Obviousness

A thorough obviousness analysis under 35 U.S.C. § 103 requires a comparison of the specific elements of the patent's claims against the disclosures of prior art references. As the independent claims for US11087307 are not accessible in the provided authoritative patent text, a definitive claim-by-claim obviousness analysis cannot be performed.

However, based on the descriptions of the cited prior art within US11087307 and the '307 patent's own description of its invention, a general discussion of potential motivations for combining the prior art can be provided.

Identified Prior Art References:

1. U.S. patent application No. 20090068982 to Chen et al. (hereinafter "Chen"): Describes a system for facilitating secure wireless digital transactions. It involves a mobile device with a mobile payment card (m-card) linked to an account, using public-key cryptography (PKC) to securely and wirelessly transmit payments to a terminal component.
2. U.S. patent application No. 20080010191 to Rackley III et al. (hereinafter "Rackley III"): Describes methods and systems for providing financial payments to a payee using a mobile device. The user inputs payee, payment source, and payment method information, generates a mobile payment instruction, and wirelessly communicates it to a mobile financial transaction system (MFTS) to effect payment without required payee action.

The Problem Addressed by US11087307:

The US11087307 patent explicitly states that while Chen and Rackley III "address electronic payments, they do not dispense with the use of cash." It highlights an unsatisfied need for a system that enables consumers to transfer, receive, or exchange cash amongst themselves and merchants, facilitate transactions using international denominations and commodities (e.g., precious metals), save coupons/receipts, track points, and enable ATMs to accept cash/check transactions from non-customers and non-bank account holders.

Motivation to Combine Chen and Rackley III:

A person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) in the field of mobile financial transactions, at the time of the invention's priority date (July 18, 2011), would have been motivated to combine the features of Chen and Rackley III to create a more comprehensive and robust mobile payment system. The motivation would stem from the continuous drive for improved user convenience, security, and expanded functionality in mobile financial services.

• Complementary Functionality: Chen focuses on the secure wireless transmission of payment data via an m-card and PKC. Rackley III focuses on the initiation and processing of payments from a mobile device to a financial system, enabling payments without direct payee action. These are complementary aspects of a complete mobile payment solution. A PHOSITA would recognize the benefit of integrating Chen's secure data transmission methods (e.g., PKC) into Rackley III's broader payment initiation and processing framework to enhance the overall security of the payment instructions being sent from the mobile device to the financial transaction system.
• Industry Trends: The trend in mobile banking and payment applications has consistently been towards offering more secure and versatile ways to conduct financial transactions. Combining secure wireless digital transaction mechanisms with automated payment instruction generation and routing would represent a logical step in this evolution, aiming to provide users with a single, highly functional mobile financial tool.
• Enhancing User Experience: By combining the security features of Chen with the payment processing capabilities of Rackley III, a PHOSITA could design a system that not only securely transmits payment information but also streamlines the process of identifying payees, selecting payment sources, and generating instructions for execution. This integration would lead to a more efficient and trustworthy mobile payment experience.

Potential Obviousness in Light of the Combination (General Discussion without Claims):

Even with the combination of Chen and Rackley III, which primarily address electronic payments, the '307 patent purports to introduce several features specifically aimed at bridging the gap to physical cash and commodity transactions, along with other functionalities:

• Handling Physical Cash and Commodities: The '307 patent emphasizes the ability to exchange cash in various international denominations and commodities (e.g., gold, silver), and to retrieve/deposit cash at ATMs using generated codes or SMS. It also introduces "Good Money" as a digital currency backed by commodities. The explicit limitation of Chen and Rackley III to "electronic payments" suggests that the specific mechanisms for managing and exchanging physical cash and diverse commodities through a mobile platform, especially with features like ATM integration for non-customers, might represent non-obvious advancements over the combination of Chen and Rackley III alone.
• Enhanced Security (DNA verification): The '307 patent mentions a "highly secured telecommunications environment using DNA verification method." While Chen mentions public-key cryptography, DNA verification as a security layer, particularly with the described molecular switch, could be considered a distinct feature not obviously derivable from Chen or Rackley III.
• "Swipay" and "Swipmail" Functions: The patent describes users paying each other using NFC (Near Field Communication) type frequency by "simply swiping a finger pointed at the other instrument (Swipay or Swipmail function)." While NFC existed, the specific "swiping a finger pointed at the other instrument" mechanism for payment or data transfer, as described, might represent a particular implementation detail that is not explicitly present or rendered obvious by Chen or Rackley III.
• Point Accumulation and Consolidation: The '307 patent details usage-based credit point accumulation, transfer of points between users, and the ability to consolidate points from different sources (credit cards, mileage) into "PayGeo's Good Money points" for redemption. These point management features, particularly the consolidation across disparate external loyalty programs, may go beyond the typical scope of electronic payment systems in Chen and Rackley III.

Without the exact wording of the claims, it is impossible to determine if the specific claim language would encompass only the features described in Chen and Rackley III, or if it would include the specific implementations of cash/commodity exchange, advanced security, or point systems that US11087307 presents as its novel contributions. If the claims are broadly drawn to encompass general mobile financial transactions, then the combination of Chen and Rackley III would pose a significant obviousness challenge. However, if the claims specifically recite the unique methods and systems for handling physical cash, commodities, or the specific security/point mechanisms, then a more detailed analysis would be required to determine if those specific elements were rendered obvious by the prior art, either individually or in combination.