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 .
The present Office Action is in response to the Request for Continued Examination dated 15 January 2026.
Request for Continued Examination
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 15 January 2026 has been entered.
DETAILED ACTION
In the RCE filed 15 January 2026:
Claims 4,14 are cancelled
Claims 1,11 are amended
Claims 1-3,5-13,15-20 are pending
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 1-3,5-13,15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 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.
Claims 1 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Step 1
The claim recites a system and method, which are within a statutory category.
Step 2A1
The limitations of:
Claims 1 and 11 (Claim 1 being representative)
provide an emergency management application to a plurality of emergency communications centers (ECCs);
receive a first notification of a first initiated emergency communication, wherein the first notification of the first initiated emergency communication includes a first location, a first telephone number;
query for medical information associated with a first user;
receive the medical information;
receive a second notification of a second initiated emergency communication from a second mobile device about a second emergency, wherein the second notification of the second initiated emergency communication includes a second location and a second telephone number;
determine that a first ECC of the plurality of ECCs is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the first location and, responsive to determining that the first ECC is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the first location, automatically routing information about the first emergency of the first ECC;
determine that the first ECC is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the second location and, responsive to determining that the first ECC is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the second location, automatically routing information about the second emergency of the first ECC;
generate and display a jurisdictional awareness view, the jurisdictional awareness view comprising an interactive map indicating a plurality of locations associated with a plurality of initiated emergency communications within the assigned geographical jurisdiction of the first ECC, the plurality of locations including the first location and the second location;
generate and display an emergency profile containing information about the first user comprising at least some of the medical information, wherein the at least some of the medical information is displayed along with a source of the medical information;
and display the first telephone number and the second telephone number in a list of a plurality of telephone numbers that have been used to request assistance from the first ECC within the assigned geographical jurisdiction of the first ECC,
wherein the emergency profile with the medical information is displayed with the first telephone number to support emergency response for the first user at the first location,
as drafted, is a process that, under the broadest reasonable interpretation, covers certain methods of organizing human activity (i.e., managing personal behavior including following rules or instructions) but for recitation of generic computer components. The claims encompass a series of rules or instructions for a person or persons to follow, with or without the aid of a computer, to dispatch the proper response to an emergency, in the manner described in the identified abstract idea, supra. The rules or instructions are the claimed steps of “providing, receiving, querying, determining, generating and displaying” as indicated supra.
Other than reciting generic computer components (discussed infra), i.e., a system implemented by a processor (computer), the claimed invention amounts to managing personal behavior or interaction between people. If a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers managing personal behavior or interactions between people but for the recitation of generic computer components, then it falls within the “certain methods of organizing human activity” grouping of abstract ideas. Accordingly, the claim recites an abstract idea.
Step 2A2
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. In particular, the claims recite the additional elements of an emergency response system comprising memory and processors that implements the identified abstract idea. The server is not described by the applicant and is recited at a high-level of generality (i.e., a generic server performing generic computer functions) such that it amounts no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Accordingly, this additional element does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claims are directed to an abstract idea.
The claims further recite the additional elements of an emergency management application, first and second mobile devices, third-party severs, a graphical user interface, and computing devices. The emergency management application, first and second mobile devices, third-party severs, a graphical user interface, and computing devices merely generally links the abstract idea to a particular technological environment or field of use. MPEP 2106.04(d)(I) indicates that generally linking an abstract idea to a particular technological environment or field of use cannot provide a practical application. Accordingly, even in combination, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application.
Step 2B
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 of using an emergency response system comprising memory and processors to perform the noted steps amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component cannot provide an inventive concept (“significantly more”).
Also, as discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional elements of an emergency management application, first and second mobile devices, third-party severs, a graphical user interface, and computing devices was determined to generally link the abstract idea to a particular technological environment or field of use. This has been re-evaluated under the “significantly more” analysis and has also been found insufficient to provide significantly more. MPEP 2106.05(A) indicates that generally linking an abstract idea to a particular technological environment or field of use cannot provide significantly more. As such the claim is not patent eligible.
Claims 2-3, 5-10,12-13,15-20 are similarly rejected because they either further define/narrow the abstract idea and/or do not further limit the claim to a practical application or provide as inventive concept such that the claims are subject matter eligible even when considered individually or as an ordered combination.
Claim(s) 2,12 merely describe(s) querying the servers, which further defines the abstract idea.
Claim(s) 3,13 merely describe(s) data included in the notification, which further defines the abstract idea.
Claim(s) 5,15 merely describe(s) data being displayed, which further defines the abstract idea.
Claim(s) 6,16 merely describe(s) querying and selecting databases, which further defines the abstract idea.
Claim(s) 6, 16 also includes the additional element of “source database” which is analyzed the same as the “graphical user interface” and does not provide a practical application or significantly more for the same reasons.
Claim(s) 7,17 merely describe(s) the machine learning algorithm, which further defines the abstract idea.
Claim(s) 7, 17 also includes the additional element of “a trained machine learning algorithm”. The Claims describes the training as being performed by decision trees. The training of the ML is considered to be part of the abstract idea because they fall under data manipulations that humans perform and thus are part of the rules or instructions encompassing the abstract idea. The Examiner notes that the Applicant has described machine learning to encompass simplistic mathematical models such as linear and logistic regression (see Spec. Para. 00126) and thus the machine learning is interpreted to be part of the abstract idea.
Claim(s) 8,18 merely describe(s) geofencing, which further defines the abstract idea.
Claim(s) 9, 19 merely describe(s) displaying data, which further defines the abstract idea.
Claim(s) 10, 20 merely describe(s) summarizing text, which further defines the abstract idea.
Claim(s) 10,20 also includes the additional element of “a natural language processing algorithm” which is analyzed the same as the “emergency management application” and does not provide a practical application or significantly more for the same reasons.
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.
The Examiner notes that the rejection will reference the translated documents (attached) corresponding to any foreign documents recited in the rejection.
Claims 1-2,5,7-8,11-12,15,17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Philbin et al (US Publication No. 20170289350) in view of Wickham et al (US Publication No. 20190378397) in view of Salashour et al (US Publication No. 20150038109) in view of Williams et al (US Publication No. 20190378397) in view of TUCKER et al (US Publication No. 20180089376).
Regarding Claim 1
Philbin teaches an emergency response system operable to provide medical information related to emergency communications, comprising:
memory storing instructions [Philbin at Para. 0009 teaches the one or more processors can store personal information about a user in the memory];
and one or more processors operable to execute the instructions to cause the one or more processors to [Philbin at Para. 0009]:
[ … ] …, wherein the first notification of the first initiated emergency communication includes a first location of the first mobile device and a first telephone number associated with the first mobile device [Philbin at Para. 0005 teaches Caller ID Number and Caller ID Name information can be displayed on computer monitors at the telecommunicator's work station. The telecommunicator can determine the nature of the emergency and dispatch the appropriate first responders to the calling party's location];
query one or more third-party servers for medical information associated with a first user of the first mobile device [Philbin at Para. 00022 teaches another aspect of the disclosure relates to methods and systems for a 911 telecommunicator, an emergency responder, a hospital emergency room or other organization or service to access and obtain the personal health record of an individual from a database (Database interpreted as third-party server)];
receive the medical information from the one or more third-party servers [Philbin at Para. 0022];
[ … ] …, wherein the second notification of the second initiated emergency communication includes a second location of the second mobile device and a second telephone number associated with the second mobile device [Philbin at Para. 0005];
wherein the emergency profile with the medical information is displayed with the first telephone number to support emergency response for the first user at the first location Philbin at Para. 0058 teaches the profile 240 can also include various pieces of personal or medical Information. In some embodiments, the profile 240 can include basic personal information such as name and identifying photo of the person in need of assistance (e.g., the user/subscriber), address of the home 110, phone number(s), email address(es) or other contact information, age, date of birth, blood type, body weight, height, and Social Security Number among other data.].
Philbin does not teach provide an emergency management application to computing devices of a plurality of emergency communications centers (ECCs);
receive a first notification of a first initiated emergency communication from a first mobile device about a first emergency, … [ … ]
receive a second notification of a second initiated emergency communication from a second mobile device about a second emergency, … [ … ]
determine that a first ECC of the plurality of ECCs is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the first location and, responsive to determining that the first ECC is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the first location, automatically routing information about the first emergency to a first computing device of the first ECC;
determine that the first ECC is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the second location and, responsive to determining that the first ECC is assigned geographical jurisdiction for
a region that includes the second location, automatically routing information about the second emergency to the first computing device of the first ECC;
generate and display in a graphical user interface of the emergency management application of the first computing device of the first ECC, a jurisdictional awareness view, the jurisdictional awareness view comprising an interactive map indicating a plurality of locations associated with a plurality of initiated emergency communications within the assigned geographical jurisdiction of the first ECC, the plurality of locations including the first location and the second location;
generate and display in the graphical user interface an emergency profile containing information about the first user comprising at least some of the medical information, wherein the at least some of the medical information is displayed in the graphical user interface along with a source of the medical information;
and display, in the graphical user interface, the first telephone number and the second telephone number in a list of a plurality of telephone numbers that have been used to request assistance from the first ECC within the assigned geographical jurisdiction of the first ECC, … [ … ]
Wickham teaches provide an emergency management application to computing devices of a plurality of emergency communications centers (ECCs) [Wickham at Para. 00019 teaches dispatch centers for public events can utilize the system by permitting a CAD system outbound API patching with the EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MOBILE APPLICATION SOFTWARE API or integration with CAD system];
receive a first notification of a first initiated emergency communication from a first mobile device about a first emergency [Wickham at Para. 0020 teaches unique to the application is that if there are users on a closed-loop private plan (such as at a school or a workplace or hospital), and if the county or other local critical command for the municipality or the Emergency Management Agency (EMA) for the county or region are using the emergency management app for public notification use, all app users—private and public notification users will get the alerts (interpreted as notification of an initiated emergency communication)], … [ … ]
receive a second notification of a second initiated emergency communication from a second mobile device about a second emergency [Wickham at Para. 0020], … [ … ]
It would have been prima facie obvious skill in the art, at the time of effective filing, to combine processor and memory of Philbin with the call center of Wickham with the motivation to improve location accuracy of those impacted or responding to the event.
Philbin/Wickham do not teach determine that a first ECC of the plurality of ECCs is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the first location and, responsive to determining that the first ECC is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the first location, automatically routing information about the first emergency to a first computing device of the first ECC;
determine that the first ECC is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the second location and, responsive to determining that the first ECC is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the second location, automatically routing information about the second emergency to the first computing device of the first ECC;
generate and display in a graphical user interface of the emergency management application of the first computing device of the first ECC, a jurisdictional awareness view, the jurisdictional awareness view comprising an interactive map indicating a plurality of locations associated with a plurality of initiated emergency communications within the assigned geographical jurisdiction of the first ECC, the plurality of locations including the first location and the second location;
generate and display in the graphical user interface an emergency profile containing information about the first user comprising at least some of the medical information, wherein the at least some of the medical information is displayed in the graphical user interface along with a source of the medical information;
and display, in the graphical user interface, the first telephone number and the second telephone number in a list of a plurality of telephone numbers that have been used to request assistance from the first ECC within the assigned geographical jurisdiction of the first ECC, … [ … ]
Salahshour teaches determine that a first ECC of the plurality of ECCs is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the first location and, responsive to determining that the first ECC is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the first location, automatically routing information about the first emergency to a first computing device of the first ECC [Salahshour at Para. 0037 teaches location information also can be used in connection with geo-fences defined by a public safety organization for routing service requests made from specific locations. A public safety organization define one or more geo-fences. The geo-fences may be pre-assigned based on existing borders and boundaries, such as campus areas and jurisdictional borders, or any other delineation desired by the public safety organization. When using a geo-fence, mobile app 110, either alone or in communication with dispatch service 120, determines the user's current location and then compares the coordinates (x, y) to the coordinates of the boundaries of the geo-fences; Salahshour at Para. 0038 teaches If the user making the request is located within a geo-fence, mobile app 110 may send a request for service 130 that causes dispatch service no to bypass the traditional 9-1-1 systems and instead a direct voice connection 310 may be established with a predetermined call center, such as the appropriate jurisdiction's police or campus law enforcement (identified as local department 320), while simultaneously sending pertinent location information and profile details 330 to local department 320];
determine that the first ECC is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the second location and, responsive to determining that the first ECC is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the second location, automatically routing information about the second emergency to the first computing device of the first ECC [Salahshour at Para. 0037-0038];
It would have been prima facie obvious skill in the art, at the time of effective filing, to combine the references of Philbin, Wickham with the geofencing of Salahshour with the motivation to improve emergency response.
Philbin/Wickham/Salahshour do not teach generate and display in a graphical user interface of the emergency management application of the first computing device of the first ECC, a jurisdictional awareness view, the jurisdictional awareness view comprising an interactive map indicating a plurality of locations associated with a plurality of initiated emergency communications within the assigned geographical jurisdiction of the first ECC, the plurality of locations including the first location and the second location;
generate and display in the graphical user interface an emergency profile containing information about the first user comprising at least some of the medical information, wherein the at least some of the medical information is displayed in the graphical user interface along with a source of the medical information;
and display, in the graphical user interface, the first telephone number and the second telephone number in a list of a plurality of telephone numbers that have been used to request assistance from the first ECC within the assigned geographical jurisdiction of the first ECC, … [ … ]
Williams teaches generate and display in a graphical user interface of the emergency management application of the first computing device of the first ECC, a jurisdictional awareness view, the jurisdictional awareness view comprising an interactive map indicating a plurality of locations associated with a plurality of initiated emergency communications within the assigned geographical jurisdiction of the first ECC, the plurality of locations including the first location and the second location [Williams at Para. 0043 teaches FIG. 21 shows an example of related events shown in a map, including the ability of the user to display event information such as to identify the original event and related events];
generate and display in the graphical user interface an emergency profile containing information about the first user comprising at least some of the medical information [Williams at Para. 0043 (interpret to combine with medical information of Philbin)], … [ … ]
and display, in the graphical user interface, the first telephone number and the second telephone number in a list of a plurality of telephone numbers that have been used to request assistance from the first ECC within the assigned geographical jurisdiction of the first ECC [Williams at Para. 0043 (interpret to combine with phone numbers of Philbin)], … [ … ]
It would have been prima facie obvious skill in the art, at the time of effective filing, to combine the references of Philbin, Wickham, Salahshour with the interactive map of Williams with the motivation to improve dispatch decisions.
Philbin/Wickham/Salahshour/Williams do not teach [ … ] … wherein the at least some of the medical information is displayed in the graphical user interface along with a source of the medical information;
TUCKER teaches [ … ] … wherein the at least some of the medical information is displayed in the graphical user interface along with a source of the medical information [TUCKER at Para. 0068 teaches d ata source selector 520 enables the user to select a data source to search from a list of available data sources. In one embodiment, data source selector 520 may display a list of local and remote databases that store patient medical data (interpret to combine with medical information of Philbin and interface of Williams)];
It would have been prima facie obvious skill in the art, at the time of effective filing, to combine the references of Philbin, Wickham, Salahshour, Williams with the information sources of TUCKER with the motivation to improve data analysis
Regarding Claim 2
Philbin/Wickham/Salahshour/Williams/TUCKER teaches the emergency response system of claim 1,
Philbin/Wickham/Salahshour/Williams/TUCKER further teach wherein the first telephone number is used to query the one or more third-party servers for medical information [Philbin at Para. 0017 teaches for example, access to an individual's medical information can based on matching a caller ID number to a stored caller ID number in a database associated with the personal medical information].
Regarding Claim 5
Philbin/Wickham/Salahshour/Williams/TUCKER teaches the emergency response system of claim 1,
Philbin/Wickham/Salahshour/Williams/TUCKER further teach wherein the plurality of locations on the interactive are associated with one or more of the plurality of telephone numbers [Williams at Para. 0066 teaches the interface may further provide a map (607) of the location data, allowing the PSAP (115) operator to rapidly pinpoint the location. Because the case data includes the user's (103) name, phone number, and location data, time is not wasted verbally communicating information that is more efficiently communicate textually or visually].
Regarding Claim 7
Philbin/Wickham/Salahshour/Williams/TUCKER teaches the emergency response system of claim 1,
Philbin/Wickham/Salahshour/Williams/TUCKER further teach wherein one or more machine learning algorithms trained to identify information relevant to an emergency are used to process the received medical information to select medical information that is relevant to the emergency to display in the graphical user interface [Williams at Para. 0020 teaches embodiments described and claimed herein have the effect of transforming CAD systems, which may be reactive or may require users to sift through vast amount of data, into a virtual dispatch assist system with Intelligent Agents that can leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning to proactively analyze CAD data and generate useful notifications to assist a dispatcher or automate dispatch operations].
Regarding Claim 8
Philbin/Wickham/Salahshour/Williams/TUCKER teaches the emergency response system of claim 1,
Philbin/Wickham/Salahshour/Williams/TUCKER further teach wherein the interactive map displays a geofence boundary showing the geographical jurisdiction for the first ECC [Salahshour at Para. 0039 teaches FIG. 4 illustrates a map 400 showing an embodiment of a geo-fenced area 410. When a public safety organization defines an area as being geo-fenced, emergency response system 100 collect thousands of (x, y) coordinate data points within the geo-fenced area and compile them in a database. Then, when a panic button is pressed from mobile app 110, the current location can be compared to geo-fenced area by mobile app 110, dispatch service 120 or a combination thereof. As mentioned, if a user presses a panic button from within the geo-fence, mobile app 110 or dispatch service 120 may initiate a voice call to a determined public safety organization and location and other information may simultaneously be communicated using dispatch service 120. Thus, in one embodiment, when a user activates the panic button in mobile app 110 from within a geo-fence, the relevant public safety forces organization will not only receive a voice call, it will also have access critical information about the caller through dispatch service 120].
Regarding Claim 11
Philbin teaches an emergency response method for providing medical information related to emergency communications, the method performed at least in part by one or more processors operable to execute instructions from a memory, comprising:
[ … ] … wherein the first notification of the first initiated emergency communication includes a first location of the first mobile device and a first telephone number associated with the first mobile device [Philbin at Para. 0005 (see Claim 1 for explanation)];
querying, via the one or more processors, one or more third-party servers for medical information associated with a first user of the first mobile device [Philbin at Para. 0005 (see Claim 1 for explanation)];
receiving, via the one or more processors, the medical information from the one or more third-party servers [Philbin at Para. 0022 (see Claim 1 for explanation)];
[ … ] … wherein the emergency profile with the medical information is displayed with the first telephone number to support emergency response for the first user at the first location [Philbin at Para. 0058 (see Claim 1 for explanation)], the method further comprising:
Philbin does not teach providing, via the one or more processors, an emergency management application to computing devices of a plurality of emergency communications centers (ECCs);
receiving, via the one or more processors, a first notification of a first initiated emergency communication between from a first mobile about a first emergency, … [ … ]
receiving, via the one or more processors, a second notification of a second initiated emergency communication from a second mobile device about a second emergency, wherein the second notification of the second initiated emergency communication includes a second location of the second mobile device and a second telephone number associated with the second mobile device;
determining, via the one or more processors, that a first ECC of the plurality of ECCs is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the first location and, responsive to determining that the first ECC is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the first location, automatically routing information about the first emergency to a first computing device of the first ECC;
determining, via the one or more processors, that the first ECC is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the second location and, responsive to determining that the first ECC is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the second location, automatically routing information about the second emergency to the first computing device of the first ECC;
generating and displaying, via the one or more processors, in a graphical user interface of the emergency management application of the first computing device of the first ECC, a jurisdictional awareness view, the jurisdictional awareness view comprising an interactive map indicating a plurality of locations associated with a plurality of initiated emergency communications within the assigned geographical jurisdiction of the first ECC, the plurality of locations including the first location and the second location;
generating and displaying, via the one or more processors, in the graphical user interface an emergency profile containing information about the first user comprising at least some of the medical information, wherein the at least some of the medical information is displayed in the graphical user interface along with a source of the medical information;
and displaying, via the one or more processors, in the graphical user interface the first telephone number and the second telephone number in a list of a plurality of telephone numbers that have been used to request assistance from the first ECC within the assigned geographical jurisdiction of the first ECC, … [ … ]
viewing the graphical user interface of the emergency management application of the first computing device, including the emergency profile, the at least some of the medical information, the jurisdictional awareness view, the first location, and the first telephone number,
and initiating an appropriate emergency response to the first emergency based on the first location, the emergency profile, and the at least some of the medical information.
Wickham teaches providing, via the one or more processors, an emergency management application to computing devices of a plurality of emergency communications centers (ECCs) [Wickham at Para. 0019 (see Claim 1 for explanation)];
receiving, via the one or more processors, a first notification of a first initiated emergency communication between from a first mobile about a first emergency [Wickham at Para. 0020 (see Claim 1 for explanation)], … [ … ]
receiving, via the one or more processors, a second notification of a second initiated emergency communication from a second mobile device about a second emergency [Wickham at Para. 0020 (see Claim 1 for explanation)], wherein the second notification of the second initiated emergency communication includes a second location of the second mobile device and a second telephone number associated with the second mobile device [Wickham at Para. 0020 (see Claim 1 for explanation)];
It would have been prima facie obvious skill in the art, at the time of effective filing, to combine processor and memory of Philbin with the call center of Wickham with the motivation to improve location accuracy of those impacted or responding to the event.
Philbin/Wickham do not teach determining, via the one or more processors, that a first ECC of the plurality of ECCs is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the first location and, responsive to determining that the first ECC is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the first location, automatically routing information about the first emergency to a first computing device of the first ECC;
determining, via the one or more processors, that the first ECC is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the second location and, responsive to determining that the first ECC is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the second location, automatically routing information about the second emergency to the first computing device of the first ECC;
generating and displaying, via the one or more processors, in a graphical user interface of the emergency management application of the first computing device of the first ECC, a jurisdictional awareness view, the jurisdictional awareness view comprising an interactive map indicating a plurality of locations associated with a plurality of initiated emergency communications within the assigned geographical jurisdiction of the first ECC, the plurality of locations including the first location and the second location;
generating and displaying, via the one or more processors, in the graphical user interface an emergency profile containing information about the first user comprising at least some of the medical information, wherein the at least some of the medical information is displayed in the graphical user interface along with a source of the medical information;
and displaying, via the one or more processors, in the graphical user interface the first telephone number and the second telephone number in a list of a plurality of telephone numbers that have been used to request assistance from the first ECC within the assigned geographical jurisdiction of the first ECC, … [ … ]
viewing the graphical user interface of the emergency management application of the first computing device, including the emergency profile, the at least some of the medical information, the jurisdictional awareness view, the first location, and the first telephone number,
and initiating an appropriate emergency response to the first emergency based on the first location, the emergency profile, and the at least some of the medical information.
Salahshour teaches determining, via the one or more processors, that a first ECC of the plurality of ECCs is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the first location and, responsive to determining that the first ECC is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the first location, automatically routing information about the first emergency to a first computing device of the first ECC [Salahshour at Para. 0037 (see Claim 1 for explanation)];
determining, via the one or more processors, that the first ECC is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the second location and, responsive to determining that the first ECC is assigned geographical jurisdiction for a region that includes the second location, automatically routing information about the second emergency to the first computing device of the first ECC [Salahshour at Para. 0037 (see Claim 1 for explanation)];
It would have been prima facie obvious skill in the art, at the time of effective filing, to combine the references of Philbin, Wickham with the geofencing of Salahshour with the motivation to improve emergency response.
Philbin/Wickham/Salahshour do not teach generating and displaying, via the one or more processors, in a graphical user interface of the emergency management application of the first computing device of the first ECC, a jurisdictional awareness view, the jurisdictional awareness view comprising an interactive map indicating a plurality of locations associated with a plurality of initiated emergency communications within the assigned geographical jurisdiction of the first ECC, the plurality of locations including the first location and the second location;
generating and displaying, via the one or more processors, in the graphical user interface an emergency profile containing information about the first user comprising at least some of the medical information, wherein the at least some of the medical information is displayed in the graphical user interface along with a source of the medical information;
and displaying, via the one or more processors, in the graphical user interface the first telephone number and the second telephone number in a list of a plurality of telephone numbers that have been used to request assistance from the first ECC within the assigned geographical jurisdiction of the first ECC, … [ … ]
viewing the graphical user interface of the emergency management application of the first computing device, including the emergency profile, the at least some of the medical information, the jurisdictional awareness view, the first location, and the first telephone number,
and initiating an appropriate emergency response to the first emergency based on the first location, the emergency profile, and the at least some of the medical information.
Williams teaches generating and displaying, via the one or more processors, in a graphical user interface of the emergency management application of the first computing device of the first ECC, a jurisdictional awareness view, the jurisdictional awareness view comprising an interactive map indicating a plurality of locations associated with a plurality of initiated emergency communications within the assigned geographical jurisdiction of the first ECC, the plurality of locations including the first location and the second location [Williams at Para. 0043 (see Claim 1 for explanation)];
generating and displaying, via the one or more processors, in the graphical user interface an emergency profile containing information about the first user comprising at least some of the medical information [Williams at Para. 0043 (see Claim 1 for explanation)], … [ … ]
and displaying, via the one or more processors, in the graphical user interface the first telephone number and the second telephone number in a list of a plurality of telephone numbers that have been used to request assistance from the first ECC within the assigned geographical jurisdiction of the first ECC [Williams at Para. 0043 (see Claim 1 for explanation)], … [ … ]
viewing the graphical user interface of the emergency management application of the first computing device, including the emergency profile, the at least some of the medical information, the jurisdictional awareness view, the first location, and the first telephone number [Williams at Para. 0043 (interpret to combine with medical information and phone numbers of Philbin)],
and initiating an appropriate emergency response to the first emergency based on the first location, the emergency profile, and the at least some of the medical information [Williams at Para. 0006 teaches the CAD system then can assist dispatchers in assigning tasks for the emergency responders, for example, by making a recommendation of which emergency personnel and/or vehicle(s) to assign to a particular emergency incident based upon criteria such as the type of emergency, the proximity of emergency responders to the emergency location, the status of each available emergency responder (e.g., whether or not a particular emergency responder is currently responding to an emergency incident), necessary equipment for the emergency incident (e.g., jaws of life), necessary skills for the emergency incident (e.g. suicide negotiation skills, water rescue skills, etc.), or minimal turns (for long ladder fire trucks), among others (interpret to combine with medical information of Philbin)].
It would have been prima facie obvious skill in the art, at the time of effective filing, to combine the references of Philbin, Wickham, Salahshour with the interactive map of Williams with the motivation to improve dispatch decisions.
Philbin/Wickham/Salahshour/Williams do not teach [ … ] … wherein the at least some of the medical information is displayed in the graphical user interface along with a source of the medical information;
TUCKER teaches [ … ] … wherein the at least some of the medical information is displayed in the graphical user interface along with a source of the medical information [TUCKER at Para. 0068 (see Claim 1 for explanation)];
It would have been prima facie obvious skill in the art, at the time of effective filing, to combine the references of Philbin, Wickham, Salahshour, Williams, TUCKER with the score of Ng Tari with the motivation to improve hospital operational efficiency.
Regarding Claim 12
Claim(s) 12 is/are analogous to Claim(s) 2, thus Claim(s) 12 is/are similarly analyzed and rejected in a manner consistent with the rejection of Claim(s) 2.
Regarding Claim 15
Claim(s) 15 is/are analogous to Claim(s) 5, thus Claim(s) 15 is/are similarly analyzed and rejected in a manner consistent with the rejection of Claim(s) 5.
Regarding Claim 17
Claim(s) 17 is/are analogous to Claim(s) 7, thus Claim(s) 17 is/are similarly analyzed and rejected in a manner consistent with the rejection of Claim(s) 7.
Regarding Claim 18
Claim(s) 18 is/are analogous to Claim(s) 8, thus Claim(s) 18 is/are similarly analyzed and rejected in a manner consistent with the rejection of Claim(s) 8.
Claims 3, 9, 13, 19 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Philbin, Wickham, Salahshour, Williams, TUCKER as applied to claim 1, 11 above, and further in view of Ng Tari et al (US Publication No. 20160147954).
Regarding Claim 3
Philbin/Wickham/Salahshour/Williams/TUCKER teaches the emergency response system of claim 1,
Philbin/Wickham/Salahshour/Williams/TUCKER do not teach wherein the first notification of the initiated emergency communication includes a name of the first user, and wherein the name of the first user is used to query the one or more third-party servers for medical information.
Ng Tari teaches and wherein the name of the user is used to query the one or more third-party servers for medical information [Ng Tari at Para. 0055 teaches the medical information is later viewable and easily retrievable at the workstation 214 (e.g., by their common identification element, such as a patient name or record number)].
It would have been prima facie obvious skill in the art, at the time of effective filing, to combine the references of Philbin, Wickham, Salahshour, Williams, TUCKER with the name of Ng Tari with the motivation to improve hospital operational efficiency.
Regarding Claim 9
Philbin/Wickham/Salahshour/Williams/TUCKER teaches the emergency response system of claim 1,
Philbin/Wickham/Salahshour/Williams/TUCKER do not teach wherein the medical information is displayed in the graphical user interface along with a reliability score or a relevancy score.
Ng Tari teaches wherein the medical information is displayed in the graphical user interface along with a reliability score or a relevancy score [Ng Tari at Para. 0117 teaches at block 1014, an output is made available via an interface. For example, an output is made available to one or more external users (e.g., human, application, and/or system users, etc.) via an API, a graphical user interface, etc. Thus, in an example, document(s) associated with the data event along with analysis, contextual information, and a relevancy score can be provided via the interface].
It would have been prima facie obvious skill in the art, at the time of effective filing, to combine the references of Philbin, Wickham, Salahshour, Williams, TUCKER with the score of Ng Tari with the motivation to improve hospital operational efficiency.
Regarding Claim 13
Claim(s) 13 is/are analogous to Claim(s) 3, thus Claim(s) 13 is/are similarly analyzed and rejected in a manner consistent with the rejection of Claim(s) 3.
Regarding Claim 19
Claim(s) 19 is/are analogous to Claim(s) 9, thus Claim(s) 19 is/are similarly analyzed and rejected in a manner consistent with the rejection of Claim(s) 9.
Claims 6, 16 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Philbin, Wickham, Salahshour, Williams, TUCKER as applied to claim 1, 11 above, and further in view of Haider et al (US Publication No. 20110161098).
Regarding Claim 6
Philbin/Wickham/Salahshour/Williams/TUCKER teaches the emergency response system of claim 1,
Philbin/Wickham/Salahshour/Williams/TUCKER do not teach wherein querying one or more third-party servers for medical information associated with the first user of the first mobile device includes querying two or more source databases for the medical information and selecting the medical information based on one or more rules, the one or more rules comprising at least one of: select data based on source reliability; or select data based on cross-validation from two or more sources.
Haider teaches wherein querying one or more third-party servers for medical information associated with the first user of the first mobile device includes querying two or more source databases for the medical information and selecting the medical information based on one or more rules, the one or more rules comprising at least one of [Haider at Para. 0033 teaches the method first involves accessing medical data from the plurality of medical data sources as shown in step 110. Then the method involves the step of correlating the medical data from the plurality of sources based on predefined rules as shown in step 112]: select data based on source reliability; or select data based on cross-validation from two or more sources [Haider at Para. 0037 teaches as previously mentioned the expert information involves the assignment of metadata to the medical data or can be used for correlating the plurality of medical data sources or could be adapted for indexing the reliability of the medical data].
It would have been prima facie obvious skill in the art, at the time of effective filing, to combine the references of Philbin, Wickham, Salahshour, Williams, TUCKER with the reliable of Haider with the motivation to reduce the difficulty for a medical practitioner to effectively make use of medical data.
Regarding Claim 16
Claim(s) 16 is/are analogous to Claim(s) 6, thus Claim(s) 16 is/are similarly analyzed and rejected in a manner consistent with the rejection of Claim(s) 6.
Claims 10, 20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Philbin, Wickham, Salahshour, Williams, TUCKER as applied to claim 1, 11 above, and further in view of Winkler et al (US Publication No. 20190253864).
Regarding Claim 10
Philbin/Wickham/Salahshour/Williams/TUCKER teaches the emergency response system of claim 1,
Philbin/Wickham/Salahshour/Williams/TUCKER further teach wherein a natural language processing algorithm is used [Williams at Para. 0197 teaches Natural Language Processing refers to the use of communicating to computers using a natural language, in opposite to a structured command language. This is a field of Artificial Intelligence and involves reading as well as writing. For this technology note, we will limit the application of reading a text and making decisions based on it, we will not consider, in this study, the use of Speech, although this is part of NLP.]… [ … ]
Philbin/Wickham/Salahshour/Williams/TUCKER do not teach [ … ] … on the received medical information to provide a text summarization of the received medical information.
Winkler teaches [ … ] … on the received medical information to provide a text summarization of the received medical information [Winkler at Para. 0058 teaches an example of such an interface is depicted in FIG. 5. In the depicted example, the interface (501) comprises a summary of the case data (503), and a display of the text message interaction (505) with the user (103)].
It would have been prima facie obvious skill in the art, at the time of effective filing, to combine the references of Philbin, Wickham, Salahshour, Williams, TUCKER with the summarization of Winkler with the motivation to improve response time.
Regarding Claim 20
Claim(s) 20 is/are analogous to Claim(s) 10, thus Claim(s) 20 is/are similarly analyzed and rejected in a manner consistent with the rejection of Claim(s) 10.
Response to Arguments
Rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 101
Regarding the rejection of Claims 1-3,5-13,15-20, the Examiner has considered the Applicant’s arguments; however, the arguments are not persuasive. The Examiner has attempted to address all of the arguments presented in the 23+ pages of arguments; however, any argument(s) inadvertently not addressed are not persuasive for at least the following reasons. Applicant argues:
However, the claims do not recite social activities, teaching, or following rules or instructions to manage personal behavior or relations. Instead, the claims recite a system and process for, among other things, receiving first and second notifications of emergency communications from first and second mobile devices, querying third-party servers for medical information associated with a first user of the first mobile device, determining that a first ECC of a plurality of ECCs has geographical jurisdiction for the locations associated with the mobile devices, displaying in a graphical user interface of an emergency management application at the first ECC a jurisdictional awareness view with an interactive map indicating the locations of the first and second mobile devices, displaying telephone numbers associated with the mobile devices in a list of telephones numbers that have requested assistance within the geographical jurisdiction of the first ECC, generating and displaying an emergency profile containing information about the first user and at least some of the medical information along with its source, and the emergency profile with the medical information being displayed with the first telephone number to support emergency response for the first user at the location of the first mobile device.
Applicant respectfully submits that the Office Action has not adequately explained or supported its contention that the recited technological procedure for generating and presenting an emergency profile constitutes "managing personal behavior or relations."
In addition, the Office Action contends that "the identified claim elements represent a series of rules or instructions that a person or persons, with or without the aid of a computer, would follow to provide information to a provider to respond to an emergency". However, the Office Action's characterization oversimplifies the claim language and overlooks that the claimed system and method perform concrete, technology-driven operations that cannot be carried out by only a human. The emergency response system automatically routes emergency data to emergency communication center devices, queries third-party servers for a user's medical information, and presents that data within an emergency profile alongside a jurisdictional awareness view on an interactive map. These real-time, networked processes require computer execution at machine speed; no human could feasibly contact medical providers, gather accurate information, and map jurisdictional details during an unfolding emergency.
Applicant respectfully disagrees and submits that Example 42 beginning on page 17 of the Subject Matter Eligibility Examples: Abstract Ideas issued on January 7, 2019 supports the eligibility of the pending claims under Step 2A, Prong 2 as having any alleged abstract ideas integrated into a practical application.
Applicant submits that the specification establishes a clear improvement to the technology of emergency communication and data management systems which is reflected in the claims. In particular, the claims improve how these telephonic, computer-based, or hybrid systems function by automating jurisdictional routing, integrating medical data, and enhancing jurisdictional and situational awareness integration of data in graphical user interfaces. Telephone-based or call-based emergency communication systems, even when limited to basic audio calls, are plainly technological systems. They rely on telecommunications networks, switching infrastructure, mobile device hardware, and computerized dispatch systems. These systems inherently constrain the type and amount of information that can be conveyed during an emergency, which creates a technical problem that the pending claims explicitly address. Traditional emergency communication technology provides only an audio channel, which prevents timely delivery of critical contextual information, such as precise device location, multiple simultaneous caller details, and verified medical information associated with the caller. The claimed system and method improves this technological environment by enabling mobile devices, emergency management applications, third-party servers, and ECC computing devices to cooperate in automatically routing emergency data, retrieving and presenting medical information with its source, and providing a jurisdictional awareness view with multiple mapped emergency locations. By solving limitations inherent in existing emergency communication technology, the claims provide a meaningful improvement to technological functionality, contrary to the Office Action's characterization.
Applicant respectfully submits that these additional steps further integrate any alleged judicial exception into a practical application. Applicant directs the Examiner's attention to Example 49 beginning on page 29 of the July 2024 Subject Matter Eligibility Examples ("Eligibility Examples") to be used in conjunction with the 2019 Revised Guidance.
Regarding (a), the Examiner respectfully disagrees. The system involves communicating with emergency responders (as recited in the Specification at Para. 002-003, as well as a few other Paras. in the Specification). This represents a series of rules or instructions that, under the broadest reasonable interpretation, are for one or more persons to follow and thus the claims fall under the abstract idea of certain methods of organizing human activity. Irrespective of the communication with humans, multiple CAFC decisions that the Office has characterized as Certain Method of Organizing Human Activity did not actively recite a person or persons performing the steps of the claims (see, e.g., EPG, TLI communications, Ultramercial). Because whether a human is required to perform the step of the claim is not a requirement for claims to encompass certain method of organizing human activity, this argument is not persuasive. The Examiner further asserts that adequate explanation has been provided in the manner required by MPEP 2106.
Regarding (b), the Examiner respectfully disagrees. The Examiner is unsure how he “oversimplifies the claim language” when the exact language of the claim was identified in the basis of rejection. The amount of data processed / analyzed and the speed is not a consideration with respect to the characterization of the abstract idea as falling under certain methods of organizing human activity (“CMOHA”) and the Applicant has pointed to nothing in the MPEP or caselaw that supports such a position. There is nothing that limits the number of people that may or may not be included in the CMOHA characterization; it may be one person or it may be 10,000 people. There is also nothing that limits the amount of time a person or persons may spend performing the CMOHA characterization. Finally, as noted in the Office Action, “certain method[s] of organizing human activity” includes a person’s interaction with a computer (see MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II))” and, as recognized by the CAFC, “[t]he fact that the required calculations could be performed more efficiently via a computer does not materially alter the patent eligibility of the claimed subject matter.” FairWarning IP, LLC v. Iatric Sys., 839 F.3d 1089, 1095, 120 USPQ2d 1293, 1296 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (quoting Bancorp Servs., L.L.C. v. Sun Life Assurance Co. of Can. (U.S.), 687 F.3d 1266, 1278 (Fed. Cir. 2012)). Because the amount of data analyzed as not material to the CMOHA abstract idea characterization, Applicant’s arguments are not persuasive.
Regarding (c), the Examiner respectfully disagrees. MPEP 2106.04(d) sates that one way in which a claimed abstract idea may be subject matter eligible under prong 2A2 is if the claimed invention solves a described technological problem. Example 42 is an illustration of this. The Specification of Example 42 describes a technical problem (i.e., a problem caused by the technology): the technological implementation of software formats made it difficult to share updated health information. The claimed invention then solved this problem (a technical solution) by providing a message and access to updated real-time data that has been converted to a standardized format, thus integrating the abstract idea into a practical application. Unlike Example 42 and/or the technical solution to a technical problem inquiry, Applicant has not identified nor can the Examiner locate any technical problem caused by the technological environment to which the claims are confined (a general-purpose computer) that the claimed invention is solving. The technical solution does not improve the telephone or computer, nor was the technical problem performed by the telephone or computer. At best, the problem(s) described in the as-filed disclosure are medical or communications problems.
Regarding (d), the Examiner respectfully disagrees. As previously mentioned in (c), none of the problems mentioned were caused by the telephone or computer. The telephone/computer were acting as they normally would. The technical solution argued does not provide an improvement to the telephone/computer. Further, the claims are not claiming the “technology of emergency communication and data management systems,” they are claiming a computer that receives, processes, and outputs data to particular locations. There is no improvement to the computer within the meaning of MPEP 2106.04(d)(1), nor is there an improvement to any of the other technologies (the identified additional element) recited in the claim. The Examiner disagrees that “telecommunications networks, switching infrastructure, mobile device hardware, and computerized dispatch systems… inherently constrain the type and amount of information that can be conveyed during an emergency.” At the time of filing, 5G was the standard wireless communications network in the US, which provided ample communications bandwidth. Commercial endeavors such as emergency services utilized fiber optic internet communications which, again, provided ample communications bandwidth. Switching infrastructure, mobile devices, and computerized dispatch systems were similarly well-equipped to handle emergency communications as would be understood by a person having skill in the art. Even assuming applicant’s unsupported assertion is true, the computer did not cause these problems and there is nothing in the claim that solves these alleged problems. The claims appear to actually introduce more data that has to be transmitted, thus itself further limiting data bandwidth and exacerbating the alleged problem.
Regarding (e), the Examiner respectfully disagrees. Applicant’s claims have nothing to do with the subject matter of Example 42. Per Example 49, Clam 2, the recitation of a particular treatment in the claim may render the claimed invention subject matter eligible. The particular treatment of using “Compound X” to treat PI in glaucoma patients is specific to the population of patient’s determined in the claim to warrant treatment. And, the treatment is actually required to occur by the claim. The recitation of the particular treatment provides a practical application. There is no particular treatment recited in the Applicant claims, nor supported in the Specification.
Rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 102/103
Regarding the rejection of Claims 1-3,5-13,15-20, the Examiner has considered the Applicant’s arguments; however, these arguments are moot given the new grounds of rejection as afforded by the present RCE.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon in the present basis of rejection are noted in the attached PTO 892 and include:
MARTIN et al (US Publication No. 20190174289) discloses method for providing an alternate communication pathway for emergency data to an emergency service provider (ESP).
Vuong et al (US Publication No. 20140006051) discloses techniques for creating and accessing emergency medical profiles.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN C EDOUARD whose telephone number is (571)270-0107. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 730 - 430.
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/JONATHAN C EDOUARD/Examiner, Art Unit 3683
/JASON S TIEDEMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3683
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