DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
1. A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 10/28/2025 has been entered.
2. This Non-Final Office Action is in response to Applicant’s RCE filing on 10/21/2025. Claims 1-2 are currently pending, with claim 2 newly added for consideration. Accordingly, claims 1-2 are examined below. The earliest effective filing date of the present application is 11/22/2021.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
3. The present application is being examined under the AIA first to file provisions.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
4. 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.
5. Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed a judicial exception (i.e., an abstract idea) without significantly more.
Step 1 – Statutory Categories
As indicated in the preamble of the claim, the examiner finds the claim is directed to a process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter. Claims 1-2 are a machine (systems or devices).
Step 2A – Prong 1: was there a Judicial Exception Recited
Claim 1 recites the following abstract concepts that are found to include “abstract idea”:
1. A physical secure environment (PSE) system comprising:
a PSE service center configured to
publish PSE precious metal purchase contract prices based on precious metal type, quality, weight, and a target PSE storage facility;
receive a purchase contract form from a PSE account holder with published purchase contract prices and with a purchase price amount in currency; and
wherein the target PSE storage facility is configured to
receive, from the SPE service center, information from the purchase contract form,
determine if inventory of unassigned certified precious metal units at the target PSE storage facility is sufficient to cover terms in the purchase contract,
wherein if inventory is determined to cover the terms in the purchase contract, the PSE storage facility assigns unassigned certified precious metal units to the account holder and updates a certified precious metal unit record at a certified precious metal unit registry via the PSE service center;
wherein if inventory is determined to not cover the terms in the purchase contract, the target PSE storage facility determines other PSE storage locations with either unassigned or for sale certified precious metal units sufficient to cover the purchase contract terms;
wherein if inventory is determined to cover the terms in the purchase contract, the target PSE storage facility assigns available unassigned certified precious metal units with account holder ownership information and transports them via PSE courier to the target PSE storage facility;
wherein if inventory is determined to not cover the terms in the purchase contract, the target PSE storage facility purchases raw precious metal on an open market, processes and certifies the precious metal into PSE certified precious metal units by converting the raw precious metal into standard precious metal bars having specific uniform characteristics including a precious metal type, a material quality, and a weight, and transports, if necessary, the certified precious metal units to the target PSE storage facility; and
update the certified precious metal unit record in the certified precious metal unit registry via the PSE service center and update the account holder account accordingly.
Claim 1 is directed to a series of steps for performing actions in an inventory management control process, which is a commercial/legal interaction and/or managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people (including social activities, teaching, and following rules or instructions);therefore, grouped as a certain method of organizing human interactions. Thus, the claim recites an abstract idea. See MPEP §2106.4(a). Examiner notes the buying/selling of goods and inventorying of goods are considered sales activity. Further, the steps for process without the physical components to process are consider instructions.
Step 2A – Prong 2: Can the Judicial Exception Recited be integrated into a practical application
Limitations that are indicative of integration into a practical application:
Improvements to the functioning of a computer, or to any other technology or technical field - see MPEP 2106.05(a)
Applying or using a judicial exception to effect a particular treatment or prophylaxis for a disease or medical condition – see Vanda Memo
Applying the judicial exception with, or by use of, a particular machine - see MPEP 2106.05(b)
Effecting a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing - see MPEP 2106.05(c)
Applying or using the judicial exception in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment, such that the claim as a whole is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception - see MPEP 2106.05(e) and Vanda Memo
Limitations that are not indicative of integration into a practical application:
Adding the words “apply it” (or an equivalent) with the judicial exception, or mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, or merely uses a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea - see MPEP 2106.05(f)
Adding insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception - see MPEP 2106.05(g)
Generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use – see MPEP 2106.05(h)
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the PSE service center and certified precious metal unit registry are merely generically recited computer elements that do not add a meaningful limitation to the abstract idea because they amount to simply the abstract idea on a generic computer. Accordingly, alone and in combination, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. See Specification [0376]-[0381] discussing the generic computer. The claim is directed to an abstract idea.
Step 2B – Significantly More Analysis
The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because, when considered separately and in combination the PSE service center and certified precious metal unit registry amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component cannot provide an inventive concept. Thus, claims 1 is not patent eligible.
Dependent claim 2 fails to provide additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. Claim 2 lacks additional elements. Therefore, claim 2 is rejected for the same reasons as stated in the rejection from independent claim from which they depend.
Allowable Subject Matter
6. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The reason for allowable subject matter of claims 1-2 in the instant application is because the prior art of record fails to teach the overall combination as claimed. Therefore, it would not have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the prior art to meet the combination above without unequivocal hindsight and one of ordinary skill would have no reason to do so. The nearest art, Krishnan 10,970,549 and Turk 7,143,062, does not teach wherein the target PSE storage facility determines if inventory of unassigned certified precious metal units at the target PSE storage facility is sufficient to cover terms in the purchase contract, wherein if so, the PSE storage facility assigns unassigned certified precious metal units to the account holder and updates a certified precious metal unit record at a certified precious metal unit registry via the PSE service center; wherein if not, the target PSE storage facility determines other PSE storage locations with either unassigned or for sale certified precious metal units sufficient to cover the purchase contract terms; wherein if so, the target PSE storage facility assigns available unassigned certified precious metal units with account holder ownership information and transports them via PSE courier to the target location; wherein if not, the target PSE storage facility purchases raw precious metal on an open market, processes and certifies the precious metal into PSE certified precious metal units, and transports, if necessary, the certified precious metal units to the target PSE storage facility.
Upon further searching the examiner could not identify any prior art to teach these limitations. The prior art on record, alone or in combination, neither anticipates, reasonably teaches, not renders obvious the Applicant' s claimed invention.
Response to Arguments
7. Applicant's arguments filed 10/21/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues the claim transforms a raw precious material into a PSE certified precious metal units. Examiner disagrees. The current claims are making a certificate based on a purchase contract, which is a certain method of organizing human activity. If Applicant would like the actual processing of the materials to be considered as more than in light of the specification, the Examiner suggest adding it to the claims. Applicant has not done this. Applicant has claimed a “black box” that processes and certifies the raw precious metal, while collecting data for the certificate. This would be similar to claiming the unpackaging of a crate and adding a barcode sticker to an individual item.
Applicant argues that the article is transformed or reduced into a different state. Examiner disagrees. The article in the claim is the data record and the precious metal is not transformed into a data record. Data is collected on the precious metal and added to the data record. Examiner notes stamping or shaping the precious metal is not a transformation in line with MPEP 2106.05(d) the precious metal is still the precious metal. Further, this test is not a stand-alone test, according to the MPEP. Step 5 seem to be the dispositive step in the analysis, as inventorying an environment of metal ore would require ingot processing of standardized units. As currently written the “processing” steps fall more in line with being part of the abstract idea than with the additional elements.
Examiner maintains position.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See Notice of References Cited, PTO form 892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL JARED WALKER whose telephone number is (303)297-4407. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 9:00 AM -5:00 PM CT.
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/MICHAEL JARED WALKER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627 Michael.walker@uspto.gov