Ex Parte Huyser et al

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Oct 24, 2013

11047911 (P.T.A.B. Oct. 24, 2013)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
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
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
11/047,911 01/31/2005 Brandi Jo Huyser 9974-090 (BH2106) 6867
28533 7590 10/24/2013
Alticor/BGL
BRINKS GILSON & LIONE
P.O. BOX 10395
CHICAGO, IL 60610
EXAMINER
BRANDENBURG, WILLIAM A
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
3681
MAIL DATE DELIVERY MODE
10/24/2013 PAPER
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.
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
____________

BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
____________

Ex parte BRANDI JO HUYSER, and KENT DICKINSON
____________

Appeal 2011-011105
Application 11/047,911
Technology Center 3600
____________

Before: JOSEPH A. FISCHETTI, MICHAEL W. KIM, and
JAMES A. TARTAL, Administrative Patent Judges.

KIM, Administrative Patent Judge.

DECISION ON APPEAL
Appeal 2011-011105
Application 11/047,911

2
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
This is an appeal from the final rejection of claims 11-28 and 30-411.
We have jurisdiction to review the case under 35 U.S.C. §§ 134 and 6.
The invention relates to providing an incentive to purchase a product
from a merchant (Spec., para. [0001]).
Claim 11, reproduced below, is further illustrative of the claimed
subject matter.
11. A system for providing an incentive to purchase
merchandise from a merchant over a computer network, the
system comprising:
a merchant computer coupled with a customer computer
through the computer network, wherein the merchant computer
has a memory area that is searchable for determining a first
merchandise available for purchase; and
an executable program code stored in the memory area of
the merchant computer that creates an incentive program to
facilitate the purchase of a second merchandise by the customer
from the merchant by issuing incentive program credits for the
purchase of the first merchandise wherein the program credits
are redeemed toward the purchase of the second merchandise,
the executable program code stored in the memory area
of the merchant computer further determines a customer price
of the second merchandise, determines an expense incurred by
the merchant to obtain the second merchandise, and determines
a minimum monetary cost to the customer that is limited by the
expense incurred by the merchant, wherein the expense
incurred by the merchant includes a wholesale cost and
operating expenses for the second merchandise;
the executable program code stored in the memory area
of the merchant computer further determines a maximum

1 Our decision will make reference to the Appellants’ Appeal Brief (“App.
Br.,” filed February 22, 2011) and Reply Brief (“Reply Br.” filed June 21,
2011), and the Examiner’s Answer (“Ans.,” mailed April 26, 2011).
Appeal 2011-011105
Application 11/047,911

3
amount of incentive program credits that are redeemed toward
the purchase of the second merchandise by subtracting the
expense incurred by the merchant to obtain the second
merchandise from the customer price of the second
merchandise, wherein the maximum amount of incentive
program credits comprises a limit on the credits that are
redeemed toward the purchase of the second merchandise when
the customer pays the minimum monetary cost for the second
merchandise;
the executable program code stored in the memory area
of the merchant computer further communicates to the customer
the maximum incentive program credits that the customer
redeems toward the purchase of the second merchandise.

Biorge US 5,806,045 Sep. 8-1998
Chien US 2001/0054003 A1 Dec. 20,-2001
Redford US 2004/0054590 A1 Mar. 18,-2004
Haugen US 2009/0024485 A1 Jan. 22, 2009
Antonucci US 2010/0010889 A1 Jan. 14, 2010

Claims 11-28 and 30-41 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being
unpatentable over Chien in view of Biorge

We AFFIRM.
ANALYSIS
After carefully reviewing and considering Appellants’ arguments, we
are persuaded by the Examiner’s findings and rationales, as set forth on
pages 49-64 of the Examiner’s Answer. Accordingly, we adopt them as our
own. In particular, we agree with the Examiner that in determining a
maximum amount of incentive credits to a customer, as required by
independent claims 11, 20, 30, 38, and 40, Biorge discloses that such a
maximum is calculated using a predetermined set of rules (col. 12, ll. 58-62).
And while Biorge does not explicitly disclose that the price of the product
Appeal 2011-011105
Application 11/047,911

4
for which the incentive credits will be redeemed is one of the predetermined
set of rules, we agree with the Examiner that product price would be one of
the more apparent choices.
Appellants disagree, and assert that the number of choices in
determining the maximum is infinite, and that it was impermissible hindsight
to choose product price among those infinite choices. However, the
Examiner has laid out an extensive rationale as to why it would have been
obvious for one of ordinary skill to have chosen product price (Ans. 53-56),
which we find reasonable on its own. Moreover, the Examiner has
additionally cited Antonucci, Haugen and Redford to support this rationale,
to all of which Appellants have not persuasively responded.
DECISION
The decision of the Examiner to reject claims 11-28 and 30-41 is
AFFIRMED.
No time period for taking any subsequent action in connection with
this appeal may be extended under 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a). See 37 C.F.R.
§ 1.136(a)(1)(iv).
AFFIRMED

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