Appeal 2007-0325
Application 09/780,248
1 We AFFIRM-IN-PART and MAKE A NEW GROUND OF REJECTION
2 PURSUANT TO 37 C.F.R. § 41.50(b).
3
4 The Appellant invented virtual auctions carried out more like a real live
5 auction. This live auction includes certain refinements which improve it for use on
6 the Internet, with each of a plurality of bidders being identifiable; a combination of
7 an on-line auction and off-line auction, with the off-line auction forming
8 effectively a display period for the merchandise during which the users can place
9 bids, and the on-line auction forming a final bidding period for the goods during
10 which the goods are actually sold; and an agent for use in an online auction, in
11 which not only the amounts of the bids, but also the time when those amounts are
12 released, are specified (Specification 2). An understanding of the invention can be
13 derived from a reading of exemplary claim 5, which is reproduced below.
14 5. A method, comprising:
15 allowing each of accepting bids from a plurality of users to
16 submit bids for a specified item being auctioned, said bids being
17 submitted from any of a number of clients over a network to a server
18 which collects said bids; and
19 defining rules for actions in said auction, said rules including at
20 least a time when the action will take place, and an actual action that
21 will take place at the defined time; and
22 keeping the rules secret until the defined time.
23
24 This appeal arises from the Examiner’s Final Rejection, mailed July 20, 2005.
25 The Appellant filed an Appeal Brief in support of the appeal on May 12, 2006, and
26 the Examiner mailed an Examiner’s Answer to the Appeal Brief on July 28, 2006.
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