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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-7 and 15-20 in the reply filed on 02/03/2026 is acknowledged.
Status of the Claims
Claims 8-14 are withdrawn. Claims 1-7 and 15-20 have been elected for examination.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/07/2025 was filed before the mailing of this action. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 1-7 and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e. an abstract idea) without significantly more.
Claims 1-7 recite a method (i.e. process), and claims 15-20 recite a system (i.e. machine. Therefore claims 1-7 and 15-20 fall within one of the four statutory categories of invention.
Independent claim 1 recites the limitations: generating a predictive [overlay interface] within a [host retail webpage], the method comprising: generating, on an [interface of a host web page], a [floating interface element], wherein the interface displays a retail product; obtaining product information from the [host web page], wherein the product information includes one or more of: a product title, a product price, or a product description; executing a code snippet integrated into a host source code of the [host web page], wherein the code snippet is configured to execute an external call to an [application programming interface (API)] via [Internet] that determines an estimated resale value for the retail product based on (1) the product information and (2) historical resale data from multiple secondary marketplaces; in response to executing the code snippet, populating the [floating interface element] with an indication of a projected cost of temporary ownership of the retail product determined as a difference between an original retail price and the estimated resale value of the retail product; and in response to receiving an indication that the [floating interface element] has been selected by a user of the [host web page], generating an [overlay window on the interface of the host web page], the [overlay window] displaying information including (1) the estimated resale value and (2) the projected cost of temporary ownership, wherein the information displayed in the overlay window is not included in the host source code. The invention and claims are drawn towards displaying an overlay window on an interface that informs the user/browser/shopper of an estimated retail value of an item, and the claim limitations directly correspond to certain methods of organizing human activity (commercial interactions, managing personal interactions and behaviors, etc.) as evidenced by the limitations detailing displaying a retail product and determining resale value for the product based on historical resale value and product information, populating an indication of an estimated cost of temporary ownership if the retail product, in response to the user selecting the interface, displaying the resale information. The claim limitations also directly correspond to mental processes (observation, evaluation, judgment, opinion) since the claims also described the observation and evaluation of product data, and making a judgment/opinion based on the observed and evaluated data. The claims recite an abstract idea.
Note: The features or elements in brackets in the above Step 2A Prong One section are inserted for reading clarity, but are analyzed as “additional elements” under Step 2A Prong Two below.
The judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application simply because the claims recite the additional elements of: generating a floating interface element on an interface of a host web page, an API and Internet, and an overlay window generated in the host web page. The additional elements are computer components recited at a high-level of generality performing the above-mentioned limitations. The combination of the additional elements are no more than mere instructions to apply the judicial exception using a generic computer. Accordingly, in combination, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claims are directed to an abstract idea.
The claims do 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 elements amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer. Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer cannot provide an inventive concept. Thus, when viewed as an ordered combination, nothing in the claims add significantly more (i.e. an inventive concept) to the abstract idea. The claims are not patent eligible.
Dependent claim 5 recites the limitation of redirecting to a [second web page] in response to received input that the one or more buttons is clicked, wherein the [second web page] is associated with a set of secondary market listings of the retail product from a set of secondary online retailers. The limitation is further directed to the abstract idea analyzed. The claim also recites the additional elements of the overlay window and a second web page. The additional elements amount to “apply it” or merely using a computer as a tool to implement the judicial exception. Accordingly, in combination, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. Further, when viewed as an ordered combination, nothing in the claim adds significantly more (i.e. an inventive concept) to the abstract idea. The claim is not patent eligible.
Dependent claim 7 recites the limitation that the [API] determines the estimated resale value for the retail product based on (1) historical resale data of the retail product and (2) historical resale data of predicted products associated with the retail product, wherein the predicted products are determined using an [artificial intelligence (AI) model]. The limitation is further directed to the abstract idea analyzed. The claim also recites the additional elements of the API and an AI model. The additional elements amount to “apply it” or merely using a computer as a tool to implement the judicial exception. Accordingly, in combination, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. Further, when viewed as an ordered combination, nothing in the claim adds significantly more (i.e. an inventive concept) to the abstract idea. The claim is not patent eligible.
Dependent claims 2-4 and 6 recite additional limitations that are further directed to the abstract idea analyzed in the rejected claims above. The claims also recite additional elements that have been analyzed in the rejected claims above. Thus, claims 2-4 and 6 are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101. The claims are not patent eligible.
Independent claim 15 recites the limitations: generating, on the [interface of the host web page], a [floating interface element] indicating product information of the retail product; an [API server] configured to determine the product information by: receiving the external call to the [API], determining an estimated resale value for the retail product based on (1) product information and (2) the historical resale data, wherein the product information includes one or more of: a product title, a product price, or a product description, and determining a projected cost of temporary ownership determined as a difference between an original retail price and the estimated resale value; a predictive [overlay application] configured to receive indication that the [floating interface element] has been activated by a user of the [host web page] and generate an [overlay window] to display the determined product information; and a communication line that connects the [host user device], an [end-user device], the [database], the [floating interface application], the [API server], and the predictive overlay application. The invention and claims are drawn towards displaying an overlay window on an interface that informs the user/browser/shopper of an estimated retail value of an item, and the claim limitations directly correspond to certain methods of organizing human activity (commercial interactions, managing personal interactions and behaviors, etc.) as evidenced by the limitations detailing historical resale data of multiple retail products from multiple secondary marketplaces, determining an estimated resale value for the retail product based on (1) product information and (2) the historical resale data, determining a projected cost of temporary ownership determined as a difference between an original retail price and the estimated resale value, and displaying the determined product information. The claim limitations also directly correspond to mental processes (observation, evaluation, judgment, opinion) since the claims also described the observation and evaluation of product data, and making a judgment/opinion based on the observed and evaluated data. The claims recite an abstract idea.
Note: The features or elements in brackets in the above Step 2A Prong One section are inserted for reading clarity, but are analyzed as “additional elements” under Step 2A Prong Two below.
The judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application simply because the claims recite the additional elements of: database, a floating interface application/element, an interface and API, a host web page, and an overlay window, host user device, or end-user device, API server. The additional elements are computer components recited at a high-level of generality performing the above-mentioned limitations. The combination of the additional elements are no more than mere instructions to apply the judicial exception using a generic computer. Accordingly, in combination, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claims are directed to an abstract idea.
The claims do 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 elements amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer. Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer cannot provide an inventive concept. Thus, when viewed as an ordered combination, nothing in the claims add significantly more (i.e. an inventive concept) to the abstract idea. The claims are not patent eligible.
Dependent claims 16-20 recite additional limitations that are further directed to the abstract idea analyzed in the rejected claims above. The claims also recite additional elements that have been analyzed in the rejected claims above. Thus, claims 16-20 are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101. The claims are not patent eligible.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 15, and 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Parihar (US 8,489,464) in view of Asami (2001/0005833) further in view of O’Connor (US 11,763,360).
Claim 1: Parihar discloses: A method of generating a predictive overlay interface within a host retail webpage, the method comprising:
generating, on an interface of a host web page, a floating interface element, wherein the interface displays a retail product; (Parihar Fig. 2, 202 disclosing a retail product (CD), and in 206, 208 floating interfaces of 202 further disclosing the retail product; Col. 5, Ln. 8-11 disclosing the UI may be sent by the online shopping module 124 as a webpage 202 to be rendered in window 204 of the client application executing on the consumer computer 104; Col. 3, Ln. 67-Col. 4, Ln. 2 disclosing the online shopping module 124 may retrieve information regarding items offered for sale by the merchants in the online marketplace from item catalog data)
obtaining product information from the host web page, wherein the product information includes one or more of: a product title, a product price, or a product description; (Parihar Fig. 2 disclosing the product information including the title, price, and description)
executing a code snippet integrated into a host source code of the host web page, wherein the code snippet is configured to execute an external call to an application programming interface (API) via Internet that determines an estimated resale value for the retail product based on (1) the product information and (2) historical resale data from multiple secondary marketplaces; (Parihar Col. 3, Ln. 34-55 disclosing the consumer 102 may use a client application executing on the consumer computer 104 to access and utilize the online shopping services provided by the application servers 122; the client application may be a web browser application, such as the MOZILLA.RTM. FIREFOX.RTM. web browser from Mozilla Foundation of Mountain View, Calif. The web browser application exchanges data with the application servers 122 in the online marketplace system 120 using the hypertext transfer protocol ("HTTP") over the network 106. Alternatively, the client application may utilize any number of communication methods known in the art to communicate with the online marketplace system 120 and/or the application servers 122 across the network 106, including remote procedure calls, SOAP-based web services, remote file access, proprietary client-server architectures, and the like; Col. 3, Ln. 30-33 disclosing the network being Internet that connects the consumer computer to the online marketplace Col. 4, Ln. 30-49 disclosing online shopping module 124 may further facilitate purchase of the used item from the resale listings 130 by other consumers 102, and the history of resold used items may be tracked in resale history data; resale history data 132 may be used to determine characteristics, trends, and statistics regarding resale activity in the online marketplace system, and other item data; resale history data 132 may include characteristics, trends, and statistics regarding resale activity for items through external websites, marketplaces, and other resale channels)
Parihar in view of Asami discloses:
in response to executing the code snippet, populating the floating interface element with an indication of a projected cost of temporary ownership of the retail product determined as a difference between an original retail price and the estimated resale value of the retail product; and
Parihar discloses in response to executing the code snippet, populating the floating interface element with an indication of a projected cost of temporary ownership of the retail product: (Parihar Fig. 2 disclosing the cost of ownership of the product ($7.99) and the estimated resale values (showing consumer can make $4.47, $5.19, or $3.99); Col. 5, Ln. 31-36 and 43-47 resale estimates 210 may be calculated based on what used items that are the same as or similar to the selected item are currently selling for, as determined from the resale history data 132, or the resale estimates may be calculated from what the used item is expected to sell for in the future based on the average age upon resale for items of that type and the characteristics, trends, and statistics determined from the resale history data 132; the resale estimates 210 may include an estimated value to the consumer 102 upon resale of the used item, an estimated range of values, an expected purchase price for the item, a listing of the expected fees, and/or any combination of these and other relevant estimates; Col. 6, Ln. 25-30 disclosing the resale information 206 may include an optimal time/date and expected resale price for the item based on analysis of the resale history data 132, such as "You can get 60% of your purchase price back if you resell this item in the online marketplace in 25 days."). Parihar does not explicitly disclose a projected cost of temporary ownership of the retail product determined as a difference between an original retail price and the estimated resale value of the retail product. Asami suggests or discloses this limitation/concept: (Asami Abstract when a customer at customer terminal 7 views, from that customer website, a catalog page for a product he wishes to purchase, store-less sales system 5 furthermore displays that catalog such that a difference in price between the selling price of the product the customer wishes to purchase and the resale price of an item owned by that customer are calculated thereon; ¶0029 the present system can send a product catalog page displaying information regarding a product desired by the customer to a computer of the customer by way of a communications network, at which time price difference can be calculated by subtracting the most-recent resale price for the item owned by the customer from a selling price for the product desired by the customer; and moreover, the selling price for the desired product, the most-recent resale price for owned item, and the aforementioned price difference between the two, can be displayed on that product catalog page; see also ¶0094). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Parihar to include a projected cost of temporary ownership of the retail product determined as a difference between an original retail price and the estimated resale value of the retail product as taught by Asami. One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify Parihar in order to provide a product distribution system that links resale and purchase of used products, as well as resale of used products and selling of new items (see ¶0001 of Asami).
Parihar in view of Asami further in view of O’Connor discloses:
in response to receiving an indication that the floating interface element has been selected by a user of the host web page, generating an overlay window on the interface of the host web page, the overlay window displaying information including (1) the estimated resale value and (2) the projected cost of temporary ownership, wherein the information displayed in the overlay window is not included in the host source code.
Parihar discloses generating an overlay window on the interface of the host web page, the overlay window displaying information including (1) the estimated resale value and (2) the projected cost of temporary ownership, wherein the information displayed in the overlay window is not included in the host source code: (Parihar Fig. 2, 202 disclosing a retail product (CD), and in 206, 208 floating interfaces of 202 further disclosing the retail product; Col. 5, Ln. 8-11 disclosing the UI may be sent by the online shopping module 124 as a webpage 202 to be rendered in window 204 of the client application executing on the consumer computer 104; Col. 3, Ln. 67-Col. 4, Ln. 2 disclosing the online shopping module 124 may retrieve information regarding items offered for sale by the merchants in the online marketplace from item catalog data, and also disclosing the cost of ownership of the product ($7.99) and the estimated resale values (showing consumer can make $4.47, $5.19, or $3.99); Col. 6, Ln. 25-30 disclosing the resale information 206 may include an optimal time/date and expected resale price for the item based on analysis of the resale history data 132, such as "You can get 60% of your purchase price back if you resell this item in the online marketplace in 25 days."). Parihar does not explicitly disclose in response to receiving an indication that the floating interface element has been selected by a user of the host web page, generating an overlay window on the interface of the host web page. Parihar suggests or discloses this limitation/concept: (O’Connor Fig. 3 and Col. 13, Ln. 23-32 individual items can be associated with an actuation mechanism, such as the actuation mechanism 308 associated with the "baseball tickets," that, when actuated, causes additional information associated with the item and/or the transaction associated with the item to be presented via the GUI 300. In FIG. 3, the item names are shown as underlined to represent a link. In at least one example, the actuation of the actuation mechanism 308 causes a pop-up 310, overlay, or presentation of data to be presented via the GUI 300; Col. 13, Ln. 65-Col. 14, Ln. 2 if the actuation mechanism is associated with a resell action, responsive to receiving the request, the server(s) 102 can access the item information and can generate content to facilitate resale of the item). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Parihar in view of Asami to include in response to receiving an indication that the floating interface element has been selected by a user of the host web page, generating an overlay window on the interface of the host web page, the overlay window displaying information including (1) the estimated resale value and (2) the projected cost of temporary ownership, wherein the information displayed in the overlay window is not included in the host source code as taught by O’Connor since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately; one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Claim 3: The method of claim 1, further comprising: adjusting the estimated resale value based on one or more of: item condition of the retail product, market demand of the retail product, or a degree of popularity within one or more consumer groups of the retail product. (Parihar Col. 4, Ln. 30-46 disclosing facilitating purchase of the used item from the resale listings 130 by other consumers 102, and the history of resold used items may be tracked in resale history data; resale history data 132 may contain information including the condition of the item when sold, statistics regarding resale activity in the online marketplace system 120, including the average selling price of a particular used item based on age and/or condition, the types of items most frequently resold)
Claim 4: The method of claim 1, further comprising: upon receiving an indication of a purchase of the retail product by the user, automatically adding the retail product to a digital inventory associated with the user; and tracking the estimated resale value of the retail product over time, wherein the estimated resale value is indicated within the digital inventory. (Parihar Col. 6, Ln. 4-6, 7-16 resale information 206 also includes a facility for the consumer 102 to express his/her interest in reselling the selected item, based on the options presented in the resale information; the consumer 102 to specify the expected date for resale of the item, as well as a UI pushbutton control 216 allowing the consumer to specify that they wish to be reminded or otherwise prompted to resell the item at or near the specified expected date for resale. Upon the consumer 102 selecting UI pushbutton control 216, the online shopping module 124 may generate the resale prospect 134 for the item and the specified expected date for resale, and store the resale prospect in the datastore; Col. 6, Ln. 62-65 disclosing monitoring purchases made online by the consumer and uploads the information regarding each purchased item to the online marketplace system 120, allowing a resale prospect 134 to be created and stored for the item in the datastore; see Fig. 2 also allowing or consumer to select to receive the resale reminder and to proceed to checkout, and Fig. 4 discloses the reminder and proof that the customer checked out and purchase the item, also the item is added to a digital inventory))
Claim 6: The method of claim 1, wherein the indication that the floating interface element has been selected by the user of the host web page includes one or more of: (1) a user gesture on a touchscreen element of the interface in a position proximate to the floating interface element or (2) a received input that a user cursor associated with a user device is hovering over the floating interface element. (Parihar Fig. 2 also allowing or consumer to select to receive the resale reminder and to proceed to checkout, and Fig. 4 discloses the reminder and proof that the customer checked out and purchase the item; Col. 15, Ln. 44-48 an input/ output controller 32 for receiving and processing input from a number of 45 input devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, a touchpad, a touch screen, an electronic stylus, or other type of input device)
Claim 7: The method of claim 1,
wherein the API determines the estimated resale value for the retail product based on (1) historical resale data of the retail product and (2) historical resale data of predicted products associated with the retail product, wherein the predicted products are determined using an artificial intelligence (AI) model.
Parihar discloses that the API determines the estimated resale value for the retail product based on (1) historical resale data of the retail product and (2) historical resale data of predicted products associated with the retail product: (Parihar Col. 5, Ln. 18-25 disclosing determining whether to present the resale information to the consumer based on the resale potential of the item, the frequency that the item or items of the same type are resold, the reselling behavior of the consumer, and/or any combination of these as established from the characteristics, trends, and statistics determined from the resale history data; Col. 8, Ln. 22-24 further discloses the variance or resale prices being determining from resale history based on predicative modeling). Parihar does not explicitly disclose that the predicted products are determined using an artificial intelligence (AI) model. O’Conner suggests or discloses this limitation/concept: (O’Conner Col. 3, Ln. 37-40 disclosing the techniques described herein can utilize machine-trained models to generate customized and/or personalized resale recommendations, for example, with respect to pricing (which can also be referred to as value, cost, etc. throughout this description); further the abstract describes that the techniques in the patent are directed to intelligently identifying items for resale based on digital records of past purchases). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Parihar in view of Asami to include the predicted products are determined using an artificial intelligence (AI) model as taught by O’Connor. One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify Parihar in view of Asami in order to generate customized and/or personalized resale recommendations, for example, with respect to pricing (see Col. 3, Ln. 37-39 of O’Connor).
Claim 15: Parihar discloses: A system comprising:
a host user device; a database including historical resale data of multiple retail products from multiple secondary marketplaces; a floating interface application configured to: (Parihar Col. 3, Ln. 67-Col. 4, Ln. 2 disclosing the online shopping module 124 may retrieve information regarding items offered for sale by the merchants in the online marketplace from item catalog data; Fig. 2, 202 disclosing a retail product (CD), and in 206, 208 floating interfaces of 202 further disclosing a retail product; Col. 4, Ln. 4-8 disclosing the item catalog data 126 may be stored in a datastore 128, such as a database, a file system, or any combination of these and other storage mechanisms available to the application servers 122 in the online marketplace system 120)
execute a code snippet integrated into a host source code of a host web page displaying a retail product on an interface, wherein the code snippet is configured to execute an external call to an application programming interface (API) via Internet that modifies the host web page, and in response to executing the code snippet, generating, on the interface of the host web page, a floating interface element indicating product information of the retail product; (Parihar Fig. 2, 202 disclosing a retail product (CD), and in 206, 208 floating interfaces of 202 further disclosing the retail product; Col. 5, Ln. 8-11 disclosing the UI may be sent by the online shopping module 124 as a webpage 202 to be rendered in window 204 of the client application executing on the consumer computer 104; Col. 3, Ln. 67-Col. 4, Ln. 2 disclosing the online shopping module 124 may retrieve information regarding items offered for sale by the merchants in the online marketplace from item catalog data; Col. 3, Ln. 34-55 disclosing the consumer 102 may use a client application executing on the consumer computer 104 to access and utilize the online shopping services provided by the application servers 122; the client application may be a web browser application, such as the MOZILLA.RTM. FIREFOX.RTM. web browser from Mozilla Foundation of Mountain View, Calif. The web browser application exchanges data with the application servers 122 in the online marketplace system 120 using the hypertext transfer protocol ("HTTP") over the network 106. Alternatively, the client application may utilize any number of communication methods known in the art to communicate with the online marketplace system 120 and/or the application servers 122 across the network 106, including remote procedure calls, SOAP-based web services, remote file access, proprietary client-server architectures, and the like; Col. 3, Ln. 30-33 disclosing the network being Internet that connects the consumer computer to the online marketplace)
Parihar in view of Asami discloses:
an API server configured to determine the product information by: receiving the external call to the API, determining an estimated resale value for the retail product based on (1) product information and (2) the historical resale data, wherein the product information includes one or more of: a product title, a product price, or a product description, and determining a projected cost of temporary ownership determined as a difference between an original retail price and the estimated resale value;
Parihar discloses an API server configured to determine the product information by: receiving the external call to the API, determining an estimated resale value for the retail product based on (1) product information and (2) the historical resale data, wherein the product information includes one or more of: a product title, a product price, or a product description: (Parihar Col. 3, Ln. 34-55 disclosing the consumer 102 may use a client application executing on the consumer computer 104 to access and utilize the online shopping services provided by the application servers 122; the client application may be a web browser application, such as the MOZILLA.RTM. FIREFOX.RTM. web browser from Mozilla Foundation of Mountain View, Calif. The web browser application exchanges data with the application servers 122 in the online marketplace system 120 using the hypertext transfer protocol ("HTTP") over the network 106. Alternatively, the client application may utilize any number of communication methods known in the art to communicate with the online marketplace system 120 and/or the application servers 122 across the network 106, including remote procedure calls, SOAP-based web services, remote file access, proprietary client-server architectures, and the like; Col. 3, Ln. 30-33 disclosing the network being Internet that connects the consumer computer to the online marketplace Col. 4, Ln. 30-49 disclosing online shopping module 124 may further facilitate purchase of the used item from the resale listings 130 by other consumers 102, and the history of resold used items may be tracked in resale history data; resale history data 132 may be used to determine characteristics, trends, and statistics regarding resale activity in the online marketplace system, and other item data; resale history data 132 may include characteristics, trends, and statistics regarding resale activity for items through external websites, marketplaces, and other resale channels; Fig. 2 disclosing the product information including the title, price, and description). Parihar does not explicitly disclose determining a projected cost of temporary ownership determined as a difference between an original retail price and the estimated resale value. Asami suggests or discloses this limitation/concept: (Asami Abstract when a customer at customer terminal 7 views, from that customer website, a catalog page for a product he wishes to purchase, store-less sales system 5 furthermore displays that catalog such that a difference in price between the selling price of the product the customer wishes to purchase and the resale price of an item owned by that customer are calculated thereon; ¶0029 the present system can send a product catalog page displaying information regarding a product desired by the customer to a computer of the customer by way of a communications network, at which time price difference can be calculated by subtracting the most-recent resale price for the item owned by the customer from a selling price for the product desired by the customer; and moreover, the selling price for the desired product, the most-recent resale price for owned item, and the aforementioned price difference between the two, can be displayed on that product catalog page; see also ¶0094). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Parihar to include determining a projected cost of temporary ownership determined as a difference between an original retail price and the estimated resale value as taught by Asami. One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify Parihar in order to provide a product distribution system that links resale and purchase of used products, as well as resale of used products and selling of new items (see ¶0001 of Asami).
Parihar in view of Asami further in view of O’Connor discloses:
a predictive overlay application configured to receive indication that the floating interface element has been activated by a user of the host web page and generate an overlay window to display the determined product information; and
Parihar discloses a predictive overlay application that generates an overlay window to display the determined product information: (Parihar Fig. 2, 202 disclosing a retail product (CD), and in 206, 208 floating interfaces of 202 further disclosing the retail product; Col. 5, Ln. 8-11 disclosing the UI may be sent by the online shopping module 124 as a webpage 202 to be rendered in window 204 of the client application executing on the consumer computer 104; Col. 3, Ln. 67-Col. 4, Ln. 2 disclosing the online shopping module 124 may retrieve information regarding items offered for sale by the merchants in the online marketplace from item catalog data). Parihar does not explicitly disclose a predictive overlay application configured to receive indication that the floating interface element has been activated by a user of the host web page and generate an overlay window to display the determined product information. O’Connor suggests or discloses this limitation/concept: (O’Connor Fig. 3 and Col. 13, Ln. 23-32 individual items can be associated with an actuation mechanism, such as the actuation mechanism 308 associated with the "baseball tickets," that, when actuated, causes additional information associated with the item and/or the transaction associated with the item to be presented via the GUI 300. In FIG. 3, the item names are shown as underlined to represent a link. In at least one example, the actuation of the actuation mechanism 308 causes a pop-up 310, overlay, or presentation of data to be presented via the GUI 300; Col. 13, Ln. 65-Col. 14, Ln. 2if the actuation mechanism is associated with a resell action, responsive to receiving the request, the server(s) 102 can access the item information and can generate content to facilitate resale of the item). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Parihar in view of Asami to include a predictive overlay application configured to receive indication that the floating interface element has been activated by a user of the host web page and generate an overlay window to display the determined product information as taught by O’Connor since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately; one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Parihar, as modified above, discloses the following limitations:
a communication line that connects the host user device, an end-user device, the database, the floating interface application, the API server, and the predictive overlay application. (Parihar Fig. 2, 202 disclosing a retail product (CD), and in 206, 208 floating interfaces of 202 further disclosing the retail product; Col. 5, Ln. 8-11 disclosing the UI may be sent by the online shopping module 124 as a webpage 202 to be rendered in window 204 of the client application executing on the consumer computer 104; Col. 3, Ln. 34-55 disclosing the consumer 102 may use a client application executing on the consumer computer 104 to access and utilize the online shopping services provided by the application servers 122; the client application may be a web browser application, such as the MOZILLA.RTM. FIREFOX.RTM. web browser from Mozilla Foundation of Mountain View, Calif. The web browser application exchanges data with the application servers 122 in the online marketplace system 120 using the hypertext transfer protocol ("HTTP") over the network 106. Alternatively, the client application may utilize any number of communication methods known in the art to communicate with the online marketplace system 120 and/or the application servers 122 across the network 106, including remote procedure calls, SOAP-based web services, remote file access, proprietary client-server architectures, and the like; Col. 3, Ln. 30-33 disclosing the network being Internet that connects the consumer computer to the online marketplace; Col. 4, Ln. 30-49 disclosing online shopping module 124 may further facilitate purchase of the used item from the resale listings 130 by other consumers 102; Col. 4, Ln. 4-8 disclosing the item catalog data 126 may be stored in a datastore 128, such as a database, a file system, or any combination of these and other storage mechanisms available to the application servers 122 in the online marketplace system 120)
Claim 17: The system of claim 15, wherein the API server is further configured to:
dynamically update the estimated resale value in response to obtaining new resale data absent from the historical resale data.
Parihar discloses updating the resale value (Parihar Col. 8, Ln. 27-32), but does not explicitly disclose dynamically update the estimated resale value in response to obtaining new resale data absent from the historical resale data. O’Connor suggests or discloses this limitation/concept: (O’Connor Col. 13, Ln. 7-15 disclosing item information can be updated in near real-time. For example, changes to pricing, demand, overall resale marketplace patterns and/or trends can be presented in near real-time via the GUI, and giving examples; see also Fig. 10). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Parihar in view of Asami to include dynamically update the estimated resale value in response to obtaining new resale data absent from the historical resale data as taught by O’Connor. One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify Parihar in view of Asami in order to provide the reseller with information that will encourage the reseller to hold or sell items (see Col. 13, Ln. 16-18 of O’Connor).
Claim 18: The system of claim 15, further comprising a digital inventory application configured to: automatically add the retail product to a digital inventory of the user upon purchase of the retail product, and automatically generate a set of secondary market listings of the retail product. (Parihar Col. 6, Ln. 4-6, 7-16 resale information 206 also includes a facility for the consumer 102 to express his/her interest in reselling the selected item, based on the options presented in the resale information; the consumer 102 to specify the expected date for resale of the item, as well as a UI pushbutton control 216 allowing the consumer to specify that they wish to be reminded or otherwise prompted to resell the item at or near the specified expected date for resale. Upon the consumer 102 selecting UI pushbutton control 216, the online shopping module 124 may generate the resale prospect 134 for the item and the specified expected date for resale, and store the resale prospect in the datastore; Col. 6, Ln. 62-65 disclosing monitoring purchases made online by the consumer and uploads the information regarding each purchased item to the online marketplace system 120, allowing a resale prospect 134 to be created and stored for the item in the datastore; see Fig. 2 also allowing or consumer to select to receive the resale reminder and to proceed to checkout, and Fig. 4 discloses the reminder and proof that the customer checked out and purchase the item, also the item is added to a digital inventory); Fig. 4 also discloses reselling/secondary market listings for the item based on whether the item is sold & fulfilled by the marketplace, reseller, trade-in))
Claim 19: The system of claim 18, wherein the digital inventory application is further configured to:
calculate a total estimated value of all retail products in the digital inventory of the user, track an aggregate earning determined based on completed secondary sales of one or more retail products in the digital inventory, and display updates in accordance with a scheduled time period including one or more fluctuations of estimated resale values of one or more retail products in the digital inventory.
Parihar discloses the system containing a digital inventory of items purchased from the user, but does not explicitly disclose calculate a total estimated value of all retail products in the digital inventory of the user, track an aggregate earning determined based on completed secondary sales of one or more retail products in the digital inventory, and display updates in accordance with a scheduled time period including one or more fluctuations of estimated resale values of one or more retail products in the digital inventory. O’Connor suggests or discloses this limitation/concept: (O’Connor Fig. 3 disclosing the digital inventory of the user including the items sold and the amounts sold; Col. 13, Ln. 7-15 disclosing item information can be updated in near real-time. For example, changes to pricing, demand, overall resale marketplace patterns and/or trends can be presented in near real-time via the GUI, and giving examples; see also Fig. 10; see also Col. 51, Ln. 44-47). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Parihar in view of Asami to include calculate a total estimated value of all retail products in the digital inventory of the user, track an aggregate earning determined based on completed secondary sales of one or more retail products in the digital inventory, and display updates in accordance with a scheduled time period including one or more fluctuations of estimated resale values of one or more retail products in the digital inventory as taught by O’Connor. One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify Parihar in view of Asami in order to provide the reseller with information that will encourage the reseller to hold or sell items (see Col. 13, Ln. 16-18 of O’Connor).
Claim 20: The system of claim 15, wherein the host web page is associated with an electronic commerce store, wherein the floating interface application is located proximate to a buy button region of the interface of the host web page, and wherein the electronic commerce store includes a checkout screen that allows a purchase of the retail product in response to receiving user input within the buy button region. (Parihar Fig. 2 disclosing the floating interface 206 being beneath the proceed to checkout (buy) button; the proceed to checkout also indicating a checkout screen; Col. 5, Ln. 1-3 a virtual “shopping cart” for purchase, upon payment for the item(s))
Claim(s) 2 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Parihar (US 8,489,464) in view of Asami (2001/0005833) further in view of O’Connor (US 11,763,360) further in view of Acriche (2020/0151743).
Claim 2: The method of claim 1, wherein
determining the estimated resale value for the retail product further comprises: calculating an average resale value of the retail product based on the historical resale data associated with the retail product, calculating an average resale retention percentage based on the historical resale data associated with multiple different retail products, and determining the estimated resale value for the retail product by applying the average resale retention percentage to the original retail price of the retail product.
Parihar discloses determining a resale value for the item(s) purchased, but does not explicitly disclose determining the estimated resale value for the retail product further comprises: calculating an average resale value of the retail product based on the historical resale data associated with the retail product, calculating an average resale retention percentage based on the historical resale data associated with multiple different retail products, and determining the estimated resale value for the retail product by applying the average resale retention percentage to the original retail price of the retail product. Acriche suggests or discloses this limitation/concept: (Acriche ¶0031 sell an item so as to retain a particular residual value. For example, a user may wish to retain 80% of an item's original value. The original value is a purchase value in some aspects. In other words, the user purchases an item for a first value, and then seek to retain, for example, 80% of that first value when selling the item. The user interface 200 allows the user to enter the retained value in edit box 202. The value may be entered as a percentage or an absolute dollar amount; see also ¶0032 and ¶0033; ¶0038 and Fig. 4 generate an aggregated history 402 of sales prices of products similar to an item. The history 402 is based on historical sales prices of similar items over time; From the history of sales prices, the disclosed embodiments generate a prediction of future sales prices for a particular item, represented in the graph; ¶0045 the selling price 728 may represent a single selling price 728, which, in some aspects, may be an average or midpoint of a prediction interval at the selling date; ¶0052 estimated market price 902 for a product may be generated based on an aggregation of multiple sales prices for a particular product type. In some aspects, the multiple sales prices may be averaged, or a median sales price determined to generate the estimated market price). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Parihar in view of Asami further in view of O’Connor to include determining the estimated resale value for the retail product further comprises: calculating an average resale value of the retail product based on the historical resale data associated with the retail product, calculating an average resale retention percentage based on the historical resale data associated with multiple different retail products, and determining the estimated resale value for the retail product by applying the average resale retention percentage to the original retail price of the retail product as taught by Acriche. One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify Parihar in view of Asami further in view of O’Connor in order to facilitate resale of items purchased by a user by projecting future sales prices and advising the user of an appropriate time to sell the item (see ¶0027 of Acriche).
Claim 16: The system of claim 15, wherein the API server is further configured to:
obtain a set of resale prices of matching retail items across the multiple secondary marketplaces within the historical resale data, determine an average resale value of the retail product based on the obtained resale prices, and determine a brand-specific average resale retention percentage based on the historical resale data of multiple items sharing a common brand of the retail product.
Parihar discloses determining a resale value for the item(s) purchased, but does not explicitly disclose obtain a set of resale prices of matching retail items across the multiple secondary marketplaces within the historical resale data, determine an average resale value of the retail product based on the obtained resale prices, and determine a brand-specific average resale retention percentage based on the historical resale data of multiple items sharing a common brand of the retail product. Acriche suggests or discloses this limitation/concept: (Acriche ¶0029 a machine learning model may be employed that receives input including product type (brand) information; ¶0044 disclosing the item type, item sub type; ¶0031 sell an item so as to retain a particular residual value. For example, a user may wish to retain 80% of an item's original value. The original value is a purchase value in some aspects. In other words, the user purchases an item for a first value, and then seek to retain, for example, 80% of that first value when selling the item. The user interface 200 allows the user to enter the retained value in edit box 202. The value may be entered as a percentage or an absolute dollar amount; see also ¶0032 and ¶0033; ¶0038 and Fig. 4 generate an aggregated history 402 of sales prices of products similar to an item. The history 402 is based on historical sales prices of similar items over time; From the history of sales prices, the disclosed embodiments generate a prediction of future sales prices for a particular item, represented in the graph; ¶0045 the selling price 728 may represent a single selling price 728, which, in some aspects, may be an average or midpoint of a prediction interval at the selling date; ¶0052 estimated market price 902 for a product may be generated based on an aggregation of multiple sales prices for a particular product type. In some aspects, the multiple sales prices may be averaged, or a median sales price determined to generate the estimated market price). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Parihar in view of Asami further in view of O’Connor to include obtain a set of resale prices of matching retail items across the multiple secondary marketplaces within the historical resale data, determine an average resale value of the retail product based on the obtained resale prices, and determine a brand-specific average resale retention percentage based on the historical resale data of multiple items sharing a common brand of the retail product as taught by Acriche. One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify Parihar in view of Asami further in view of O’Connor in order to facilitate resale of items purchased by a user by projecting future sales prices and advising the user of an appropriate time to sell the item (see ¶0027 of Acriche).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Parihar (US 8,489,464) in view of Asami (2001/0005833) further in view of O’Connor (US 11,763,360) further in view of Ferguson (2024/0370915) .
Claim 5: The method of claim 1,
wherein the overlay window further includes one or more buttons, the method further comprising: redirecting to a second web page in response to received input that the one or more buttons is clicked, wherein the second web page is associated with a set of secondary market listings of the retail product from a set of secondary online retailers.
Parihar discloses an overlay window, but does not explicitly disclose the overlay window further includes one or more buttons, the method further comprising: redirecting to a second web page in response to received input that the one or more buttons is clicked, wherein the second web page is associated with a set of secondary market listings of the retail product from a set of secondary online retailers. Ferguson suggests or discloses this limitation/concept: (Ferguson ¶0155 where multiple retailers or sellers have competing offers for products that are comparable to the products viewed by the user, the system may display multiple offers from multiple sellers. The offers may be displayed to the user in a separate window or may be presented in a box over the webpage displayed by the web browser. In other forms, the offers are listed in an email. All offers provided by the system to the user may be listed for the user to scroll through. In some forms, the offers provided to the user are presented with the lowest priced offer at the top of the list. In some forms, offers from verified resellers are listed at the top with the offers from verified resellers being presented to the user in order based on the price (e.g., lowest to highest)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Parihar in view of Asami further in view of O’Connor to include the overlay window further includes one or more buttons, the method further comprising: redirecting to a second web page in response to received input that the one or more buttons is clicked, wherein the second web page is associated with a set of secondary market listings of the retail product from a set of secondary online retailers as taught by Ferguson since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately; one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DIONE N SIMPSON whose telephone number is (571)272-5513. The examiner can normally be reached M-F; 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m..
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DIONE N. SIMPSON
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3628
/DIONE N. SIMPSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3628