DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
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 final rejection. 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 12/08/2025 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of pre-AIA 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) the invention was known or used by others in this country, or patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country, before the invention thereof by the applicant for a patent.
Claims 89-90, 92 and 94-95 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Modiri et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2009/0025034).
Referring to claim 89, Modiri discloses a computerized method of utilizing a recommendation search engine to recommend one or more content elements to a user via a content distribution network (see Paragraph 0012 for allowing a user to specify their interests).
Modiri also discloses receiving first data indicative one or more keywords via search function, the first data originating from a computerized client device configured to execute the search function (see Paragraph 0012 for the user specifying their interests, for example, note user selection of the search term “Edward Norton”).
Modiri also discloses collecting data from a plurality of content sources (see Paragraph 0013 for receiving data from a plurality of sources).
Modiri also discloses evaluating the first data with respect to second data relating to one or more criteria (see Paragraph 0012 evaluating the data to determine movies Edward Norton starred in that have a rating of PG-13 or below) and a threshold level of popularity based on the collected data (see Paragraph 0012 for obtaining results based on the threshold level (rating)).
Modiri also discloses that based on the evaluating, identifying one or more content elements having a prescribed relationship to the one or more keywords and the one or more criteria (see Paragraphs 0012-13 for determining the results to present to the user or provide alerts to the user based on the search query).
Modiri also discloses providing the one or more content elements to the computerized client device (see Paragraphs 0012-0013 for presenting content items of interest to the user).
Referring to claim 90, Modiri also discloses the evaluating of the first data with respect to the second data relating to the one or more criteria comprises utilizing data relating to a geographic location associated with the computerized client device and that the identifying of the one or more content elements having the prescribed relationship to the one or more keywords and the one or more criteria comprises identifying one or more content elements that are geographically relevant to the computerized client device and relate to the one or more keywords (see Paragraph 0008 and the bottom of Paragraph 0013).
Referring to claim 92, Modiri discloses accessing a database to obtain data representative of a user profile, the user profile comprising user-specific data specific to at least one user of the computerized client device, wherein the evaluating of the first data with respect to the second data relating to the one or more criteria comprises evaluating the first data with respect to the user-specific data (see Paragraph 0013 for using user parameters 117 to determine a list of programs to present to the user and alerts for programs that are of interest to the user).
Referring to claim 94, Modiri discloses providing of the one or more content elements to the computerized client device comprises providing the one or more content elements to the computerized client device within a playlist of a plurality of content elements, the plurality of content elements comprising other content elements which do not have the prescribed relationship to the one or more keywords and the one or more criteria (see Paragraph 0012 for additionally suggesting the Jay Leno show, which are not movies that Edward Norton starred in, wherein movies and talk shows do not have a prescribed relationship).
Referring to claim 95, Modiri discloses enabling a user of the computerized client device to select or enter the one or more criteria (see the bottom of Paragraph 0013).
Claim 91 is rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Modiri et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2009/0025034) in view of Rhoads et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2007/0055689).
Referring to claim 91, Modiri discloses all of the limitations of claim 89, but fails to teach collecting device-specific data from the computerized client device, wherein the evaluating of the first data with respect to the second data relating to the one or more criteria comprises evaluating the first data with respect to the device-specific data.
Rhoads discloses collecting device-specific data from the computerized client device, wherein the evaluating of the first data with respect to the second data relating to the one or more criteria comprises evaluating the first data with respect to the device-specific data (see Paragraphs 0030-0033).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made, to modify the content selection system, as taught Modiri, using the device-specific data, as taught by Rhoads, for the purpose of distinguishing between different display protocols for which the data needs to be formatted for proper rendering (see Paragraph 0030 of Rhoads).
Claim 93 is rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Modiri et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2009/0025034) in view of Baxter (U.S. Patent Application Publication 20100154005).
Referring to claim 93, Modiri discloses all of the limitations of claim 89, but fails to teach receiving of the first data indicative the one or more keywords via the search function comprises receiving data indicative of one or more keywords collectively formed by one or more user-entered keyword elements and one or more keyword elements generated via an auto-complete function.
Baxter discloses receiving of the first data indicative the one or more keywords via the search function comprises receiving data indicative of one or more keywords collectively formed by one or more user-entered keyword elements and one or more keyword elements generated via an auto-complete function (see Paragraph 0047).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made, to modify the content selection system, as taught Modiri, using the autocomplete functionality, as taught by Baxter, for the purpose of providing a list of potential keywords matching the entered letters to provide additional options for selection by a user (see Paragraphs 0002 and 0047 of Baxter).
Claim 96 is rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Modiri et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2009/0025034) in view of Blas (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2004/0216158).
Referring to claim 96, Modiri teaches all of the limitations of claim 89, as well as filtering out programs to not present to the user for selection, therefore providing the one or more content elements to the computerized device based on respective correlation levels of the one or more content elements to the one or more keywords and the one or more criteria (see Paragraph 0012 presenting Edward Norton television programs based on keywords (actor name) and one or more criteria (rating)), but fails to teach that the one or more content elements are presented in a prioritized order.
Blas discloses presenting a list of preferred programs in a prioritized list (see Paragraph 0051).
At the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art modify the presentation of the content elements, as taught by Modiri, using the prioritized order of content elements in a presented list, as taught by Blas, for the purpose of allowing a viewer to quickly identify programs of interest (see Paragraph 0008 of Blas).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 77-88 are allowed. A Reasons for Allowance will be issued upon allowance of the entire instant application.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON P SALCE whose telephone number is (571)272-7301. The examiner can normally be reached 5:30am-10:00pm M-F (Flex Schedule).
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, Nathan 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.
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.
/Jason Salce/Senior Examiner, Art Unit 2421
Jason P Salce
Senior Examiner
Art Unit 2421
January 27, 2026
Prosecution Insights