Ex Parte Hoyos et alDownload PDFPatent Trial and Appeal BoardDec 22, 201511456189 (P.T.A.B. Dec. 22, 2015) 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. 11/456,189 07/08/2006 Carlos Antonio Lorenzo Hoyos 49703.426 5158 132906 7590 12/23/2015 Haynes & Boone, LLP 2323 Victory Ave. #700 Dallas, TX 75219 EXAMINER ABDI, KAMBIZ ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 3694 MAIL DATE DELIVERY MODE 12/23/2015 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 CARLOS ANTONIO LORENZO HOYOS, MARCELO PERAZOLO, MARK E. PETERS, VISWANATH SRIKANTH, and ANDREA JEAN WATKINS MORYADAS ____________ Appeal 2013-003095 Application 11/456,1891 Technology Center 3600 ____________ Before, JOSEPH A. FISCHETTI, PHILIP J. HOFFMANN, and CYNTHIA L. MURPHY, Administrative Patent Judges. FISCHETTI, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL STATEMENT OF THE CASE Appellants seek our review under 35 U.S.C. § 134 of the Examiner’s non-final rejection of claims 1, 2, 4 ̶ 8, 10 ̶ 14, 16, and 17. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). 1 Appellants identify International Business Machines Corporation as the real party in interest. Br. 2. Appeal 2013-003095 Application 11/456,189 2 SUMMARY OF DECISION We AFFIRM. THE INVENTION Appellants claim a system and method for preventing multiple charges for a transaction in a payment system. (Spec. 1). Claim 1, reproduced below, is representative of the subject matter on appeal. 1. A computer-implemented method comprising: a receiving a first payment operation request from an order system at a computer system to pay for an order; sending the first payment operation request from the computer system to a payment provider; receiving financial transaction results corresponding to the first payment operation request at the computer system from the payment provider, the financial transaction results completing a payment operation that corresponds to the order; receiving a second payment operation request from the order system at the computer system to pay for the order, wherein the order corresponding to the second payment operation request is the same as the order corresponding to the first payment operation request; determining, by the computer system, that the payment operation for the order was completed based upon the received financial transaction results; and in response to determining that the payment operation for the order was completed, the method further comprising; retrieving, by the computer system, the financial transaction results that correspond to the first payment operation request; and Appeal 2013-003095 Application 11/456,189 3 sending the retrieved financial transaction results from the computer system to the order system to correspond with the second payment operation request. THE REJECTION The Examiner relies upon the following as evidence of unpatentability: Hogan US 2003/0120554 A1 June 26, 2003 Meffie US 7,657,473 B1 Feb. 2, 2010 The following rejection is before us for review. Claims 1, 2, 4 ̶ 8, 10 ̶ 14, 16, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over Hogan in view of Meffie. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. We adopt the Examiner’s findings as set forth on pages 3 ̶ 5 of the Answer and on pages 2–5 of the non-final action dated January 30, 2012. 2. Meffie discloses: a check may include the maker’s e-mail address for sending images of cancelled checks either in a clear or encoded form on the check. This may enable an ATM or other device receiving such a check the ability to read or resolve the system address for sending an image of the check and/or other data regarding the check cashing transaction to a user. Col. 55, ll. 21–26. 3. Meffie discloses: In some embodiments the image data or other data Appeal 2013-003095 Application 11/456,189 4 may be delivered in a manner that enables such data to be used by other computer programs operated in computers which receive such data for purposes of accounting, settlement, analysis of possible illegal activity and/or verifying genuineness of the check. Col. 55, ll. 41–47. 4. Hogan discloses: If the AAV received is determined to be valid based on a positive match (step 712), the processor 442 verifies that the issuer-defined data 810 have not been received in a prior transaction. Optionally, if the issuer-defined data 810 have been received in a prior transaction more than “n” seconds ago (where “n” typically equals 60) (step 716), then the transaction is declined and the AAV 802 is labeled as a detected duplicate (step 718). Para. 159. ANALYSIS 35 U.S.C. § 103 REJECTION The Appellants argued independent claim 1 as the representative claim for the group of independent claims 1, 7, and 13 (Appeal Br. 8), and the remaining independent claims standing or falling with claim 1. 37 C.F.R. § 41.37(c)(1)(vii) (2007). Appellants argue, … when Hogan receives a duplicate transaction request, Hogan declines the duplicate transaction. Hogan never matches the duplicated transaction request with first payment information from a first payment request and, in turn, never sends the retrieved first payment information to fulfill the duplicated transaction request…. Meffie sends Appeal 2013-003095 Application 11/456,189 5 images of a cancelled check to a user based upon addresses on the checks and user information entered at the ATM machine. Meffie, however, never teaches or suggests matching the cancelled check to a duplicate transaction request and, therefore never sends the cancelled check in order to fulfill the duplicated transaction request. Br. 7–8. The Examiner, however, found concerning this limitation that: … Hogan discloses ‘Optionally, if the issuer- defined data 810 have been received in a prior transaction more than ‘n’ seconds ago (where ‘n’ typically equals 60) (step 716), then the transaction is declined and the AAV 802 is labeled as a detected duplicate (step 718)’.([0159]-11. 5-8). … Further, Meffie discloses sending canceled checks as evidence of prior payment (Col. 55, ll. 19-23; Col. 56, ll. 38-41). The ordinary practitioner would have seen it as obvious that providing evidence of prior payment was applicable to providing evidence of prior payment authorization. (Non-Final 4). We agree with the Examiner that the Appellants are attacking the references individually when the rejection is based on a combination of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 426 (CCPA 1981); In re Young, 403 F.2d 754, 757-58 (CCPA 1968). We find that the Examiner properly found that Hogan determines an improper duplicate transaction by matching it to a prior transaction, and then declining the later-in-time transaction once the match is established after an “n” second period. (Non-Final 4, FF. 4). The Examiner further found that that “Meffie discloses sending canceled checks as evidence of prior payment (Col. 55, ll. 19 ̶ 23; Col. 56, ll. 38 ̶ 41).” (Non-Final 4). Appeal 2013-003095 Application 11/456,189 6 We thus agree with the Examiner that one having ordinary skill in the art looking to Meffie would know to use the cancelled check in conjunction with the “n” transaction determination of Hogan when the later-in-time transaction is declined as duplicate. This is at least because Meffie explicitly discloses sending the cancelled check data for purposes of accounting (FF. 3) which would be used as evidence for the declined “n” transaction in Hogan. We also affirm the rejections of dependent claims 2, 4–6, 8, 10–12, 14, 16, and 17 since Appellants have not challenged such with any reasonable specificity (see In re Nielson, 816 F.2d 1567, 1572 (Fed. Cir. 1987)). CONCLUSIONS OF LAW We conclude the Examiner did not err in rejecting claims 1, 2, 4 ̶ 8, 10 ̶ 14, 16, and 17 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a). DECISION 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 pgc Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation