Ex Parte CHHATRAPATI et alDownload PDFPatent Trial and Appeal BoardSep 14, 201813953578 (P.T.A.B. Sep. 14, 2018) Copy Citation UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR 13/953,578 07/29/2013 RUPESH CHHATRAPATI 107193 7590 09/18/2018 Keller Jolley Preece/Facebook 1010 North 500 East Suite 210 North Salt Lake, UT 84054 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE United States Patent and Trademark Office Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450 www .uspto.gov ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO. 19487.98.1.1.1.2 2209 EXAMINER ALLEN, NICHOLAS E ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 2154 NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE 09/18/2018 ELECTRONIC Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding. The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication. Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the following e-mail address(es): docketing@kjpip.com gjolley@kjpip.com tmeid@kjpip.com PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD Ex parte RUPESH CHHATRAP ATI, RICHARD J. TREITEL, JON CHESTER, DAVID SOBOTKA, LOUIS LAO, ANDREW ZAESKE, and MEERA VENGADASUBBU Appeal2018-003573 Application 13/953,578 1 Technology Center 2100 Before ROBERT E. NAPPI, MARC S. HOFF, and SCOTT B. HOWARD, Administrative Patent Judges. HOFF, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL STATEMENT OF THE CASE Appellants appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134 from a Final Rejection of claims 24--44. 2 We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). We affirm. Appellants' invention concerns generating digital reminders via computer networks. The claimed method stores template files that specify standard content for a reminder, and a set of directives that indicate where 1 The real party in interest is Facebook, Inc. See App. Br. 1. 2 Claims 1-23 have been cancelled. Appeal2018-003573 Application 13/953,578 substitution of event-specific content should occur. Spec. 3, 5. A reminder template is determined for a calendar event promoted by a third party, the reminder template comprising at least one variable that references content specified by the third party and stored separately from the reminder template. A reminder notification is generated that contains the content specified by the third party, by accessing the content specified by the third party using the at least one variable within the reminder template. Spec. 22, 24--26. Claim 24 is reproduced below: 24. A method, comprising: receiving, from a user of an electronic calendar service, an event identifier for a calendar event promoted by a third party; determining, using at least one processor, a reminder template associated with the event identifier for the calendar event promoted by the third party, wherein the reminder template comprises at least one variable that references content specified by the third party and stored separately from the reminder template; adding a reminder to an electronic calendar of the user in accordance with the reminder template; generating a reminder notification that contains the content specified by the third party by accessing the content specified by the third party using the at least one variable within the reminder template; and sending the reminder notification to the user. The Examiner relies upon the following prior art in rejecting the claims on appeal: Rasansky et al. Cameron et al. us 5,960,406 US 6,202,062 B 1 2 Sept. 28, 1999 Mar. 13, 2001 Appeal2018-003573 Application 13/953,578 Claims 24--44 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over Rasansky and Cameron. Throughout this decision, we make reference to the Appeal Brief ("App. Br.," filed [Nov. 6, 2017]), the Reply Brief ("Reply Br.," filed [Feb. 13, 2018]), and the Examiner's Answer ("Ans.," mailed [Dec. 18, 2017]) for their respective details. ISSUES 1. Does the combination of Rasansky and Cameron disclose or suggest determining a reminder template associated with the event identifier for the calendar event promoted by the third party, wherein the reminder template comprises at least one variable that references content specified by the third party and stored separately from the reminder template? 2. Does the combination of Rasansky and Cameron disclose or suggest generating a reminder notification that contains the content specified by the third party by accessing the content specified by the third party using the at least one variable within the reminder template? ANALYSIS Independent claim 24 recites, inter alia, "determining, using at least one processor, a reminder template associated with the event identifier for the calendar event promoted by the third party, wherein the reminder template comprises at least one variable that references content specified by the third party and stored separately from the reminder template." Claim 24 subsequently recites "generating a reminder notification that contains the content specified by the third party by accessing the content specified by the 3 Appeal2018-003573 Application 13/953,578 third party using the at least one variable within the reminder template." Independent claims 36 and 42 recite analogous limitations. Appellants argue that Cameron fails to disclose these limitations. App. Br. 10. "Cameron's teaching regarding an Egocentric Interface fails to teach generating a reminder notification that contains the content specified by the third party by accessing the content specified by the third party using the at least one variable within the reminder template." App. Br. 10-11. We are not persuaded by Appellants' argument. Appellants disclose that "[ a ]11 standard content for reminders is stored in a set of template files. The template file specifies the standard content for the reminder, and includes a set of directives within the template indicating where the substitution of event-specific content should occur." Spec. 4. Reminder templates are disclosed as including a format, as well as components such as user data, design, and sponsorship programming. Spec. 19. Appellants' templates, therefore, are simply stored files that include text, and further include locations, referred to as "directives" in the Specification but often known in the art as "fields," where "event-specific content" is to be inserted. In this way, we find that the disclosed templates are analogous to paper or electronic forms. The Examiner finds, and we agree, that Cameron discloses the claimed reminder template, comprising at least one variable that references content specified by a third party and stored separately from the reminder template. Ans. 6-8. Cameron discloses a so-called "Egocentric Interface" that includes a user's personal information as well as other content. Cameron col. 38:29--36; see Fig. lOB. "The Egocentric Interface will include the relationship between that content and the user in a way that 4 Appeal2018-003573 Application 13/953,578 demonstrates how the content relates to the user." Cameron col. 38:36-39. It is clear from this sentence of Cameron that the referenced "content" comes from a third party, i.e., some entity other than the user. Cameron provides an example of an "upcoming ski trip the user has signed up for .... [T]he interface will include information about events from the user's personal calendar and contact list, such as other people who will be in the area during the ski trip." Cameron col. 38:39-45. We agree with the Examiner's finding that "[fJormatting various information (e.g. list contacts for a trip) would have required a template (e.g. a list) in order to generate reminders with content. The event identifier in Cameron's example would have been a ski trip which would have caused said template to have been determined for presenting new information." Ans. 7-8. The Examiner further finds that Cameron discloses the claimed "generating a reminder notification that contains the content specified by the third party by accessing the content specified by the third party using the at least one variable within the reminder template." Ans. 8. The Examiner again cites the Egocentric Interface. Ans. 8-9; Cameron col. 38. We agree with the Examiner's finding that "[f]ormatting various information (e.g. list contacts for a trip) would have required a template (e.g. a list) in order to generate reminders with content. The event identifier in Cameron's example would have been a ski trip which would have caused said template to have been determined for presenting new information." Ans. 9. We are also unconvinced of error by Appellants' argument that the Examiner has failed to express a rationale for combining Rasansky and Cameron having a rational underpinning to support the asserted combination. We agree with the Examiner that modifying Rasansky to 5 Appeal2018-003573 Application 13/953,578 include Cameron's teaching of content specified by a third party using at least one variable, as illustrated by Cameron's example including information concerning "other people who will be in the area during the ski trip," would have been obvious because it would facilitate multi-user scheduling. (App. Br. 9). In Cameron's example, because of the operation of the interface, the user would be made aware of the presence in the same location of other people from the user's personal calendar and contact list, which would have facilitated that group of people scheduling events and activities with one another. We find that the combination of Rasansky and Cameron discloses all the limitations of independent claims 24, 36, and 42. Therefore, we sustain the Examiner's§ 103(a) rejection of claims 24--44. CONCLUSIONS 1. The combination of Rasansky and Cameron discloses determining a reminder template associated with the event identifier for the calendar event promoted by the third party, wherein the reminder template comprises at least one variable that references content specified by the third party and stored separately from the reminder template. 2. The combination of Rasansky and Cameron discloses generating a reminder notification that contains the content specified by the third party by accessing the content specified by the third party using the at least one variable within the reminder template. ORDER The Examiner's decision to reject claims 24--44 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) is affirmed. 6 Appeal2018-003573 Application 13/953,578 No time period for taking any subsequent action in connection with this appeal may be extended under 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a)(l )(iv). AFFIRMED 7 Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation