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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114 after expiration of the suspension requested by the Applicant. Applicant’s request for suspension. Applicant's submission filed on 09/05/2025has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4, 6, 8-12, 14, and 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Alsina et al., USPGPUB 2017/0093943 (hereinafter “Alsina”).
Regarding claim 1, Alsina discloses a cloud-based computing system (Figs. 1, 6-8, Abstract) comprising:
at least one processor (Components of Fig. 1 such as user devices, servers have processors, Fig. 8, 802);
non-transitory computer-readable medium (Fig. 8, 804); and
program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor and thereby cause the cloud-based computing system to be configured to:
maintain a playlist of media items for playback by one or more playback devices (Playlists as created by the users, e.g. Fig. 6; ¶¶ [6], [25], [51], [66]-[67]);
for a given media item in the playlist, maintain, as part of the playlist, a packet that includes the given media item and a set of one or more counterpart media items that each correspond to the given media item (¶¶ [40], [56]-[57], [59]; Also See Fig.7 and corresponding description) ;
receive, from a playback device over a communication network, (i) a request to play back the playlist of media items (¶¶ [8], [27]) and (ii) operational data about the playback device (¶ [62]); and
based on the received operational data about the playback device
select one of the one or more counterpart media items for playback by the playback device (¶¶ [62]-[65]); and
transmit the selected counterpart media item to the playback device for playback (¶¶ [62]-[65]). See Fig. 7 and corresponding description.
Regarding claim 2, Alsina discloses wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor and thereby cause the computing system to be configured to (i) select one of the one or more counterpart media items for playback by the playback device and (¶¶ [62]-[65], Fig. 7, 702-708) (ii) transmit the selected counterpart media item to the playback device for playback comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor and thereby cause the computing system to be configured to (i) select one of the one or more counterpart media items for playback by the playback device instead of the given media item (Fig. 7, 710) and (ii) transmit the selected counterpart media item to the playback device for playback instead of the given media item (Fig. 7, 710-714). ¶¶ [62]-[74]
Regarding claim 3, Alsina discloses wherein the given media item comprises a first version of a song that includes an indication of explicit content (¶¶ [7], [26], [50], [56], [59]), wherein the set of one or more counterpart media items that each correspond to the given media item comprises a second version of the song that does not include an indication of explicit content, and wherein the operational data about the playback device indicates a user preference for non-explicit content (¶¶ [59], [72]).
Regarding claim 4, Alsina discloses wherein the given media item comprises a studio version of a song, and wherein the set of one or more counterpart media items that each correspond to the given media item comprises a live version of the song (¶¶ [7], [25], [31], [59]).
Regarding claim 6, Alsina discloses:
maintain a second playlist of media items for a second internet radio station for playback by one or more playback devices (Figs. 6, 7, and corresponding descriptions; ¶¶ [27], [28], [31], [50]); and
maintain a playback history for the playback device across at least the first playlist and the second playlist, wherein the received operational data about the playback device comprises the playback history (¶¶ [23], [70]).
Regarding claim 8, Alsina discloses wherein the set of one or more counterpart media items that each correspond to the given media item comprises a consecutive media item to be played directly after the given media item (¶¶ [6], [25]).
The computer program product of claims 9-12, 14, and 16 recite similar features as those of the systems of claims 1-4, 6, and 8, respectively, effectuating the same, therefore, are rejected by the same analysis.
The method of claims 17-18 recite similar features as those of the systems of claims 1-2, respectively, effectuating the same, therefore, are rejected by the same analysis.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 5, 13, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Alsina, in view of Shanson et al., USPGPUB 2022/0046302 (hereinafter “Shanson”).
Regarding claims 5, 13, and 19 Alsina discloses:
maintain an indication of a current playback position within the playlist of media items;
based on the playback length of the selected counterpart media item, determine a temporal offset between a local playback position of the playlist by the playback device and the current playback position (¶¶ [8], [26], [29], [38]).
Alsina is silent on:
based on the determined temporal offset, determine interstitial content for playback by the playback device between two or more media items from the playlist of media items, wherein the interstitial content, when played back by the playback device, results in a reduction in the temporal offset; and
transmit the interstitial content to the playback device for playback between the two or more media items.
However, Shanson discloses a method, computer program product for managing (Abstract), wherein:
based on the determined temporal offset, determine interstitial content for playback by the playback device between two or more media items from the playlist of media items, wherein the interstitial content, when played back by the playback device, results in a reduction in the temporal offset (¶¶ [268]-[270); and
transmit the interstitial content to the playback device for playback between the two or more media items (¶¶ [268]-[270]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the system of Alsina with Shanson’s teachings in order to fill in any gaps in presentation to keep the viewer amused while creating additional revenue streams for the providers.
Claims 7, 15, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Alsina, in view of Ha et al., Korean Patent publication KR20190009821A (hereinafter “Ha”).
Regarding claims 7, 15, and 20, Alsina is not explicit in based on the playback history, determine one or more instances of playback of the given media item by the playback device within a threshold period of time, wherein designating the one of the one or more counterpart media items for playback by the playback device instead of the given media item is based on determining the one or more instances of playback of the given media item by the playback device within a threshold period of time.
However, Ha discloses a method, system, and computer program product for generating playlists (Abstract) wherein in based on the playback history, determine one or more instances of playback of the given media item by the playback device within a threshold period of time, wherein designating the one of the one or more counterpart media items for playback by the playback device instead of the given media item is based on determining the one or more instances of playback of the given media item by the playback device within a threshold period of time (Page 6, last paragraph; See Figure 4 and corresponding descriptions).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the system of Alsina with Ha’s teachings in order to keep the playlist current and relevant.
Contacts
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES R MARANDI whose telephone number is (571)270-1843. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8-7 ET flex.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nathan J Flynn can be reached at 571-272-1915. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JAMES R MARANDI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2421
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