Appeal No. 2006-1817 Page 6
Application No. 09/851,514
customer’s habits and/or preferences (a user’s “psychographic profile”) and based
on the customer’s demographic information. (Gerace, col. 2, lines 24-34.) We
find that it is implicit in the implementation of the system and method of Gerace
that when the ad sponsor makes purchasing decisions about an advertising package
(Gerace, col. 12, lines 11-17), the sponsor would need to resolve contradictions
between its business constraints and business objectives (e.g., the sponsor’s
objective is to have 1,000 hits and click throughs, but the sponsor’s budget will
allow the sponsor to purchase the ad package that has only 500 hits and click
throughs). We find, however, that Gerace does not teach an automated system for
detecting and resolving these contradictions to implement a campaign plan.
The examiner relies on Harhen for the teaching of an automated system for
detecting and resolving contradictions. (Examiner’s Answer, p. 7.) Harhen relates
generally to the field of decision support tools and includes an exemplary
embodiment of such a tool for creating a realistic model of an enterprise to use in
strategic planning. (Harhen, col. 1, lines 11-14.) We find that Harhen discloses
that the tool has “a wide range of uses outside the domain of strategic planning”
such as “[w]herever multiple analytical methods can be applied to a system to
evaluate a component of the system.” (Harhen, col. 6, lines 63-68.) We agree with
the examiner that Harhen’s system automatically detects contradictions between
business constraints and objectives, and automatically identifies and implements
resolutions in its strategic planning. (Examiner’s Answer, p. 7, see also pp. 12-17.)
promotion, Gerace also teaches using his system and method for displaying incentive
promotions. (See Gerace, col. 9, lines 8-12 (system displays promotional travel specials
advertised in areas of interest to the user based on the user’s profile)).
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