Appeal No. 2002-0308
Application No. 09/106,784
While the specification addresses a specific application of this algorithm, i.e.,
used in a direct-mail targeted-marketing purpose (e.g., page 1), the instant claims are
related to a more general application of the algorithm, i.e., making a prediction with a
predictive model even when the values of some or all of the inputs are unknown. Such
a method may have application in many areas, but it does have practical application.
The mathematical algorithm manipulates numbers in order to make a predictive model
that is then used to make predictions. Reference to the instant specification, at page 1,
indicates, as an example of the useful, concrete and tangible result of the algorithm,
that a predictive model may be used “to optimize return on marketing investment by
ranking consumers according to their predicted responses to promotions, and then
mailing promotional materials only to those consumers who are most likely to respond
and generate revenue.” Thus, we cannot agree with the examiner’s assessment that
the instant claimed subject matter is, somehow, merely an “abstract idea failing to recite
a practical application having useful, concrete, and tangible result” (answer-page 3).
While a mathematical algorithm is clearly involved in the instant claimed subject
matter, we find that the claimed subject matter as a whole is directed to a combination
of computer-implemented steps which, when executed by the claimed machine, allows
for a predictive model which can make a prediction even without knowing all of the
values of the inputs. This is not a disembodied mathematical concept which may be
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