DETAILED ACTION
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC §103
2. 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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Poel et al (Patent No.: US 9,716,861 B1; hereinafter Poel) in view of Conny Sarevall et al (Patent No.: US 11,442,686 B2; hereinafter Conny)
Consider claims 1, 9, and 15, Poel clearly shows and discloses a method, an apparatus, a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions operable to cause one or more processors to perform operations comprising: connecting, via a first software service, user devices to a virtual whiteboard configured to output visual whiteboard content to displays of the user devices (server 12 runs session software 28/ a second software service, server 12 can be used to schedule and manage conference sessions involving conferees at remote locations; all conferees connect to the session for sharing. Here, connection often requires each conferee to call into a session for audio and/or video communication. In at least some cases, during a session, each conferee is required to access shared files separately by opening E-mail attachments as other conferees refer to different files) (col. 2, lines 52-65; col. 11, lines 64-col. 12, lines 1-5; and fig. 9, label 212 and fig. 12, fig. 14, and fig. 18); configuring a graphical user interface (GUI) for display at an output interface of a first user device of the user devices, the GUI including the visual whiteboard content, the visual whiteboard content including a video conference button displayed therein; (other conferees can be invited to join an ongoing session by selecting icon 282/GUI object. When icon 282 is selected, referring also to FIG. 18, a conferee adding tool or window 400 may be opened including a field 402 for identifying others to be invited to join the ongoing session and a “Send Invite” icon for sending invites to conferees identified in field 402. A user's contact storing software (e.g., often E-mail software) may be used to identify potential contacts to invite via a search tool associated with field 402. In at least some cases an invite to another conferee to be added will be in an E-mail/message form and the conferee will be able to join the ongoing session by accepting the invite) (col. 18, lines 47- 58; col. 22, lines 5-17; fig. 12, labels: 274 and 282, 278; fig. 18, labels: 282, 404, 400, 402; fig. 19, label 282 and 274 and fig. 24, label 560), and invoking, based on a user interaction with the video conference button, a video conference from the whiteboard (A user's contact storing software (e.g., often E-mail software) may be used to identify potential contacts to invite via a search tool associated with field 402 (col. 22, lines 5-17 and fig. 18); invite E-mail template 212 in FIG. 9 that includes “Join now” to connect the invitee to the session (fig. 9, col. 15, lines 12-25, and lines 35-40, col. 16, lines 55-63); transmitting, to the user devices other than the first user device and based on an invocation of the video conference, a message configured to connect the user devices other than the first user device to the video conference (When icon 282 is selected, referring also to FIG. 18, a conferee adding tool or window 400 may be opened including a field 402 for identifying others to be invited to join the ongoing session and a “Send Invite” icon for sending invites to conferees identified in field 402. A user's contact storing software (e.g., often E-mail software) may be used to identify potential contacts to invite via a search tool associated with field 402. In at least some cases an invite to another conferee to be added will be in an E-mail/message form and the conferee will be able to join the ongoing session by accepting the invite)) (col. 18, lines 47- 58, col. 22, lines 5-17; fig. 12, labels: 274 and 282, 278; fig. 18, labels: 282, 404, 400, 402; fig. 19, label 282 and 274 and fig. 24); and instantiating the whiteboard including the visual content output to the displays of the user devices within the video conference (a real time video of a conferee may be opened in a sharing window; during a session conference while content is being shared in a sharing window, any conferee may open any queue document or file in a private window for private viewing; conferees can annotate documents in the sharing window on their device and the annotations are shown on all linked devices, read on invocation of the video conference between the user and the invitee) (col. 6, lines 29-59 and fig. 7, fig. 9, fig. 13 and fig. 24); conference, wherein the video conference is facilitated by a second software service different from the first software service (server 12 runs session software 28/ a second software service, server 12 can be used to schedule and manage conference sessions involving conferees at remote locations. after an account has been set up, to initiate a session, a conferee needs to access a system software interface (e.g., a browser page), The browser representation in FIG. 12 is provided in a software window/the first software service) (col. 11, lines 64-col. 12, lines 1-5, col. 20, lines 58-67, and fig. 12, label: 274); however, Poel does not specifically disclose another example for the whiteboard including the visual content.
In the same field of endeavor, Conny clearly specifically disclose another example for the whiteboard including the visual content (col. 3, lines 1-10).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to incorporate the teaching of Conny into teaching of Poel for the purpose of using another example for using virtual whiteboard.
Consider claim 2, Poel and Conny clearly show the method, wherein the message includes context information including at least one of a title associated with the whiteboard, participants of the video conference, or an elapsed time of the video conference (Poel: col. 13, lines 33-55 and fig. 7).
Consider claim 3, Poel and Conny clearly show the method, wherein the GUI indicates users of the whiteboard, wherein the GUI is configured to receive selections of users to invite to the video conference (Poel: col. 13, lines 33-55 and fig. 3, fig. 7, and fig. 34).
Consider claim 4, Poel and Conny clearly show the method, further comprising: using a machine learning model, trained using at least one of visual content from another whiteboard or a transcription from another video conference, to determine a user of an additional user device to invite to the video conference (Poel: col. 47, lines 47-61 and fig. 19).
Consider claim 5, Poel and Conny clearly show the method, further comprising: detecting a first user and a second user of the user devices in physical proximity to one another; and accessing a reservation system to reserve a physical resource for the first user and the second user to use for the video conference (Poel: col. 32, lines 11-20 and fig. 7).
Consider claim 6, Poel and Conny clearly show the method, further comprising: determining a set of permissions for users using the user devices to access the whiteboard within the video conference, wherein the set of permissions is based on access to the whiteboard granted to users before connecting to the video conference (Poel: fig. 4, labels: 203-211).
Consider claim 7, Poel and Conny clearly show the method, further comprising: accessing a calendar system to schedule the video conference, wherein the message includes schedule information including a time for the video conference (Poel: fig. 2 and labels 38).
Consider claim 8, Poel and Conny clearly show the method, urther comprising: transmitting a notification of the video conference to a user of an additional user device that is not connected to the whiteboard (Poel: fig. 3 and fig. 6, label 186).
Consider claim 10, Poel and Conny clearly show the apparatus, wherein the GUI object includes a button to invoke the video conference (Poel: fig. 12, label 282).
Consider claim 11, Poel and Conny clearly show the apparatus, wherein the GUI includes user tiles associated with users of the user devices (Poel: fig. 12, label 276, 284).
Consider claim 12, Poel and Conny clearly show the apparatus, wherein the processor is further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to: invoke the video conference based on receiving an input, associated with the whiteboard, from a first user device; and assign the first user device as a host device that controls the video conference (Poel: fig. 7, label 226).
Consider claim 13, Poel and Conny clearly show the apparatus, wherein GUI includes the message with context information including at least one of a title associated with the whiteboard, participants of the video conference, or an elapsed time of the video conference (Poel: fig.12, label 270 and 278; fig. 19 and fig. 24).
Consider claim 14, Poel and Conny clearly show the apparatus, wherein the processor is further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to: access a reservation system to reserve a room for users of a first user device and a second user device to use for the video conference (Poel: fig. 1, label 420 for conference room and fig. 16, label 350 for private window/room).
Consider claim 15, Poel and Conny clearly show the apparatus, wherein the processor is further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to: transmit a notification of the video conference to a user of an additional user device based on the user being an owner of the whiteboard (Poel: fig. 6, labels: 186 and 171 and fig. 12 and fig. 18).
Consider claim 17, Poel and Conny clearly show the non-transitory computer readable medium, wherein the video conference does not exist prior to the invocation of the video conference (when invite an invitee, would not be a connection between a user and invitee until the invitee accept the connection) (Poel: fig. 12, label 282 and fig. 18).
Consider claim 18, Poel and Conny clearly show the non-transitory computer readable medium, the operations further comprising: using a machine learning model, trained using at least one of visual content from another whiteboard or a transcription from another video conference, to determine a user of an additional user device to invite to the video conference (Poel: col. 47, lines 47-61 and fig. 12, fig. 18, fig. 19, and figs. 23-24).
Consider claim 19, Poel and Conny clearly show the non-transitory computer readable medium, the operations further comprising: including context information in the message, the context information including at least one of a title associated with the whiteboard, participants of the video conference, or an elapsed time of the video conference (Poel: col. 13, lines 33-55 and fig. 12 and fig. 24).
Consider claim 20, Poel and Conny clearly show the non-transitory computer readable medium, the operations further comprising: scheduling the video conference based on availability of users of the user devices according to a calendar system (Poel: fig. 2 and labels 38).
Response to Arguments
The present Office Action is in response to Applicant’s amendment filed on January 21, 2026. Applicant amended claims 1, 9, and 16. Claims 1-20 are now pending in the present application.
Applicant argues on the Applicant’s Response that Poel and Conny fail to teach the limitation “the visual whiteboard content including a video conference button displayed therein; and invoking, based on a user interaction with the video conference button, a video conference from the whiteboard; transmitting, to the user devices other than the first user device and based on an invocation of the video conference, a message configured to connect the user devices other than the first user device to the video conference”
The Examiner respectfully disagrees with Applicants’ arguments regarding claims 1, 9, and 15. Poel teaches FIG. 12, an exemplary session browser page is illustrated in a window 270 (read on visual whiteboard content). The exemplary page includes a session title or name field 272, a common or sharing field or window 274, a session file or document queue 276, conferee icons presented in a conferee queue identified by numeral 278, an “Add File” icon 280 and an add conferee or invitee icon 282 (col. 18, lines 47-55). When icon 282 is selected, referring also to FIG. 18, a conferee adding tool or window 400 may be opened including a field 402 for identifying others to be invited to join the ongoing session and a “Send Invite” icon for sending invites to conferees identified in field 402 (this conferee that identified in the filed 402 is not connected yet to the video conference, so there is no video conference established yet between the user and the invited conferee, and window 270 read on visual whiteboard compare Applicant fig. 5/whiteboard title 502, meet 520 with Poel’s fig. 12, whiteboard title 272, 282) (col. 22, lines 5-17 and fig. 18). Poel teaches A user's contact storing software (e.g., often E-mail software) may be used to identify potential contacts to invite via a search tool associated with field 402 (col. 22, lines 5-17 and fig. 18); invite E-mail template 212 in FIG. 9 that includes “Join now” to connect the invitee to the session (fig. 9), that read on the limitation (col. 15, lines 12-25, and lines 35-40, col. 16, lines 55-63)” transmitting, to the user devices other than the first user device and based on an invocation of the video conference (read on invocation of the video conference between the user and the invitee), a message configured to connect the user devices other than the first user device to the video conference.” As a result, Poel and Conny teach all the limitation of claims 1, 9, and 15.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 extension fee 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 Amal Zenati whose telephone number is 571- 270- 1947. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:00 -5:00 M-F.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ahmad Matar can be reached on 571- 272- 7488. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571- 273-8300.
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/AMAL S ZENATI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2693
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