DETAILED ACTION
This office action is a response to an application filed 07/21/2025, wherein claims 1-20 are pending and ready for an examination.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/21/2025 was filed before the mailing date of the non-final action on 09/02/2026. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory obviousness 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 § 2146 et seq. 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 filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 7-8, 11-13 and 15-16 of U.S. Patent No. US12401609B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims are directed to the same subject matter of transmit for the particular messaging segment and via the at least one communication channel. A side-by-side analysis of the first independent claim(s) of the instant application and US patent has been included below. The bolded portions are portions which are almost identical to one another. The non-bolded portions are related to subject matter which are obvious, and do not further define over the subject matter of one another. One distinctive feature of the patent document details segment a set of accounts into a set of messaging segments, wherein the set of messaging segments are associated with respective content configuration, wherein each account, of the set of accounts, is associated with one or more messaging segments of the set of messaging segments, and wherein the set of messaging segments are applicable to multiple communication channels. Therefore, the subject matter of both claim sets are not distinct from one another and yields an obviousness-type double patenting rejection. This is NOT a provisional double patenting rejection since patent document (US12401609B2) has been issued while the instant application is pending.
Here is the following side-by-side analysis of the claims in each application:
Instant Application # 19275689
US Patent # US12401609B2
1, 9 and 16, A device, a method, and a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising:
one or more memories; and
one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, configured to:
determine an engagement performance level, for each of multiple communication channels, based on historical engagement information associated with a plurality of messaging segments;
modify, for at least one communication channel of the multiple communication channels, a content configuration for a particular messaging segment, of the plurality of message segments, to obtain or generate an account configuration based on the engagement performance level of the at least one communication channel;
transmit, for the particular messaging segment and via the at least one communication channel, one or more communications in accordance with the account configuration;
obtain feedback information indicating engagement information associated with the one or more communications; and
perform one or more actions based on the feedback information.
1, 8 and 15, A system, a method, and a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising:
one or more memories; and
one or more processors, communicatively coupled to the one or more memories, configured to:
segment a set of accounts into a set of messaging segments,
wherein the set of messaging segments are associated with respective content configurations, wherein each account, of the set of accounts, is associated with one or more messaging segments of the set of messaging segments, and wherein the set of messaging segments are applicable to multiple communication channels;
determine relative engagement performance levels, for respective communication channels of the multiple communication channels, based on historical engagement information associated with one or more accounts, including the account, that are associated with the one or more messaging segments,
wherein the relative engagement performance levels indicate engagement levels of the account for the respective communication channels relative to engagement levels of respective accounts of the one or more accounts;
determine, for the account categories for the respective communication channels based on the relative engagement performance levels;
modify, for at least one communication channel included in the multiple communication channels, a content configuration for a particular messaging segment, of the set of message segments, for the at least one communication channel to obtain an account configuration that is based on:
the modified content configuration,
a category, of the categories, associated with the account, and
an engagement persona, associated with the account, indicating the relative engagement performance levels for the respective communication channels of the multiple communication channels; and
transmit, for each messaging segment associated with the account and via one or more communication channels included in the multiple communication channels, one or more communications for the account in accordance with the account configuration.
7. … obtain, based on transmitting the one or more communications, feedback information indicating that the one or more communications were not successful via a first communication channel,
11. obtaining, based on transmitting the one or more communications, engagement information indicating one or more user actions taken in response to the one or more communications…
2, 10 and 17, the device of claim 1, the method of claim 9, the non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the engagement performance level, for each the multiple communication channels, indicates a likelihood of engagement for communications transmitted via a respective communication channel of the multiple communication channels.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the relative engagement performance levels for the respective communication channels indicate likelihoods of success for communications transmitted via the respective communication channels for the account.
3, 11 and 18, the device of claim 1, the method of claim 9, the non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the engagement performance level is associated with a particular account and relative to one or more other accounts.
1. … determine relative engagement performance levels, for respective communication channels of the multiple communication channels, based on historical engagement information associated with one or more accounts, including the account, that are associated with the one or more messaging segments…
4, 12 and 19, the device of claim 1, the method of claim 9, the non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
determine a prioritized ranking of the multiple communication channels based on the engagement performance level for each of the multiple communication channels,
wherein the content configuration is modified in accordance with the prioritized ranking.
8. … determining, by the device for the account, a prioritized ranking of the respective communication channels based on the relative engagement performance levels;
modifying, for at least one communication channel included in the multiple communication channels, a content configuration for a particular messaging segment, of the set of message segments, for the at least one communication channel to obtain an account configuration that is in accordance with the prioritized ranking and that is based on the modified content configuration and an engagement persona associated with the account….
5, 13 and 20, the device of claim 1, the method of claim 9, the non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
update the account configuration based on one or more live events; and
transmit one or more additional communications in accordance with the updated account configuration.
12. The method of claim 8, further comprising:
obtaining an update to one or more content configurations associated with the set of messaging segments; and
applying, for each communication channel associated with the set of messaging segments, the update to the one or more content configurations.
13. The method of claim 8, further comprising:
obtaining an indication of a live event associated with the account; and
modifying the account configuration in response to the live event.
6 and 14, the device of claim 1, and the method of claim 9, wherein the content configuration indicates a periodicity for each of the multiple communication channels.
16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more instructions, that cause the device to modify the content configuration, cause the device to:
modify a communication frequency, for the at least one communication channel, indicated by the content configuration based on an engagement level indicated by the category.
7 and 15, the device of claim 1, and the method of claim 9, wherein the multiple communication channels are associated with different categorizations for engagement personas.
15. …determine, for the account, categories for the respective communication channels based on the relative engagement performance levels…
8. The device of claim 7, wherein the engagement personas indicate whether at least one of a frequency or an intensity of communications for the multiple communication channels are to cause one or more additional communications to be transmitted more frequently, less frequently, or at a same frequency.
1. … an engagement persona, associated with the account, indicating the relative engagement performance levels for the respective communication channels of the multiple communication channels…
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Angeli et al. (US 2022/0210106 A1), hereinafter “Angeli” in view of Ramchandran et al. (US2019/0373071 A1), hereinafter “Ramchandran”
With respect to claims 1, 9 and 16, Angeli discloses a device, a method and a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising:
one or more memories (See ¶0166); and
one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories (See ¶0166), configured to:
determine an engagement performance level, for each of multiple communication channels, based on historical engagement information associated with a plurality of messaging segments (¶0021, teaches each platform can be associated with multiple, different communication channels through which the merchant can send or receive communications, ¶0036, teaches the communication can be sent via a first communication channel, which can comprise a text communication, an email communication, a communication sent via a first-party application, a communication sent via a third-party application, a social media communication, ¶0043, teaches the context determination component 118 can determine a topic and/or content of the communication based at least in part on analyzing data associated with a communication (including historical communications and communications received by other similar merchants, ¶0167, teaches user's interactions (i.e. engagement) with the user interface 720 are analyzed using, e.g., natural language processing techniques, to determine context or intent of the user, See ¶0151, ¶0200 and ¶0216);
transmit, for the particular messaging segment and via the at least one communication channel, one or more communications in accordance with the account configuration (¶0036, teaches the customer identifier (i.e. account configuration) can be particular to the type of communication channel through which the communication is transmitted (e.g., a customer identifier can be a phone number if the communication channel is a text communication, an email address if the communication channel is an email, etc.);
obtain feedback information indicating engagement information associated with the one or more communications (¶0087, teaches a feedback service/platform can provide an indication of negative feedback received from a communication channel, e.g., Customer A's email, ¶0167, teaches user's interactions (i.e. engagement) with the user interface 720 are analyzed using, e.g., natural language processing techniques, to determine context or intent of the user); and
perform one or more actions based on the feedback information (¶0048, teaches context data can be used by the communication management component 116 to recommend actions to be performed in association with a responsive (i.e. feedback) communication).
However, Angeli remain silent on modify, for at least one communication channel of the multiple communication channels, a content configuration for a particular messaging segment, of the plurality of message segments, to obtain or generate an account configuration based on the engagement performance level of the at least one communication channel;
Ramchandran discloses modify, for at least one communication channel of the multiple communication channels, a content configuration for a particular messaging segment, of the plurality of message segments, to obtain or generate an account configuration based on the engagement performance level of the at least one communication channel (¶0006, teaches experimenting with different application configurations (e.g., content configurations) at the user engagement segment level, ¶0095, teaches the resulting segment models 614, 616, and/or 618 can be specifically trained for predicting the engagement behaviors of users in the particular user engagement segment (i.e. particular messaging segment), ¶0133, teaches the configuration data associated with the different levels can be combined to generate a dynamic configuration that can be dynamically modified (e.g., in real time) as configuration data associated with the various levels is received and/or as content items are obtained and/or presented by news application 104, ¶0134, teaches configuration module 142 can generate configuration data 148 (e.g., application level configuration) based on the user engagement segments associated with the user (i.e. account) of user device 102, ¶0153, teaches content configuration 1520 to generate dynamic configuration data 1530 );
Therefore, it would be obvious to ne of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Angeli’s different communication channels and messaging context as messaging segments with modify, for at least one communication channel of the multiple communication channels, a content configuration for a particular messaging segment, of the plurality of message segments, to obtain or generate an account configuration based on the engagement performance level of the at least one communication channel of Ramchandran, in order to dynamically adjust a content configuration for a particular messaging segments according to the engagement performance of a communication channel and improving the likelihood of user engagement compared with applying a fixed content configuration across communication channels or messaging segments (Ramchandran).
With respect to claims 2, 10 and 17, Angeli in view of Ramchandran discloses the device of claim 1, the method of claim 9 and the non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the engagement performance level, for each the multiple communication channels, indicates a likelihood of engagement for communications transmitted via a respective communication channel of the multiple communication channels (Angeli, ¶0021, teaches each platform can be associated with multiple, different communication channels through which the merchant can send or receive communications, ¶0167, teaches user's interactions (i.e. engagement) with the user interface 720 are analyzed using, e.g., natural language processing techniques, to determine context or intent of the user, ¶0218, teaches based at least in part on determining that a confidence score indicating a likelihood that the transaction-related communication is associated with a particular item or items meets or exceeds a threshold,.
With respect to claims 3, 11 and 18, Angeli in view of Ramchandran discloses the device of claim 1, the method of claim 9 and the non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the engagement performance level is associated with a particular account and relative to one or more other accounts (Angeli, ¶0122, teaches interactions (i.e. engagement) between the customers 620 and the merchants 616 that involve the exchange of funds (from the customers 620) for items (from the merchants 616) can be referred to as “POS transactions” and/or “transactions.”, ¶0159, teaches constantly or periodically monitor disparate and distinct merchant accounts, e.g., accounts within the control of the service provider 612, and those outside of the control of the service provider 612, to track the business standing (payables, receivables, payroll, invoices, appointments, capital, etc.) of the merchants).
With respect to claims 4, 12 and 19, Angeli in view of Ramchandran discloses the device of claim 1, the method of claim 9 and the non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
determine a prioritized ranking of the multiple communication channels based on the engagement performance level for each of the multiple communication channels (Angeli, ¶0038, teaches communications can be arranged based on priority, ¶0081, teaches the communication management component 116 can analyze the communication(s) as they are received, for example, to determine whether the content associated therewith is associated with a priority (e.g., a level of importance), ¶0200, teaches the context determination component 118 can determine a topic and/or content of the communication based at least in part on analyzing data associated with a communication (including historical communications and communications received by other similar merchants and creating a priority tree based on the history of such communications).,
wherein the content configuration is modified in accordance with the prioritized ranking (Angeli, ¶0081, teaches the communication management component 116 can analyze the communication(s) as they are received, for example, to determine whether the content associated therewith is associated with a priority (e.g., a level of importance, Ramchandran, ¶0153, teaches this overriding or priority mechanism can be implemented by replacing configuration data when merging application configuration data 1400, publisher configuration data 1510 and/or content configuration 1520 to generate dynamic configuration data 1530).
With respect to claims 5, 13 and 20, Angeli in view of Ramchandran discloses the device of claim 1, the method of claim 9 and the non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
update the account configuration based on one or more live events (Ramchandran, ¶0133, teaches the configuration data associated with the different levels can be combined to generate a dynamic configuration that can be dynamically modified (e.g., in real time) as configuration data associated with the various levels is received and/or as content items are obtained, ¶0153, teaches content configuration 1520 to generate dynamic (i.e. real time) configuration data 1530, wherein account configuration is based on content configuration); and
transmit one or more additional communications in accordance with the updated account configuration (Ramchandran, ¶0048, teaches news application 104 can send user event data 110 on a periodic basis (e.g., every day, every 4 hours, every other day, etc.). News application 104 can send user event data 110 in response to detecting various events, ¶0153, teaches content configuration 1520 to generate dynamic (i.e. real time) configuration data 1530, wherein account configuration is based on content configuration).
With respect to claims 6 and 14, Angeli in view of Ramchandran discloses the device of claim 1 and the method of claim 9, wherein the content configuration indicates a periodicity for each of the multiple communication channels (Ramchandran, ¶0048, teaches news application 104 can send user event data 110 on a periodic basis (e.g., every day, every 4 hours, every other day, etc.). News application 104 can send user event data 110 in response to detecting various events, ¶0153, teaches content configuration 1520 to generate dynamic (i.e. real time) configuration data 1530).
With respect to claims 7 and 15, Angeli in view of Ramchandran discloses the device of claim 1 and the method of claim 9, wherein the multiple communication channels are associated with different categorizations for engagement personas (Angeli, ¶0061, teaches identifier(s) of the merchant (which can be associated with different communication channels and/or platforms), etc.), a merchant category classification (MCC), item(s) (e.g., good(s) or service(s)) offered for sale by the merchant, hardware (e.g., device type) used by the merchant, transaction data associated with the merchant (e.g., transactions conducted by the merchant, payment data associated with the transactions, items associated with the transactions, descriptions of items associated with the transactions, itemized and/or total spends of each of the transactions, parties to the transactions, dates, times, and/or locations associated with the transactions, etc.), loan information associated with the merchant (e.g., previous loans made to the merchant, previous defaults on said loans, etc.), risk information associated with the merchant (e.g., indications of risk, instances of fraud, chargebacks, etc.), appointments information (e.g., previous appointments, upcoming (scheduled) appointments, timing of appointments, lengths of appointments, etc.), payroll information (e.g., employees, payroll frequency, payroll amounts, etc.), employee information, reservations data (e.g., previous reservations, upcoming (scheduled) reservations, interactions associated with such reservations, etc.), inventory data, customer service data, messaging data, etc).
With respect to claim 8, Angeli in view of Ramchandran discloses the device of claim 7, wherein the engagement personas indicate whether at least one of a frequency or an intensity of communications for the multiple communication channels are to cause one or more additional communications to be transmitted more frequently, less frequently, or at a same frequency (Angeli, ¶0020, teaches each platform can be associated with multiple, different communication channels through which the merchant can send or receive communications. For instance, a merchant can send or receive communications via text, email, social media, an application (e.g., first-party, third-party, etc.), and/or the like, Ramchandran, ¶0075-¶0076, teaches user engagement module 122 can determine the level of engagement a user has with respect to news application 104 based on a frequency engagement category. For example, a score generated or determined for the frequency engagement category can correspond to a number of article views in a previous period of time (e.g., the previous 30 days), as determined by user engagement module 122 based on user event data 402. For example, if the frequency category is scored 1-5, then a score of 5 can correspond to greater than or equal to 30 views. A score of 4 can correspond to 14-29 views. A score of 3 can correspond to 4-13 views. A score of 2 can correspond to 2-3 views. A score of 1 can correspond to 1 view. These scores are merely one example of how scores can be generated for the frequency engagement category; other scoring schemes can be used and/or implemented).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US20230306445A1 teaches a device may obtain historical information associated with user engagement with one or more historical communications associated with a user account. The device may train a machine learning model, using the historical information, to predict at least one of preferred communication channels, preferred communication timings, or preferred communication content associated with the user account. The device may determine that a communication associated with the user account is to be transmitted. The device may obtain, from the machine learning model and by the device, recommendation information including at least one of a recommended timing, a recommended communication channel, or a recommended content of the communication based on providing information associated with the user account to the machine learning model. The device may generate the communication according to the recommendation information.
US11329944B2 teaches the systems and methods include operations for: receiving data indicating a level of user engagement with a messaging application for a given user; determining that the level of user engagement is below a specified threshold; prioritizing a plurality of events, associated with the messaging application, for transmission to a client device of the given user in response to determining that the level of user engagement is below the specified threshold; and transmitting a first event of the plurality of events to the client device based on prioritizing the plurality of events.
US20230177469A1 teaches segmenting users based on user interactions with messages transmitted over various electronic communication channels. In some embodiments, a segmentation application normalizes sets of event data associated with user interactions with messages that are transmitted over multiple electronic communication channels to generate intermediate labels associated with the sets of event data. The normalization includes applying a time decay while accounting for messaging cadence, messaging volume, and user interactions with messages associated with an industry. The intermediate labels are combined to generate a final label associated with the user via a pairwise combination technique that maintains a more favorable label when a pair of intermediate labels are combined. Additional messages can then be generated and/or transmitted based on the final label.
US20100257241A1 teaches adapting delivery of electronic communications. It increases the reliability of electronic message delivery by learning from message and server behavior to determine which channel should be used for future message delivery. This is done to increase likelihood of communications delivery to recipients of electronic communications.
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/G.M/ Examiner, Art Unit 2458/UMAR CHEEMA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2458
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