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Parts of a software method claim:

determining a fee based on the first user profile rating;

charging the fee to the first user after the first gift is accepted.

In the entire method claim, there is no step that specifies how first user is disclosed to the fee that they will be charged or how first user consents to being charged.

Could this claim be argued to be invalid on the account that any payment system that charges a custom must disclose the fee amount, or how it is computed, and would have the customer consent to it?

And hence, any invention, or claim, that does not have a step that specifies how the customer is disclosed to either the fee or how the fee is generated, and how the customer consents to being charged is incomplete and therefore invalid?

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  • Is there a reason why you don’t just link to the patent? Otherwise I’m not sure your question is answerable.
    – Eric S
    Commented May 22 at 2:41
  • I just figured this question can be answer a priori. How can any payment system work properly customer consent is missing?
    – Bear Bile Farming is Torture
    Commented May 22 at 3:17
  • @BearBileFarmingisTorture - imagine a scenario where to get to the point of purchase the customer must pass a prominent sign explaining the charging system. Driving past the sign might be acceptance of the price.
    – George White ♦
    Commented May 22 at 7:04
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    Not every step in a claim is necessarily novel. Without the whole claim and the enabling specification I think it would be difficult to authoritatively answer the question.
    – Eric S
    Commented May 22 at 15:45

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Could this claim be argued to be invalid on the account that any payment system that charges a custom must disclose the fee amount, or how it is computed, and would have the customer consent to it?

Sounds like a stretch to me. It is usually OK for a claim to have some inoperative (or in this case, "illegal") embodiments encompassed. Also, I suspect there is no actual law in the U.S. requiring that customers be disclosed the fee amount and consent to it prior to being charged, but that is a question better put to the Law SE site.

I know from personal experience that many service providers will take card information (and presumably consent) upfront and then charge based on usage without requiring further authorization for each individual event of usage (though one can always view one's bill/statement, etc).

It could be invalid for this reason if the specification goes out of its way to state that obtaining customer consent for each individual transaction is an essential part of the process, and the claims somehow omitted this. However, I doubt this to be the case.

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