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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 6, 13, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Regarding claims 6, 13, and 14, these claims recite the limitation “instead of, or in addition to continuing to use the advertisement”. In an earlier limitation, the claims recite “continuing to use the advertisement”. Further limitations can’t broaden or negate an earlier limitation. The language “instead of” makes the claim confusing, as it is unclear whether the step of continuing is meant to be required or not. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because, while the claims herein are directed to a method and/or system, which could be classified under one of the listed statutory classifications (i.e., 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance (hereinafter “PEG”) “PEG” Step 1=Yes), 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.
Regarding claims 1, 10, the claims recite, in part, (S1) capturing at least a portion of the respective content of a plurality of web pages; (S2) transforming the captured content of the web pages to obtain a content description of each respective web page; (S3) creating web page groups that contain web pages with content descriptions that are similar to each other to at least a predetermined degree; (S4) placing the same advertisement on a plurality of web pages of a first web page group and a second web page group; (S5) capturing the number of clicks on the advertisement across the plurality of web pages of the first and second web page groups within a predetermined time period; (S6) comparing the number of clicks on the advertisement across the web pages of the first web page group with those of the second web page group; and (S7) continuing to use the advertisement on the web pages of the web page group with the higher number of clicks and discontinuing its use on the web pages of the group with the lower number of clicks.
Regarding claims 11, 12, the claims recite, in part, (S1) capturing at least a portion of the respective content of a plurality of web pages; (S2) transforming the captured content of the web pages to obtain a content description of each respective web page; (S3) creating web page groups that contain web pages with content descriptions that are similar to each other to at least a predetermined degree; (S4) placing the same advertisement on a plurality of web pages of a first web page group and a second web page group; (S5) capturing the number of clicks on the advertisement across the plurality of web pages of the first and second web page groups within a predetermined time period; (S6) comparing the number of clicks on the advertisement across the web pages of the first web page group with those of the second web page group; and (S7) continuing to use the advertisement on the web pages of the web page group with the higher number of clicks, and discontinuing its use on the web pages of the group with the lower number of clicks, wherein steps (S4) to (S7) are performed at least pairwise for a plurality of web pages, and each web page is assigned a vector from a predetermined vector space, in which linearly independent vectors represent web pages whose content descriptions are not similar to one another.
Regarding claims 13, 14, the claims recite, in part, (S1) capturing at least a portion of the respective content of a plurality of web pages; (S2) transforming the captured content of the web pages to obtain a content description of each respective web page; (S3) creating web page groups that contain web pages with content descriptions that are similar to each other to at least a predetermined degree; (S4) placing the same advertisement on a plurality of web pages of a first web page group and a second web page group; (S5) capturing the number of clicks on the advertisement across the plurality of web pages of the first and second web page groups within a predetermined time period; (S6) comparing the number of clicks on the advertisement across the web pages of the first web page group with those of the second web page group; (S7) continuing to use the advertisement on the web pages of the web page group with the higher number of clicks, and discontinuing its use on the web pages of the group with the lower number of clicks; and (S8) instead of or in addition to continuing to use the advertisement on the web pages of the group with the higher number of clicks, placing an alternative advertisement on said web pages, wherein the content description of the alternative advertisement is similar - to at least a predetermined degree - to the content description of the previously used advertisement.
The limitations, as drafted and detailed above, recites grouping web pages and comparing performance of advertising across groups of web pages, which falls within the “Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activities” grouping of abstract ideas, and more specifically commercial interactions including advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors. Accordingly, the claim recites an abstract idea (i.e. “PEG” Revised Step 2A Prong One=Yes).
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. In particular, the claims only recite the additional elements of computer-implemented (claims 1, 11, 13, merely implies computer functionality without actually claiming any), non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (claims 10, 12, 14), and processor (claims 10, 12, 14). The additional technical elements above are recited at a high-level of generality (i.e. as a generic processor performing a generic computer function of capturing, transforming, creating, placing, comparing, continuing, and discontinuing) such that it amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. There are no additional functional limitations to be considered under prong two.
Accordingly, the additional technical elements above do not integrate the abstract idea/judicial exception into a practical application because it does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. More specifically, the additional elements fail to include (1) improvements to the functioning of a computer or to any other technology or technical field (see MPEP 2106.05(a)), (2) applying or using a judicial exception to effect a particular treatment or prophylaxis for a disease or medical condition (see Vanda memo), (3) applying the judicial exception with, or by use of, a particular machine (see MPEP 2106.05(b)), (4) effecting a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing (see MPEP 2106.05(c)), or (5) applying or using the judicial exception in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment, such that the claim as a whole is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception (see MPEP 2106.05(e) and Vanda memo).
Rather, the limitations merely add 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)), or generally link the use of the
judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use (see MPEP 2106.05(h)). Thus, the claim is “directed to” an abstract idea (i.e. “PEG” Revised Step 2A Prong Two=Yes).
When considering Step 2B of the Alice/Mayo test, the claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the claims do not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
More specifically, as discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional elements of using computer-implemented (claims 1, 11, 13, merely implies computer functionality without actually claiming any), non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (claims 10, 12, 14), and processor (claims 10, 12, 14) to perform the claimed functions amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component.
“Generic computer implementation” is insufficient to transform a patent-ineligible abstract idea into a patent-eligible invention (See Affinity Labs, _F.3d_, 120 U.S.P.Q.2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 2016), citing Alice, 134 S. Ct. at 2352, 2357) and more generally, “simply appending conventional steps specified at a high level of generality” to an abstract idea does not make that idea patentable (See Affinity Labs, _F.3d_, 120 U.S.P.Q.2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 2016), citing Mayo, 132 S. Ct. at 1300). Moreover, “the use of generic computer elements like a microprocessor or user interface do not alone transform an otherwise abstract idea into patent-eligible subject matter (See FairWarning, 120 U.S.P.Q.2d. 1293, citing DDR Holdings, LLC v. Hotels.com, L.P., 773 F.3d 1245, 1256 (Fed. Cir. 2014)). As such, the additional elements of the claim do not add a meaningful limitation to the abstract idea because they would be generic computer functions in any computer implementation. Thus, taken alone, the additional elements do not amount to significantly more than the above-identified judicial exception (the abstract idea). Looking at the limitations as an ordered combination adds nothing that is not already present when looking at the elements taken individually. There is no indication that the combination of elements improves the functioning of the computer or improves any other technology. Their collective functions merely provide generic computer implementation.
The Examiner notes simply implementing an abstract concept on a computer, without meaningful limitations to that concept, does not transform a patent-ineligible claim into a patent- eligible one (See Accenture, 728 F.3d 1336, 108 U.S.P.Q.2d 1173 (Fed. Cir. 2013), citing Bancorp, 687 F.3d at 1280), limiting the application of an abstract idea to one field of use does not necessarily guard against preempting all uses of the abstract idea (See Accenture, 728 F.3d 1336, 108 U.S.P.Q.2d 1173 (Fed. Cir. 2013), citing Bilski, 130 S. Ct. at 3231), and further the prohibition against patenting an abstract principle “cannot be circumvented by attempting to limit the use of the [principle] to a particular technological environment” (See Accenture, 728 F.3d 1336, 108 U.S.P.Q.2d 1173 (Fed. Cir. 2013), citing Flook, 437 U.S. at 584), and finally merely limiting the field of use of the abstract idea to a particular existing technological environment does not render the claims any less abstract (See Affinity Labs, _F.3d_, 120 U.S.P.Q.2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 2016), citing Alice, 134 S. Ct. at 2358; Mayo, 132 S. Ct. at 1294; Bilski v. Kappos, 561 U.S. 593, 612 (2010); Content Extraction & Transmission LLC v. Wells Fargo Bank, Nat' l Ass' n, 776 F.3d 1343, 1348 (Fed. Cir. 2014); buySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 765 F.3d 1350, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2014).
Applicant herein only requires a general purpose computer (see Applicant specification Page 5, general purpose computing on graphics processing units); therefore, there does not appear to be any alteration or modification to the generic activities indicated, and they are also therefore recognized as insignificant activity with respect to eligibility.
The dependent claims 2-10 appear to merely limit pairwise performance of steps, use of a large language model, assigning of vectors, use of cosine to measure similarity, and placement of an alternative advertisement, and therefore only limit the application of the idea, and not add significantly more than the idea (i.e. “PEG” Step 2B=No).
The computer-implemented (claims 1, 11, 13, merely implies computer functionality without actually claiming any), non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (claims 10, 12, 14), and processor (claims 10, 12, 14) are each functional generic computer components that perform the generic functions of capturing, transforming, creating, placing, comparing, continuing, and discontinuing, all common to electronics and computer systems.
Applicant's specification does not provide any indication that the computer-implemented (claims 1, 11, 13, merely implies computer functionality without actually claiming any), non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (claims 10, 12, 14), and processor (claims 10, 12, 14) are anything other than generic, off-the-shelf computer components. Therefore, the claims do not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea (i.e. “PEG” Step 2B=No).
Thus, based on the detailed analysis above, claims 1-14 are not patent eligible.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 2, 4-6, and 8-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yuan (U.S. Pub No. 2015/0213481) in view of Meltzer (U.S. Pub No. 2011/0093331).
Regarding claims 1, 10, Yuan teaches (S4) placing the same advertisement on a plurality of web pages of a first web page group and a second web page group (Paragraphs 0009, 0046, to collect statistics about placed ads, the ads must be placed); (S5) capturing the number of clicks on the advertisement across the plurality of web pages of the first and second web page groups within a predetermined time period (Paragraphs 0009, 0046, collecting click-through-rates for website categories); (S6) comparing the number of clicks on the advertisement across the web pages of the first web page group with those of the second web page group (Paragraph 0045, ads perform better on one site vs. another); and (S7) continuing to use the advertisement on the web pages of the web page group with the higher number of clicks and discontinuing its use on the web pages of the group with the lower number of clicks (Paragraph 0045, spend budget on categories of web sites that provide higher returns, thus lowering the budget, potentially to zero, on categories of web sites that do not perform as well).
Yuan does not appear to specify (S1) capturing at least a portion of the respective content of a plurality of web pages; (S2) transforming the captured content of the web pages to obtain a content description of each respective web page; (S3) and creating web page groups that contain web pages with content descriptions that are similar to each other to at least a predetermined degree. However, Meltzer teaches (S1) capturing at least a portion of the respective content of a plurality of web pages (Paragraphs 0023, analyze page content); (S2) transforming the captured content of the web pages to obtain a content description of each respective web page (Paragraphs 0023, 0028, using words and phrases to determine a page summary); (S3) and creating web page groups that contain web pages with content descriptions that are similar to each other to at least a predetermined degree (Paragraphs 0028, 0059, create classification scheme of similar websites based on the summaries). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to group web sites according to content since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements and the combination of each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 2, Yuan does not appear to specify steps (S4) to (S7) are performed at least pairwise for a plurality of web pages. However, A/B testing, also known as bucket testing, is an old and well known form of pairwise comparative analysis that has been around long before the filing of Applicant’s invention. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use A/B testing to compare web site groups since A/B testing is a powerful tool for comparing 2 values to determine which is more effective.
Regarding claim 4, Yuan does not appear to specify each web page is assigned a vector from a predetermined vector space, in which linearly independent vectors represent web pages whose content descriptions are not similar to one another. However, Meltzer teaches each web page is assigned a vector from a predetermined vector space, in which linearly independent vectors represent web pages whose content descriptions are not similar to one another (Paragraph 0023). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to group web sites according to content since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements and the combination of each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 5, Yuan does not appear to specify the similarity measure between content descriptions is based on the cosine similarity of the vectors representing the content of the two web pages. However, Meltzer teaches the similarity measure between content descriptions is based on the cosine similarity of the vectors representing the content of the two web pages (Paragraph 0069). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to group web sites according to content since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements and the combination of each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 6, Yuan teaches (S8) instead of or in addition to continuing to use the advertisement on the web pages of the group with the higher number of clicks, placing an alternative advertisement on said web pages (Paragraph 0045, Yuan is capable of being used for numerous advertisements, should another advertisement be appropriate for a website category, the system of Yuan would suggest increasing an advertising budget so that the other ad would appear on the website).
Yuan does not appear to specify wherein the content description of the alternative advertisement is similar - to at least a predetermined degree - to the content description of the previously used advertisement. However, Meltzer teaches wherein the content description of a document is similar - to at least a predetermined degree - to the content description of the previously used document (Paragraph 0069, nothing prevents the same method used for website documents may be used for advertising documents). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to determine similarity between documents since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements and the combination of each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 8, Yuan does not appear to specify the alternative advertisement is assigned a vector from a predetermined vector space, in which linearly independent vectors represent advertisements whose content descriptions are not similar to one another. However, Meltzer teaches the alternative document is assigned a vector from a predetermined vector space, in which linearly independent vectors represent documents whose content descriptions are not similar to one another (Paragraph 0023, nothing prevents the same method used for website documents may be used for advertising documents). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to determine similarity between documents since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements and the combination of each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 9, Yuan does not appear to specify the similarity between the content descriptions of two advertisements is determined using cosine similarity. However, Meltzer teaches the similarity between the content descriptions of two documents is determined using cosine similarity (Paragraph 0069, nothing prevents the same method used for website documents may be used for advertising documents). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to determine similarity between documents since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements and the combination of each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claims 11, 12, Yuan teaches (S4) placing the same advertisement on a plurality of web pages of a first web page group and a second web page group (Paragraphs 0009, 0046, to collect statistics about placed ads, the ads must be placed); (S5) capturing the number of clicks on the advertisement across the plurality of web pages of the first and second web page groups within a predetermined time period (Paragraphs 0009, 0046, collecting click-through-rates for website categories); (S6) comparing the number of clicks on the advertisement across the web pages of the first web page group with those of the second web page group (Paragraph 0045, ads perform better on one site vs. another); and (S7) continuing to use the advertisement on the web pages of the web page group with the higher number of clicks and discontinuing its use on the web pages of the group with the lower number of clicks (Paragraph 0045, spend budget on categories of web sites that provide higher returns, thus lowering the budget, potentially to zero, on categories of web sites that do not perform as well).
Yuan does not appear to specify (S1) capturing at least a portion of the respective content of a plurality of web pages; (S2) transforming the captured content of the web pages to obtain a content description of each respective web page; (S3) and creating web page groups that contain web pages with content descriptions that are similar to each other to at least a predetermined degree. However, Meltzer teaches (S1) capturing at least a portion of the respective content of a plurality of web pages (Paragraphs 0023, analyze page content); (S2) transforming the captured content of the web pages to obtain a content description of each respective web page (Paragraphs 0023, 0028, using words and phrases to determine a page summary); (S3) and creating web page groups that contain web pages with content descriptions that are similar to each other to at least a predetermined degree (Paragraphs 0028, 0059, create classification scheme of similar websites based on the summaries). Meltzer further teaches each web page is assigned a vector from a predetermined vector space, in which linearly independent vectors represent web pages whose content descriptions are not similar to one another (Paragraph 0023). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to group web sites according to content since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements and the combination of each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Yuan does not appear to specify steps (S4) to (S7) are performed at least pairwise for a plurality of web pages. However, A/B testing, also known as bucket testing, is an old and well known form of pairwise comparative analysis that has been around long before the filing of Applicant’s invention. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use A/B testing to compare web site groups since A/B testing is a powerful tool for comparing 2 values to determine which is more effective.
Regarding claims 13, 14, Yuan teaches (S4) placing the same advertisement on a plurality of web pages of a first web page group and a second web page group (Paragraphs 0009, 0046, to collect statistics about placed ads, the ads must be placed); (S5) capturing the number of clicks on the advertisement across the plurality of web pages of the first and second web page groups within a predetermined time period (Paragraphs 0009, 0046, collecting click-through-rates for website categories); (S6) comparing the number of clicks on the advertisement across the web pages of the first web page group with those of the second web page group (Paragraph 0045, ads perform better on one site vs. another); and (S7) continuing to use the advertisement on the web pages of the web page group with the higher number of clicks and discontinuing its use on the web pages of the group with the lower number of clicks (Paragraph 0045, spend budget on categories of web sites that provide higher returns, thus lowering the budget, potentially to zero, on categories of web sites that do not perform as well). Yuan further teaches (S8) instead of or in addition to continuing to use the advertisement on the web pages of the group with the higher number of clicks, placing an alternative advertisement on said web pages (Paragraph 0045, Yuan is capable of being used for numerous advertisements, should another advertisement be appropriate for a website category, the system of Yuan would suggest increasing an advertising budget so that the other ad would appear on the website).
Yuan does not appear to specify (S1) capturing at least a portion of the respective content of a plurality of web pages; (S2) transforming the captured content of the web pages to obtain a content description of each respective web page; (S3) and creating web page groups that contain web pages with content descriptions that are similar to each other to at least a predetermined degree. However, Meltzer teaches (S1) capturing at least a portion of the respective content of a plurality of web pages (Paragraphs 0023, analyze page content); (S2) transforming the captured content of the web pages to obtain a content description of each respective web page (Paragraphs 0023, 0028, using words and phrases to determine a page summary); (S3) and creating web page groups that contain web pages with content descriptions that are similar to each other to at least a predetermined degree (Paragraphs 0028, 0059, create classification scheme of similar websites based on the summaries). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to group web sites according to content since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements and the combination of each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Yuan does not appear to specify wherein the content description of the alternative advertisement is similar - to at least a predetermined degree - to the content description of the previously used advertisement. However, Meltzer teaches wherein the content description of a document is similar - to at least a predetermined degree - to the content description of the previously used document (Paragraph 0069, nothing prevents the same method used for website documents may be used for advertising documents). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to determine similarity between documents since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements and the combination of each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Claims 3 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yuan (U.S. Pub No. 2015/0213481) in view of Meltzer (U.S. Pub No. 2011/0093331), and further in view of Rosen (U.S. Pub No. 2022/0172247).
Regarding claim 3, Yuan does not appear to specify the transformation in step (S2) is carried out using a large language model. However, Rosen teaches the transformation in step (S2) is carried out using a large language model (Paragraphs 0006-0007, 0077-0081). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine a large language model with Yuan and Meltzer since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements and the combination of each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 7, Yuan does not appear to specify a large language model is used to transform the content of the alternative advertisement to obtain a content description. However, Rosen teaches a large language model is used to transform the content of the alternative document to obtain a content description (Paragraphs 0006-0007, 0077-0081). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine a large language model with Yuan and Meltzer since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements and the combination of each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
The following references are cited to further show the state of the art with respect to placement of advertising on web pages having high performance:
U.S. Pub No. 2008/0294497 to Simons
U.S. Pub No. 2022/0270129 to Dakic
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/MICHAEL BEKERMAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3621