Appeal No. 2003-0293
Application No. 09/472,197 Page 5
that the recitation of causing a processor to automatically
deliver a targeted advertisement is clearly statutory subject
matter. It is further argued that the stored data is functional
in and of itself, because the stored data is computer readable
and therefore a functional relationship exists among the data and
the processor reading the data. As set forth in MPEP § 2106(a),
Eighth Edition, published August 2001, which was in effect as of
the date the answer was written, “a claimed computer-readable
medium encoded with a data structure defines structural and
functional interrelationships between the data structure and the
computer software and hardware components which permit the data
structure’s functionality to be realized, and is thus statutory."
Claim 85 is drawn to "A computer readable medium for storing
information for delivering a targeted advertisement, comprising a
data structure including. . ." The later claimed first and
second linked fields which store the identifiers corresponding to
a first computer and an offline purchase history, are claimed as
being readable by at least one processor to automatically deliver
the targeted advertisement. We find that the data structure of
the computer readable medium defines structural and functional
relationships between the data structure and the processor which
permits the data structure's functionality to be realized.
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