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 .
Status of Claims
This non-final office action is responsive to Applicant’s submission filed 08/29/2025. Currently, claims 2-21 are pending. Claims 2-21 are newly added. Claim 1 has been cancelled.
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 2-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., abstract idea) without significantly more.
The claims recite method, system and computer program product for facilitating loan repayment.
Exemplary claim 2 recites in part,
“determining, by the one or more processors, that the first user can offer financing to at least a second user of the at least two users for paying the invoice;
generating, by the one or more processors, terms associated with the financing based on the one or more inputs detected via the second graphical user interface;
withholding, by the one or more processors, at least a portion of an amount associated with the financing from one or more subsequent transactions processed for the second user;
after withholding the portion of the amount from the one or more subsequent transactions, receiving, by the one or more processors, electronic funds via the second user device of the second user, the electronic funds including the portion withheld from the one or more subsequent transactions; and
providing, by the one or more processors, the electronic funds to an account of the first user as repayment for the financing provided by the first user.”
The above limitations describe the steps of, 1) creating user loan contract, including loan terms, 2) withholding funds from the user, and 3) providing the withheld funds for loan repayment.
The above steps describe the process of facilitating loan repayment. The above limitations, under their broadest reasonable interpretation, encompass "Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity" (commercial or legal interactions – contracts or legal obligations) enumerated in MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II)(B). If a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers commercial or legal interactions – contracts or legal obligations, then it falls within the “Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity” grouping of abstract ideas. Accordingly, the claim recites an abstract idea.
The judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. The claim recites additional elements including one or more processors to perform the limitations encompassing the abstract idea identified above. The computing elements represent using a computer as a tool to perform the judicial exception as in MPEP 2106.05(f). In addition, the steps of “configuring a first graphical user interface for a first user device of a first use…”, “configuring a second graphical user interface for the first user device of the first user…”, “detecting one or more inputs on the second graphical user interface in relation to the financing” and “transmitting the terms associated with the financing to a second user device of the second user” represents displaying user interfaces, receiving user input and sending loan terms over a network, which amounts to insignificant extra-solution activities that do not impose meaningful limits on the abstract idea. See MPEP 2106.05(g).
When considered both individually and as a whole, the additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application.
The recitation of additional elements is acknowledged as identified above. The discussion with respect to practical application is equally applicable to consideration of whether the additional elements amount to significantly more. The computing elements represent using a computer as a tool to perform the judicial exception as in MPEP 2106.05(f). In addition, the step of “displaying data (user interfaces)”, “receiving data (user input)” and “transmitting data (sending loan terms) over a network”, while amounting to insignificant extra-solution activities, have been recognized by the courts as well-understood, routine, and conventional functions (see MPEP 2106.05(d)).
Therefore, there are no meaningful recitations, considered in combination, that transform the judicial exception into a patent eligible application such that the claim amounts to significantly more than the judicial exception itself.
Accordingly, claim 2 is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., abstract idea) without significantly more.
Claims 9 and 16 recite similar limitations as set forth in claim 2, and therefore are rejected based on similar rationale.
Dependent claims 3-8, 10-15 and 17-21 recite limitations directed to the abstract idea, and do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application nor amount to significantly more.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP §§ 706.02(l)(1) - 706.02(l)(3) for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
Claims 2-6, 9-13 and 16-19 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 13 and 15 of U.S. Patent No. 12,367,515 (hereinafter ‘515). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims of the present application perform the same functions as claims 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 13 and 15 of ‘515. Claims 2-6, 9-13 and 16-19 of the present application describe method, system and computer program product for facilitating loan repayment, similar to claims 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 13 and 15 of ‘515.
U.S. Patent Appl. No. 19/251,601
U.S. Patent No. 12,050,446
A method comprising:
configuring, by one or more processors of a payment service, a first graphical user interface for a first user device of a first user to provide transaction information to generate an invoice for a transaction between at least two users, including the first user;
determining, by the one or more processors, that the first user can offer financing to at least a second user of the at least two users for paying the invoice;
configuring, by the one or more processors, a second graphical user interface for the first user device of the first user to provide information related to the financing;
detecting, by the one or more processors, one or more inputs on the second graphical user interface in relation to the financing;
generating, by the one or more processors, terms associated with the financing based on the one or more inputs detected via the second graphical user interface;
transmitting, by the one or more processors, the terms associated with the financing to a second user device of the second user;
withholding, by the one or more processors, at least a portion of an amount associated with the financing from one or more subsequent transactions processed for the second user;
after withholding the portion of the amount from the one or more subsequent transactions, receiving, by the one or more processors, electronic funds via the second user device of the second user, the electronic funds including the portion withheld from the one or more subsequent transactions; and
providing, by the one or more processors, the electronic funds to an account of the first user as repayment for the financing provided by the first user.
1. A method comprising:
receiving, by one or more processors of a payment service, transaction information of transactions performed between a plurality of users of the payment service, wherein a respective computing device is associated with each respective user of the plurality of users, wherein an application executable on the respective computing device configures the respective computing device to send the transaction information to the payment service, wherein the payment service is configured to facilitate payments between the users;
receiving, at the one or more processors of the payment service and via the respective computing device of a first user, an indication of a payment generated by the first user and payable by a second user;
determining, by the one or more processors of the payment service, terms for the first user to finance at least part of an amount of the payment for the second user, wherein the one or more processors determine the terms based on two or more of: (a) at least a portion of the transaction information associated with the first user; (b) at least a portion of the transaction information of at least one related user of the plurality of users; or (c) at least a portion of the transaction information associated with the second user;
transmitting, by the one or more processors of the payment service, the terms to the respective computing device of the first user and the respective computing device of the second user;
withholding at least a portion of the amount from one or more subsequent transactions processed for the second user;
subsequently receiving, by the one or more processors of the payment service, electronic funds via the respective computing device of the second user, the electronic funds including the portion withheld from the one or more subsequent transactions; and
providing, by the one or more processors of the payment service, the funds to an account of the first user as repayment for at least the part of the amount of the payment financed by the first user.
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
In view of the prosecution history of U.S. Patent Application No. 18/214,823 (now U.S. Patent No. 12,367,515), as well as the inspection of relevant prior art including patent literature and non-patent literature, claims 2-21 are allowable over prior art as there has not been any prior art references or combination there that has been identified to read over the claimed invention.
The relevant prior art, single or in combination, does not teach the combined limitations:
“generating, by the one or more processors, terms associated with the financing based on the one or more inputs detected via the second graphical user interface;
transmitting, by the one or more processors, the terms associated with the financing to a second user device of the second user;
withholding, by the one or more processors, at least a portion of an amount associated with the financing from one or more subsequent transactions processed for the second user;
after withholding the portion of the amount from the one or more subsequent transactions, receiving, by the one or more processors, electronic funds via the second user device of the second user, the electronic funds including the portion withheld from the one or more subsequent transactions; and
providing, by the one or more processors, the electronic funds to an account of the first user as repayment for the financing provided by the first user”,
as recited in claims 2, 9 and 16.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OLUSEGUN GOYEA whose telephone number is (571)270-5402. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 9am-5pm EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, FAHD OBEID can be reached on 5712703324. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/OLUSEGUN GOYEA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3687
Prosecution Insights