Silvio Tavares et al.Download PDFPatent Trials and Appeals BoardOct 21, 201913447024 - (D) (P.T.A.B. Oct. 21, 2019) 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. 13/447,024 04/13/2012 Silvio Tavares 87188-826868 (097180US) 4678 20350 7590 10/21/2019 KILPATRICK TOWNSEND & STOCKTON LLP Mailstop: IP Docketing - 22 1100 Peachtree Street Suite 2800 Atlanta, GA 30309 EXAMINER DELICH, STEPHANIE ZAGARELLA ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 3623 NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE 10/21/2019 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): KTSDocketing2@kilpatrick.foundationip.com ipefiling@kilpatricktownsend.com PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE ____________ BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD ____________ Ex parte SILVIO TAVARES, SUSAN FAHY, and DENNIS CARLSON ____________ Appeal 2018-005621 Application 13/447,024 Technology Center 3600 ____________ Before JOHNNY A. KUMAR, JOHN P. PINKERTON, and JOYCE CRAIG, Administrative Patent Judges. CRAIG, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 134(a), Appellant1 appeals from the Examiner’s decision to reject claims 1–21. 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 as First Data Corporation. Appeal Br. 3. Appeal 2018-005621 Application 13/447,024 2 STATEMENT OF THE CASE The Invention Appellant’s disclosed embodiments and claimed invention relate to market tracking and reporting using aggregated point-of-sale data. Spec. ¶ 2. Exemplary Claim Claim 1, reproduced below, is illustrative of the subject matter on appeal (emphasis added to contested prior-art limitations): 1. A method for providing information regarding an investment holding using point-of-sale (POS) data, the method comprising: aggregating, by an aggregation subsystem of a computer system, POS datasets from a plurality of merchant POS terminals in a POS network, wherein: the computer system comprises a trend processing subsystem, a data storage subsystem configured to store the aggregated POS datasets, an interface subsystem comprising a web server, at least one input device, and at least one output device; each POS terminal is disposed at a merchant associated with terminal data indicating at least one merchant identifier and at least one merchant classifier; each POS terminal is configured to collect transaction data as a function of transactions effected via the POS terminal; the transaction data comprises a time of the transaction and an amount of the transaction; and the POS datasets comprise the terminal data and the transaction data; identifying a market dataset from the POS datasets corresponding to a given market; Appeal 2018-005621 Application 13/447,024 3 generating, by the computer system, market trend data from the market dataset; identifying a trend event comprising one or more of data points, data ranges, or trend results; generating a trend explanation by analyzing the trend event against trend analysis data and correlation data, wherein the trend analysis data comprises one or more of explanations, headlines, or annotations, and wherein the correlation data comprises one or more of seasonality data, macroeconomic data, or social data; identifying an investment holding whose price is related to a trend of the market trend data, the market trend data being derived from the POS datasets; updating the market trend data based on additional POS datasets received by the aggregation subsystem; performing an analysis of the updated market trend data and the trend explanation just as soon as the market trend data is updated to generate an estimated future price of the investment holding; generating a formatted graphical report of the estimated future price, wherein the formatted graphical report is automatically formatted using auto-graphics zones; and transmitting, using the web server, the formatted graphical report over a wireless communication channel to a user device; wherein the formatted graphical report causes the formatted graphical report to display on the user device. Rejections on Appeal Claims 1–21 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as directed to patent-ineligible subject matter. Final Act. 9–14. Claims 1–5, 7–10, 12–15, and 17–20 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable over the combination of Rotman et al. (US Appeal 2018-005621 Application 13/447,024 4 2007/0100728 A1; published May 3, 2007) (“Rotman”), Levinson (US 2005/0091146 A1; published Apr. 28, 2005), Thompson et al. (US 2003/0130966 A1; published July 10, 2003) (“Thompson”), Malov et al. (US 2009/0144123 A1; published June 4, 2009) (“Malov”), and Hays et al. (US 7,331,015 B2; issued Feb. 12, 2008) (“Hays”). Final Act. 15–33. Claims 6 and 16 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable over the combination of Rotman, Levinson, Thompson, Malov, Hays, and Duffy et al. (US 2008/0262900 A1; published Oct. 23, 2008) (“Duffy”). Final Act. 33–35. Claims 11 and 21 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable over the combination of Rotman, Levinson, Thompson, Malov, Hays, and Kiron (US 2011/0191234 A1; published Aug. 4, 2011). Final Act. 35–36. Claim Grouping In reaching this decision, we consider all evidence presented and all arguments actually made by Appellant. To the extent Appellant has not advanced separate, substantive arguments for particular claims, or other issues, such arguments are waived. 37 C.F.R. § 41.37(c)(1)(iv). Regarding the § 101 rejection, Appellant argues claims 1–21 as a group. Appeal Br. 15. Given our discretion under 37 C.F.R. § 41.37(c)(1)(iv), we decide the § 101 rejection of claims 1–21 based on representative claim 1. With regard to the § 103(a) rejections, Appellant argues claims 1–5, 7–10, 13–15, and 17–20 as a group. Appeal Br. 16. Appellant does not argue claims 6, 11, 16, and 21 separately with particularity. See id. Thus, Appeal 2018-005621 Application 13/447,024 5 given our discretion under 37 C.F.R. § 41.37(c)(1)(iv), we decide the § 103(a) rejections of claims 1–21 based on representative claim 1. ANALYSIS Rejection of Claims 1–21 Under 35 U.S.C. § 101 Legal Standard “Whether a claim is drawn to patent-eligible subject matter is an issue of law that we review de novo.” SiRF Tech., Inc. v. Int’l Trade Comm’n, 601 F.3d 1319, 1331 (Fed. Cir. 2010). The Supreme Court’s two-step framework guides our analysis of patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int’l, 573 U.S. 208, 217 (2014). In addition, the Office recently published revised guidance for evaluating subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101, specifically with respect to applying the Alice framework. USPTO, 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. 50 (Jan. 7, 2019) (“Office Guidance”). If a claim falls within one of the statutory categories of patent eligibility (i.e., a process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter) then the first inquiry is whether the claim is directed to one of the judicially recognized exceptions (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea). Alice, 573 U.S. at 217. As part of this inquiry, we must “look at the ‘focus of the claimed advance over the prior art’ to determine if the claim’s ‘character as a whole’ is directed to excluded subject matter.” Affinity Labs of Tex., LLC v. DIRECTV, LLC, 838 F.3d 1253, 1257 (Fed. Cir. 2016). Per Office Guidance, this first inquiry has two prongs of analysis (i) does the claim recite a judicial exception (e.g., an abstract idea), and (ii) if so, is the judicial exception integrated into a practical application. 84 Fed. Appeal 2018-005621 Application 13/447,024 6 Reg. at 54. Under the Office Guidance, if the judicial exception is integrated into a practical application, see infra, the claim is patent eligible under § 101. 84 Fed. Reg. at 54–55. If the claim is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., recites a judicial exception and does not integrate the exception into a practical application), the next step is to determine whether any element, or combination of elements, amounts to significantly more than the judicial exception. Alice, 573 U.S. at 217; 84 Fed. Reg. at 56. If the claim is “directed to” an abstract idea, we turn to the second step of the Alice and Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., 566 U.S. 66 (2012) 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. To summarize, under current Office Guidance, 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 human activity such as a fundamental economic practice, or mental processes);2 and (2) additional elements that integrate the judicial exception into a practical application (see Manual for Patent Examining Procedure (“MPEP”) §§ 2106.05(a)–(c), (e)–(h)).3 2 Referred to as “Revised Step 2A, Prong 1” in the Revised Guidance (hereinafter “Step 2A(i)”). 3 Referred to as “Revised Step 2A, Prong 2” in the Revised Guidance (hereinafter “Step 2A(ii)”). Appeal 2018-005621 Application 13/447,024 7 Only if a claim (1) recites a judicial exception and (2) does not integrate that exception into a practical application, do we then look to whether the claim: (3) adds a specific limitation beyond the judicial exception that are 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.4 See Office Guidance. Step 1 Claim 1, as a method [process], recites one of the enumerated categories of eligible subject matter in 35 U.S.C. § 101. Therefore, the issue before us is whether it is directed to a judicial exception without significantly more. Step 2A(i): Does the Claim Recite a Judicial Exception? The Examiner determined that claim 1 is directed to “a process of gathering and analyzing information of a specified content and then displaying the results in a report,” which is an abstract idea. Final Act. 9– 12. The Examiner concluded that the steps of aggregating POS (point-of- sale) datasets, identifying a market dataset, generating market trend data, identifying a trend event, generating a trend explanation by analyzing the trend event against trend analysis and correlation data, identifying an investment holding whose price is related, updating the market trend data, 4 Items (3) and (4) continue to be collectively referred to as “Step 2B” of the Supreme Court’s two-step framework, described in Mayo and Alice. Appeal 2018-005621 Application 13/447,024 8 performing an analysis of the updated trend data and the explanation to generate an estimated future price, and generating an auto-graphics zone formatted report that is transmitted and displayed, as recited in claim 1, are part of the recited abstract idea. Id. at 10. Consistent with Appellant’s description of the claims (Spec. ¶¶ 6–7), we find that the following limitations are fairly characterized as processes that can be performed in the human mind or practicably with pen and paper. Such processes fall into the mental process category of abstract ideas. See 84 Fed. Reg. at 52. [A]ggregating . . . POS datasets from a plurality of merchant POS terminals in a POS network, wherein: . . . identifying a market dataset from the POS datasets corresponding to a given market; generating . . . market trend data from the market dataset; identifying a trend event comprising one or more of data points, data ranges, or trend results; generating a trend explanation by analyzing the trend event against trend analysis data and correlation data, wherein the trend analysis data comprises one or more of explanations, headlines, or annotations, and wherein the correlation data comprises one or more of seasonality data, macroeconomic data, or social data; identifying an investment holding whose price is related to a trend of the market trend data, the market trend data being derived from the POS datasets; updating the market trend data based on additional POS datasets received by the aggregation subsystem; performing an analysis of the updated market trend data and the trend explanation just as soon as the market trend data Appeal 2018-005621 Application 13/447,024 9 is updated to generate an estimated future price of the investment holding. Claim 1 includes steps of aggregating POS datasets, identifying a market dataset from the POS datasets, identifying a trend event, and identifying an investment holding whose price is related to a trend of the market trend data. Claim App’x 19. The “aggregating” limitation is simply a data combining step, which can be performed mentally. The “identifying” limitations involve the concept of an observation, evaluation, or judgment that can be performed in the human mind, which also falls within the “mental processes” grouping. See 84 Fed. Reg. at 52. Similarly, the recited “generating,” “updating,” and “performing an analysis” limitations can be performed in the human mind or with pen and paper. As such, claim 1 recites mental processes. As we explained above, because the claims involve identifying, updating, generating, and analyzing information, the claims recite steps requiring “observation, evaluation, judgment, and opinion,” which are mental processes. Official Guidance 84 Fed. Reg. at 52; see also Elec. Power Grp., LLC, v. Alstom S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (“[M]erely selecting information, by content or source, for collection, analysis, and display does nothing significant to differentiate a process from ordinary mental processes, whose implicit exclusion from § 101 undergirds the information-based category of abstract ideas”). Under the Office Guidance, mental processes are identified as a category of abstract ideas, thus we determine that the claims recite an abstract idea. Official Guidance 84 Fed. Reg. at 52. Appeal 2018-005621 Application 13/447,024 10 Step 2A(ii): Integrated into a Practical Application? If the claims are directed to a patent-ineligible concept, as we conclude above, we proceed to the “practical application” Step 2A(ii), in which we determine whether the recited judicial exception is integrated into a practical application of that exception by: (a) identifying whether there are any additional elements recited in the claim beyond the judicial exception(s); and (b) evaluating those additional elements individually and in combination to determine whether they integrate the exception into a practical application. We use the term “additional elements” for claim features, limitations, or steps that the claim recites beyond the identified judicial exception. See Office Guidance at 55 n.24. In claim 1, the additional elements include the limitations “an aggregation subsystem of a computer system,” “POS datasets from a plurality of merchant POS terminals in a POS network,” “a trend processing subsystem,” “a data storage subsystem configured to store the aggregated POS datasets,” “an interface subsystem comprising a web server,” “at least one input device,” “at least one output device,” and “a user device.” In particular, the additional elements of claim 1 include the following limitations: the computer system comprises a trend processing subsystem, a data storage subsystem configured to store the aggregated POS datasets, an interface subsystem comprising a web server, at least one input device, and at least one output device; each POS terminal is disposed at a merchant associated with terminal data indicating at least one merchant identifier and at least one merchant classifier; each POS terminal is configured to collect transaction data as a function of transactions effected via the POS terminal; Appeal 2018-005621 Application 13/447,024 11 the transaction data comprises a time of the transaction and an amount of the transaction; and the POS datasets comprise the terminal data and the transaction data; . . . generating a formatted graphical report of the estimated future price, wherein the formatted graphical report is automatically formatted using auto-graphics zones; and transmitting, using the web server, the formatted graphical report over a wireless communication channel to a user device; wherein the formatted graphical report causes the formatted graphical report to display on the user device. With focus on the limitations that do not define the mental processes, we note that the composition of the recited computer system (a trend processing subsystem, a data storage subsystem configured to store the aggregated POS datasets, an interface subsystem comprising a web server, at least one input device, and at least one output device), the arrangement of those components, and a description of the data do not improve the functioning of a computer or another technology or technical field. We agree with the Examiner that “[t]here is no improvement defined by the logical structures and the specification does not describe any achieved benefit over conventional computerized systems.” Ans. 4. Similarly, the “generating” and “transmitting” steps do not improve the function of a computer or another technology or technical field. Instead, generating a formatted graphical report, transmitting the formatted graphical report, and causing the report to display on a user device recite steps involving insignificant extra-solution activity that merely makes use of computer technology. We agree with the Examiner that “[n]either the claims nor the specification illustrate or realize any specific technology Appeal 2018-005621 Application 13/447,024 12 required for the delivery of or improving conventional graphical data delivery.” Ans. 3. Appellant argues that the Examiner erred because “the claims recite limitations that necessarily require the use of computer technology,” “[t]he claimed recitations cannot be performed by a general purpose computer, nor can these features be performed by the human mind,” and “the limitations require the operation of specific hardware to perform the recited functions.” Appeal Br. 8; see also Reply Br. 2–3. We are not persuaded that the Examiner erred. Improving the functioning of a computer can reflect integration of an idea into a “practical application.” Office Guidance Section III; see also DDR Holdings, LLC v. Hotels.com, L.P., 773 F.3d 1245 (Fed. Cir. 2014); Bascom Glob. Internet Servs., Inc. v. AT&T Mobility LLC, 827 F.3d 1341 (Fed. Cir. 2016). Appellant, however, does not explain, and we do not discern, any improvement in technology from the claimed invention. Compare DDR, 773 F.3d at 1258 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (“the claims at issue here specify how interactions with the Internet are manipulated to yield a desired result—a result that overrides the routine and conventional sequence of events ordinarily triggered by the click of a hyperlink.”) with Bascom, 827 F.3d at 1350 (“harness[ing a] technical feature of network technology in a filtering system” to customize content filtering). The claims in DDR, for example, were “necessarily rooted in computer technology in order to overcome a problem specifically arising in the realm of computer networks,” see, e.g., DDR, 773 F.3d at 1257, but Appellant’s claim 1 recites data processing and report generation that merely use generic computing elements. See Spec. ¶¶123–25; Ans. 3–7. Appeal 2018-005621 Application 13/447,024 13 As the Examiner found, the method of claim 1 may be implemented on generic computer components. Ans. 3–4. The Specification makes clear that the recited hardware elements can include general purpose processors and do not require any “non-conventional arrangement of elements.” Id. (citing Spec. ¶¶ 123–25). None of the claims provides, and nowhere in the Specification can we find, any description or explanation as to how these data manipulation steps are intended to provide, for example a “solution . . . necessarily rooted in computer technology in order to overcome a problem specifically arising in the realm of computer networks,” as explained by the Federal Circuit in DDR Holdings. DDR, 773 F.3d at 1257. That the claim may require the computer to be specially programmed does not claim a solution “necessarily rooted in computer technology in order to overcome a problem specifically arising in the realm of computer networks.” See EON Corp. IP Holdings LLC v. AT & T Mobility LLC, 785 F.3d 616, 623 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (“A general purpose computer is flexible—it can do anything it is programmed to do.”); see Credit Acceptance Corp. v. Westlake Servs., 859 F.3d 1044, 1056 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (stating “merely ‘configur[ing]’ generic computers in order to ‘supplant and enhance’ an otherwise abstract manual process is precisely the sort of invention that the Alice Court deemed ineligible”) (citing Alice, 573 U.S. at 220–25 (alteration in original)); id. at 1055 (discussing using generic computers to automate a manual process). Appellant also does not direct us to any evidence that claim 1 recites any unconventional rules, transforms or reduces an element to a different state or thing, or otherwise integrates the idea into a practical application. Reciting a result-oriented solution that lacks any details as to how the computer performs the steps is the equivalent of the words “apply it.” Appeal 2018-005621 Application 13/447,024 14 Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Capital One Fin. Corp., 850 F.3d 1332, 1341– 42 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (citing Elec. Power Grp., 830 F.3d at 1356 (cautioning against claims “so result focused, so functional, as to effectively cover any solution to an identified problem”)). Moreover, Appellant’s claim 1 is unlike the technology-based integrations cited by Appellant. See Appeal Br. 8–14. For example, in Enfish, LLC v. Microsoft Corp., 822 F.3d 1327 (Fed. Cir. 2016), the patent- eligible claim was directed to a self-referential table to improve computer databases. Enfish, 822 F.3d at 1330. The disclosed technique enabled faster searching and more effective storage of data than previous methods. Id. at 1333. The court found the claims directed to “a specific improvement to the way computers operate, embodied in the self-referential table” (id. at 1336), and explained that the claims are “not simply directed to any form of storing tabular data, but instead are specifically directed to a self-referential table for a computer database” that functions differently than conventional databases. Id. at 1337. Likewise, in McRO, the patent-eligible claim focused on a specific asserted improvement in computer animation. McRO, Inc. v. Bandai Namco Games Am. Inc., 837 F.3d 1299 (Fed. Cir. 2016). The claims in McRO recited a “specific . . . improvement in computer animation” using “unconventional rules that relate[d] sub sequences of phonemes, timings, and morph weight sets.” McRO, 837 F.3d at 1302–03, 1307–08, 1314–15. In McRO, “the incorporation of the claimed rules, not the use of the computer,” improved an existing technological process. Id. at 1314. Appellant does not direct us to any evidence that the claimed steps correspond to unconventional rules. Appeal 2018-005621 Application 13/447,024 15 Rather, Appellant alleges claim 1 is patent-eligible because its practice does not preempt practice by others. Appeal Br. 9. While preemption may signal patent ineligible subject matter, the absence of complete preemption does not demonstrate patent eligibility, “[w]here a patent’s claims are deemed only to disclose patent ineligible subject matter under the Mayo framework, as they are in this case, preemption concerns are fully addressed and made moot.” Ariosa Diagnostics, Inc. v. Sequenom, Inc., 788 F.3d 1371, 1379 (Fed. Cir. 2015); see also OIP Techs., Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., 788 F.3d 1359, 1362–63 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (“that the claims do not preempt all price optimization or may be limited to price optimization in the e-commerce setting do not make them any less abstract”). Appellant’s arguments based on Ex Parte Ravenel, Appeal 2015- 003604 (PTAB 2016), are also unavailing. See Appeal Br. 10–12, 13. Ravenel is a non-precedential decision of the Board; therefore, it is not binding on this panel. Regarding Appellant’s arguments based on Amdocs (Israel) Ltd. v. Openet Telecom, Inc., 841 F.3d 1288 (Fed. Cir. 2016), the claim in Amdocs provided a technological solution to a technological problem—i.e., a distributed architecture that allowed the system to “efficiently and accurately collect network usage information in a manner designed for efficiency to minimize impact on network and system resources.” Amdocs, 841 F.3d at 1303. Claim 1, though, does not recite a technological improvement to how the data is processed or the formatted graphical report is created. Rather, claim 1 uses the computer as a tool, in its ordinary capacity, to carry out the Appeal 2018-005621 Application 13/447,024 16 abstract idea. In this way, claim 1 is unlike the claim in Amdocs. Accord Ans. 6–7 (discussing Amdocs). Considering claim 1 as a whole, then, Appellant’s invention lacks a technical solution to a technical problem like the claims in the cases cited by Appellant. Thus, claim 1 recites an abstract idea as identified in Step 2A(i), supra, and none of the limitations integrates the judicial exception into a practical application. Claim 1 as a whole merely uses instructions to implement the abstract idea on a computer or, alternatively, merely uses a computer as a tool to perform the abstract idea. Thus, on this record, Appellant has not shown that the abstract idea is integrated into a practical application under the guidance of Manual of Patent Examining Procedure section 2106.05(a) (“Improvements to the Functioning of a Computer or to Any Other Technology or Technical Field”) or section 2106.05(e) (“Other Meaningful Limitations”). Therefore, we conclude the abstract idea is not integrated into a practical application and, thus, claim 1 is directed to the judicial exception. Step 2B – “Inventive Concept” If the claims are directed to a patent-ineligible concept, as we conclude above, we proceed to the “inventive concept” step. In Step 2B we “look with more specificity at what the claim elements add, in order to determine ‘whether they identify an “inventive concept” in the application of the ineligible subject matter’ to which the claim is directed.” Affinity Labs, 838 F.3d at 1258 (quoting Elec. Power Grp., 830 F.3d at 1353). Here, we look to see whether there are any “additional features” in the claims that constitute an “inventive concept,” thereby rendering the claims eligible for Appeal 2018-005621 Application 13/447,024 17 patenting even if they are directed to an abstract idea. Alice, 573 U.S. at 221. Those “additional features” must be more than “well-understood, routine, conventional activity.” Mayo, 566 U.S. at 79. The Examiner found that the additional elements are recited at a high level of generality and are recited as performing generic computer functions routinely used in computer applications including gathering or collecting data, transmitting information over a network, receiving inputs and displaying outputs. Generic computer components recited as performing generic computer functions that are well- understood, routine and conventional activities amount to no more than implementing the abstract idea with a computerized system. Final Act. 13. We agree. As discussed above, we are not persuaded by Appellant’s argument that the limitations of claim 1, “when taken as an ordered combination, provide unconventional steps that confine the abstract idea to a particular useful application.” See Reply Br. 4. Appellant’s arguments are conclusory and unsupported by persuasive evidence and technical reasoning identifying or explaining any alleged unconventional use of computer software or hardware. Moreover, we see nothing in claim 1 or the Specification suggesting that the recited “aggregation subsystem of a computer system,” “POS datasets from a plurality of merchant POS terminals in a POS network,” “a trend processing subsystem,” “a data storage subsystem configured to store the aggregated POS datasets,” “an interface subsystem comprising a web server,” “at least one input device,” “at least one output device,” and “a user device” are anything but generic computer components that perform well-understand, routine, and conventional activities. See, e.g., Spec. ¶¶ 122–26. Appeal 2018-005621 Application 13/447,024 18 Thus, considering claim 1 as a whole, we determine that the additional elements recited in claim 1 do not provide “a specific limitation or combination of limitations that are not well-understood, routine, conventional activity in the field.” Office Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. at 56. Rather, these elements “simply append[] well-understood, routine, conventional activities previously known to the industry, specified at a high level of generality.” Id. Accordingly, we agree with the Examiner that claim 1 does not have an inventive concept. Because we determine that claim 1 is directed to an abstract idea and does not contain an inventive concept, we sustain the Examiner’s rejection of claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. § 101. For the same reasons, we sustain the Examiner's rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 101 of grouped claims 2–21. See Claim Grouping, supra. Rejection of Claims 1–21 Under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) We disagree with Appellant’s arguments with respect to the § 103(a) rejections of independent claims 1 and 12 and, unless otherwise noted, we incorporate by reference herein and adopt as our own: (1) the findings and reasons set forth by the Examiner in the action from which this appeal is taken, and (2) the reasons and rebuttals set forth in the Examiner’s Answer in response to Appellant’s arguments. We highlight and address specific findings and arguments regarding the claims for emphasis as follows. Appellant contends the Examiner erred because the cited prior art references do not teach or suggest an investment holding whose price is related to a trend of the market trend data, the market trend data being derived from the POS datasets, as claim 1 requires. Appeal Br. 15. Appeal 2018-005621 Application 13/447,024 19 We are not persuaded that the Examiner erred. As the Examiner correctly noted, nonobviousness cannot be established by attacking the references individually when the rejection is predicated upon a combination of prior art disclosures. See In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 1097 (Fed. Cir. 1986). The test for obviousness is not whether the claimed invention is expressly suggested in any one or all of the references, but whether the claimed subject matter would have been obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the combined teachings of those references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 425 (CCPA 1981). Nowhere has Appellant addressed the combined teachings of Rotman and Levinson, as cited by the Examiner. The Examiner relied on Rotman to teach identifying an investment related to a trend in market trend data derived from POS datasets. Ans. 7; Final Act. 18 (citing Rotman Figs. 3A– 3E, ¶¶ 24, 67, 87). The Examiner found that, although Rotman does not explicitly recite that stocks related to the trend of the data are related by price, Levinson teaches predicting stock prices, as well as how past price behavior of a stock and the relationships to other scenarios can be used for predicting price behavior. Id. (citing Levinson ¶¶ 20–22, 35–36, 44–46). The Examiner further found that Levinson teaches outputs that are combined to generate a final prediction, where trend data is used to determine effects of stock prices over certain periods of time, and to produce a prediction for a stock price. See id. For these reasons, we are not persuaded that the Examiner erred in finding that the combination of Rotman, Levinson, Thompson, Malov, and Hays teaches or suggests the disputed limitation of claim 1. Appeal 2018-005621 Application 13/447,024 20 Appellant further argues that “there is no nexus between the stock price predictions of Levinson and the system of Rotman,” and that “[t]he teachings of Levinson that relate to a product generated based on past stock prices cannot be combined with Rotman that relate to a product generated based on POS datasets as a simple substitution.” Appeal Br. 15–16. We are not persuaded that the Examiner erred. The Examiner set forth articulated reasoning with rational underpinnings for the combination. Final Act. 22–23. Appellant has not identified any knowledge relied upon by the Examiner that was gleaned only from Appellant’s disclosure and that was not otherwise within the level of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention. See In re McLaughlin, 443 F.2d 1392, 1395 (CCPA 1971). Nor has Appellant provided objective evidence of secondary considerations, which “operates as a beneficial check on hindsight.” Cheese Sys., Inc. v. Tetra Pak Cheese and Powder Sys., Inc., 725 F.3d 1341, 1352 (Fed. Cir. 2013). Accordingly, we sustain the Examiner’s § 103(a) rejections of independent claim 1 and grouped claims 2–21, which fall therewith. See Claim Grouping, supra. Appeal 2018-005621 Application 13/447,024 21 DECISION SUMMARY Claims Rejected 35 U.S.C. § Basis Affirmed Reversed 1–21 101 1–21 1–5, 7–10, 12–15, 17– 20 103(a) Rotman, Levinson, Thompson, Malov, Hays 1–5, 7–10, 12–15, 17– 20 6, 16 103(a) Rotman, Levinson, Thompson, Malov, Hays, Duffy 6, 16 11, 21 103(a) Rotman, Levinson, Thompson, Malov, Hays, Kiron 11, 21 Overall Outcome 1–21 DECISION We affirm the Examiner’s decision rejecting claims 1–21. No time period for taking any subsequent action in connection with this appeal may be extended under 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a)(1)(iv). See 37 C.F.R. § 41.50(f). AFFIRMED Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation