DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Information Disclosure Statement
2. The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on the following dates are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and are being considered by the Examiner: 03/25/2025.
Double Patenting
3. The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP §§ 706.02(l)(1) - 706.02(l)(3) for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
4. Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent US12288273B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the instant claims are similar to the claims in the patent to meet the limitations claimed in the patent.
Table 1: illustrates the conflicting claim pairs:
19/089687
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
US12288273B2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Table 2: Comparison of claims in instant application 19/089687 vs. claims in US12288273B2.
19/089687
US12288273B2
A method comprising:
receiving a request from a device to access an object;
determining that the request from the device to access the object has been received prior to expiration of a scarcity parameter of the object, access to the object
being disabled and the scarcity parameter expiring in response to determining that a
number of users corresponding to a remaining quantity associated with the object
have added the object to respective profiles of the users; and
enabling the device to access the object in response to determining that the request from the device has been received prior to the expiration of the scarcity parameter of the object.
1. A method comprising:
delivering, by a messaging server, a notification to a device that identifies a fashion item for customizing an avatar of a user;
causing the notification comprising the identification of the fashion item to be displayed on the device;
receiving, by the messaging server, a request from the device to access the fashion item;
determining that the request from the device to access the fashion item has been received prior to expiration of a scarcity parameter of the fashion item, access to the fashion item being disabled and the scarcity parameter expiring in response to determining that a number of users corresponding to a remaining quantity associated with the fashion item have added the fashion item to respective profiles of the users; and
enabling the device to access the fashion item in response to determining that the request from the device has been received prior to the expiration of the scarcity parameter of the fashion item.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting a notification on the device excluding a visual depiction of the object, the notification comprising a title and type associated with the object.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting the notification on the device excluding a visual depiction of the fashion item, the notification comprising a title and type associated with the fashion item.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising unlocking a preview of the object in response to determining that access to the object has been enabled, the preview comprising the visual depiction which was excluded from the notification.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising unlocking a preview of the fashion item in response to determining that access to the fashion item has been enabled, the preview comprising the visual depiction which was excluded from the notification.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein determining that the request from the device to access the object has been received prior to the expiration of the scarcity parameter of the object comprises determining that a number of instances of the object available to be requested to be added to an individual profile of the user at a time when the request has been received is non-zero.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein determining that the request from the device to access the fashion item has been received prior to the expiration of the scarcity parameter of the fashion item comprises determining that a number of instances of the fashion item available to be requested to be added to an individual profile of the user at a time when the request has been received is non-zero.
5. The method of claim 2, further comprising:
displaying in the notification the remaining quantity.
5. The method of claim 2, further comprising:
displaying in the notification the at least one of the time period or the remaining quantity.
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising animating a time remaining indicator or quantity indicator, in the notification, as time progresses or as the remaining quantity is reduced.
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising animating a time remaining indicator or quantity indicator, in the notification, as time progresses or as the remaining quantity is reduced.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
storing a notification on the device;
receiving a request to access a user interface of the device corresponding to
an avatar building feature or profile feature;
in response to receiving the request to access the user interface, determining
whether the scarcity parameter has expired; and in response to determining that the scarcity parameter has not yet expired
when the request to access the user interface is received, retrieving the notification from storage on the device and causing the notification to be displayed on the user
interface of the device corresponding to the avatar building feature or the profile feature, the notification being conditioned for display on a basis of the scarcity parameter.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
storing the notification on the device;
receiving a request to access a user interface of the device corresponding to an avatar building feature or profile feature;
in response to receiving the request to access the user interface, determining whether the scarcity parameter has expired; and
in response to determining that the scarcity parameter has not yet expired when the request to access the user interface is received, retrieving the notification from storage on the device and causing the notification to be displayed on the user interface of the client device corresponding to the avatar building feature or the profile feature, the notification being conditioned for display on a basis of the scarcity parameter.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
causing a notification to display a token quantity associated with accessing
the object; and
deducting the token quantity from a virtual wallet associated with the device
in response to enabling the device to access the object.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
causing the notification to display a token quantity associated with accessing the fashion item; and
deducting the token quantity from a virtual wallet associated with the client device in response to enabling the client device to access the fashion item.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
preventing another device from obtaining access to the object after the expiration of the scarcity parameter of the object
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
preventing another client device from obtaining access to the fashion item after the expiration of the scarcity parameter of the fashion item.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
saving the object to a virtual closet comprising a plurality of objects in response to enabling the device to access the object; and
causing an avatar to be displayed on the device comprising one or more of the objects in the virtual closet.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
saving the fashion item to a virtual closet comprising a plurality of fashion items in response to enabling the device to access the fashion item; and
causing the avatar to be displayed on the device comprising one or more of the fashion items in the virtual closet.
11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:
receiving input that deletes the object from the virtual closet; and
preventing the object from being available to the device in response to receiving the input that deletes the object from the virtual closet.
11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:
receiving input that deletes the fashion item from the virtual closet; and
preventing the fashion item from being available to the device in response to receiving the input that deletes the fashion item from the virtual closet.
12. The method of claim 10, further comprising visually distinguishing the
object from the plurality of objects in the virtual closet.
12. The method of claim 10, further comprising visually distinguishing the fashion item from the plurality of fashion items in the virtual closet.
13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
causing display of a user interface comprising an avatar on the device,
wherein the user interface includes a menu comprising a plurality of avatar customization options, and wherein a notification is presented as an interactive banner among the plurality of avatar options.
13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
causing display of a user interface comprising the avatar on the device, wherein the user interface includes a menu comprising a plurality of avatar customization options, and wherein the notification is presented as an interactive banner among the plurality of avatar options.
14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
causing the device to present a preview of the object in response to detecting interaction with a notification, the preview comprising a save to virtual closet option.
14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
causing the device to present a preview of the fashion item in response to detecting interaction with the notification, the preview comprising a save to virtual closet option.
15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
presenting a puzzle or activity;
in response to receiving a request to add the object to a profile, instructing the user to perform the puzzle or activity; and
in response to determining that the puzzle or activity has successfully been performed prior to the expiration of the scarcity parameter of the object, adding the object to the profile of the user.
15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
presenting a puzzle or activity;
in response to receiving a request to add the fashion item to a profile, instructing the user to perform the puzzle or activity; and
in response to determining that the puzzle or activity has successfully been performed prior to the expiration of the scarcity parameter of the fashion item, adding the fashion item to the profile of the user.
16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
determining that the user of the device satisfies a criterion, wherein a notification is delivered in response to determining that the user of the device satisfies the criterion.
16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
determining that the user of the device satisfies a criterion, wherein the notification is delivered in response to determining that the user of the device satisfies the criterion.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the criterion comprises at least one of a location or a subscription status.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the criterion comprises at least one of a location or a subscription status.
18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving input from the device that adds the object to an avatar; and
sharing the avatar with the object with one or more friends of the user on a messaging application.
18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving input from the device that adds the fashion item to the avatar; and
sharing the avatar with the fashion item with one or more friends of the user on a messaging application.
19. A system comprising:
at least one processor programmed to perform operations comprising:
receiving a request from a device to access an object;
determining that the request from the device to access the object has been received prior to expiration of a scarcity parameter of the object, access to the object
being disabled and the scarcity parameter expiring in response to determining that a
number of users corresponding to a remaining quantity associated with the object
have added the object to respective profiles of the users; and
enabling the device to access the object in response to determining that the request from the device has been received prior to the expiration of the scarcity parameter of the object.
19. A system comprising:
at least one processor configured to perform operations comprising:
delivering, by a messaging server, a notification to a device that identifies a fashion item for customizing an avatar of a user;
causing the notification comprising the identification of the fashion item to be displayed on the device;
receiving, by the messaging server, a request from the device to access the fashion item;
determining that the request from the device to access the fashion item has been received prior to expiration of a scarcity parameter of the fashion item, access to the fashion item being disabled and the scarcity parameter expiring in response to determining that a number of users corresponding to a remaining quantity associated with the fashion item have added the fashion item to respective profiles of the users; and
enabling the device to access the fashion item in response to determining that the request from the device has been received prior to the expiration of the scarcity parameter of the fashion item.
20. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium that includes instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a machine, cause the
machine to perform operations comprising:
receiving a request from a device to access an object;
determining that the request from the device to access the object has been received prior to expiration of a scarcity parameter of the object, access to the object
being disabled and the scarcity parameter expiring in response to determining that a number of users corresponding to a remaining quantity associated with the object
have added the object to respective profiles of the users; and
enabling the device to access the object in response to determining that the request from the device has been received prior to the expiration of the scarcity parameter of the object.
20. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium that includes instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:
delivering, by a messaging server, a notification to a device that identifies a fashion item for customizing an avatar of a user;
causing the notification comprising the identification of the fashion item to be displayed on the device;
receiving, by the messaging server, a request from the client device to access the fashion item;
determining that the request from the device to access the fashion item has been received prior to expiration of a scarcity parameter of the fashion item, access to the fashion item being disabled and the scarcity parameter expiring in response to determining that a number of users corresponding to a remaining quantity associated with the fashion item have added the fashion item to respective profiles of the users; and
enabling the device to access the fashion item in response to determining that the request from the device has been received prior to the expiration of the scarcity parameter of the fashion item.
5. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other. For example, claim 1 of the present application recites “receiving a request from a device to access an object;” “determining that the request from the device to access the object has been received prior to expiration of a scarcity parameter of the object, access to the object being disabled and the scarcity parameter expiring in response to determining that a number of users corresponding to a remaining quantity associated with the object have added the object to respective profiles of the users; and” “enabling the device to access the object in response to determining that the request from the device has been received prior to the expiration of the scarcity parameter of the object.” while claim 1 of US12288273B2 discloses “delivering, by a messaging server, a notification to a device that identifies a fashion item for customizing an avatar of a user;” “causing the notification comprising the identification of the fashion item to be displayed on the device;” “receiving, by the messaging server, a request from the device to access the fashion item;” “determining that the request from the device to access the fashion item has been received prior to expiration of a scarcity parameter of the fashion item, access to the fashion item being disabled and the scarcity parameter expiring in response to determining that a number of users corresponding to a remaining quantity associated with the fashion item have added the fashion item to respective profiles of the users; and” “enabling the device to access the fashion item in response to determining that the request from the device has been received prior to the expiration of the scarcity parameter of the fashion item.” The “delivering, by a messaging server, a notification to a device that identifies a fashion item for customizing an avatar of a user;” “causing the notification comprising the identification of the fashion item to be displayed on the device;” “receiving, by the messaging server, a request from the device to access the fashion item;” “determining that the request from the device to access the fashion item has been received prior to expiration of a scarcity parameter of the fashion item, access to the fashion item being disabled and the scarcity parameter expiring in response to determining that a number of users corresponding to a remaining quantity associated with the fashion item have added the fashion item to respective profiles of the users; and” “enabling the device to access the fashion item in response to determining that the request from the device has been received prior to the expiration of the scarcity parameter of the fashion item.” would be corresponding to “receiving a request from a device to access an object;” “determining that the request from the device to access the object has been received prior to expiration of a scarcity parameter of the object, access to the object being disabled and the scarcity parameter expiring in response to determining that a number of users corresponding to a remaining quantity associated with the object have added the object to respective profiles of the users; and” “enabling the device to access the object in response to determining that the request from the device has been received prior to the expiration of the scarcity parameter of the object.”
Regarding Claims 19-20, the claims are rejected under obviousness double patenting for the same rational described as above.
Allowable Subject Matter
6. Claims 1-20 are allowed over prior art.
7. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Using independent claim 1 as an example, and in the context of the claim, the prior art does not teach the following combination of limitations (with emphasis assed):
"… determining that the request from the device to access the object has been received prior to expiration of a scarcity parameter of the object, access to the object being disabled and the scarcity parameter expiring in response to determining that a number of users corresponding to a remaining quantity associated with the object have added the object to respective profiles of the users” as recited by independent claim 1 (emphasis added) as described in the specification at least at paragraphs [0018], [0057], [0088-0090], [0093], [0103-0110], [0112], [0119-0120], [0122], [0124]. [0127-0130].
8. Independent claims 19-20 recite similar limitations in the context of a system presenting content in an electronically rendered scene.
9. The following prior art references are relevant to the claimed invention:
Siddique et al. (US-2013/0215116-A1), teaches online methods of collaboration in community environments. The methods and systems are related to an online apparel modeling
system that allows users to have three-dimensional models of their physical profile created.
Users may purchase various goods and/or services and collaborate with other users in the
online environment (Abstract). However, "determining that the request from the device to access the object has been received prior to expiration of a scarcity parameter of the object, access to the object being disabled and the scarcity parameter expiring in response to determining that a number of users corresponding to a remaining quantity associated with the object have added the object to respective profiles of the users” is not disclosed.
Assouline et al. (US-2022/0327608-A1), teaches augmented reality experiences using a messaging application (¶0001 ). A collection may be made available for a specified time, such as the duration of an event to which the content relates (¶0035). However, "determining that the request from the device to access the object has been received prior to expiration of a scarcity parameter of the object, access to the object being disabled and the scarcity parameter expiring in response to determining that a number of users corresponding to a remaining quantity associated with the object have added the object to respective profiles of the users” is not disclosed.
Conclusion
10. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. They are recited in the attached PTO-892 form.
11. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL LE whose telephone number is (571)272-5330. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kent Chang can be reached at (571) 272-7667. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2614
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