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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
2. The following is a quotation of the second paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112:
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 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which applicant regards as the invention.
Claims 11 and 12 recites the term “an audio processing part that removes voices transmitted in the general meeting from voices transmitted in the individual meeting.” It is unclear the term “voices transmitted in the general meeting and voice transmitted in the individual meeting.” Moreover, claim 12 recites the term “wherein the audio processing part removes the voices transmitted in the general meeting from the voices transmitted in the individual meeting by treating voices transmitted from the source terminal of the general meeting as voices transmitted from the attendee terminal of the individual meeting in an echo cancellation processing.” It is unclear if this term referring to “transmitted to” instead of “transmitted in” and how is “echo cancellation” related to removes the voice transmitted. Applicant should resolve the above ambiguities.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC §103
3. 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 – 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BADER-NATAL et al (Pub. No. US 2016/0073059 A1; hereinafter BADER) in view of Stevens (Pub. No. US 2021/0377062 A1; hereinafter Stevens)
Consider claims 1, 14, and 15, BADER clearly shows and discloses a meeting management method, a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium, and a meeting management apparatus managing a plurality of group meetings that each of a plurality of communication terminals can attend (techniques for subdividing the participants of a virtual conference into breakout groups. One embodiment of the invention automatically generates the breakout groups based on user profile information associated with each participant, previous interaction history associated with each participant, or any other data associated with participants in the virtual conferencing environment ) (paragraphs: 0071 and fig. 1 ), the meeting management apparatus comprising: an information acquiring part that acquires information in which (i) an individual meeting, which is a group meeting selected from among a plurality of group meetings (Breakout groups can be formed by the virtual conferencing environment based on user profile information associated with each participant, previous interaction history associated with each participant or any other suitable historical data associated with each participant in the virtual conferencing environment) (paragraphs: 0100-0103), and (ii) a plurality of attendee terminals that are communication terminals attending the individual meeting among the plurality of communication terminals are associated with each other (a breakout group selection module 320 selects participants to be subdivided into breakout groups in accordance with input from the moderator 325 (e.g., a processor or instructor), the identity of active participants in the conference 341, and other user data 306 which may be retrieved from the user database; once a breakout group is formed, the members of the breakout group will only receive and render video and/or audio of other members of the breakout group. The video/audio of the moderator may also be shared with the members of a breakout group when visiting the breakout group. This may be accomplished, for example, by muting the audio and disabling video rendering of streams for participants in all other groups.) (paragraphs: 0105-0106, 0110, 0111 and fig. 3); and a terminal control part that executes, in parallel, the individual meeting for transmitting and receiving voices between the plurality of attendee terminals and a general meeting for transmitting voices from a predetermined source terminal to the plurality of communication terminals (once a breakout group is formed, the members of the breakout group will only receive and render video and/or audio of other members of the breakout group; the materials and/or resources that may be distributed to all breakout groups include (but are not limited to) YouTube videos; PDF files; PowerPoint files; URLs; document notes; picture files in different forms; sound files (e.g., MP3); links to online sites; and any other visible or audible material capable of being reviewed and/or edited during for the breakout session; the professor, teacher or other form of moderator may send particular documents and other resources (e.g., homework) to specific breakout groups (e.g., based on participants in the breakout group)) (paragraphs: 0111, 0115, 0118, 0119, 0120, 0148 and fig. 3); however, BADER does not disclose another example a meeting management apparatus managing a plurality of group meetings that each of a plurality of communication terminals can attend.
In the same field of endeavor, Stevens clearly specifically discloses another example for a meeting management apparatus managing a plurality of group meetings that each of a plurality of communication terminals can attend (paragraphs: paragraphs: 0111, 0115, 0118, 0119, 0120, 0148)
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 Stevens into teaching of BADER for the purpose of providing another example for meeting management apparatus managing a plurality of group meetings that each of a plurality of communication terminals can attend.
Consider claim 2, BADER and Stevens clearly show the meeting management apparatus, further comprising: a receiving part that receives a designation of a designated individual meeting that is a group meeting different from the individual meeting that the attendee terminal is attending among the plurality of group meetings, while the terminal control part is performing the individual meeting and the general meeting in parallel, wherein the terminal control part causes the attendee terminal to attend the designated individual meeting (BADER: paragraphs: 0111, 0115, 0118, 0119, 0120, 0148).
Consider claim 3, BADER and Stevens clearly show the meeting management apparatus, wherein the terminal control part causes a screen corresponding to the general meeting, together with a list of the plurality of group meetings, to be displayed in the attendee terminal, and the receiving part receives a designation of the designated individual meeting among the plurality of group meetings displayed on the attendee terminal (BADER: figs. 14, 15A, and 15B).
Consider claim 4, BADER and Stevens clearly show the meeting management apparatus, wherein the terminal control part causes a screen corresponding to the general meeting, together with a list of a plurality of users using the plurality of communication terminals, to be displayed in the attendee terminal (BADER: figs.: 7B, 9, 11, and 12; Stevens: fig. 1; ), the receiving part receives a designation of a designated attendee who is a user different from an attendee using the attendee terminal among the plurality of users displayed on the attendee terminal, and the terminal control part starts the designated individual meeting for transmitting and receiving voices between the attendee terminal used by the attendee and a communication terminal used by the designated attendee (BADER: fig. 15A and paragraphs: 0105-0106, 0110, 0111).
Consider claim 5, BADER and Stevens clearly show the meeting management apparatus, wherein the terminal control part causes the attendee terminal selected from among the plurality of attendee terminals to exit the individual meeting, and causes the attendee terminal to be the source terminal of the general meeting (BADER: fig. 14, paragraphs: 0119).
Consider claim 6, BADER and Stevens clearly show the meeting management apparatus, wherein. the terminal control part causes a communication terminal attending the individual 28 meeting and a communication terminal not attending the individual meeting among the plurality of communication terminals to be displayed in different display modes, in at least one of the attendee terminal or the source terminal (Stevens: fig. 2B).
Consider claim 7, BADER and Stevens clearly show the meeting management apparatus, wherein the terminal control part disables transmission of at least one of an image or a voice from the attendee terminal to the general meeting on condition that the individual meeting and the general meeting are performed in parallel (BADER: paragraphs: 0111, 0115, 0116; Stevens: paragraphs: 0097).
Consider claim 8, BADER and Stevens clearly show the meeting management apparatus, further comprising: an audio processing part that changes the volume of at least one of the individual meeting or the general meeting in the attendee terminal according to whether the individual meeting and the general meeting are performed in parallel (Stevens: paragraphs: 0006-0008, 0010 and 0026).
Consider claim 9, BADER and Stevens clearly show the meeting management apparatus, wherein the audio processing part decreases the volume of the individual meeting in the attendee terminal on condition that the general meeting starts during the individual meeting (Stevens: paragraphs: 0010 and 0026).
Consider claim 10, BADER and Stevens clearly show the meeting management apparatus, wherein the audio processing part decreases the volume of the general meeting in the attendee terminal on condition that the individual meeting and the general meeting are performed in parallel and that voices are transmitted from any one of the plurality of attendee terminals in the individual meeting (BADER: paragraphs: 0111, 0115, 0116; Stevens: paragraphs: 0010, 0026, and 0097).
Consider claim 11, BADER and Stevens clearly show the meeting management apparatus, further comprising: an audio processing part that removes voices transmitted in the general meeting from voices transmitted in the individual meeting (BADER: paragraphs: 0111, 0115, 0116; Stevens: paragraphs: 0010, and 0097).
Consider claim 12, BADER and Stevens clearly show the meeting management apparatus, wherein the audio processing part removes the voices transmitted in the general meeting from the voices transmitted in the individual meeting by treating voices transmitted from the source terminal of the general meeting as voices transmitted from the attendee terminal of the individual meeting in an echo cancellation processing performed on voices transmitted from the plurality of attendee terminals (Stevens: paragraphs: 0084 and 0151).
Consider claim 13, BADER and Stevens clearly show the meeting management apparatus, further comprising: a receiving part that receives a setting of a single set value corresponding to a ratio of the volume of the individual meeting to the volume of the general meeting from the attendee terminal while the terminal control part is performing the individual meeting and the general meeting in parallel; and an audio processing part that determines the volume of the individual meeting and the volume of the general meeting in the attendee terminal in accordance with the single set value (stevens: paragraphs: 0006-0008, 0010).
Conclusion
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 2656