Appeal No. 2004-1176 Page 3
Application No. 09/232,751
OPINION
In reaching our decision in this appeal, we have given careful consideration to
the appellants’ specification and claims, to the applied prior art references, and to the
respective positions articulated by the appellants and the examiner. As a consequence
of our review, we make the determinations which follow.
Williams discloses a method and apparatus for providing and monitoring coupons
via a network, wherein users of network clients, which may be entertainment systems
such as cable or satellite systems or computer systems, are either surveyed or
monitored to determine their preferences, including activities enjoyed, occupation,
geographic location and types of foods enjoyed, for example, to build preference
profiles. Servers, which include companies and businesses who wish to have coupons
delivered to users to promote their products or services to those users, disclose the
specifics of the coupon, such as the target audience preference profile, the value of the
coupon, rules for redemption, when the coupon should be delivered, how long the
coupon is valid, etc., to a coupon repository. The coupon repository then delivers the
coupons to the network clients that meet the desired preference profile. Alternatively,
servers that provide coupons may broadcast delivery over the network and clients
coupled to the network can then filter the coupons based on preference profiles
compiled and stored by the client. In such an embodiment, coupons that satisfy the
preference profile are passed to the client device and may be redeemed by the user.
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