Appeal 2006-3387
Application 09/385,489
Jones teaches that the reports provided are sent to the manufacturer to
support the settlement process (Board Decision 14).
Jones does not teach, however, that the independent system operator
performs this settlement (Board Decision 14-15).
Jones discloses that the retailer must summarize the necessary information
on the promotional support activities, including the report from the electronic audit
system, and the retailer then invoices the manufacturer, and deducts the price
discount from checks paid by the retailer to the manufacturer (Jones, col. 12, ll. 25-
29).
Jones’s electronic audit system provides an independent audit of the
incremental sales volume increase during a trade promotion.
Schultz discloses a system in which a central management firm 3 stores
records of the purchase reward offers 2 defined by a manufacturer 1 (Schultz, col.
6, ll. 13-16).
Schultz discloses that the central management firm 3 collects data on a
customer’s purchases at a retail store 20 (Schultz, col. 7, ll. 20-47).
Schultz discloses that the central management firm 3 processes the purchase
records 30 for a consumer 19 and sends a reward certificate 18 to the consumer 19
when the consumer 19 earns a reward (e.g., by purchasing a required number of
reward products) (Schultz, col. 7, ll. 60-64 and col. 8, ll. 64-65).
The reward certificate 18 can be a negotiable check or a voucher to be
redeemed at a participating retail store 20 for cash or credit toward product
purchases (Schultz, col. 8, ll. 65-68).
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