DETAILED ACTION
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 § 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.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Raj Susairaju (US Pub 2023/0110404) in view of Franco (US Pub 2015/0262188) and in further view of Bayrak et al. (US 2013/0060587).
Regarding claim 1, Raj Susairaju discloses a system for optimizing outbound communication, comprising:
one or more first computing devices associated with an enterprise, configured to initiate an authorization request for initiating communication with a user (para 0063-0064 – “An administrator may be a member or representative of an enterprise 1130, an enterprise being a user of the centralized campaign manager 1110 to operate a customer contact campaign using the CMC 1111 over a network such as the Internet 1120. The enterprise 1130 must upload in some format, a list of customer records, comprising either or both of PEWC and non-PEWC customer records 1130 a, 1130 b, either as separate lists or in one single combined list, though they must be marked or recorded as being PEWC or non-PEWC customer records if they are in a mingled list.”);
one or more second computing devices associated with the user, configured to receive the communication from the one or more first computing devices (para 0110 and fig. 16 – “Digital consent manager 1615 may wait for a response from consumer mobile device 1620 indicating whether consent was obtained or not. A user of consumer mobile device 1620 may respond to the message by consenting to be called 1650 wherein the response is received by digital consent manager 1615.”);
a server communicatively coupled to the one or more second computing devices and comprising one or more processors coupled to a memory storing instructions executable by the one or more processors (para 0110 and fig. 16 – “The digital consent manager 1615 receives the records, at which point it may generate a message to make a request for a consumer's electronic consent via one or more digital channels for the purpose of receiving telephone calls, to a consumer mobile device 1645.”), wherein the server is configured to:
receive the authorization request from the one or more first computing devices (para 0063-0064 – “An administrator may be a member or representative of an enterprise 1130, an enterprise being a user of the centralized campaign manager 1110 to operate a customer contact campaign using the CMC 1111 over a network such as the Internet 1120. The enterprise 1130 must upload in some format, a list of customer records, comprising either or both of PEWC and non-PEWC customer records 1130 a, 1130 b, either as separate lists or in one single combined list, though they must be marked or recorded as being PEWC or non-PEWC customer records if they are in a mingled list.”);
send a communication message to the one or more second computing devices, the communication message comprising options for the user to select a preferred time to communicate with the enterprise (para 0110 and fig. 16 – “The digital consent manager 1615 receives the records, at which point it may generate a message to make a request for a consumer's electronic consent via one or more digital channels for the purpose of receiving telephone calls, to a consumer mobile device 1645.”);
receive a response from the user, the response comprising consent for receiving communication from the enterprise (para 0066 – “Examples of parameters can include, but are not limited to, a priority parameter which indicates in what order the stored number should be dialed, a time-to-call and/or time-not-to-call parameter, a consent status which indicates the current call consent status associated with the stored number, digital channel connections (e.g., existing and historical available digital consent channels, etc.)” and also see para 0071 and para 0068 – “For example, customer record parameters that indicate when an appropriate time to call or when not to call may be learned and/or changed in digital channels directly from the consumer and/or including from patterns of app usage.”);
provide the response to the one or more first computing devices to schedule and initiate the communication from the enterprise based on the received consent and the time (see claim 1, page 22 – “automatically dial a corresponding customer phone number of a received prior express written consent customer record; and
establish a tethered connection between one or more communications devices and the dialed corresponding customer phone number.” And para 0068 – “As another example, a sub-list may be filtered to comprise records that all have a specified time-to-call parameter which fall within a given time period (e.g., thirty minute time period, etc.).” and fig. 16); and
dynamically adjust the options for the user based on the recorded consent and the time for continuous user engagement (para 0068 – “For example, customer record parameters that indicate when an appropriate time to call or when not to call may be learned and/or changed in digital channels directly from the consumer and/or including from patterns of app usage”).
Raj Susairaju does not explicitly disclose the preferred time for receiving the communication; the preferred time for a predetermined period for continuous user engagement.
Franco discloses the communication message comprising options for the user to select a preferred time to communicate with the enterprise (fig. 14D and para 0129)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Raj Susairaju with the teachings of Franco in order to provide efficient and convenient access to customer service by displaying for the user the available time-slots during which the user can be provided voice contact with a qualified agent (Franco, para 0002).
Raj Susairaju in view of Franco does not disclose the preferred time for a predetermined period for continuous user engagement.
Bayrak discloses the preferred time for a predetermined period for continuous user engagement (para 0021, 0025; para 0026 – “various variables or factors affecting the likelihood of contacting a customer, and can be run every day or in intervals periodically to accommodate for the latest information”; ).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Raj Susairaju in view of Franco with the teachings of Bayrak in order to provide an overall baseline best time to contact (BTTC) score with customer-specific information (Franco, para 0025).
Regarding claim 2, Raj Susairaju discloses wherein the server is configured to maintain a repository of trusted entities and utilize the repository to validate authorization requests prior to sending the communication message to the second computing device (para 0108 - campaign manager console 1610).
Regarding claim 3, Raj Susairaju discloses wherein the server is configured to determine the user's subscription status to validate active engagement with the enterprise before sending the communication message (para 0066).
Regarding claim 4, Franco discloses wherein the options comprise any or a combination of: a specific callback time (fig. 14D), an allowed delay in the communication, and an option for declining the communication.
Regarding claim 5, Raj Susairaju discloses wherein the server is configured to integrate with an enterprise customer relationship management system to record and process the preferences of the user for scheduling the communication (para 0066).
Regarding claim 6, Bayrak discloses wherein the server is configured to dynamically adjusts the timing and frequency associated with the communication based on historical patterns of user engagement and response behavior recorded for the predetermined period (0026).
Regarding claim 7, Bayrak discloses wherein the server is configured to analyze user behavior and optimize the timing of communication using one or more machine learning models (para 0026 – “adaptive/predictive model” using “logistic regression”).
Regarding claim 8, Raj Susairaju discloses wherein the communication message comprises at least one of: a rich communication services, a third-party messaging service associated with the second computing device, or an enterprise application installed on the second computing device (para 0039, 0082).
Regarding claim 9, Raj Susairaju discloses wherein the server is configured to transmit user consent data to the one or more first computing device for initiating the communication (para 0091).
Regarding claim 10, Raj Susairaju discloses a method for optimizing the answer rate of outbound communication, the method comprising:
receiving, by a server, an authorization request from a first computing device associated with an enterprise, wherein the authorization request for initiating communication with a user (para 0063-0064 – “An administrator may be a member or representative of an enterprise 1130, an enterprise being a user of the centralized campaign manager 1110 to operate a customer contact campaign using the CMC 1111 over a network such as the Internet 1120. The enterprise 1130 must upload in some format, a list of customer records, comprising either or both of PEWC and non-PEWC customer records 1130 a, 1130 b, either as separate lists or in one single combined list, though they must be marked or recorded as being PEWC or non-PEWC customer records if they are in a mingled list.”);
sending, by the server, a communication message to a second computing device associated with the user, (para 0110 and fig. 16 – “The digital consent manager 1615 receives the records, at which point it may generate a message to make a request for a consumer's electronic consent via one or more digital channels for the purpose of receiving telephone calls, to a consumer mobile device 1645.”);
receiving, by the server, a response from the user, the response comprising consent for receiving communication from the enterprise and the preferred time for receiving the communication (para 0066 – “Examples of parameters can include, but are not limited to, a priority parameter which indicates in what order the stored number should be dialed, a time-to-call and/or time-not-to-call parameter, a consent status which indicates the current call consent status associated with the stored number, digital channel connections (e.g., existing and historical available digital consent channels, etc.)” and also see para 0071 and para 0068 – “For example, customer record parameters that indicate when an appropriate time to call or when not to call may be learned and/or changed in digital channels directly from the consumer and/or including from patterns of app usage.”);
providing, by the server, the response to the first computing device to schedule and initiate the communication from the enterprise based on the received consent and the preferred time (see claim 1, page 22 – “automatically dial a corresponding customer phone number of a received prior express written consent customer record; and
establish a tethered connection between one or more communications devices and the dialed corresponding customer phone number.” And para 0068 – “As another example, a sub-list may be filtered to comprise records that all have a specified time-to-call parameter which fall within a given time period (e.g., thirty minute time period, etc.).” and fig. 16); and
dynamically adjusting, by the server, the options for the user based on the recorded consent and the preferred time for a continuous user engagement (para 0068 – “For example, customer record parameters that indicate when an appropriate time to call or when not to call may be learned and/or changed in digital channels directly from the consumer and/or including from patterns of app usage”).
Raj Susairaju does not explicitly disclose the communication message comprising options for the user to select a preferred time to communicate with the enterprise; the preferred time for a predetermined period for continuous user engagement.
Franco discloses the communication message comprising options for the user to select a preferred time to communicate with the enterprise (fig. 14D and para 0129)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Raj Susairaju with the teachings of Franco in order to provide efficient and convenient access to customer service by displaying for the user the available time-slots during which the user can be provided voice contact with a qualified agent (Franco, para 0002).
Raj Susairaju in view of Franco does not disclose the preferred time for a predetermined period for continuous user engagement.
Bayrak discloses the preferred time for a predetermined period for continuous user engagement (para 0021, 0025; para 0026 – “various variables or factors affecting the likelihood of contacting a customer, and can be run every day or in intervals periodically to accommodate for the latest information”; ).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Raj Susairaju in view of Franco with the teachings of Bayrak in order to provide an overall baseline best time to contact (BTTC) score with customer-specific information (Franco, para 0025).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NAFIZ E HOQUE whose telephone number is (571)270-1811. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5.
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/NAFIZ E HOQUE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2693
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