DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Amendment
This Office Action has been issued in response to Applicant’s Communication of amended application S/N 16/618,594 filed on September 16, 2025. Claims 1 to 5, and 7 to 20 are currently pending with the application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1 to 3, 5, 13 to 16, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tripoli et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2014/0156641) hereinafter Tripoli, and further in view of Albalat et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2016/0357863) hereinafter Albalat.
As to claim 1:
Tripoli discloses:
A method comprising:
determining a multimedia track associated with an input [Paragraph 0086 teaches first media content is accessed through a media content service, and the first media content can be
retrieved for rendering, along with metadata, hence, determining a track associated with an input];
retrieving data associated with the multimedia track, wherein retrieving the data associated with the multimedia track comprises retrieving bibliographical data associated with the multimedia track [Paragraph 0086 teaches when the first media content is accessed through a media content service, the metadata may be retrieved along with retrieval of the first media content being rendered]; and
displaying the retrieved data associated with the multimedia track to the user along with the bibliographical data associated with the multimedia track, wherein displaying the retrieved data comprises displaying the bibliographical data as user-selectable parameters [Paragraph 0086 teaches the metadata may be provided when the first media content is accessed; Paragraph 0019 teaches metadata associated with a first media may be displayed to a user via a controller during the playback of the first media, where the user may select the metadata, therefore, user-selectable parameters; Paragraph 0025 teaches metadata indicates certain aspects of the song, such as song title, artist name, album title, and/or genre, for example, and a user may select one of the aspects of the song indicated by the metadata, and a query may be made to search for songs based on the selected aspect];
generating, based on a first subset of parameters of the user-selectable parameters, a first multimedia playlist comprising at least one first additional multimedia track relating to the first subset of parameters [Paragraph 0025 teaches a user may select one of the aspects of the song indicated by the metadata; Paragraph 0026 teaches the user would like create a station or channel on an Internet Radio service based on certain elements of the song, may want to create a channel based on a genre of the particular song; Paragraph 0027 teaches receiving data indicating a selection of an item corresponding to a metadata associated with the first media, querying one or more media servers for one or more second media content based on the corresponding metadata, and providing the one or more second media content for display; Paragraph 0090 teaches a user’s selection may indicate that the user is interested in searching for other media content having the same title as, or a similar title, or other parameter];
generating, based on a second subset of parameters of the user-selectable parameters, a second multimedia playlist comprising at least one second additional multimedia track relating to the second subset of parameters [Paragraph 0027 teaches receiving data indicating a selection of an item corresponding to a metadata associated with the first media, querying one or more media servers for one or more second media content based on the corresponding metadata, and providing the one or more second media content for display; Paragraph 0090 teaches a user’s selection may indicate that the user is interested in searching for other media content having the same title as, or a similar title, or other parameter]; and
presenting, to the user, the user-selectable parameters associated with bibliographical data of the multimedia track, wherein presenting, to the user, the user-selectable parameters comprises presenting, as the multimedia track is played-back to the user, each user-selectable parameter representing a bibliographical data segment of the bibliographical data associated with the multimedia track [Paragraph 0019 teaches metadata associated with a first media may be displayed to a user via a controller during the playback of the first media; Paragraph 0090 teaches receiving data indicating a selection of the at least one metadata that is displayed, while the first media content is being rendered, and being enjoyed by the user].
Tripoli does not appear to expressly disclose selecting by the user or dynamically determining, in at least a first instance of selecting, a plurality of subset parameters of interest included as user-selectable parameters associated with the multimedia track and generating at least one of a plurality of separate playlists, based on the at least first instance of selecting, comprising: generating, based on a first subset of parameters including at least one parameter of the plurality of subset parameters of interest, a first multimedia playlist, wherein the first subset of parameters is cross-referenced with a plurality of multimedia databases in order to match the at least one first additional multimedia track with the first subset of parameters; generating, based on a second subset of parameters including at least one parameter of the plurality of subset parameters of interest of the user-selectable parameters, wherein the second subset of parameters includes at least one alternative or additional parameter of interest than the first subset of parameters, a second multimedia playlist, wherein the second subset of parameters is cross-referenced with the plurality of multimedia databases in order to match the at least one second additional multimedia track with the second subset of parameters; wherein at least the first multimedia playlist and the second multimedia playlist are generated based on a mixed and matched set of the first instance of selecting the plurality of subset parameters of interest, wherein at least the second playlist is generated based on at least one shared selected parameter included in the first multimedia playlist.
Albalat discloses:
selecting by the user or dynamically determining, in at least a first instance of selecting, a plurality of subset parameters of interest included as user-selectable parameters associated with the multimedia track and generating at least one of a plurality of separate playlists, based on the at least first instance of selecting, comprising: generating, based on a first subset of parameters including at least one parameter of the plurality of subset parameters of interest, a first multimedia playlist [Paragraph 0027 teaches playlist creation engine uses attribute values for each of the songs in the collection in order to generate different playlists; Paragraph 0028 teaches generating different playlists, where a first playlist includes Jazz songs from Paris, where each song in this playlist has a genre attribute value corresponding to Jazz and a geographical origin attribute value corresponding to Paris, where a third playlist includes Rock songs from Paris, and where in this playlist, each song has a genre attribute value corresponding to Rock and a geographical origin attribute value corresponding to Paris] wherein the first subset of parameters is cross-referenced with a plurality of multimedia databases in order to match the at least one first additional multimedia track with the first subset of parameters [Paragraph 0019 teaches the search for media may be performed by querying a media server based on the selected metadata; Paragraph 0021 teaches media servers from two or more different services are queried for the first media, in other words, cross-referencing with multiple databases to match the multimedia track with the first subset of metadata; Paragraph 0081 teaches two or more services are searched for media];
generating, based on a second subset of parameters including at least one parameter of the plurality of subset parameters of interest of the user-selectable parameters, wherein the second subset of parameters includes at least one alternative or additional parameter of interest than the first subset of parameters, a second multimedia playlist [Paragraph 0028 teaches grouping the attribute values of the content items into different combinations, where the shown combinations include two attributes each, although different combinations of attributes are possible, including combinations based upon three or more different attributes, and using each combination of attributes to populate a different playlist, where the second playlist includes Rock songs from Italy, where each song in this playlist has a genre attribute value corresponding to Rock, and a geographical origin attribute value corresponding to Italy, in other words, including at least one alternative or additional parameter of interest], wherein the second subset of parameters is cross-referenced with the plurality of multimedia databases in order to match the at least one second additional multimedia track with the second subset of parameters [Paragraph 0019 teaches the search for media may be performed by querying a media server based on the selected metadata; Paragraph 0021 teaches media servers from two or more different services are queried for the first media, in other words, cross-referencing with multiple databases to match the multimedia track with the first subset of metadata; Paragraph 0081 teaches two or more services are searched for media];
wherein at least the first multimedia playlist and the second multimedia playlist are generated based on a mixed and matched set of the first instance of selecting the plurality of subset parameters of interest, wherein at least the second playlist is generated based on at least one shared selected parameter included in the first multimedia playlist [Paragraph 0028 teaches the attribute values of the content items in the collection may be grouped into different combinations, and each combination may be used to populate a different playlist, where for example, a playlist includes Jazz songs from Paris, where in this playlist, each song has a genre attribute value corresponding to Jazz and a geographical origin attribute value corresponding to Paris, a second playlist includes Rock songs from Italy, where in this playlist, each song has a genre attribute value corresponding to Rock and a geographical origin attribute value corresponding to Italy, and a third playlist includes Rock songs from Paris, where in this playlist, each song has a genre attribute value corresponding to Rock and a geographical origin attribute value corresponding to Paris, in other words, multiple playlists are generated based on a mixed and matched set of the selected parameters of interest, including overlapping parameters and different parameters; Fig. 3 discloses a selected subset of parameters, and different playlists generated based on different combinations of the selected subset of parameters, i.e., Playlist 1 – Jazz songs from Paris, Playlist 2 – Rock songs from Italy, Playlist 3 – Rock songs from Paris, Playlist 4 – Rock songs from New York].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of the cited references and modify the invention as taught by Tripoli, by selecting by the user or dynamically determining, in at least a first instance of selecting, a plurality of subset parameters of interest included as user-selectable parameters associated with the multimedia track and generating at least one of a plurality of separate playlists, based on the at least first instance of selecting, comprising: generating, based on a first subset of parameters including at least one parameter of the plurality of subset parameters of interest, a first multimedia playlist, wherein the first subset of parameters is cross-referenced with a plurality of multimedia databases in order to match the at least one first additional multimedia track with the first subset of parameters; generating, based on a second subset of parameters including at least one parameter of the plurality of subset parameters of interest of the user-selectable parameters, wherein the second subset of parameters includes at least one alternative or additional parameter of interest than the first subset of parameters, a second multimedia playlist, wherein the second subset of parameters is cross-referenced with the plurality of multimedia databases in order to match the at least one second additional multimedia track with the second subset of parameters; wherein at least the first multimedia playlist and the second multimedia playlist are generated based on a mixed and matched set of the first instance of selecting the plurality of subset parameters of interest, wherein at least the second playlist is generated based on at least one shared selected parameter included in the first multimedia playlist, as taught by Albalat [Paragraphs 0019, 0021, 0027, 0028, 0081, Fig. 3], because both applications are directed to obtaining and providing media items, including songs; generating playlists based on different combinations of parameters allows for the dynamic creation of new playlists, and enables the user to explore content items in new and diverse ways (See Albalat Para [0014]).
As to claim 2:
Tripoli discloses:
retrieving bibliographical data having a plurality of parameters, each of the plurality of parameters corresponding to a bibliographical data segment of the bibliographical data associated with the multimedia track [Paragraph 0025 teaches metadata indicates certain aspects of the song, such as song title, artist name, album title, and/or genre; Paragraph 0086 teaches the metadata may be retrieved].
As to claim 3:
Tripoli discloses:
accessing at least one of the following: a multimedia library, a multimedia track bibliographical text database [Paragraph 0023 teaches digital repository includes any of a library, a playback queue, a playlist, a favorites folder, or some other holding place of the media and/or pointer to the media], ACRCloud, AcoustID, OneMusicAPI, MusicGraph, Discogs, and Genius.
As to claim 5:
Tripoli discloses:
presenting, the user, the user-selectable parameters associated with bibliographical data of the multimedia track, wherein the user-selectable parameters comprise at least one of the following: producers associated with the multimedia track, artists associated with the multimedia track, albums associated with the multimedia track, composers associated with the multimedia track, engineers associated with the multimedia track, mixers associated with the multimedia track, mastering associated with the multimedia track, recording Studios associated with the multimedia track, musicians associated with the multimedia track, record labels associated with the multimedia track, timelines associated with the multimedia track, samples associated with the multimedia track, or interpolations associated with the multimedia track [Paragraph 0025 teaches metadata indicates aspects of the song, such as song title, artist name, album title, and/or genre, etc., where a user may select one of the aspects of the song indicated by the metadata].
As to claim 13:
Tripoli discloses:
displaying a plurality of user-selectable parameters, each of the plurality of user-selectable parameters being associated with a bibliographical data segment of the bibliographical data associated with the multimedia track [Paragraph 0019 teaches metadata associated with a first media may be displayed to a user via a controller during the playback of the first media; Paragraph 0090 teaches receiving data indicating a selection of the at least one metadata that is displayed, while the first media content is being rendered, and being enjoyed by the user].
As to claim 14:
Tripoli discloses:
receiving a selection of one or more user-selectable parameters of the plurality of
user-selectable parameters; and aggregating the selected one or more user-selectable
parameters into a listing of one or more selected parameters [Paragraph 0025 teaches a user may select one of the aspects of the song indicated by the metadata, and a query may be made to search for songs based on the selected aspect, where the query includes the selected aspect].
As to claim 15:
The combination of Tripoli and Albalat discloses:
generating at least one additional multimedia playlist comprising at least one fourth
additional multimedia track, based on at least a portion of the listing of the one or more selected parameters [Tripoli - Paragraph 0082 teaches the search results displayed on the controller, provide the user with one (or more) options, for example, the user may be able to play the media now (a "play now" option) by selecting the media from the search results, or add the media to a queue or playlist; Albalat - Paragraph 0028 teaches generating a third and fourth playlist with different combinations of attributes; Fig. 4, Playlist 4].
As to claim 16:
Tripoli discloses:
matching the at least one fourth additional multimedia track when at least one bibliographical segment corresponding to the one or more user-selectable parameters corresponds to at least one bibliographical segment of the at least one fourth additional multimedia track [Paragraph 0104 teaches second media content having the closest match in the query based on the selected metadata may be listed first],
wherein the portion of the listing of the one or more selected parameters corresponds to a threshold match level [Paragraph 0105 teaches the one or more second media content may be ordered according to the relevancy metric and accordingly provided for display on the controller for the user to review], and
aggregating each of the at least one fourth additional multimedia track into the at least one additional multimedia playlist [Paragraph 0082 teaches the search results displayed on the controller, provide the user with one (or more) options, for example, the user may be able to add the media to a queue or playlist],
wherein the threshold match level determines how many bibliographical segments corresponding to the selected one or more parameters must match to the at least one fourth additional multimedia track in order to consider the at least one fourth additional multimedia track as a matching track [Paragraph 0104 teaches second media content having the closest match in the query based on the selected metadata].
As to claim 18:
Tripoli discloses:
presenting the at least one additional playlist [Paragraph 0027 teaches providing the one or more second media content for display]; and enabling at least one of: a streaming of at least one of the at least one fourth additional multimedia tracks in the at least one additional multimedia playlist, an exporting of the at least one additional multimedia playlist, a sharing of the at least one additional multimedia playlist, a presentation of at least one user-selectable parameter associated with at least one of the at least one fourth additional multimedia tracks in the at least one additional multimedia playlist, a selection of subsequent indications of user-selectable parameters based on subsequent bibliographical segments based on the user-selectable parameters associated with at least one of the at least one fourth additional multimedia tracks in the at least one additional multimedia playlist, and a saving of the at least one additional multimedia playlist for subsequent retrieval, generating at least one smart playlist based at least on: prior user input, prior selections of the user-selectable parameters, and one or more multimedia tracks in at least one saved playlist [Paragraph 0108 teaches once the media is included in the repository, such as the streaming music library or playlist, for example, the user may access the media at a later time].
Claims 4, 7 to 12, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tripoli et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2014/0156641) hereinafter Tripoli, in view of Albalat et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2016/0357863) hereinafter Albalat, and further in view of Master et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2010/0211693) hereinafter Master.
As to claim 4:
Tripoli discloses all the limitations as set forth in the rejections of claim 1 above, but does
not appear to expressly disclose accessing the at least one database via an Application Programming Interface (API).
Master discloses:
accessing the at least one database via an Application Programming Interface (API) [Paragraph 0077 teaches technology includes API to allow for a title of a song and/or artist to be
transmitted to the third-party service or content provider via a sound recognition application].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of the cited references and modify the invention as taught by Tripoli, by accessing the at least one database via an Application Programming Interface (API), as taught by Master [Paragraph 0077], because both applications are directed to searching and retrieval of media items, including songs; displaying the parameters in a different way is a simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results.
As to claim 7:
Tripoli discloses all the limitations as set forth in the rejections of claim 6 above, but does not appear to expressly disclose displaying each user-selectable parameter frame-by-frame, in a successive order.
Master discloses:
displaying each user-selectable parameter frame-by-frame, in a successive order [Paragraph 0084 teaches displaying information regarding the song, which upon selection will be
provided for to user].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date
of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of the cited references and modify the invention as taught by Tripoli, by displaying each user-selectable parameter frame-by-frame, in a successive order, as taught by Master [Paragraph 0084], because both applications are directed to searching and retrieval of media items, including songs; displaying the parameters in a different way is a simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results.
As to claim 8:
The combination of Tripoli and Master discloses:
displaying: textual data indicating the bibliographical data segment associated with a currently displayed user-selectable parameter [Master - Paragraph 0084 teaches displaying information related to the song, such as the name of a song, the name of the artist who sang the song, and the name of the album where the song can be found],
a user-selectable portion which, when selected by the user, enable the following: a display of additional data corresponding to the bibliographical data segment of the multimedia track [Master - Paragraph 0056 teaches the user may select a button to request more information],
at least one third multimedia track corresponding to the bibliographical data segment for playback to the user [Tripoli - Paragraph 0025 teaches a user may select one of the aspects of the song indicated by the metadata, and a query may be made to search for songs based on the selected aspect], and
a transition to display a subsequent frame comprising a subsequent user-selectable parameter corresponding to a subsequent bibliographical data segment of the bibliographical data associated with the multimedia track [Master - Paragraph 0084 teaches lyrics of the song may also be shown, as well as, related music clips or video clips of the song or related to the song or artist may be provided to the user for playing if the user wishes to click, press, or otherwise activate the clips].
As to claim 9:
Tripoli as modified by Master further discloses:
displaying the additional data upon receiving an indication of selection at the user-selectable portion, the additional data comprising at least one of the following: a text, wherein the text comprises a biography of at least one person associated with the bibliographical data segment, and an image, wherein the image comprises a picture of at least one person associated with the bibliographical data segment, and wherein the additional data is retrieved from the at least one database [Master - Paragraph 0056 teaches the user may select a button to request more information; Paragraph 0056 teaches information includes a biography of the artist].
As to claim 10:
The combination of Tripoli and Albalat further discloses:
generating a third multimedia playlist in response to a third set of parameters of the user-selectable parameters the third multimedia playlist comprising the at least one third additional multimedia track, wherein the at least one third additional multimedia track relates to the third set of parameters [Tripoli – Paragraph 0082 teaches the search results displayed on the controller, provide the user with one (or more) options, for example, the user may be able to play the media now (a "play now" option) by selecting the media from the search results, or add the media to a queue or playlist; Albalat - Paragraph 0028 teaches generating a third and fourth playlist with different combinations of attributes; Fig. 4, Playlist 3].
As to claim 11:
Tripoli discloses:
displaying the at least one third additional multimedia track along with a playback software application for user selection [Paragraph 0082 teaches a user may see a track of interest in the search results and select it to "play now" via a networked playback system, and as such, the networked playback system would stop/pause playing the current media and switch to play the recently selected media from the associated service].
As to claim 12:
Tripoli as modified by Master further discloses:
presenting, upon receiving an indication of selection at a user-selectable portion, a subsequent frame comprising a subsequent user-selectable parameter corresponding to a subsequent bibliographical data segment of the bibliographical data associated with the multimedia track, wherein the subsequent user-selectable parameter is presented within the subsequent frame as the multimedia track is played-back to the user [Master – Paragraph 0056 teaches the user may select to access lyrics as the song is played].
As to claim 19:
Tripoli discloses:
selecting a multimedia track [Paragraph 0086 teaches first media content is accessed
through a media content service, and the first media content can be retrieved for rendering, along
with metadata, hence, determining a track associated with an input];
receiving a user-selectable parameter associated with bibliographical data of the selected multimedia track [Paragraph 0019 teaches metadata associated with a first media may be displayed to a user via a controller during the playback of the first media, where the user may select the metadata, therefore, user-selectable parameters; Paragraph 0086 teaches when the first media content is accessed through a media content service, the metadata may be retrieved along with retrieval of the first media content being rendered].
Tripoli does not appear to expressly disclose requesting a user profile associated with the selected parameter, the user profile comprising at least one of: a producer associated with the selected parameter, an artist associated with the selected parameter, a music professional associated with the selected parameter, a composer associated with the selected parameter, an engineer associated with the selected parameter, a mixer associated with the selected parameter, a recording Studio associated with the selected parameter, or a musician associated with the selected parameter; and presenting the requested user profile.
Master discloses:
requesting a user profile associated with the selected parameter, the user profile comprising at least one of: a producer associated with the selected parameter, an artist associated with the selected parameter, a music professional associated with the selected parameter, a composer associated with the selected parameter, an engineer associated with the selected parameter, a mixer associated with the selected parameter, a recording Studio associated with the selected parameter, or a musician associated with the selected parameter; and presenting the requested user profile [Paragraph 0056 teaches the user may select a button to request more information; Paragraph 0056 teaches information includes a biography of the artist; Paragraph 0094 teaches an artist's biography is presented along with a mini-
player below the artist's biography].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of the cited references and modify the invention as taught by Tripoli, by requesting a user profile associated with the selected parameter, the user profile comprising at least one of: a producer associated with the selected parameter, an artist associated with the selected parameter, a music professional associated with the selected parameter, a composer associated with the selected parameter, an engineer associated with the selected parameter, a mixer associated with the selected parameter, a recording Studio associated with the selected parameter, and a musician associated with the selected parameter; and presenting the requested user profile, as taught by Master [Paragraph 0056, 0094], because both applications are directed to searching and retrieval of media items, including songs; providing further details of the music song to the user improves the user’s experience.
As to claim 20:
Tripoli as modified by Albalat discloses:
selecting a multimedia track from the at least one additional multimedia playlist [Paragraph 0064 teaches determining artist similarity between artists of content items in a playlist, therefore, a selection of a track from the playlist, in order to determine the similarity];
receiving a user-selectable parameter associated with a bibliographical data segment of the selected multimedia track [Paragraph 0064 teaches determining artist similarity between artists of content items in a playlist, therefore, receiving the artist attribute or parameter of the track from the playlist, in order to determine the similarity].
Tripoli does not appear to expressly disclose requesting a user profile associated with the received user-selectable parameter, the user profile comprising at least one of: a producer associated with the selected parameter, an artist associated with the selected parameter, a music professional associated with the selected parameter, a composer associated with the selected parameter, an engineer associated with the selected parameter, a mixer associated with the selected parameter, a recording Studio associated with the selected parameter, or a musician associated with the selected parameter; and presenting the requested user profile
Master discloses:
requesting a user profile associated with the received user-selectable parameter, the user profile comprising at least one of: a producer associated with the selected parameter, an artist associated with the selected parameter, a music professional associated with the selected parameter, a composer associated with the selected parameter, an engineer associated with the selected parameter, a mixer associated with the selected parameter, a recording Studio associated with the selected parameter, or a musician associated with the selected parameter; and presenting the requested user profile [Paragraph 0056 teaches the user may select a button to request more information; Paragraph 0056 teaches information includes a biography of the artist; Paragraph 0094 teaches an artist's biography is presented along with a mini-player below the artist's biography].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of the cited references and modify the invention as taught by Tripoli, by requesting a user profile associated with the selected parameter, the user profile comprising at least one of: a producer associated with the selected parameter, an artist associated with the selected parameter, a music professional associated with the selected parameter, a composer associated with the selected parameter, an engineer associated with the selected parameter, a mixer associated with the selected parameter, a recording Studio associated with the selected parameter, and a musician associated with the selected parameter; and presenting the requested user profile, as taught by Master [Paragraph 0056, 0094], because both applications are directed to searching and retrieval of media items, including songs; providing further details of the music song to the user improves the user’s experience.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tripoli et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2014/0156641) hereinafter Tripoli, in view of Albalat et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2016/0357863) hereinafter Albalat, and further in view of Moon et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2010/0131548) hereinafter Moon.
As to claim 17:
Tripoli discloses all the limitations as set forth in the rejections of claim 16 above, but does not appear to expressly disclose enabling a selection of which of the user-selectable parameters to associate with which of the at least one additional multimedia playlist, and organizing the aggregated multimedia tracks into separate playlists based on the selection of which of the user-selectable parameters to associate with which of the at least one additional multimedia playlist, and providing a shuffle feature for dynamically reorganizing the aggregated multimedia tracks by shuffling a subset of parameters derived from the user-selectable parameters.
Moon discloses:
enabling a selection of which of the user-selectable parameters to associate with which of the at least one additional multimedia playlist, and organizing the aggregated multimedia tracks into separate playlists based on the selection of which of the user-selectable parameters to associate with which of the at least one additional multimedia playlist, and providing a shuffle feature for dynamically reorganizing the aggregated multimedia tracks by shuffling a subset of parameters derived from the user-selectable parameters [Paragraph 0045 teaches the menu "List Shuffling" for switching the existing content playlist may be displayed by pressing a menu button; Paragraph 0046 teaches once the menu "List Shuffling" for switching the existing content playlist is selected, a sub menu for selecting a metadata item that is a base for generating the new content playlist is displayed, where the one or more metadata item values or one or more metadata items that are displayed are associated with the content that is currently being reproduced, therefore, shuffling a subset of parameters; Paragraph 0057 teaches selecting a metadata item value or a metadata item which is a base for generating a new content playlist].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of the cited references and modify the invention as taught by Tripoli, by enabling a selection of which of the user-selectable parameters to associate with which of the at least one additional playlist, and organizing the aggregated multimedia tracks into separate playlists based on the selection of which of the user-selectable parameters to associate with which of the at least one additional multimedia playlist, and providing a shuffle feature for dynamically reorganizing the aggregated multimedia tracks by shuffling a subset of parameters derived from the user-selectable parameters, as taught by Moon [Paragraphs 0054, 0056], because the applications are directed to searching and retrieval of media items, including songs; enabling the ability to further edit and customize the playlists based on the metadata, improves the user’s experience and engagement.
Response to Arguments
The following is in response to arguments filed on September 16, 2025. Arguments have been carefully and respectfully considered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
Applicant’s arguments have been fully and respectfully considered. In view of claims amendments and Applicant’s arguments, rejections under 35 USC § 101 are hereby withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In regards to claim 1, Applicant argues that “Albalat, while multiple parameters may be searched, each distinct set of parameters searched facilitate into their own respective, distinct playlists according to those selected parameters (i.e., one set of parameters equates to a single, associated playlist). These are distinguishable, individual searches per playlist.”, and further, that “Albalat lacks the overlap (i.e. the "mixed and matched") in selected search parameters among the at least first (i.e., single) instance of the selecting a plurality of subset parameters for search and to generate playlists to include variations of the selected parameters of interest based on that first instance of selecting”.
In response to the preceding argument, Examiner respectfully disagrees, and respectfully submits that Albalat discloses the generation of different playlists with different combinations of the selected parameters, therefore, a mixed and matched set of the selected parameters, including overlapping parameters.
Albalat [Paragraph 0028] teaches that the attribute values of the content items in the collection (which represent the selected subset of parameters) may be grouped into different combinations, and each combination may be used to populate a different playlist, where for example, a playlist includes Jazz songs from Paris, where in this playlist, each song has a genre attribute value corresponding to Jazz and a geographical origin attribute value corresponding to Paris, a second playlist includes Rock songs from Italy, where in this playlist, each song has a genre attribute value corresponding to Rock and a geographical origin attribute value corresponding to Italy, and a third playlist includes Rock songs from Paris, where in this playlist, each song has a genre attribute value corresponding to Rock and a geographical origin attribute value corresponding to Paris, in other words, multiple playlists are generated based on a mixed and matched set of the selected parameters of interest, including overlapping parameters and different parameters, and further [Fig. 3] teaches a selected subset of parameters, and different playlists generated based on different combinations of the selected subset of parameters, i.e., Playlist 1 – Jazz songs from Paris, Playlist 2 – Rock songs from Italy, Playlist 3 – Rock songs from Paris, Playlist 4 – Rock songs from New York.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAQUEL PEREZ-ARROYO whose telephone number is (571)272-8969. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 5:30pm, Alt Friday, EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sherief Badawi can be reached at 571-272-9782. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/RAQUEL PEREZ-ARROYO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2169