated transactions exceeds a threshold amount of transactions.” Berman teaches the concept of determining reward eligibility based on cumulative transaction information, including meeting a threshold number of transactions.)
dynamically generating a rewards token in the decentralized distributed ledger, wherein the rewards token is associated with the digital wallet, and wherein the rewards token is dynamically generated by the cryptocontract; and (See Berman ¶0042, “FIG. 5 is an illustration of blockchain nodes 120, in accordance with an embodiment. In the example embodiment, blockchain nodes 120 represent the nodes that support and store information corresponding to one or more blockchains. In the example embodiment, blockchain nodes 120 may include node 120a, 120b, 120c to 120n. This group of nodes may represent the nodes that support a particular blockchain. In other words, each of these nodes is a computing device that stores a copy of the ledger file that corresponds to the particular blockchain, and further supports the updating of the ledger file as transactions are performed.” Berman teaches the concept of recording rewards in a distributed ledger. See also Ortiz ¶0167, “As a specific example, a user may spend $100 at a merchant. Based on the use case of FIG. 6, the payment may trigger a reward to be earned (e.g., set at a predefined rate of 1 point per $100 spent). The merchant may be set up such that the merchant's payment terminals and/or the merchant is a node maintaining a distributed ledger. The merchant's payment terminal may receive payment from the user's preferred payment method (e.g., debit card, credit card), and the merchant's payment terminal may then access the interface layer to interact with the distributed ledger, the merchant's payment terminal sending an instruction to the interface layer to credit the user's account with 1 point. The interface layer interprets this instruction, and matches the transaction data to trigger a reward by initiating a blockchain function call (encoding and/or encapsulating the instructions such that a corresponding blockchain record can be created). This blockchain record can be provided to the distributed ledger, and propagated across the various nodes through communication links until the blockchain record exists on all (or almost all) of the distributed ledgers held at various nodes.” Ortiz discloses generating and providing reward tokens.)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Berman with the invention of Ortiz. As shown, Ortiz discloses the concept of implementing a reward program through a blockchain system including tracking and recording qualifying activities in a distributed ledger system, and distributing rewards based on a threshold for dollar amount spending. Berman further teaches the concept of utilizing blockchains to manage transaction rewards including the concept of having different conditions for providing rewards including threshold dollar amount spending, threshold number of transactions, or threshold number of time between transactions. Berman teaches utilizing different thresholds/conditions as these are known conditions for providing rewards (See Berman ¶0036). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Berman with the invention of Ortiz by substituting the conditions for rewards with a threshold number of transactions while maintaining the tracking of transaction information in the distributed ledger as disclosed by Ortiz.
As per claim 4:
The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the transaction token is dynamically generated through an application programming interface (API) associated with a digital wallet management system, and wherein the digital wallet management system maintains the digital wallet. (See Ortiz ¶0273, “In this example embodiment, a specific blockchain connector distributed application (blockchain connector Dapp) is utilized as an intermediary that is used for indirect access to the blockchain ledger/loyalty network through a set of integration adaptors, APIs, etc., which utilize event listeners and caches to generate command messages and signals which are then propagated to loyalty nodes of the loyalty network for generating new blocks representative of transactions on the blockchain data structure.” Ortiz discloses the concept of utilizing an API for managing interactions with the distributed ledger.)
As per claim 8:
A system, comprising:
one or more processors; and
memory storing thereon instructions that, as a result of being executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to:
(See Ortiz ¶0244, “The embodiments of the devices, systems and methods described herein may be implemented in a combination of both hardware and software. These embodiments may be implemented on programmable computers, each computer including at least one processor, a data storage system (including volatile memory or non-volatile memory or other data storage elements or a combination thereof), and at least one communication interface.” Ortiz discloses a processor and memory.)
receive transaction data associated with a user, wherein the transaction data corresponds to transactions between a user and a merchant system; (See Ortiz ¶0117, “Customers may utilize the system 200 by accessing products 202 (e.g., credit cards, mobile wallets) through channels 203 (e.g., point of sale devices, ATMs, terminals), where they may engage in various transactions whereby they earn points, redeem points, generating the virtual currency, as a result of client participation (earn/redeem), etc. Such transactions could lead to instructions, queries and/or requests to be transmitted in relation to the distributed ledgers maintained under 206 through interface layer 204.” Ortiz discloses receiving transaction data between a consumer and merchant.)
automatically evaluate the transaction data according to a set of rules, wherein the set of rules defines parameters for generating transaction tokens according to a set of transaction characteristics associated with the merchant system; (See Ortiz ¶0167, “As a specific example, a user may spend $100 at a merchant. Based on the use case of FIG. 6, the payment may trigger a reward to be earned (e.g., set at a predefined rate of 1 point per $100 spent). The merchant may be set up such that the merchant's payment terminals and/or the merchant is a node maintaining a distributed ledger. The merchant's payment terminal may receive payment from the user's preferred payment method (e.g., debit card, credit card), and the merchant's payment terminal may then access the interface layer to interact with the distributed ledger, the merchant's payment terminal sending an instruction to the interface layer to credit the user's account with 1 point. The interface layer interprets this instruction, and matches the transaction data to trigger a reward by initiating a blockchain function call (encoding and/or encapsulating the instructions such that a corresponding blockchain record can be created). This blockchain record can be provided to the distributed ledger, and propagated across the various nodes through communication links until the blockchain record exists on all (or almost all) of the distributed ledgers held at various nodes.” Ortiz discloses the concept of evaluating the transaction data to determine eligibility of the transaction and how to record the transaction to a distributed ledger.)
dynamically generate a transaction token in a decentralized distributed ledger, (See Ortiz ¶0169, “At steps 1.1-1.3, a transaction occurs and the interface unit 310 is configured to receive the electronic instructions from the payment terminals (e.g., credit card processors, merchant devices) and extract a set of control commands to generate/provision virtual tokens. In some scenarios, the payment terminals may also permit the user to utilize (e.g., redeem) credits in view of a transaction, and in this scenario, the virtual tokens corresponding to the credits would be processed in a transaction.” Ortiz discloses the concept of generating and recording transaction information.)
wherein the transaction token is associated with a digital wallet corresponding to the user, (See Ortiz ¶0174 , “In some embodiments, the period of time and the number of confirmations is determined based on factors including value of transaction, a confidence score associated with a particular merchant or user profile/wallet, the number of nodes, the distribution of control related to the nodes, among others. Based on confirmed transactions, financial reward accounts, profiles, etc. are updated to reflect a new level of tokens (e.g., amount of virtual currency). Each additional confirmation decreases the risk of a double spending attach, and nodes for confirmation, in some embodiments, are selected to avoid undesired clustering. For example, nodes for querying confirmations may be selected randomly, or geographically/virtually separated to avoid correlation and “neighborhoods” of nodes.” Ortiz discloses the concept the transaction information is associated with a digital wallet.)
and wherein the transaction token is dynamically generated by a cryptocontract deployed in the decentralized distributed ledger; (See Ortiz ¶0259, “A rationale for adopting blockchain platforms is to better transform and operate current enterprise business processes, as the business process in enterprise goes hand in hand with smart contracts in blockchain. In particular, the data configuration (integration, storage, security), in the context of business processes, has increased value, as the business process provides the context around how data is used in the entire flow. As blockchain is provided in relation to cross-enterprise trade, the matter of “centralized” vs “non-centralized” also has to be considered from the perspectives of business processes and data processes.” Ortiz discloses interactions to be managed by contracts deployed on the ledger.)
provide an indication that the rewards token is redeemable for use with the merchant system, wherein when the rewards token is redeemed, the merchant system performs one or more actions associated with a new transaction between the user and the merchant system. (See Ortiz ¶0108, “The interface layer 204 may provide multiple systems, including a consumer rewards administration system, a merchant rewards administration system, an operational administration system, and a blockchain rewards ledger system, according to some embodiments. For example, the consumer rewards administration system may be configured to provide an ability to inquire regarding point balances, an ability to redeem points, an ability to transfer points to another entity, an ability to request refunds/returns, integration into the merchant portals, to allow consumers to pay with their rewards currency, as in some scenarios, the consumer is already authenticated either through online banking or merchant portal. For example, the merchant rewards administration system may be configured to provide an ability to inquire regarding point balances, an ability to transfer points to another entity, an ability to accept/reject consumer requests, and an ability to merchants to publish and manage their redemption rules. For example, the operational administration system may be configured to provide complex rewards reports by merchants and consumers, to service the consumer and merchant requests, and to support inquiries regarding the exchange rate between merchant points and rewards currency.” Ortiz discloses providing an interface with indication of available rewards for redemption in new transactions.)
Although Ortiz discloses the above-enclosed invention including the concept of tracking transactions and issuing rewards using a distributed ledger, Ortiz fails to explicitly disclose the concept of utilizing a threshold number of purchases to issue rewards.
However Berman as shown, which talks about a loyalty program marketplace, teaches the concept of s threshold number of purchases to issue rewards.
determine that a threshold amount of transaction tokens are associated with the digital wallet, wherein the threshold amount of transaction tokens includes the transaction token and previously recorded transaction tokens associated with the user; (See Berman ¶0036, “In the example embodiment, transaction application 112 determines if the aggregated transactions satisfy one or more requirements (decision 306). In the example embodiment, the one or more requirements may include a threshold dollar amount, an amount of time, a number of transactions, or a similar transactional requirement. For example, transaction application 112 may determine that the aggregated transactions satisfy the one or more requirements if: 1) a transactional amount associated with the aggregated transactions exceeds a threshold dollar amount; 2) an amount of time that has passed since the earliest transaction of the aggregated transactions was processed exceeds a threshold amount of time; or 3) the number of transactions associated with the aggregated transactions exceeds a threshold amount of transactions.” Berman teaches the concept of determining reward eligibility based on cumulative transaction information, including meeting a threshold number of transactions.)
dynamically generate a rewards token in the decentralized distributed ledger, wherein the rewards token is associated with the digital wallet, and wherein the rewards token is dynamically generated by the cryptocontract; and (See Berman ¶0042, “FIG. 5 is an illustration of blockchain nodes 120, in accordance with an embodiment. In the example embodiment, blockchain nodes 120 represent the nodes that support and store information corresponding to one or more blockchains. In the example embodiment, blockchain nodes 120 may include node 120a, 120b, 120c to 120n. This group of nodes may represent the nodes that support a particular blockchain. In other words, each of these nodes is a computing device that stores a copy of the ledger file that corresponds to the particular blockchain, and further supports the updating of the ledger file as transactions are performed.” Berman teaches the concept of recording rewards in a distributed ledger. See also Ortiz ¶0167, “As a specific example, a user may spend $100 at a merchant. Based on the use case of FIG. 6, the payment may trigger a reward to be earned (e.g., set at a predefined rate of 1 point per $100 spent). The merchant may be set up such that the merchant's payment terminals and/or the merchant is a node maintaining a distributed ledger. The merchant's payment terminal may receive payment from the user's preferred payment method (e.g., debit card, credit card), and the merchant's payment terminal may then access the interface layer to interact with the distributed ledger, the merchant's payment terminal sending an instruction to the interface layer to credit the user's account with 1 point. The interface layer interprets this instruction, and matches the transaction data to trigger a reward by initiating a blockchain function call (encoding and/or encapsulating the instructions such that a corresponding blockchain record can be created). This blockchain record can be provided to the distributed ledger, and propagated across the various nodes through communication links until the blockchain record exists on all (or almost all) of the distributed ledgers held at various nodes.” Ortiz discloses generating and providing reward tokens.)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Berman with the invention of Ortiz. As shown, Ortiz discloses the concept of implementing a reward program through a blockchain system including tracking and recording qualifying activities in a distributed ledger system, and distributing rewards based on a threshold for dollar amount spending. Berman further teaches the concept of utilizing blockchains to manage transaction rewards including the concept of having different conditions for providing rewards including threshold dollar amount spending, threshold number of transactions, or threshold number of time between transactions. Berman teaches utilizing different thresholds/conditions as these are known conditions for providing rewards (See Berman ¶0036). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Berman with the invention of Ortiz by substituting the conditions for rewards with a threshold number of transactions while maintaining the tracking of transaction information in the distributed ledger as disclosed by Ortiz.
As per claim 11:
The system of claim 8, wherein the transaction token is dynamically generated through an application programming interface (API) associated with a digital wallet management system, and wherein the digital wallet management system maintains the digital wallet. (See Ortiz ¶0273, “In this example embodiment, a specific blockchain connector distributed application (blockchain connector Dapp) is utilized as an intermediary that is used for indirect access to the blockchain ledger/loyalty network through a set of integration adaptors, APIs, etc., which utilize event listeners and caches to generate command messages and signals which are then propagated to loyalty nodes of the loyalty network for generating new blocks representative of transactions on the blockchain data structure.” Ortiz discloses the concept of utilizing an API for managing interactions with the distributed ledger.)
As per claim 15:
A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium storing thereon executable instructions that, as a result of being executed by one or more processors of a computer system, cause the computer system to:
receive transaction data associated with a user, wherein the transaction data corresponds to transactions between a user and a merchant system; (See Ortiz ¶0117, “Customers may utilize the system 200 by accessing products 202 (e.g., credit cards, mobile wallets) through channels 203 (e.g., point of sale devices, ATMs, terminals), where they may engage in various transactions whereby they earn points, redeem points, generating the virtual currency, as a result of client participation (earn/redeem), etc. Such transactions could lead to instructions, queries and/or requests to be transmitted in relation to the distributed ledgers maintained under 206 through interface layer 204.” Ortiz discloses receiving transaction data between a consumer and merchant.)
automatically evaluate the transaction data according to a set of rules, wherein the set of rules defines parameters for generating transaction tokens according to a set of transaction characteristics associated with the merchant system; (See Ortiz ¶0167, “As a specific example, a user may spend $100 at a merchant. Based on the use case of FIG. 6, the payment may trigger a reward to be earned (e.g., set at a predefined rate of 1 point per $100 spent). The merchant may be set up such that the merchant's payment terminals and/or the merchant is a node maintaining a distributed ledger. The merchant's payment terminal may receive payment from the user's preferred payment method (e.g., debit card, credit card), and the merchant's payment terminal may then access the interface layer to interact with the distributed ledger, the merchant's payment terminal sending an instruction to the interface layer to credit the user's account with 1 point. The interface layer interprets this instruction, and matches the transaction data to trigger a reward by initiating a blockchain function call (encoding and/or encapsulating the instructions such that a corresponding blockchain record can be created). This blockchain record can be provided to the distributed ledger, and propagated across the various nodes through communication links until the blockchain record exists on all (or almost all) of the distributed ledgers held at various nodes.” Ortiz discloses the concept of evaluating the transaction data to determine eligibility of the transaction and how to record the transaction to a distributed ledger.)
dynamically generate a transaction token in a decentralized distributed ledger, (See Ortiz ¶0169, “At steps 1.1-1.3, a transaction occurs and the interface unit 310 is configured to receive the electronic instructions from the payment terminals (e.g., credit card processors, merchant devices) and extract a set of control commands to generate/provision virtual tokens. In some scenarios, the payment terminals may also permit the user to utilize (e.g., redeem) credits in view of a transaction, and in this scenario, the virtual tokens corresponding to the credits would be processed in a transaction.” Ortiz discloses the concept of generating and recording transaction information.)
wherein the transaction token is associated with a digital wallet corresponding to the user, and (See Ortiz ¶0174 , “In some embodiments, the period of time and the number of confirmations is determined based on factors including value of transaction, a confidence score associated with a particular merchant or user profile/wallet, the number of nodes, the distribution of control related to the nodes, among others. Based on confirmed transactions, financial reward accounts, profiles, etc. are updated to reflect a new level of tokens (e.g., amount of virtual currency). Each additional confirmation decreases the risk of a double spending attach, and nodes for confirmation, in some embodiments, are selected to avoid undesired clustering. For example, nodes for querying confirmations may be selected randomly, or geographically/virtually separated to avoid correlation and “neighborhoods” of nodes.” Ortiz discloses the concept the transaction information is associated with a digital wallet.)
wherein the transaction token is dynamically generated by a cryptocontract deployed in the decentralized distributed ledger; (See Ortiz ¶0259, “A rationale for adopting blockchain platforms is to better transform and operate current enterprise business processes, as the business process in enterprise goes hand in hand with smart contracts in blockchain. In particular, the data configuration (integration, storage, security), in the context of business processes, has increased value, as the business process provides the context around how data is used in the entire flow. As blockchain is provided in relation to cross-enterprise trade, the matter of “centralized” vs “non-centralized” also has to be considered from the perspectives of business processes and data processes.” Ortiz discloses interactions to be managed by contracts deployed on the ledger.)
provide an indication that the rewards token is redeemable for use with the merchant system, wherein when the rewards token is redeemed, the merchant system performs one or more actions associated with a new transaction between the user and the merchant system. (See Ortiz ¶0108, “The interface layer 204 may provide multiple systems, including a consumer rewards administration system, a merchant rewards administration system, an operational administration system, and a blockchain rewards ledger system, according to some embodiments. For example, the consumer rewards administration system may be configured to provide an ability to inquire regarding point balances, an ability to redeem points, an ability to transfer points to another entity, an ability to request refunds/returns, integration into the merchant portals, to allow consumers to pay with their rewards currency, as in some scenarios, the consumer is already authenticated either through online banking or merchant portal. For example, the merchant rewards administration system may be configured to provide an ability to inquire regarding point balances, an ability to transfer points to another entity, an ability to accept/reject consumer requests, and an ability to merchants to publish and manage their redemption rules. For example, the operational administration system may be configured to provide complex rewards reports by merchants and consumers, to service the consumer and merchant requests, and to support inquiries regarding the exchange rate between merchant points and rewards currency.” Ortiz discloses providing an interface with indication of available rewards for redemption in new transactions.)
Although Ortiz discloses the above-enclosed invention including the concept of tracking transactions and issuing rewards using a distributed ledger, Ortiz fails to explicitly disclose the concept of utilizing a threshold number of purchases to issue rewards.
However Berman as shown, which talks about a loyalty program marketplace, teaches the concept of s threshold number of purchases to issue rewards.
determine that a threshold amount of transaction tokens are associated with the digital wallet, wherein the threshold amount of transaction tokens includes the transaction token and previously recorded transaction tokens associated with the user; (See Berman ¶0036, “In the example embodiment, transaction application 112 determines if the aggregated transactions satisfy one or more requirements (decision 306). In the example embodiment, the one or more requirements may include a threshold dollar amount, an amount of time, a number of transactions, or a similar transactional requirement. For example, transaction application 112 may determine that the aggregated transactions satisfy the one or more requirements if: 1) a transactional amount associated with the aggregated transactions exceeds a threshold dollar amount; 2) an amount of time that has passed since the earliest transaction of the aggregated transactions was processed exceeds a threshold amount of time; or 3) the number of transactions associated with the aggregated transactions exceeds a threshold amount of transactions.” Berman teaches the concept of determining reward eligibility based on cumulative transaction information, including meeting a threshold number of transactions.)
dynamically generate a rewards token in the decentralized distributed ledger, wherein the rewards token is associated with the digital wallet, and wherein the rewards token is dynamically generated by the cryptocontract; and (See Berman ¶0042, “FIG. 5 is an illustration of blockchain nodes 120, in accordance with an embodiment. In the example embodiment, blockchain nodes 120 represent the nodes that support and store information corresponding to one or more blockchains. In the example embodiment, blockchain nodes 120 may include node 120a, 120b, 120c to 120n. This group of nodes may represent the nodes that support a particular blockchain. In other words, each of these nodes is a computing device that stores a copy of the ledger file that corresponds to the particular blockchain, and further supports the updating of the ledger file as transactions are performed.” Berman teaches the concept of recording rewards in a distributed ledger. See also Ortiz ¶0167, “As a specific example, a user may spend $100 at a merchant. Based on the use case of FIG. 6, the payment may trigger a reward to be earned (e.g., set at a predefined rate of 1 point per $100 spent). The merchant may be set up such that the merchant's payment terminals and/or the merchant is a node maintaining a distributed ledger. The merchant's payment terminal may receive payment from the user's preferred payment method (e.g., debit card, credit card), and the merchant's payment terminal may then access the interface layer to interact with the distributed ledger, the merchant's payment terminal sending an instruction to the interface layer to credit the user's account with 1 point. The interface layer interprets this instruction, and matches the transaction data to trigger a reward by initiating a blockchain function call (encoding and/or encapsulating the instructions such that a corresponding blockchain record can be created). This blockchain record can be provided to the distributed ledger, and propagated across the various nodes through communication links until the blockchain record exists on all (or almost all) of the distributed ledgers held at various nodes.” Ortiz discloses generating and providing reward tokens.)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Berman with the invention of Ortiz. As shown, Ortiz discloses the concept of implementing a reward program through a blockchain system including tracking and recording qualifying activities in a distributed ledger system, and distributing rewards based on a threshold for dollar amount spending. Berman further teaches the concept of utilizing blockchains to manage transaction rewards including the concept of having different conditions for providing rewards including threshold dollar amount spending, threshold number of transactions, or threshold number of time between transactions. Berman teaches utilizing different thresholds/conditions as these are known conditions for providing rewards (See Berman ¶0036). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Berman with the invention of Ortiz by substituting the conditions for rewards with a threshold number of transactions while maintaining the tracking of transaction information in the distributed ledger as disclosed by Ortiz.
As per claim 18:
The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the transaction token is dynamically generated through an application programming interface (API) associated with a digital wallet management system, and wherein the digital wallet management system maintains the digital wallet. (See Ortiz ¶0273, “In this example embodiment, a specific blockchain connector distributed application (blockchain connector Dapp) is utilized as an intermediary that is used for indirect access to the blockchain ledger/loyalty network through a set of integration adaptors, APIs, etc., which utilize event listeners and caches to generate command messages and signals which are then propagated to loyalty nodes of the loyalty network for generating new blocks representative of transactions on the blockchain data structure.” Ortiz discloses the concept of utilizing an API for managing interactions with the distributed ledger.)
Claim(s) 2, 9, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ortiz et al. (US 20190073666 A1) (hereafter Ortiz), in view of Berman (US 20190197574 A1) (hereafter Berman), in view of Zhang (WO 2022146937 A1) (hereafter Zhang).
As per claim 2:
The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving a request to redeem the rewards token; (See Ortiz ¶0117, “Customers may utilize the system 200 by accessing products 202 (e.g., credit cards, mobile wallets) through channels 203 (e.g., point of sale devices, ATMs, terminals), where they may engage in various transactions whereby they earn points, redeem points, generating the virtual currency, as a result of client participation (earn/redeem), etc. Such transactions could lead to instructions, queries and/or requests to be transmitted in relation to the distributed ledgers maintained under 206 through interface layer 204.” Ortiz discloses allowing consumers to redeem rewards.)
Although the combination of Ortiz and Berman discloses the above-enclosed invention, the combination fails to explicitly disclose the concept of utilizing QR code for initiating/transferring information.
However Zhang as shown, which talks about advertising rewards, teaches the concept of generating a QR code to facilitate reward redemption.
generating a Quick Response (QR) code corresponding to the rewards token, wherein the QR code encodes an identifier corresponding to the rewards token and a digital signature associated with the digital wallet; and
providing the QR code, wherein when the QR code is scanned, the rewards token is transferred from the digital wallet to another digital wallet associated with the merchant system.
(See Zhang ¶0091, “As noted above, FIG. 11 is the block diagram depicting details of a user's device and commercial entity's (e.g., merchant) point of sale (POS) machine. The user's device (1150) is used by the user (126, 130, 134, 138) for performing a financial transaction described in this disclosure. The user's device (1150) may be a mobile phone. The term mobile phone includes a cell phone, car phone, cellular phone, digital phone, smartphone, and any other suitable devices. Existing software (1102) is installed on the user's device (1150). In a non-limiting example, the existing software (1102) may be a factory- installed/pre-installed software on a mobile phone bought from an original equipment manufacturer (OEM). [0092] The plugin (1104) for the SMUA program/software is installed on the user's device (1150) and is used for redeeming rewards and coupons in an offline transaction. The plugin (1104) is a software addon installed along with the existing software (1102) on the user's device (1150). The plugin (1104) includes, but is not limited to: a QR code generator (1106), a QR code decoder (1108), a SMUA server link (1112), a check authentication logic (1114), a notification manager (1116), and an application programming interface (API) (1110). The QR code generator (1106) generates a QR code that is displayed on the user device's (1150) screen. One example of the QR code generated by the QR code generator (1106) is the payment code that shows the user's intent to pay and includes the user's identification information. Some QR codes include information about the remaining rewards and coupons in the wallet. Some QR codes show information about the individual coupons.” Zhang teaches the concept generating and providing a QR code for facilitating redemption of reward including encoding information regarding the digital wallet and particular reward.)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Zhang with the combination of Ortiz and Berman. As shown, the combination discloses the concept of earning and redeeming rewards including administering the rewards through a distributed ledger in association with a digital wallet. Zhang further teaches the concept of utilizing information stored in the digital wallet including facilitating exchange of information between a consumer device and a point of sale device using QR codes. Zhang teaches this concept to enable the exchange of information between a consumer and merchant using existing common devices without additional hardware requirements (See Zhang ¶0091). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Zhang to further facilitate communication between consumers and merchants using existing consumer devices.
As per claim 9:
The system of claim 8, wherein the instructions further cause the system to:
receive a request to redeem the rewards token; (See Ortiz ¶0117, “Customers may utilize the system 200 by accessing products 202 (e.g., credit cards, mobile wallets) through channels 203 (e.g., point of sale devices, ATMs, terminals), where they may engage in various transactions whereby they earn points, redeem points, generating the virtual currency, as a result of client participation (earn/redeem), etc. Such transactions could lead to instructions, queries and/or requests to be transmitted in relation to the distributed ledgers maintained under 206 through interface layer 204.” Ortiz discloses allowing consumers to redeem rewards.)
Although the combination of Ortiz and Berman discloses the above-enclosed invention, the combination fails to explicitly disclose the concept of utilizing QR code for initiating/transferring information.
However Zhang as shown, which talks about advertising rewards, teaches the concept of generating a QR code to facilitate reward redemption.
generate a Quick Response (QR) code corresponding to the rewards token, wherein the QR code encodes an identifier corresponding to the rewards token and a digital signature associated with the digital wallet; and
provide the QR code, wherein when the QR code is scanned, the rewards token is transferred from the digital wallet to another digital wallet associated with the merchant system.
(See Zhang ¶0091, “As noted above, FIG. 11 is the block diagram depicting details of a user's device and commercial entity's (e.g., merchant) point of sale (POS) machine. The user's device (1150) is used by the user (126, 130, 134, 138) for performing a financial transaction described in this disclosure. The user's device (1150) may be a mobile phone. The term mobile phone includes a cell phone, car phone, cellular phone, digital phone, smartphone, and any other suitable devices. Existing software (1102) is installed on the user's device (1150). In a non-limiting example, the existing software (1102) may be a factory- installed/pre-installed software on a mobile phone bought from an original equipment manufacturer (OEM). [0092] The plugin (1104) for the SMUA program/software is installed on the user's device (1150) and is used for redeeming rewards and coupons in an offline transaction. The plugin (1104) is a software addon installed along with the existing software (1102) on the user's device (1150). The plugin (1104) includes, but is not limited to: a QR code generator (1106), a QR code decoder (1108), a SMUA server link (1112), a check authentication logic (1114), a notification manager (1116), and an application programming interface (API) (1110). The QR code generator (1106) generates a QR code that is displayed on the user device's (1150) screen. One example of the QR code generated by the QR code generator (1106) is the payment code that shows the user's intent to pay and includes the user's identification information. Some QR codes include information about the remaining rewards and coupons in the wallet. Some QR codes show information about the individual coupons.” Zhang teaches the concept generating and providing a QR code for facilitating redemption of reward including encoding information regarding the digital wallet and particular reward.)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Zhang with the combination of Ortiz and Berman. As shown, the combination discloses the concept of earning and redeeming rewards including administering the rewards through a distributed ledger in association with a digital wallet. Zhang further teaches the concept of utilizing information stored in the digital wallet including facilitating exchange of information between a consumer device and a point of sale device using QR codes. Zhang teaches this concept to enable the exchange of information between a consumer and merchant using existing common devices without additional hardware requirements (See Zhang ¶0091). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Zhang to further facilitate communication between consumers and merchants using existing consumer devices.
As per claim 16:
The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the executable instructions further cause the computer system to:
receive a request to redeem the rewards token; (See Ortiz ¶0117, “Customers may utilize the system 200 by accessing products 202 (e.g., credit cards, mobile wallets) through channels 203 (e.g., point of sale devices, ATMs, terminals), where they may engage in various transactions whereby they earn points, redeem points, generating the virtual currency, as a result of client participation (earn/redeem), etc. Such transactions could lead to instructions, queries and/or requests to be transmitted in relation to the distributed ledgers maintained under 206 through interface layer 204.” Ortiz discloses allowing consumers to redeem rewards.)
Although the combination of Ortiz and Berman discloses the above-enclosed invention, the combination fails to explicitly disclose the concept of utilizing QR code for initiating/transferring information.
However Zhang as shown, which talks about advertising rewards, teaches the concept of generating a QR code to facilitate reward redemption.
generate a Quick Response (QR) code corresponding to the rewards token, wherein the QR code encodes an identifier corresponding to the rewards token and a digital signature associated with the digital wallet; and
provide the QR code, wherein when the QR code is scanned, the rewards token is transferred from the digital wallet to another digital wallet associated with the merchant system.
(See Zhang ¶0091, “As noted above, FIG. 11 is the block diagram depicting details of a user's device and commercial entity's (e.g., merchant) point of sale (POS) machine. The user's device (1150) is used by the user (126, 130, 134, 138) for performing a financial transaction described in this disclosure. The user's device (1150) may be a mobile phone. The term mobile phone includes a cell phone, car phone, cellular phone, digital phone, smartphone, and any other suitable devices. Existing software (1102) is installed on the user's device (1150). In a non-limiting example, the existing software (1102) may be a factory- installed/pre-installed software on a mobile phone bought from an original equipment manufacturer (OEM). [0092] The plugin (1104) for the SMUA program/software is installed on the user's device (1150) and is used for redeeming rewards and coupons in an offline transaction. The plugin (1104) is a software addon installed along with the existing software (1102) on the user's device (1150). The plugin (1104) includes, but is not limited to: a QR code generator (1106), a QR code decoder (1108), a SMUA server link (1112), a check authentication logic (1114), a notification manager (1116), and an application programming interface (API) (1110). The QR code generator (1106) generates a QR code that is displayed on the user device's (1150) screen. One example of the QR code generated by the QR code generator (1106) is the payment code that shows the user's intent to pay and includes the user's identification information. Some QR codes include information about the remaining rewards and coupons in the wallet. Some QR codes show information about the individual coupons.” Zhang teaches the concept generating and providing a QR code for facilitating redemption of reward including encoding information regarding the digital wallet and particular reward.)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Zhang with the combination of Ortiz and Berman. As shown, the combination discloses the concept of earning and redeeming rewards including administering the rewards through a distributed ledger in association with a digital wallet. Zhang further teaches the concept of utilizing information stored in the digital wallet including facilitating exchange of information between a consumer device and a point of sale device using QR codes. Zhang teaches this concept to enable the exchange of information between a consumer and merchant using existing common devices without additional hardware requirements (See Zhang ¶0091). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Zhang to further facilitate communication between consumers and merchants using existing consumer devices.
Claim(s) 3, 10, 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ortiz et al. (US 20190073666 A1) (hereafter Ortiz), in view of Berman (US 20190197574 A1) (hereafter Berman), in view of Sabintsev (US 20220374902 A1 (hereafter Sabintsev).
As per claim 3:
Although the combination of Ortiz and Berman discloses the above-enclosed invention the combination fails to explicitly disclose the tokens to be non-fungible tokens.
However Sabintsev as shown, which talks about physical presence tracking, teaches the concept of utilizing non-fungible tokens.
The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the transaction token and previously recorded transaction tokens are non-fungible tokens. (See Sabintsev ¶0059, “Using NFTs and a distributed ledger to provide irrevocable evidence of physical presence at a physical location may have other applications beyond detecting unauthorized financial transactions as discussed above. Additionally or alternatively, for example, other digital assets beyond NFTs may be provided based on detecting an advertisement from a beacon device at a physical location. Such other digital assets include, for example, fungible tokens, cryptocurrencies, and the like. In some particular example use cases, a digital asset may be provided to a digital wallet as a reward for the individual being present a physical location such as, e.g., a video game asset that is provided based on the individual visiting a physical location identified by a video game, a badge recognizing that the individual accomplished a physical activity (e.g., a physical challenge, a physical competition), a coupon for visiting a retail store, an insignia that the individual has visited certain unique locations around the world (e.g., geographic locations—Antarctica, the North Pole, the top of Mount Kilamanjaro; venues—United States baseball parks, the top of the St. Louis Arch, the Tower of London, the Sydney Opera House; etc.). and the like. Coupons provided as a reward for visiting a retail location may be provided as tokens (fungible or non-fungible) to the digital wallet. Such tokens may include expiration information indicating that the coupon expires (e.g., must be redeemed) within some threshold amount of time (e.g., 30-60 minutes or some other x number of minutes) after detecting the individual's presence at the retail location. Accordingly, the mobile application that listens for and detects advertisements from beacon devices may be a retail mobile application provided by the retail entity. A retail mobile application may be configured to listen for and detect advertisements only from beacon devices associated with (e.g., deployed by, installed at, etc.) the retail entity. As such, a mobile computing device may include multiple retail mobile applications each being respectively configured to listen for and detect advertisements only from beacon devices that are associated with their respective retail entities. More generally, a mobile application may be configured to listen for and detect advertisement only from beacon devices associated with a particular entity (e.g., institution, organization, enterprise, etc.). In another example use case, the digital wallet may function as a passport whereby the NFTs having the presence information may indicate that the individual was physically present at a particular border crossing at a certain date and time thus serving as a permanent record of the individual's travels. The NFTs with physical presence information similarly may be used to provide a permanent record of an individual's movements through a particular area (e.g., through a building or other structure having various access controlled areas with beacon devices respectively positioned in those areas). Further, multiple NFTs may be provided to a digital wallet in an iterative fashion based on detecting multiple advertisements iteratively transmitted by a beacon device at a physical location in order to provide an indication of how long the individual was present at a physical location (e.g., by determining the duration between the first and last NFTs provided). The duration of an individual's presence may be included in the presence information of an NFT or otherwise derivable from the NFTs that are provided to the individual's digital wallet. In one example use case, using NFTs and a distributed ledger to provide irrevocable evidence of physical presence at a physical location may be used to enhance credentials (e.g., an academic degree, certificate, diploma, etc.) awarded by a credential-granting institution (e.g., college, university, other educational and/or training institutions, etc.) To combat the perceived increase in fraudulent credentials, some credential-granting institutions have used NFTs to issue credentials that can be verified and authenticated via a distributed ledger. Such credentials, however, might not indicate the extent to which the individual was physically present at any locations associated with the course work for those credentials (e.g., during scheduled class times, lab times, etc.). By using NFTs having physical presence information as described herein, credentials issued via NFTs may be enhanced by providing an attendance record for the user indicating how often the user was present for the required course work (e.g., “perfect” attendance, consistently, occasionally, rarely, etc.). Such attendance records may be included in the NFT for the credential or provided as one or more separate NFTs.” Sabintsev teaches the concept of utilizing non-fungible tokens for tracking reward activities.)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Sabintsev with the combination of Ortiz and Berman. As shown, the combination discloses the concept of tracking reward activities for providing rewards including recording using a distributed ledger. Sabintsev further teaches the concept of utilizing non-fungible tokens in the tracking of activities. Sabintsev teaches this concept as non-fungible tokens provide both uniqueness and tamper resistance in tracking activities (See Sabintsev ¶0016). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Sabintsev to utilize non-fungible tokens to ensure accurate tracking of reward activities.
As per claim 10:
Although the combination of Ortiz and Berman discloses the above-enclosed invention the combination fails to explicitly disclose the tokens to be non-fungible tokens.
However Sabintsev as shown, which talks about physical presence tracking, teaches the concept of utilizing non-fungible tokens.
The system of claim 8, wherein the transaction token and previously recorded transaction tokens are non-fungible tokens. (See Sabintsev ¶0059, “Using NFTs and a distributed ledger to provide irrevocable evidence of physical presence at a physical location may have other applications beyond detecting unauthorized financial transactions as discussed above. Additionally or alternatively, for example, other digital assets beyond NFTs may be provided based on detecting an advertisement from a beacon device at a physical location. Such other digital assets include, for example, fungible tokens, cryptocurrencies, and the like. In some particular example use cases, a digital asset may be provided to a digital wallet as a reward for the individual being present a physical location such as, e.g., a video game asset that is provided based on the individual visiting a physical location identified by a video game, a badge recognizing that the individual accomplished a physical activity (e.g., a physical challenge, a physical competition), a coupon for visiting a retail store, an insignia that the individual has visited certain unique locations around the world (e.g., geographic locations—Antarctica, the North Pole, the top of Mount Kilamanjaro; venues—United States baseball parks, the top of the St. Louis Arch, the Tower of London, the Sydney Opera House; etc.). and the like. Coupons provided as a reward for visiting a retail location may be provided as tokens (fungible or non-fungible) to the digital wallet. Such tokens may include expiration information indicating that the coupon expires (e.g., must be redeemed) within some threshold amount of time (e.g., 30-60 minutes or some other x number of minutes) after detecting the individual's presence at the retail location. Accordingly, the mobile application that listens for and detects advertisements from beacon devices may be a retail mobile application provided by the retail entity. A retail mobile application may be configured to listen for and detect advertisements only from beacon devices associated with (e.g., deployed by, installed at, etc.) the retail entity. As such, a mobile computing device may include multiple retail mobile applications each being respectively configured to listen for and detect advertisements only from beacon devices that are associated with their respective retail entities. More generally, a mobile application may be configured to listen for and detect advertisement only from beacon devices associated with a particular entity (e.g., institution, organization, enterprise, etc.). In another example use case, the digital wallet may function as a passport whereby the NFTs having the presence information may indicate that the individual was physically present at a particular border crossing at a certain date and time thus serving as a permanent record of the individual's travels. The NFTs with physical presence information similarly may be used to provide a permanent record of an individual's movements through a particular area (e.g., through a building or other structure having various access controlled areas with beacon devices respectively positioned in those areas). Further, multiple NFTs may be provided to a digital wallet in an iterative fashion based on detecting multiple advertisements iteratively transmitted by a beacon device at a physical location in order to provide an indication of how long the individual was present at a physical location (e.g., by determining the duration between the first and last NFTs provided). The duration of an individual's presence may be included in the presence information of an NFT or otherwise derivable from the NFTs that are provided to the individual's digital wallet. In one example use case, using NFTs and a distributed ledger to provide irrevocable evidence of physical presence at a physical location may be used to enhance credentials (e.g., an academic degree, certificate, diploma, etc.) awarded by a credential-granting institution (e.g., college, university, other educational and/or training institutions, etc.) To combat the perceived increase in fraudulent credentials, some credential-granting institutions have used NFTs to issue credentials that can be verified and authenticated via a distributed ledger. Such credentials, however, might not indicate the extent to which the individual was physically present at any locations associated with the course work for those credentials (e.g., during scheduled class times, lab times, etc.). By using NFTs having physical presence information as described herein, credentials issued via NFTs may be enhanced by providing an attendance record for the user indicating how often the user was present for the required course work (e.g., “perfect” attendance, consistently, occasionally, rarely, etc.). Such attendance records may be included in the NFT for the credential or provided as one or more separate NFTs.” Sabintsev teaches the concept of utilizing non-fungible tokens for tracking reward activities.)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Sabintsev with the combination of Ortiz and Berman. As shown, the combination discloses the concept of tracking reward activities for providing rewards including recording using a distributed ledger. Sabintsev further teaches the concept of utilizing non-fungible tokens in the tracking of activities. Sabintsev teaches this concept as non-fungible tokens provide both uniqueness and tamper resistance in tracking activities (See Sabintsev ¶0016). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Sabintsev to utilize non-fungible tokens to ensure accurate tracking of reward activities.
As per claim 17:
Although the combination of Ortiz and Berman discloses the above-enclosed invention the combination fails to explicitly disclose the tokens to be non-fungible tokens.
However Sabintsev as shown, which talks about physical presence tracking, teaches the concept of utilizing non-fungible tokens.
The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the transaction token and previously recorded transaction tokens are non-fungible tokens. (See Sabintsev ¶0059, “Using NFTs and a distributed ledger to provide irrevocable evidence of physical presence at a physical location may have other applications beyond detecting unauthorized financial transactions as discussed above. Additionally or alternatively, for example, other digital assets beyond NFTs may be provided based on detecting an advertisement from a beacon device at a physical location. Such other digital assets include, for example, fungible tokens, cryptocurrencies, and the like. In some particular example use cases, a digital asset may be provided to a digital wallet as a reward for the individual being present a physical location such as, e.g., a video game asset that is provided based on the individual visiting a physical location identified by a video game, a badge recognizing that the individual accomplished a physical activity (e.g., a physical challenge, a physical competition), a coupon for visiting a retail store, an insignia that the individual has visited certain unique locations around the world (e.g., geographic locations—Antarctica, the North Pole, the top of Mount Kilamanjaro; venues—United States baseball parks, the top of the St. Louis Arch, the Tower of London, the Sydney Opera House; etc.). and the like. Coupons provided as a reward for visiting a retail location may be provided as tokens (fungible or non-fungible) to the digital wallet. Such tokens may include expiration information indicating that the coupon expires (e.g., must be redeemed) within some threshold amount of time (e.g., 30-60 minutes or some other x number of minutes) after detecting the individual's presence at the retail location. Accordingly, the mobile application that listens for and detects advertisements from beacon devices may be a retail mobile application provided by the retail entity. A retail mobile application may be configured to listen for and detect advertisements only from beacon devices associated with (e.g., deployed by, installed at, etc.) the retail entity. As such, a mobile computing device may include multiple retail mobile applications each being respectively configured to listen for and detect advertisements only from beacon devices that are associated with their respective retail entities. More generally, a mobile application may be configured to listen for and detect advertisement only from beacon devices associated with a particular entity (e.g., institution, organization, enterprise, etc.). In another example use case, the digital wallet may function as a passport whereby the NFTs having the presence information may indicate that the individual was physically present at a particular border crossing at a certain date and time thus serving as a permanent record of the individual's travels. The NFTs with physical presence information similarly may be used to provide a permanent record of an individual's movements through a particular area (e.g., through a building or other structure having various access controlled areas with beacon devices respectively positioned in those areas). Further, multiple NFTs may be provided to a digital wallet in an iterative fashion based on detecting multiple advertisements iteratively transmitted by a beacon device at a physical location in order to provide an indication of how long the individual was present at a physical location (e.g., by determining the duration between the first and last NFTs provided). The duration of an individual's presence may be included in the presence information of an NFT or otherwise derivable from the NFTs that are provided to the individual's digital wallet. In one example use case, using NFTs and a distributed ledger to provide irrevocable evidence of physical presence at a physical location may be used to enhance credentials (e.g., an academic degree, certificate, diploma, etc.) awarded by a credential-granting institution (e.g., college, university, other educational and/or training institutions, etc.) To combat the perceived increase in fraudulent credentials, some credential-granting institutions have used NFTs to issue credentials that can be verified and authenticated via a distributed ledger. Such credentials, however, might not indicate the extent to which the individual was physically present at any locations associated with the course work for those credentials (e.g., during scheduled class times, lab times, etc.). By using NFTs having physical presence information as described herein, credentials issued via NFTs may be enhanced by providing an attendance record for the user indicating how often the user was present for the required course work (e.g., “perfect” attendance, consistently, occasionally, rarely, etc.). Such attendance records may be included in the NFT for the credential or provided as one or more separate NFTs.” Sabintsev teaches the concept of utilizing non-fungible tokens for tracking reward activities.)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Sabintsev with the combination of Ortiz and Berman. As shown, the combination discloses the concept of tracking reward activities for providing rewards including recording using a distributed ledger. Sabintsev further teaches the concept of utilizing non-fungible tokens in the tracking of activities. Sabintsev teaches this concept as non-fungible tokens provide both uniqueness and tamper resistance in tracking activities (See Sabintsev ¶0016). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Sabintsev to utilize non-fungible tokens to ensure accurate tracking of reward activities.
Claim(s) 5, 12, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ortiz et al. (US 20190073666 A1) (hereafter Ortiz), in view of Berman (US 20190197574 A1) (hereafter Berman), in view of Harris (WO 2016054429 A1) (hereafter Harris).
As per claim 5:
Although the combination of Ortiz and Berman discloses the above-enclosed invention including interfaces for providing reward information, the combination fails to explicitly disclose the concept of utilizing inline frames.
However Harris as shown, which talks about managing electronic transactions, teaches the concept of utilizing inline frames.
The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the indication that the rewards token is redeemable for use with the merchant system is presented through an inline frame, and wherein the inline frame is associated with a digital wallet management system that maintains the digital wallet. (See Harris ¶0022-¶0023, “In one embodiment, the system allows the offering entity to include a link to other offers (e.g. a gallery link) that are available from the offering entity. In one embodiment, the link redirects the user to a site with multiple available offers from the offering entity.
In operation, the call-to-action of the system is provided in one embodiment as an Inline Frame (IFrame) which is an HTML, document that is embedded inside another HTM1 XML, Ajax, and the like document.” Harris teaches utilizing an iframe to present information associated with the consumer digital wallet.)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Harris with the combination of Ortiz and Berman. As shown, the combination discloses the concept of providing an interface for a digital wallet including providing rewards available for redemption. Harris further teaches the concept of the providing information through an iframe. Harris teaches this concept as iframe provide particular advantages in the presentation of information independently of other information (See Harris ¶0023). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Harris for implementing iframes to further improve the presentation of independent information.
As per claim 12:
Although the combination of Ortiz and Berman discloses the above-enclosed invention including interfaces for providing reward information, the combination fails to explicitly disclose the concept of utilizing inline frames.
However Harris as shown, which talks about managing electronic transactions, teaches the concept of utilizing inline frames.
The system of claim 8, wherein the indication that the rewards token is redeemable for use with the merchant system is presented through an inline frame, and wherein the inline frame is associated with a digital wallet management system that maintains the digital wallet. (See Harris ¶0022-¶0023, “In one embodiment, the system allows the offering entity to include a link to other offers (e.g. a gallery link) that are available from the offering entity. In one embodiment, the link redirects the user to a site with multiple available offers from the offering entity.
In operation, the call-to-action of the system is provided in one embodiment as an Inline Frame (IFrame) which is an HTML, document that is embedded inside another HTM1 XML, Ajax, and the like document.” Harris teaches utilizing an iframe to present information associated with the consumer digital wallet.)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Harris with the combination of Ortiz and Berman. As shown, the combination discloses the concept of providing an interface for a digital wallet including providing rewards available for redemption. Harris further teaches the concept of the providing information through an iframe. Harris teaches this concept as iframe provide particular advantages in the presentation of information independently of other information (See Harris ¶0023). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Harris for implementing iframes to further improve the presentation of independent information.
As per claim 19:
Although the combination of Ortiz and Berman discloses the above-enclosed invention including interfaces for providing reward information, the combination fails to explicitly disclose the concept of utilizing inline frames.
However Harris as shown, which talks about managing electronic transactions, teaches the concept of utilizing inline frames.
The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the indication that the rewards token is redeemable for use with the merchant system is presented through an inline frame, and wherein the inline frame is associated with a digital wallet management system that maintains the digital wallet. (See Harris ¶0022-¶0023, “In one embodiment, the system allows the offering entity to include a link to other offers (e.g. a gallery link) that are available from the offering entity. In one embodiment, the link redirects the user to a site with multiple available offers from the offering entity.
In operation, the call-to-action of the system is provided in one embodiment as an Inline Frame (IFrame) which is an HTML, document that is embedded inside another HTM1 XML, Ajax, and the like document.” Harris teaches utilizing an iframe to present information associated with the consumer digital wallet.)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Harris with the combination of Ortiz and Berman. As shown, the combination discloses the concept of providing an interface for a digital wallet including providing rewards available for redemption. Harris further teaches the concept of the providing information through an iframe. Harris teaches this concept as iframe provide particular advantages in the presentation of information independently of other information (See Harris ¶0023). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Harris for implementing iframes to further improve the presentation of independent information.
Claim(s) 6, 13, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ortiz et al. (US 20190073666 A1) (hereafter Ortiz), in view of Berman (US 20190197574 A1) (hereafter Berman), in view of Buhrmann et al. (US 20130197998 A1) (hereafter Buhrmann).
As per claim 6:
Although the combination of Ortiz and Berman discloses the above-enclosed invention, the combination fails to explicitly teach/suggest authenticating the consumer.
However Buhrmann as shown, which talks about authenticating users in electronic transactions, teaches the concept of authenticating users using embedded authentication codes.
The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: authenticating the user, wherein the user is authenticated using an authentication code embedded in a link, and wherein the link is provided in response to a request to access the digital wallet. (See Buhrmann ¶0039, “The wireless device user's Identity Data may be initially registered and created in a variety of ways, both directly and indirectly. One preferred embodiment of direct registration occurs when an individual enters identity information into a form on a web page presented by a registration application supported by the Identity Register. Identity information may contain a username, password, given name, address, sex, age, email address or various other information and the required and unique mobile directory number (MDN) associated with the user's wireless device. When this information is submitted, it may be confirmed by a variety of mechanisms. For example, a confirmation email may be sent to the provided email address containing an embedded secure link or uniform resource locator (URL) address. When the user clicks on this link, a web page may be presented by the initial registration application confirming the user's registration with the Identity Register. After the user's initial registration is confirmed, the user's Identity Data is stored in the Identity Register for use with a multiplicity of applications that may support the fraud risk score required for identity authentication related to transactions, computer applications, networks, systems or devices.” Buhrmann teaches the concept of authenticating a user using an embedded link.)
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Buhrmann with the combination of Ortiz and Berman. The combination discloses the concept of facilitating rewards in a distributed ledger including maintaining digital wallets on user devices. As shown, Buhrmann further teaches the concept of authenticating users including utilizing two factor authentication to further improve security and reduce risk for transactions (See Buhrmann ¶0119). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Buhrmann to improve the security of the digital wallet.
As per claim 13:
Although the combination of Ortiz and Berman discloses the above-enclosed invention, the combination fails to explicitly teach/suggest authenticating the consumer.
However Buhrmann as shown, which talks about authenticating users in electronic transactions, teaches the concept of authenticating users using embedded authentication codes.
The system of claim 8, wherein the instructions further cause the system to: authenticate the user, wherein the user is authenticated using an authentication code embedded in a link, and wherein the link is provided in response to a request to access the digital wallet. (See Buhrmann ¶0039, “The wireless device user's Identity Data may be initially registered and created in a variety of ways, both directly and indirectly. One preferred embodiment of direct registration occurs when an individual enters identity information into a form on a web page presented by a registration application supported by the Identity Register. Identity information may contain a username, password, given name, address, sex, age, email address or various other information and the required and unique mobile directory number (MDN) associated with the user's wireless device. When this information is submitted, it may be confirmed by a variety of mechanisms. For example, a confirmation email may be sent to the provided email address containing an embedded secure link or uniform resource locator (URL) address. When the user clicks on this link, a web page may be presented by the initial registration application confirming the user's registration with the Identity Register. After the user's initial registration is confirmed, the user's Identity Data is stored in the Identity Register for use with a multiplicity of applications that may support the fraud risk score required for identity authentication related to transactions, computer applications, networks, systems or devices.” Buhrmann teaches the concept of authenticating a user using an embedded link.)
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Buhrmann with the combination of Ortiz and Berman. The combination discloses the concept of facilitating rewards in a distributed ledger including maintaining digital wallets on user devices. As shown, Buhrmann further teaches the concept of authenticating users including utilizing two factor authentication to further improve security and reduce risk for transactions (See Buhrmann ¶0119). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Buhrmann to improve the security of the digital wallet.
As per claim 20:
Although the combination of Ortiz and Berman discloses the above-enclosed invention, the combination fails to explicitly teach/suggest authenticating the consumer.
However Buhrmann as shown, which talks about authenticating users in electronic transactions, teaches the concept of authenticating users using embedded authentication codes.
The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the executable instructions further cause the system to: authenticate the user, wherein the user is authenticated using an authentication code embedded in a link, and wherein the link is provided in response to a request to access the digital wallet. (See Buhrmann ¶0039, “The wireless device user's Identity Data may be initially registered and created in a variety of ways, both directly and indirectly. One preferred embodiment of direct registration occurs when an individual enters identity information into a form on a web page presented by a registration application supported by the Identity Register. Identity information may contain a username, password, given name, address, sex, age, email address or various other information and the required and unique mobile directory number (MDN) associated with the user's wireless device. When this information is submitted, it may be confirmed by a variety of mechanisms. For example, a confirmation email may be sent to the provided email address containing an embedded secure link or uniform resource locator (URL) address. When the user clicks on this link, a web page may be presented by the initial registration application confirming the user's registration with the Identity Register. After the user's initial registration is confirmed, the user's Identity Data is stored in the Identity Register for use with a multiplicity of applications that may support the fraud risk score required for identity authentication related to transactions, computer applications, networks, systems or devices.” Buhrmann teaches the concept of authenticating a user using an embedded link.)
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Buhrmann with the combination of Ortiz and Berman. The combination discloses the concept of facilitating rewards in a distributed ledger including maintaining digital wallets on user devices. As shown, Buhrmann further teaches the concept of authenticating users including utilizing two factor authentication to further improve security and reduce risk for transactions (See Buhrmann ¶0119). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Buhrmann to improve the security of the digital wallet.
Claim(s) 7, 14, 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ortiz et al. (US 20190073666 A1) (hereafter Ortiz), in view of Berman (US 20190197574 A1) (hereafter Berman), in view of Khan (US 20190370847 A1) (hereafter Khan).
As per claim 7:
Although the combination of Ortiz and Berman discloses the above-enclosed invention, the combination fails to explicitly disclose the concept of the token to be non-transferable.
However Khan as shown, which talks about blockchain rewards, teaches the concept of non-transferable tokens.
The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the rewards token is exclusive to the user such that the rewards token is not transferrable to other users. (See Khan ¶0116, “Amongst the different characteristics, benefits, rights, obligations, and limitations attached to Retro's is their transferability. Accordingly, Retros may be transferable and/or non-transferable. For example, a retailer may dedicate Retro's given as rewards as being non-transferrable, i.e. usable only at the retailer where such tokens may be considered as vendor specific tokens. Alternatively, a retailer for example, may dedicate Retro's given as rewards as transferable and which can therefore be used anywhere Retros are used and accepted, including at an Exchange.” Khan teaches the reward to be non-transferable.)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Khan with the combination of Ortiz and Berman. As shown, the combination discloses the concept of providing rewards to consumers including the concept of the transferable between consumers. Khan further teaches the concept of the rewards can be both transferable or non-transferable. Khan teaches this concept to allow merchants to customize the transaction rewards based on different factors and requirements of the merchant (See Khan ¶0116-¶0118). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Khan to further provide flexibility to merchants for rewards by enabling/disabling certain functionality of the rewards.
As per claim 14:
Although the combination of Ortiz and Berman discloses the above-enclosed invention, the combination fails to explicitly disclose the concept of the token to be non-transferable.
However Khan as shown, which talks about blockchain rewards, teaches the concept of non-transferable tokens.
The system of claim 8, wherein the rewards token is exclusive to the user such that the rewards token is not transferrable to other users. (See Khan ¶0116, “Amongst the different characteristics, benefits, rights, obligations, and limitations attached to Retro's is their transferability. Accordingly, Retros may be transferable and/or non-transferable. For example, a retailer may dedicate Retro's given as rewards as being non-transferrable, i.e. usable only at the retailer where such tokens may be considered as vendor specific tokens. Alternatively, a retailer for example, may dedicate Retro's given as rewards as transferable and which can therefore be used anywhere Retros are used and accepted, including at an Exchange.” Khan teaches the reward to be non-transferable.)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Khan with the combination of Ortiz and Berman. As shown, the combination discloses the concept of providing rewards to consumers including the concept of the transferable between consumers. Khan further teaches the concept of the rewards can be both transferable or non-transferable. Khan teaches this concept to allow merchants to customize the transaction rewards based on different factors and requirements of the merchant (See Khan ¶0116-¶0118). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Khan to further provide flexibility to merchants for rewards by enabling/disabling certain functionality of the rewards.
As per claim 21:
Although the combination of Ortiz and Berman discloses the above-enclosed invention, the combination fails to explicitly disclose the concept of the token to be non-transferable.
However Khan as shown, which talks about blockchain rewards, teaches the concept of non-transferable tokens.
The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the rewards token is exclusive to the user such that the rewards token is not transferrable to other users. (See Khan ¶0116, “Amongst the different characteristics, benefits, rights, obligations, and limitations attached to Retro's is their transferability. Accordingly, Retros may be transferable and/or non-transferable. For example, a retailer may dedicate Retro's given as rewards as being non-transferrable, i.e. usable only at the retailer where such tokens may be considered as vendor specific tokens. Alternatively, a retailer for example, may dedicate Retro's given as rewards as transferable and which can therefore be used anywhere Retros are used and accepted, including at an Exchange.” Khan teaches the reward to be non-transferable.)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Khan with the combination of Ortiz and Berman. As shown, the combination discloses the concept of providing rewards to consumers including the concept of the transferable between consumers. Khan further teaches the concept of the rewards can be both transferable or non-transferable. Khan teaches this concept to allow merchants to customize the transaction rewards based on different factors and requirements of the merchant (See Khan ¶0116-¶0118). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have utilized the teachings of Khan to further provide flexibility to merchants for rewards by enabling/disabling certain functionality of the rewards.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Pistilli et al. (US 20200097991 A1), which talks about consumer reward program utilizing virtual tokens.
Ow et al. (US 20190325432 A1), which talks about token transactions in a blockchain.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VINCENT M CAO whose telephone number is (571)270-5598. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 11-7.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, ILANA SPAR can be reached at (571) 270-7537. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/VINCENT M CAO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3622