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 § 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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more.
MPEP 2106 Step 2A-Prong 1
The claims recite:
deploying, one or more smart contracts to a blockchain;
receiving, from each of a plurality of energy consumer, an energy consumer registration request comprising a consumer geographic location indicator, wherein each of the plurality of energy consumer computers is operated by an energy consumer associated with the geographic location indicated by the consumer geographic location indicator;
responsive to receiving an energy consumer registration request, registering, the energy consumer, wherein the energy consumer is given a microgrid identifier that identifies a microgrid that the energy consumer geographic location is proximate to;
receiving, from each of a plurality of energy prosumer, an energy prosumer registration request comprising a prosumer geographic location indicator and an available energy amount, wherein each of the plurality of energy is operated by an energy prosumer associated with the geographic location indicated by the prosumer geographic location indicator;
responsive to receiving an energy prosumer registration request, registering, the energy prosumer, wherein the energy prosumer is given a microgrid identifier that identifies a microgrid that the energy prosumer geographic location is proximate to;
initiating, an energy trading stage;
receiving, from one or more of the plurality of energy prosumer, a prosumer trading participation request comprising the prosumer geographic location indicator and the available energy amount of the energy prosumer;
receiving, by the server computer from one or more of the plurality of consumer energy computers, a consumer trading participation request comprising the consumer geographic location indicator and a requested energy amount of the energy consumer;
for each microgrid of the plurality of microgrids:
computing, an energy price for trading between the current microgrid and each of the other microgrids in the plurality of microgrids;
facilitating, the consumer trading participation requests received from energy consumers in the microgrid;
computing, next-stage energy statistics distributed to one or more energy consumer computers or energy prosumer computers;
initiating, an energy sharing stage; and f
facilitating, by the server computer, the transport of excess available energy from one energy prosumer in a first microgrid to either an energy consumer in the first microgrid or an energy storage unit of a second microgrid.
The claims falls into the abstract idea groupings of (b) Certain Methods Of Organizing Human Activity ** fundamental economic principles or practices (including hedging, insurance, mitigating risk) commercial or legal interactions (including agreements in the form of contracts; legal obligations; advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors; business relations) managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people (including social activities, teaching, and following rules or instructions)**
The limitations under their broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of marketing or sales activities or behaviors; business relations, but for the recitation of generic computer components. That is, other than recited, “by the server computer, consumer computer, prosumer computer, federated learning model; blockchain”, nothing in the claim element precludes the step from practically being certain methods of organizing human activity. Accordingly, the claims recite an abstract idea.
MPEP 2106 Step 2A-Prong 2
The recited limitations are not indicative of integration into a practical application. In particular, the claims only recite the following additional elements, server computer, consumer computer, smart contract, prosumer computer, federated learning model; blockchain. These additional elements are recited at a high-level of generality such that in conjunction with the abstract limitations, they amount to no more than:
Adding the words “apply it” (or an equivalent) with the judicial exception, or mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, or merely uses a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea - see MPEP 2106.05(f);
- (server computer, consumer computer, prosumer computer)
iv. Generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use, -(federated learning model, smart contract and blockchain)
The claims do not include additional elements individually or in an ordered combination that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. Integration into a practical application requires the additional element(s) to apply, rely on, or use the judicial exception in a manner that imposes a meaningful limit on the judicial exception, such that the claim is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception. This is not the case in the instant application. Further, 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 component and generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use.
MPEP 2106 Step 2B
Eligibility requires that the claim recites additional elements that amount to an inventive concept (aka “significantly more”) than the recited judicial exception. As discussed above, this is where the instant application falls short. The claims do not include additional elements individually or in an ordered combination that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception
Dependent Claims Step 2A:
The limitations of the dependent claims but for those addressed below merely set forth further refinements of the abstract idea without changing the analysis already
presented (that is, they further limit the organizing of human activities at step 2A —
Prong One without adding any new additional elements other than those already
analyzed above with respect to the independent claims at 2A — Prong Two;
Claims 2 recites smart contracts. However, these merely use a computer as a tool to perform the abstract idea.
Claims 10 recites a convolutional neural network. However, these merely further limit the general link to a technological environment.
Dependent Claims Step 2B:
The dependent claims merely use the same general technological environment
and instructions to implement the abstract idea as the independent claims without
adding any new additional elements. Accordingly, they are not directed to significantly
more than the exception itself, and are not eligible subject matter under § 101.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TONYA S JOSEPH whose telephone number is (571)270-1361. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6:30-2:30, First Fridays Off.
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/TONYA JOSEPH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3628
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