Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 17/981,295

AUTOMATIC MUSIC PLAYING CONTROL DEVICE, ELECTRONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT, METHOD OF PLAYING AUTOMATIC MUSIC PLAYING DEVICE, AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §103§112
Filed
Nov 04, 2022
Examiner
SCOLES, PHILIP GRANT
Art Unit
2837
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Casio Computer Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
56%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 10m
To Grant
77%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 56% of resolved cases
56%
Career Allow Rate
30 granted / 54 resolved
-12.4% vs TC avg
Strong +21% interview lift
Without
With
+21.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 10m
Avg Prosecution
36 currently pending
Career history
90
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.6%
-38.4% vs TC avg
§103
53.3%
+13.3% vs TC avg
§102
22.0%
-18.0% vs TC avg
§112
20.2%
-19.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 54 resolved cases

Office Action

§103 §112
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 . Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statements (IDSs) submitted on 11/4/2022 and 7/13/2023 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner. Claim Objections Claim 8 is objected to for the following informality: "; and the sound source, wherein the sound source" in page 52, line 27 – page 53, line 1. In the interest of advancing prosecution, this phrase will be interpreted as ", wherein the sound source." Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claims 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 1 recites the limitation, "the number of sound emissions" in lines 6-7 of page 51. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. In the interest of advancing prosecution, this phrase will be interpreted as “a number of sound emissions.” Claims 2-8 are similarly rejected for depending, directly or indirectly, from claim 1. Claim 2 recites the limitation, "the number of chord emissions" in lines 18-19 of page 51. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. In the interest of advancing prosecution, this phrase will be interpreted as, "a number of chord emissions." Claims 3-4 are similarly rejected for depending, directly or indirectly, from claim 2. Claim 6 recites the limitation, "in the case" in line 13 of page 52. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. In the interest of advancing prosecution, this phrase will be interpreted as, "in a case." Claim 6 recites the limitation, "the next beat following" in line 15 of page 52. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. In the interest of advancing prosecution, this phrase will be interpreted as, "a next beat immediately following." Claim 9 recites the limitation, "comprising the steps of" in line 9 of page 53. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. In the interest of advancing prosecution, this phrase will be interpreted as, “comprising steps of.” Claims 10-15 are similarly rejected for depending, directly or indirectly, from claim 9. Claim 9 recites the limitation, " the number of sound emissions" in line 11 of page 53. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. In the interest of advancing prosecution, this phrase will be interpreted as, “a number of sound emissions.” Claims 10-15 are similarly rejected for depending, directly or indirectly, from claim 9. Claim 10 recites the limitation, "the number of chord emissions" in lines 22-23 of page 53. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. In the interest of advancing prosecution, this phrase will be interpreted as "a number of chord emissions." Claims 11-12 are similarly rejected for depending, directly or indirectly, from claim 10. Claim 14 recites the limitation, "in the case" in line 17 of page 54. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. In the interest of advancing prosecution, this phrase will be interpreted as, "in a case." Claim 14 recites the limitation "the next beat following" in line 19 of page 54. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. In the interest of advancing prosecution, this phrase will be interpreted as "a next beat immediately following." Claim 15 is similarly rejected for depending, directly or indirectly, from claim 14. Claim 16 recites the limitation, " the number of sound emissions" in line 8 of page 55. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. In the interest of advancing prosecution, this phrase will be interpreted as, “a number of sound emissions.” Claims 17-19 are similarly rejected for depending, directly or indirectly, from claim 16. Claim 19 recites the limitation, "in the case" in line 2 of page 56. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. In the interest of advancing prosecution, this phrase will be interpreted as, "in a case." Claim 19 recites the limitation "the next beat following" in line 19 of page 54. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. In the interest of advancing prosecution, this phrase will be interpreted as "a next beat immediately following." 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. Claims 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as unpatentable over Meier et al. (US 5496962 A, March 5, 1996), hereinafter Meier, in view of Silverstein (US 20190237051 A1, August 1, 2019), hereinafter Silverstein, and further in view of Yoichiro (JP H01310397 A, December 14, 1989), hereinafter Yoichiro. Regarding claim 1, Meier teaches an automatic music playing control device, comprising at least one processor (Meier col. 1, lines 7-9: "The present invention is directed to the implementation of a system for creating original musical compositions by and in a computer-based device."), wherein the at least one processor: probabilistically selects any one of a plurality of timing types that defines a number of sound emissions (Meier col. 10, lines 12-19: "However, the random selection process described above still allows the selection of a less frequently used pattern. Effectively, the above-described random selection process is executed by the computer controller 31 to generate the chunk rhythm patterns by selecting the size of and the number of chunks or beats 23 in each line or voice 21, and to determine which data slots 22 in each beat or chunk 23 will be filled with note data or be left empty."); probabilistically selects any one of a plurality of note timing tables that defines sound emission timings (Meier col. 9, line 67 - col. 10, line 7: "The probabilities for each of the data slots are stored in the music data library 3 and represented as a table of all the possible combinations of chunk rhythm patterns. Thus, in essence, the selection of creating a chunk rhythm pattern based on the above probabilities is equivalent to randomly selecting one of the chunk rhythm patterns stored in the music data library 3 in the RAM memory 32b."). Meier does not explicitly disclose: a plurality of note timing tables that defines sound emission timings, corresponding to the selected timing type; and instructs a sound source to emit a chord at a sound emission timing based on the selected note timing table. However, Silverstein suggests: a plurality of note timing tables that defines sound emission timings, corresponding to the selected timing type (Silverstein ¶0700: "As shown in FIGS. 27O1 through 27O4, the chord length tables shown in FIGS. 28H are loaded from subsystem B51, and in a parallel manner, the initial chord length for the first sub-phrase a is determined using the initial chord length table, and the second chord length for the first sub-phrase a is determined using both the initial chord length table and the second chord length table, as shown."). Furthermore, Yoichiro suggests: instructs a sound source to emit a chord at a sound emission timing based on the selected note timing table (Yoichiro ¶0001, page 5: "The CPU 1 instructs the accompaniment sound generating section 10 to generate and emit scale notes based on the timing data obtained from the timing control section 9, the scale note data stored in the scale note register (OR), and the chord pattern in the pattern memory section 4."). It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the automatic music playing control device of Meier by adding the timing tables of Silverstein and the sound emission of Yoichiro to introduce variations in the output of the music so as to be "humanly" sounding as possible (Meier col. 16, lines 10-11). Regarding claim 2, Meier (in view of Silverstein and further in view of Yoichiro) teaches an automatic music playing control device comprising the features of claim 1 as discussed above. Yoichiro further suggests that the plurality of timing types includes a plurality of timing types different in a number of chord emissions within a given time period (Yoichiro ¶0001, page 3: "04 is a pattern memory section which stores various performance patterns such as chord patterns, rhythm patterns, and bass patterns. As shown in Figure 4, one code pattern is divided into 16 steps, with each step having one bit of on flag (NF) and one bit of up stroke flag (UF), for a total of two bits of data. Therefore, it is composed of 2 bits x 16 steps. If a plurality of sets of such patterns are to be stored, an area for the plurality of sets may be reserved in the pattern memory section 4."). Regarding claim 3, Meier (in view of Silverstein and further in view of Yoichiro) teaches an automatic music playing control device comprising the features of claim 2 as discussed above. Meier further suggests that the plurality of timing types includes a timing type in which the number of chord emissions within the given time period is zero (Meier col. 10, lines 12-19: "However, the random selection process described above still allows the selection of a less frequently used pattern. Effectively, the above-described random selection process is executed by the computer controller 31 to generate the chunk rhythm patterns by selecting the size of and the number of chunks or beats 23 in each line or voice 21, and to determine which data slots 22 in each beat or chunk 23 will be filled with note data or be left empty."). Regarding claim 4, Meier (in view of Silverstein and further in view of Yoichiro) teaches an automatic music playing control device comprising the features of claim 3 as discussed above. Meier further suggests that the plurality of timing types includes a timing type in which a chord is emitted at a timing when the chord changes within the given time period (Meier col. 10, lines 46-61: "After the chunk rhythm pattern is selected, chord data is selected designating the chord to be used in the current beat or chunk 23 (Step 210). Chord data C for the current beat or chunk 23 designates the chord in which the notes in the beat or chunk are to be played, and is indicative of each note's specific membership in the chord. The range of chords from which the computer controller 31 makes the selection in executing the current section generation element is stored in the music data library 3 and is based on the musical genre being implemented. In one example, the music data library 3 may contain a table of twelve major and twelve minor chords with parameters associated with each chord defining which chord can or cannot follow or precede other chords, as well as parameters for which chords are appropriate for a particular section or form."). Regarding claim 5, Meier (in view of Silverstein and further in view of Yoichiro) teaches an automatic music playing control device comprising the features of claim 1 as discussed above. Meier further suggests that the timing type is present for each tempo range (Meier col. 14, lines 26-27: "The tempo data T designates the tempo for the current beat or chunk 23.") in each of a plurality of regions into which a music piece is divided (Meier col. 14, lines 29-31: "The section beginning/ending data S designates the beginning and ending of a section relative to other sections either preceding or following it."). Regarding claim 6, Meier (in view of Silverstein and further in view of Yoichiro) teaches an automatic music playing control device comprising the features of claim 5 as discussed above. Yoichiro further suggests a case where an upbeat is specified as a sound emission timing (Yoichiro ¶0001, page 3: "As shown in Figure 4, one code pattern is divided into 16 steps, with each step having one bit of on flag (NF) and one bit of up stroke flag (UF), for a total of two bits of data."). Silverstein further suggests that if a chord change is present on a next beat immediately following the upbeat in the selected note timing table (Silverstein ¶0945: "Next, the position in time and space of a chord is considered, as this factor has a strong relationship with which chord root notes are selected. Based on the upcoming beat in the measure for which a chord will be selected, the chord root note table parameters are further modified. This cycle replays again and again until all chords have been selected for a piece of music."), the at least one processor instructs the sound source to emit the chord on the next beat at the sound emission timing of the upbeat (Silverstein ¶0910: "For example, if a piece of music a certain tempo needs to accent a moment in the piece that would otherwise occur on halfway between the fourth beat of a 4/4 measure and the first beat of the next 4/4 measure, an change in the meter of a single measure preceding the desired accent to ⅞ would cause the accent to occur squarely on the first beat of the measure instead, which would then lend itself to a more musical accent in line with the downbeat of the measure."). Regarding claim 7, Meier (in view of Silverstein and further in view of Yoichiro) teaches an automatic music playing control device comprising the features of claim 1 as discussed above. Meier further teaches a communication unit for transmitting and receiving music sound information, wherein the at least one processor instructs the sound source to emit the chord via the communication unit (Meier col. 3, lines 49-50: "Examples for output generating devices would include a MIDI-controllable keyboard "). Regarding claim 8, Meier (in view of Silverstein and further in view of Yoichiro) teaches an automatic music playing control device comprising the features of claim 1 as discussed above. Yoichiro further suggests that the sound source performs an automatic chord accompaniment in response to the instruction of the chord emission at the sound emission timing based on the selected note timing table (Yoichiro ¶0001, page 5: "The CPU 1 instructs the accompaniment sound generating section 10 to generate and emit scale notes based on the timing data obtained from the timing control section 9, the scale note data stored in the scale note register (OR), and the chord pattern in the pattern memory section 4."). Regarding claim 9, Meier teaches a method of playing an automatic music playing device (Meier col. 1, lines 7-9: "The present invention is directed to the implementation of a system for creating original musical compositions by and in a computer-based device."), comprising steps of: probabilistically selecting any one of a plurality of timing types that defines a number of sound emissions (Meier col. 10, lines 12-19: "However, the random selection process described above still allows the selection of a less frequently used pattern. Effectively, the above-described random selection process is executed by the computer controller 31 to generate the chunk rhythm patterns by selecting the size of and the number of chunks or beats 23 in each line or voice 21, and to determine which data slots 22 in each beat or chunk 23 will be filled with note data or be left empty."); probabilistically selecting any one of a plurality of note timing tables that defines sound emission timings (Meier col. 9, line 67 - col. 10, line 7: "The probabilities for each of the data slots are stored in the music data library 3 and represented as a table of all the possible combinations of chunk rhythm patterns. Thus, in essence, the selection of creating a chunk rhythm pattern based on the above probabilities is equivalent to randomly selecting one of the chunk rhythm patterns stored in the music data library 3 in the RAM memory 32b."). Meier does not explicitly disclose: a plurality of note timing tables that defines sound emission timings, corresponding to the selected timing type; and instructing a sound source to emit a chord at a sound emission timing based on the selected note timing table. However, Silverstein suggests: a plurality of note timing tables that defines sound emission timings, corresponding to the selected timing type (Silverstein ¶0700: "As shown in FIGS. 27O1 through 27O4, the chord length tables shown in FIGS. 28H are loaded from subsystem B51, and in a parallel manner, the initial chord length for the first sub-phrase a is determined using the initial chord length table, and the second chord length for the first sub-phrase a is determined using both the initial chord length table and the second chord length table, as shown."). Furthermore, Yoichiro suggests: instructing a sound source to emit a chord at a sound emission timing based on the selected note timing table (Yoichiro ¶0001, page 5: "The CPU 1 instructs the accompaniment sound generating section 10 to generate and emit scale notes based on the timing data obtained from the timing control section 9, the scale note data stored in the scale note register (OR), and the chord pattern in the pattern memory section 4."). It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of playing an automatic music playing device of Meier by adding the timing tables of Silverstein and the sound emission of Yoichiro to introduce variations in the output of the music so as to be "humanly" sounding as possible (Meier col. 16, lines 10-11). Regarding claim 10, Meier (in view of Silverstein and further in view of Yoichiro) teaches a method of playing an automatic music playing device comprising the features of claim 9 as discussed above. Yoichiro further suggests that the plurality of timing types includes a plurality of timing types different in a number of chord emissions within a given time period (Yoichiro ¶0001, page 3: "04 is a pattern memory section which stores various performance patterns such as chord patterns, rhythm patterns, and bass patterns. As shown in Figure 4, one code pattern is divided into 16 steps, with each step having one bit of on flag (NF) and one bit of up stroke flag (UF), for a total of two bits of data. Therefore, it is composed of 2 bits x 16 steps. If a plurality of sets of such patterns are to be stored, an area for the plurality of sets may be reserved in the pattern memory section 4."). Regarding claim 11, Meier (in view of Silverstein and further in view of Yoichiro) teaches a method of playing an automatic music playing device comprising the features of claim 10 as discussed above. Meier further suggests that the plurality of timing types includes a timing type in which the number of chord emissions within the given time period is zero (Meier col. 10, lines 12-19: "However, the random selection process described above still allows the selection of a less frequently used pattern. Effectively, the above-described random selection process is executed by the computer controller 31 to generate the chunk rhythm patterns by selecting the size of and the number of chunks or beats 23 in each line or voice 21, and to determine which data slots 22 in each beat or chunk 23 will be filled with note data or be left empty."). Regarding claim 12, Meier (in view of Silverstein and further in view of Yoichiro) teaches a method of playing an automatic music playing device comprising the features of claim 10 as discussed above. Meier further suggests that the plurality of timing types includes a timing type in which a chord is emitted at a timing when the chord changes within the given time period (Meier col. 10, lines 46-61: "After the chunk rhythm pattern is selected, chord data is selected designating the chord to be used in the current beat or chunk 23 (Step 210). Chord data C for the current beat or chunk 23 designates the chord in which the notes in the beat or chunk are to be played, and is indicative of each note's specific membership in the chord. The range of chords from which the computer controller 31 makes the selection in executing the current section generation element is stored in the music data library 3 and is based on the musical genre being implemented. In one example, the music data library 3 may contain a table of twelve major and twelve minor chords with parameters associated with each chord defining which chord can or cannot follow or precede other chords, as well as parameters for which chords are appropriate for a particular section or form."). Regarding claim 13, Meier (in view of Silverstein and further in view of Yoichiro) teaches a method of playing an automatic music playing device comprising the features of claim 9 as discussed above. Meier further suggests that the timing type is present for each tempo range (Meier col. 14, lines 26-27: "The tempo data T designates the tempo for the current beat or chunk 23.") in each of a plurality of regions into which a music piece is divided (Meier col. 14, lines 29-31: "The section beginning/ending data S designates the beginning and ending of a section relative to other sections either preceding or following it."). Regarding claim 14, Meier (in view of Silverstein and further in view of Yoichiro) teaches a method of playing an automatic music playing device comprising the features of claim 9 as discussed above. Yoichiro further suggests a case where an upbeat is specified as a sound emission timing (Yoichiro ¶0001, page 3: "As shown in Figure 4, one code pattern is divided into 16 steps, with each step having one bit of on flag (NF) and one bit of up stroke flag (UF), for a total of two bits of data."). Silverstein further suggests that if a chord change is present on a next beat immediately following the upbeat in the selected note timing table (Silverstein ¶0945: "Next, the position in time and space of a chord is considered, as this factor has a strong relationship with which chord root notes are selected. Based on the upcoming beat in the measure for which a chord will be selected, the chord root note table parameters are further modified. This cycle replays again and again until all chords have been selected for a piece of music."), the at least one processor instructs the sound source to emit the chord on the next beat at the sound emission timing of the upbeat (Silverstein ¶0910: "For example, if a piece of music a certain tempo needs to accent a moment in the piece that would otherwise occur on halfway between the fourth beat of a 4/4 measure and the first beat of the next 4/4 measure, an change in the meter of a single measure preceding the desired accent to ⅞ would cause the accent to occur squarely on the first beat of the measure instead, which would then lend itself to a more musical accent in line with the downbeat of the measure."). Regarding claim 15, Meier (in view of Silverstein and further in view of Yoichiro) teaches a method of playing an automatic music playing device comprising the features of claim 9 as discussed above. Meier further teaches that there is further provided a communication unit for transmitting and receiving music sound information; and the sound source is instructed to emit the chord via the communication unit (Meier col. 3, lines 49-50: "Examples for output generating devices would include a MIDI-controllable keyboard "). Regarding claim 16, Meier teaches a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program of system (Meier col. 1, lines 7-9: "The present invention is directed to the implementation of a system for creating original musical compositions by and in a computer-based device."), wherein the program is configured to allow a computer in an automatic music playing control device: to probabilistically select any one of a plurality of timing types that defines the number of sound emissions (Meier col. 10, lines 12-19: "However, the random selection process described above still allows the selection of a less frequently used pattern. Effectively, the above-described random selection process is executed by the computer controller 31 to generate the chunk rhythm patterns by selecting the size of and the number of chunks or beats 23 in each line or voice 21, and to determine which data slots 22 in each beat or chunk 23 will be filled with note data or be left empty."); to probabilistically select any one of a plurality of note timing tables that defines sound emission timings (Meier col. 9, line 67 - col. 10, line 7: "The probabilities for each of the data slots are stored in the music data library 3 and represented as a table of all the possible combinations of chunk rhythm patterns. Thus, in essence, the selection of creating a chunk rhythm pattern based on the above probabilities is equivalent to randomly selecting one of the chunk rhythm patterns stored in the music data library 3 in the RAM memory 32b."). Meier does not explicitly disclose: a plurality of note timing tables that defines sound emission timings, corresponding to the selected timing type; and to instruct a sound source to emit a chord at a sound emission timing based on the selected note timing table. However, Silverstein suggests: a plurality of note timing tables that defines sound emission timings, corresponding to the selected timing type (Silverstein ¶0700: "As shown in FIGS. 27O1 through 27O4, the chord length tables shown in FIGS. 28H are loaded from subsystem B51, and in a parallel manner, the initial chord length for the first sub-phrase a is determined using the initial chord length table, and the second chord length for the first sub-phrase a is determined using both the initial chord length table and the second chord length table, as shown."). Furthermore, Yoichiro suggests: to instruct a sound source to emit a chord at a sound emission timing based on the selected note timing table (Yoichiro ¶0001, page 5: "The CPU 1 instructs the accompaniment sound generating section 10 to generate and emit scale notes based on the timing data obtained from the timing control section 9, the scale note data stored in the scale note register (OR), and the chord pattern in the pattern memory section 4."). It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the non-transitory computer-readable recording medium of Meier by adding the timing tables of Silverstein and the sound emission of Yoichiro to introduce variations in the output of the music so as to be "humanly" sounding as possible (Meier col. 16, lines 10-11). Regarding claim 17, Meier (in view of Silverstein and further in view of Yoichiro) teaches a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium comprising the features of claim 16 as discussed above. Meier further suggests that the plurality of timing types includes a timing type in which a chord is emitted at a timing when the chord changes within the given time period (Meier col. 10, lines 46-61: "After the chunk rhythm pattern is selected, chord data is selected designating the chord to be used in the current beat or chunk 23 (Step 210). Chord data C for the current beat or chunk 23 designates the chord in which the notes in the beat or chunk are to be played, and is indicative of each note's specific membership in the chord. The range of chords from which the computer controller 31 makes the selection in executing the current section generation element is stored in the music data library 3 and is based on the musical genre being implemented. In one example, the music data library 3 may contain a table of twelve major and twelve minor chords with parameters associated with each chord defining which chord can or cannot follow or precede other chords, as well as parameters for which chords are appropriate for a particular section or form."). Regarding claim 18, Meier (in view of Silverstein and further in view of Yoichiro) teaches a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium comprising the features of claim 16 as discussed above. Meier further suggests that the timing type is present for each tempo range (Meier col. 14, lines 26-27: "The tempo data T designates the tempo for the current beat or chunk 23.") in each of a plurality of regions into which a music piece is divided (Meier col. 14, lines 29-31: "The section beginning/ending data S designates the beginning and ending of a section relative to other sections either preceding or following it."). Regarding claim 19, Meier (in view of Silverstein and further in view of Yoichiro) teaches a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium comprising the features of claim 16 as discussed above. Yoichiro further suggests a case where an upbeat is specified as a sound emission timing (Yoichiro ¶0001, page 3: "As shown in Figure 4, one code pattern is divided into 16 steps, with each step having one bit of on flag (NF) and one bit of up stroke flag (UF), for a total of two bits of data."). Silverstein further suggests that if a chord change is present on a next beat immediately following the upbeat in the selected note timing table (Silverstein ¶0945: "Next, the position in time and space of a chord is considered, as this factor has a strong relationship with which chord root notes are selected. Based on the upcoming beat in the measure for which a chord will be selected, the chord root note table parameters are further modified. This cycle replays again and again until all chords have been selected for a piece of music."), the at least one processor instructs the sound source to emit the chord on the next beat at the sound emission timing of the upbeat (Silverstein ¶0910: "For example, if a piece of music a certain tempo needs to accent a moment in the piece that would otherwise occur on halfway between the fourth beat of a 4/4 measure and the first beat of the next 4/4 measure, an change in the meter of a single measure preceding the desired accent to ⅞ would cause the accent to occur squarely on the first beat of the measure instead, which would then lend itself to a more musical accent in line with the downbeat of the measure."). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHILIP SCOLES whose telephone number is (703)756-1831. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30-4:30 ET. 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, Dedei Hammond can be reached on 571-270-7938. 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. /PHILIP G SCOLES/ Examiner, Art Unit 2837 /JEFFREY DONELS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 04, 2022
Application Filed
Jan 10, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103, §112 (current)

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1-2
Expected OA Rounds
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Grant Probability
77%
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3y 10m
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