Shuster, Gary Stephen.Download PDFPatent Trials and Appeals BoardApr 9, 202014580040 - (D) (P.T.A.B. Apr. 9, 2020) Copy Citation 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. 14/580,040 12/22/2014 Gary Stephen Shuster 67073.05336 9878 112918 7590 04/09/2020 Coleman & Horowitt, LLP 499 W. Shaw Ave., Ste. 116 Fresno, CA 93704 EXAMINER GARG, YOGESH C ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 3625 NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE 04/09/2020 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): ipdocketing@ch-law.com nalshikhaiti@ch-law.com sflynn@ch-law.com PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE ____________ BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD ____________ Ex parte GARY STEPHEN SHUSTER ____________ Appeal 2019-004474 Application 14/580,040 Technology Center 3600 ____________ Before KARA L. SZPONDOWSKI, SCOTT B. HOWARD, and STEVEN M. AMUNDSON, Administrative Patent Judges. HOWARD, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL STATEMENT OF THE CASE Appellant1 appeals under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) from the Examiner’s Final Rejection of claims 32 and 34–51, which constitute all of the claims pending in this application. Claims 1–31 and 33 have been cancelled. Br. 15. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). We AFFIRM. 1 We use the word “Appellant” to refer to “applicant” as defined in 37 C.F.R. § 1.42. Appellant identifies the real party in interest Gary Stephen Shuster. Br. 2. Appeal 2019-004474 Application 14/580,040 2 CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER The disclosed and claimed invention is directed to “methods and systems for facilitating resupply orders for a consumable commodity, including methods and systems using a stand-alone electronic device incorporated into retail product packaging.” Spec. 1.2 Claim 32, reproduced below, is illustrative of the claimed subject matter: 32. A method comprising: associating, in a memory of a computer server, a scheme identifier to an automated ordering scheme identifying a commodity, a quantity of the commodity, and a physical shipping address for a user account identified by an account identifier; receiving a transmission from a client device coupled to a code provision device, the transmission including digital information encoding the scheme identifier and an account identifier, wherein the code provision device with the scheme identifier is supplied with the commodity to the physical address; and automatically placing a purchase order according to the automated ordering scheme, in response to receiving the transmission. 2 We refer to the Specification filed Dec. 22, 2014 (“Spec.”); Final Office Action mailed Apr. 30, 2018 (“Final Act.”); Appeal Brief filed Dec. 3, 2018 (“Br.”); and Examiner’s Answer mailed Jan. 8, 2019 (“Ans.”). Appeal 2019-004474 Application 14/580,040 3 REJECTION3 Claims 32 and 34–51 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as directed to patent ineligible subject matter. Final Act. 10.4 ANALYSIS A. Section 101 An invention is patent eligible if it claims a “new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter.” 35 U.S.C. § 101. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has long interpreted 35 U.S.C. § 101 to include implicit exceptions: “[l]aws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas” are not patentable. E.g., Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int’l, 573 U.S. 208, 216 (2014). In determining whether a claim falls within an excluded category, we are guided by the Court’s two-part framework, described in Mayo and Alice. Id. at 217–18 (citing Mayo Collaborative Servs. v. Prometheus Labs., Inc., 566 U.S. 66, 75–77 (2012)). In accordance with that framework, we first determine what concept the claim is “directed to.” See Alice, 573 U.S. at 219 (“On their face, the claims before us are drawn to the concept of intermediated settlement, i.e., the use of a third party to mitigate settlement risk.”); see also Bilski v. Kappos, 561 U.S. 593, 611 (2010) (“Claims 1 and 4 3 In addition to the rejection recited below, the Examiner rejected 39–41 and 45–50 under 35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph and claims 32, 34–42, and 44– 51 under 35 U.S.C. § 112, second paragraph. Final Act. 4–7. Those rejections were withdrawn in the Answer. Ans. 3. 4 The Examiner’s statement of the rejection includes claim 33, which has been canceled. See Final Act. 10. We find this to be a harmless typographical error. Appeal 2019-004474 Application 14/580,040 4 in petitioners’ application explain the basic concept of hedging, or protecting against risk.”). Concepts determined to be abstract ideas, and thus patent ineligible, include certain methods of organizing human activity, such as fundamental economic practices (Alice, 573 U.S. at 219–20; Bilski, 561 U.S. at 611); mathematical formulas (Parker v. Flook, 437 U.S. 584, 594–95 (1978)); and mental processes (Gottschalk v. Benson, 409 U.S. 63, 67 (1972)). Concepts determined to be patent eligible include physical and chemical processes, such as “molding rubber products” (Diamond v. Diehr, 450 U.S. 175, 191 (1981)); “tanning, dyeing, making waterproof cloth, vulcanizing India rubber, smelting ores” (id. at 182 n.7 (quoting Corning v. Burden, 56 U.S. 252, 267–68 (1853))); and manufacturing flour (Benson, 409 U.S. at 69 (citing Cochrane v. Deener, 94 U.S. 780, 785 (1876))). In Diehr, the claim at issue recited a mathematical formula, but the Court held that “a claim drawn to subject matter otherwise statutory does not become nonstatutory simply because it uses a mathematical formula.” Diehr, 450 U.S. at 187; see also id. at 191 (“We view respondents’ claims as nothing more than a process for molding rubber products and not as an attempt to patent a mathematical formula.”). Having said that, the Court also indicated that a claim “seeking patent protection for that formula in the abstract . . . is not accorded the protection of our patent laws, and this principle cannot be circumvented by attempting to limit the use of the formula to a particular technological environment.” Id. (citation omitted) (citing Benson and Flook); see, e.g., id. at 187 (“It is now commonplace that an application of a law of nature or mathematical formula to a known structure or process may well be deserving of patent protection.”). Appeal 2019-004474 Application 14/580,040 5 If the claim is “directed to” an abstract idea, we turn to the second step of the Alice and Mayo framework, where “we must examine the elements of the claim to determine whether it contains an ‘inventive concept’ sufficient to ‘transform’ the claimed abstract idea into a patent- eligible application.” Alice, 573 U.S. at 221 (quotation marks omitted). “A claim that recites an abstract idea must include ‘additional features’ to ensure ‘that the [claim] is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the [abstract idea].’” Id. (alterations in original) (quoting Mayo, 566 U.S. at 77). “[M]erely requir[ing] generic computer implementation[] fail[s] to transform that abstract idea into a patent-eligible invention.” Id. B. USPTO Section 101 Guidance In January 2019, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published revised guidance on the application of § 101. See 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. 50 (Jan. 7, 2019) (“2019 Revised Guidance”).5 “All USPTO personnel are, as a matter of internal agency management, expected to follow the guidance.” Id. at 51; see also October 2019 Update at 1. Under the 2019 Revised Guidance and the October 2019 Update, we first look to whether the claim recites: (1) any judicial exceptions, including certain groupings of abstract ideas (i.e., mathematical concepts, certain methods of organizing 5 In response to received public comments, the Office issued further guidance on October 17, 2019, clarifying the 2019 Revised Guidance. USPTO, October 2019 Update: Subject Matter Eligibility (the “October 2019 Update”) (available at https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/ documents/peg_oct_2019_update.pdf). Appeal 2019-004474 Application 14/580,040 6 human activity such as a fundamental economic practice, or mental processes) (“Step 2A, Prong One”); and (2) additional elements that integrate the judicial exception into a practical application (see MPEP §§ 2106.05(a)–(c), (e)–(h) (9th ed. rev. 08.2017 Jan. 2018)) (“Step 2A, Prong Two”).6 2019 Revised Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. at 52–55. Only if a claim (1) recites a judicial exception and (2) does not integrate that exception into a practical application, do we then look, under Step 2B, to whether the claim: (3) adds a specific limitation beyond the judicial exception that is not “well-understood, routine, conventional” in the field (see MPEP § 2106.05(d)); or (4) simply appends well-understood, routine, conventional activities previously known to the industry, specified at a high level of generality, to the judicial exception. 2019 Revised Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. at 52–56. C. Our Analysis USPTO Step 2A, Prong 1 The Examiner determines that the claims are directed to “the abstract idea of placing orders for commodity for a user based on received 6 This evaluation is performed by (a) identifying whether there are any additional elements recited in the claim beyond the judicial exception, and (b) evaluating those additional elements individually and in combination to determine whether the claim as a whole integrates the exception into a practical application. See 2019 Revised Guidance - Section III(A)(2), 84 Fed. Reg. at 54–55. Appeal 2019-004474 Application 14/580,040 7 information related to the commodity and a user of the commodity.” Final Act. 10. Specifically, the Examiner concludes that the claimed invention is directed to the “concept of facilitating of placing orders for resupply orders based on received information related to order [and] is abstract similar to ‘Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity,’ related to ‘Fundamental Economic Practices.’” Id. at 11 (citing buySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 765 F.3d 1350 (Fed. Cir. 2014)); see Ans. 4, 8. Appellant argues that the claims “do not seek to cover the creation of a contractual relationship.” Br. 6. Appellant also argues that the claimed invention is “more than a mere migration of a fundamental economic practice from pencil and paper to computer.” Id. at 7. We are not persuaded by Appellant’s arguments that the Examiner erred. Representative claim 32—with emphasis added—is reproduced below: 32. A method comprising: associating, in a memory of a computer server, a scheme identifier to an automated ordering scheme identifying a commodity, a quantity of the commodity, and a physical shipping address for a user account identified by an account identifier; receiving a transmission from a client device coupled to a code provision device, the transmission including digital information encoding the scheme identifier and an account identifier, wherein the code provision device with the scheme identifier is supplied with the commodity to the physical address; and automatically placing a purchase order according to the automated ordering scheme, in response to receiving the transmission. Appeal 2019-004474 Application 14/580,040 8 Claim 42 similarly recites an “apparatus comprising a processor and a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory holds program instructions, that when executed by the processor, causes the apparatus to perform” the method steps of claim 32. Claim 51 similarly recites an “apparatus comprising means for” performing the method steps of claim 32. As relevant here, the 2019 Revised Guidance explains that “organizing human activity” includes “commercial or legal interactions (including agreements in the form of contracts; legal obligations; advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors; business relations).” 2019 Revised Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. at 52. The emphasized limitations above are each directed to marketing or sales activities or behaviors (placing a purchase order according to an ordering scheme). Specifically, the claim limitations identified above are directed to (i) associating an identifier with an ordering scheme to identify a commodity to be ordered, the quantity of the commodity to be ordered, and the shipping address for commodity to the recipient user (i.e., “associating . . . a scheme identifier to an automated ordering scheme identifying a commodity, a quantity of the commodity, and a physical shipping address for a user account identified by an account identifier”); (ii) receiving a transmission from a recipient user’s client device with information about the ordering scheme and the recipient user (i.e., “receiving a transmission from a client device coupled to a code provision device, the transmission including digital information encoding the scheme identifier and an account identifier”); (iii) placing an order according to the ordering scheme (i.e., “placing a purchase order according to the automated ordering scheme, in response to receiving the transmission”); and (iv) receiving the commodity Appeal 2019-004474 Application 14/580,040 9 ordered at the location of a code provision device that is coupled to the recipient user’s client device (i.e., “wherein the code provision device with the scheme identifier is supplied with the commodity to the physical address”). Each of these steps, both individually and as a combination, are directed to sales activities based on user preferences and user needs. Accordingly, we conclude that claims 32, 42, and 51 recite a method of sales activities or behaviors, which is an example of organizing human activity as identified in the 2019 Revised Guidance, and thus an abstract idea. USPTO Step 2A, Prong 2 In determining whether claim 32 is “directed to” the identified abstract ideas, we next consider whether claim 32 recites additional elements that integrate the judicial exception into a practical application. For the reasons set forth below, we discern no additional element (or combination of elements) recited in claim 32 that integrates the judicial exception into a practical application. See 2019 Revised Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. at 54–55. Appellant argues that, “[r]ather than a free-floating abstract idea that people should be able to reorder commodities, the claims describe a device . . . whereby packaging for a commodity includes a mechanism that determines when a commodity should be reordered, and triggers the reordering.” Br. 4–5. According to Appellant, the “claims do not simply ‘call on a ‘computing device’ with basic functionality’ to do what a person can do routinely.” Id. at 8. Specifically, Appellant argues that the claimed invention describes performing “automated reorder . . . when a commodity supply drops below a certain level, utilizing specialized hardware (a code provision device).” Id. Appeal 2019-004474 Application 14/580,040 10 We are not persuaded. The Examiner properly concludes that the claims are “directed to the functions of a computer server and not to a client device.” Ans. 11. Appellant’s arguments are based on the use of alleged specialized hardware (i.e., “code provision device”) that integrates the judicial exception (i.e., sales activities and behaviors) into a practical application. However, claim 32 merely recites interacting with a code provision device, but does not specifically limit the code provision device. For instance, claim 32 recites “receiving a transmission from a client device coupled to a code provision device, the transmission including digital information encoding the scheme identifier and an account identifier, wherein the code provision device with the scheme identifier is supplied with the commodity to the physical address.” Independent claim 42, similarly, recites an apparatus that performs “receiving a transmission from a client device couple to the code provision device, the transmission including digital information encoding the scheme identifier and an account identifier, wherein the code provision device with the scheme identifier is supplied with the commodity to the physical address.” Independent claim 51 recites an apparatus comprising “means for receiving a transmission from a client device coupled to a code provision device, the transmission including digital information encoding the scheme identifier and an account identifier, wherein the code provision device with the scheme identifier is supplied with the commodity to the physical address.” Contrary to Appellant’s argument that the claims require “utilizing specialized hardware (a code provision device)” that is part of the packaging for a commodity and determines when to reorder a commodity, each of the independent claims requires the code provision device merely be (i) coupled to the client device; and (ii) in the Appeal 2019-004474 Application 14/580,040 11 location where the commodity is sent. Therefore, Appellant’s arguments are not commensurate with the scope of the claims. Furthermore, claim 32 does not constitute an improvement to computer technology; rather, it merely improves the abstract idea of sales activities for ordering commodities when needed. For example, as Appellant argues, the claim provides “trigger[ing] an automated reorder performed utilizing specialized hardware when the commodity supply drops to a certain level.” Br. 7. However, as discussed above, the claim does not recite the use of any specialized hardware. Additionally, the result of triggering the reorder of a commodity when the supply drops to a certain level merely improves the sales activities associated with sale of commodities. No improvements are made to the technology used in the sale of commodities. Accordingly, we are not persuaded of error in the Examiner’s determination that claims 32, 42, and 51 are directed to an abstract idea, and we find the claimed additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. USPTO Step 2B Turning to step 2B of the USPTO Guidance, we look to whether claim 32 (a) adds a specific limitation or combination of limitations that are not well-understood, routine, conventional activity in the field, or (b) simply appends well-understood, routine, conventional activities previously known to the industry, specified at a high level of generality, to the judicial exception. 2019 Revised Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. at 56. The Examiner concludes that the claimed additional limitations use “computers . . . recited at a high level of generality” and “general purpose Appeal 2019-004474 Application 14/580,040 12 computers/generic computing devices . . . for implementing basic computer functions and non-significant steps.” Final Act. 13; see Ans. 5, 9, 11–12. Appellant argues that the “claims do not simply ‘call on a ‘computing device’ with basic functionality’ to do what a person can do routinely.” Br. 8. Specifically, Appellant argues that the claimed invention utilizes “specialized hardware (a code provision device).” Id. As discussed above, Appellant’s arguments that the claims recite a “code provision device” as “specialized hardware” are not commensurate with the scope of the claims. Instead, the “code provision device” in the claims is merely (i) coupled to the client device; and (ii) in the location where the commodity is sent. Otherwise, the claimed computer components comprise “a memory of a computer server” and “a client device.” Appellant does not direct our attention to anything in the Specification that indicates the claimed computer components (i.e., “a computer server” and “a client device”)—whether considered individually or as an ordered combination—perform anything other than well-understood, routine, and conventional functions, such as collecting data (i.e., collecting data such as an ordering scheme identifying a commodity, quantity of the commodity, and physical shipping address), transmitting data (i.e., receiving a transmission from a client device), and manipulating data (i.e., associating the ordering scheme with an identifier, and determining to place the purchase order). See Ans. 11–15 (concluding the ordered combination of elements does not provide an inventive concept). Those types of generic computer components performing generic computer functions—both individually and in combination—have been found to be well understood, routine, and conventional. See, e.g., Elec. Power Grp., LLC v. Alstom S.A., Appeal 2019-004474 Application 14/580,040 13 830 F.3d 1350, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (“Nothing in the claims, understood in light of the specification, requires anything other than off-the-shelf, conventional computer, network, and display technology for gathering, sending, and presenting the desired information”); buySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 765 F.3d 1350, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (“That a computer receives and sends the information over a network—with no further specification—is not even arguably inventive”); In re TLI Commc’ns LLC Patent Litig., 823 F.3d 607, 614 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (server that receives data, extracts classification information from the received data, and stores the digital images insufficient to add an inventive concept); Alice, 573 U.S. at 225–26 (receiving, storing, sending information over networks insufficient to add an inventive concept); CyberSource Corp. v. Retail Decisions, Inc., 654 F.3d 1366, 1370 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (use of Internet to verify credit-card transaction does not add enough to abstract idea of verifying the transaction); see also MPEP § 2106.05(d) (“Courts have held computer‐implemented processes not to be significantly more than an abstract idea (and thus ineligible) where the claim as a whole amounts to nothing more than generic computer functions merely used to implement an abstract idea, such as an idea that could be done by a human analog (i.e., by hand or by merely thinking.”)). Similarly, for the reasons set forth in the Answer—which we adopt as our own—“the computing devices limitations are simply a field of use that is an attempt to limit the abstract idea to a particular technological environment.” Ans. 12; see Final Act.14. Appellant further argues that the “claimed solutions amount to an inventive concept for integrating the digital and non-digital worlds, and thus, do not preempt every application of an automated ordering scheme.” Br. 9. Appellant compares the claimed invention to that of DDR Holdings. Id. Appeal 2019-004474 Application 14/580,040 14 (citing DDR Holdings, LLC v. Hotels.Com, L.P., 773 F.3d 1245 (Fed. Cir. 2014)). In DDR Holdings, the Federal Circuit determined that certain claims satisfied § 101 under Mayo/Alice step two because “the claimed solution amount[ed] to an inventive concept for resolving [a] particular Internet- centric problem,” i.e., a challenge unique to the Internet. DDR Holdings, 773 F.3d at 1257–59; see Synopsys, Inc. v. Mentor Graphics Corp., 839 F.3d 1138, 1151 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (noting that “[i]n DDR Holdings, we held that claims ‘directed to systems and methods of generating a composite web page that combines certain visual elements of a “host” website with content of a third-party merchant’ contained the requisite inventive concept”). The Federal Circuit explained that the patent-eligible claims specified “how interactions with the Internet are manipulated to yield a desired result . . . that overrides the routine and conventional sequence of events ordinarily triggered by the click of a hyperlink.” DDR Holdings, 773 F.3d at 1258. The court reasoned that those claims recited a technological solution “necessarily rooted in computer technology” that addressed a “problem specifically arising in the realm of computer networks.” Id. at 1257. According to the Federal Circuit, “DDR Holdings does not apply when . . . the asserted claims do not ‘attempt to solve a challenge particular to the Internet.’” Smart Sys. Innovations, LLC v. Chi. Transit Auth., 873 F.3d 1364, 1375 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (quoting TLI Commc’ns, 823 F.3d at 613). Unlike the patent-eligible claims in DDR Holdings, the claims here do not attempt to solve a challenge particular to the Internet. See Br. 15–17; Ans. 11. Instead, we agree with the Examiner that “the computing devices Appeal 2019-004474 Application 14/580,040 15 limitations are simply a field of use that is an attempt to limit the abstract idea to a particular technological environment.” Final Act. 14. Moreover, while preemption may denote patent ineligibility, its absence does not establish patent eligibility. See FairWarning IP, LLC v. Iatric Sys., Inc., 839 F.3d 1089, 1098 (Fed. Cir. 2016). For claims covering a patent-ineligible concept, preemption concerns “are fully addressed and made moot” by an analysis under the Mayo/Alice framework. Ariosa Diagnostics, Inc. v. Sequenom, Inc., 788 F.3d 1371, 1379 (Fed. Cir. 2015). Conclusion on Section 101 Rejection Accordingly, we sustain the § 101 rejection of claim 32 as being directed to patent-ineligible subject matter, as well as independent claims 42 and 51 with commensurate limitations, argued for similar reasons to claim 32. See Br. 10–11. Dependent Claims I. Dependent Claim 43 We also sustain the § 101 rejection of dependent claim 43 because Appellant does not argue eligibility separately for it. See Br. 13; 37 C.F.R. § 41.37(c)(1)(iv). II. Dependent Claims 34–41 and 44–50 Claims 34–41 depend directly or indirectly from claim 32; and claims 44–50 depend directly or indirectly from claim 42. Br. 15–17. Appellant asserts that claims 34–38 and 44–47 recite tangible items (i.e., “images and cameras,” “optical code object,” “optical codes and labels,” “labels, packaging for commodities and predetermined amounts of commodities,” and “digital code”), and “narrow[] the way in which the digital information/scheme identifier is encoded.” Br. 11–12. Appellant Appeal 2019-004474 Application 14/580,040 16 further asserts that claims 39–41 and 48–50 recite tangible items (i.e., “package configurations,” “a change,” and “wireless radio medium and client device”), and add “additional step[s] (or program instruction[s]).” Br. 13. Appellant’s assertions do not persuade us of Examiner error because the dependent claims merely narrow the abstract idea recited in each independent claim (i.e., by reciting an “optical code” or “optical code object” or “label,” by “narrow[ing] the way in which the digital information . . . is encoded,” and by adding an “additional step (or program instruction)”). Dependent claims that merely narrow an abstract idea “add nothing outside the abstract realm.” SAP Am., Inc. v. InvestPic, LLC, 898 F.3d 1161, 1169 (Fed. Cir. 2018). Adding “a degree of particularity” does not save a claim from abstraction. See Ultramercial, Inc. v. Hulu, LLC, 772 F.3d 709, 715 (Fed. Cir. 2014); see also BSG Tech LLC v. BuySeasons, Inc., 899 F.3d 1281, 1287 (Fed. Cir. 2018) (explaining that “a claim is not patent eligible merely because it applies an abstract idea in a narrow way”). Additionally, the dependent claims employ generic computer-system components similar to the independent claims to perform generic computer functions—i.e., collecting, manipulating, and displaying data—such as a wireless radio medium, client device, or camera. Br. 15–17; see Final Act. 12–14, 15; Ans. 11–17. As with the independent claims, we conclude that the combination of limitations in each dependent claim does not supply an “inventive concept” that renders the claim “significantly more” than an abstract idea. Appeal 2019-004474 Application 14/580,040 17 For the reasons discussed above, dependent claims 34–41 and 44–50 fail to satisfy § 101 under Mayo/Alice step one and step two. Hence, we sustain the § 101 rejection of these dependent claims. CONCLUSION We affirm the Examiner’s § 101 rejection of claims 32 and 34–51. DECISION SUMMARY In summary: Claims Rejected 35 U.S.C. § Basis Affirmed Reversed 32, 34– 51 101 Eligibility 32, 34–51 TIME PERIOD FOR RESPONSE 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 Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation