DETAILED ACTION
1. This Final Office Action is in response to Applicant’s Amendments filed 5/11/2026. Claims 1-2 are currently pending. The earliest effective filing date of the present application is 11/22/2021.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
2. 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
3. 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.
4. 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 precious metal processing facility configured to convert raw precious metal into PSE certified precious metal units that are standard precious metal bars having specific uniform characteristics including a precious metal type, a material quality, and a weight;
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 additional raw precious metal on an open market, the PSE precious metal processing facility processes and certifies the precious metal into PSE certified precious metal units by converting the additional raw precious metal into additional standard precious metal bars having the specific uniform characteristics including the precious metal type, the material quality, and the weight, and transports, if necessary, the additional PSE 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 processing the physical goods for certification 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. Further, PSE precious metal processing facility, as claim amount to no more than generically linking the abstract idea to technologic environment of gold processing. See MPEP §2106.05(h). 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. Further, PSE precious metal processing facility, as claim amount to no more than generically linking the abstract idea to technologic environment of gold processing. See MPEP §2106.05(h). 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. Additionally, engrave a unique serial number is consider well-known, conventional, routine activity. See Wiki1 discussing the common security method being branding the bar with a serial number and MPEP §2106.05(g). Therefore, claim 2 is rejected for the same reasons as stated in the rejection from independent claim from which they depend.
Allowable Subject Matter
5. 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 the limitations. See previous actions for more rationale.
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
6. Applicant's arguments filed 5/11/2026 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. No transformation has taken place in light of the MPEP because a precious metal went into the system and a precious metal is the output of the system. Applicant states, “PSE certified precious metal units have a new or different function or use in that they have a particular value defined in the PSE system by the precious metal type, material quality, and a weight with which they are converted from raw material.” However, the raw material was still precious materials. MEPE 2106.05 states, “For example, a process that transforms raw, uncured synthetic rubber into precision-molded synthetic rubber products, as discussed in Diamond v. Diehr, 450 U.S. 175, 184, 209 USPQ 1, 21 (1981)), provides significantly more (or integrate a judicial exception into a practical application).” Here, raw materials could based on the specifications by a gold bar of differing size, weight, or purity. Applicant has not provided a practical application or significantly more as to the processing of the precious metal into their desired standard size, which is different than pressure molding a raw rubber into a precision-molded synthetic rubber product.
Examiner maintains position.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Fahd Obeid can be reached on (571)270-3324. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL JARED WALKER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627 Michael.walker@uspto.gov
1 Wayback Machine: Gold Bar. Jan. 3, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190103221800/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Bar (accessed 5/19/2026).
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