DETAILED ACTION
1. Claims 1-8, 10-18 and 20 are pending in this application.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
2. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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 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.
Response to Amendment
3. This office action is in response to applicant’s arguments filed on 02/05/2026 in response to the non-final rejection mailed on 10/06/2026. Claims 1 and 11 have been amended. Claims 8 and 18 have been previously presented. Claims 2-7, 10, 12-17 and 20 have been kept original. Claims 9, 19 and 21-50 have been cancelled. Amendment has been entered.
Response to Arguments
4. Applicant's arguments, filed on 02/05/2026, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-8, 10-18 and 20 under 35 U.S.C. §101 an abstract idea (mental process) (Applicant’s arguments, pages 6-7), have been fully considered and are persuasive. A human is incapable of deploying configurations to computer devices mentally. It is a procedure that requires computer involvement.
For the above reasons, the rejection of claims 1-8, 10-18 and 20 under 35 U.S.C. §101 an abstract idea (mental process) is withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments, filed on 02/05/2026, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-8, 10-18 and 20 under 35 U.S.C. §103 (Applicant’s arguments, pages 7-9), have been fully considered and are but are moot because the independent claims are amended and introduce new limitations that were not previously presented newly found prior art has been applied.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. 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 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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) 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.
6. Claims 1-2, 6-8, 10-12 and 16-18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Gordon et al. (US 20190361694 A1) in view of Abou Mahmoud et al. (US 20170006094 A1) in further view of Joo et al. (US 20170099602 A1).
As per claim 1, Gordon teaches a method comprising (i.e. “methods”; Abstract):
determining, using control circuitry (i.e. “processor”; para. [0003], [1867]-[1868]; Examiner note: it is also know that the control circuitry is a key part of a processor),
a modification of a setting of a first user device (i.e. “… the tablet computer is being used in a mobile setting, for example, yet still automatically detect and react to the presence of desktop peripheral devices and mounts.”; fig. 27, para. [0407]-[0411], [1372]; Further, i.e. “a control panel which allows users to view and manipulate basic system settings and controls, such as adding hardware, adding and removing software, controlling user accounts, and changing accessibility options associated with the desktop mode use (and possibly even tablet mode use), and/or 9) a video conference control interface for initiating, managing, controlling, etc.”; para. [0528]; Examiner note: the first user device is interpreted as the tablet computer; the determining modification of the setting of the first user device is interpreted as the detect and react to the presence of desktop peripheral devices and mounts);
However, it is noted that the prior art of Gordon does not explicitly teach “deriving, using control circuitry, contextual information relating to the modification of the setting of the first user device by the control circuitry using a processor to process metadata relating to the modified setting to indicate a category of an aspect derived from the modified setting; and automatically modifying a setting of a second user device to be consistent with the category of the aspect derived from the modified setting, wherein the second user device is identified based on a user profile associated with the first user device and the modified setting of the second user device is of a different media type than the modified setting of the first user device: and outputting, using control circuitry, a recommendation of media content at a the second user device based on the contextual information relating to the modification of the setting of the first user device, wherein the media content corresponds to an operational theme determined based on the contextual information, and wherein the recommendation includes an option to add the media content to a second user profile associated with the second user device.”
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor, Abou Mahmoud teaches deriving, using control circuitry (i.e. “a computer processor monitoring one or more activities of a user of a computing device”; Abstract; Examiner note: it is also known that the control circuitry is a key part of a processor),
contextual information (i.e. “contextual information generation program 200 may determine the window of time based on information derived from one or more actions of a user of client device”; para. [0004], [0033]; Examiner note: the deriving contextual is interpreted as the information derived from one or more actions of a user of client device)
relating to the modification of the setting of the first user device (i.e. “contextual information generation program 200 responds to one or more user preferences associated with electronic communications on client device 120. … contextual information generation program 200 responds to the modification of an electronic communication.”; para. [0031]; Examiner note: the modification of the setting is interpreted as the modification of an electronic communication. The first user device is interpreted as the client device)
by the control circuitry (i.e. “a computer processor monitoring one or more activities of a user of a computing device”; Abstract; Examiner note: it is also known that the control circuitry is a key part of a processor)
using a processor (i.e. “one or more computer processors monitoring one or more activities of a user of a computing device.”; Abstract, fig. 4, para. [0004])
to process metadata relating to the modified setting (i.e. “contextual information generation program 200 excludes (e.g., filters) activities associated with or containing information (e.g., flags, keywords, meta-data, etc.)”; fig. 2, para. [0028]-[0029]; Examiner note: the process metadata relating to the modified setting is interpreted as the contextual information generation program 200 excludes (e.g., filters) activities associated with or containing information (e.g., flags, keywords, meta-data, etc.))
to indicate a category of an aspect derived from the modified setting (i.e. “contextual information generation program 200 may determine high-level information, such as tags, meta-data, keywords, time, an author, due date, etc. that is associated with one or more user activities. In some embodiments, contextual information generation program 200 may initially categorize and filter (e.g., does not record, discards) contextual information associated with the activities of a user. … For example, prefiltered contextual information may include: URLs, subject lines, videos, wikis, meta-data, blogs, bookmarks, news articles, e-books, and names of activities (e.g., word processor, spreadsheet, etc.) including files utilized by the activities (e.g., Monthly report).”; fig. 2, para. [0029]; Examiner note: the indicate the category of the aspect derived from the modified setting is interpreted as the contextual information generation program 200 may initially categorize and filter (e.g., does not record, discards) contextual information associated with the activities of a user);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Abou Mahmoud that teaches associating contextual information with electronic communications into Gordon that teaches device coordination. Additionally, this enhances the ability to use temporal and location data for defining moments more precisely and partitioning moment collections into more specific subgroups.
The motivation for doing so would be to facilitate electronic communications transmitted between users with different device settings because it is user-friendly and anticipates the speed of response by other users (Abou Mahmoud, para. [0002]-[0003]).
However, it is noted that the combination of the prior arts of Gordon and Abou Mahmoud do not explicitly teach “automatically modifying a setting of a second user device to be consistent with the category of the aspect derived from the modified setting, wherein the second user device is identified based on a user profile associated with the first user device and the modified setting of the second user device is of a different media type than the modified setting of the first user device: and outputting, using control circuitry, a recommendation of media content at a the second user device based on the contextual information relating to the modification of the setting of the first user device, wherein the media content corresponds to an operational theme determined based on the contextual information, and wherein the recommendation includes an option to add the media content to a second user profile associated with the second user device.”
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor, Joo teaches automatically modifying a setting of a second user device to be consistent with the category of the aspect derived from the modified setting (i.e. “modify the theme data based on the properties of a display included in the second electronic device 102 (or another electronic device). For example, the processor 120 of the first electronic device 101 may generate various images to be included in second theme data by enlarging/reducing, resizing, or cropping (or trimming) various images (for example, the background image of a home screen, the background image of a lock screen, and the image of an icon/widget) included in the theme data for first electronic device.”; fig.14a, para. [0240], [0242], [0243]; Examiner note: the setting is interpreted as the properties of a display. The category of the aspect derived from the modified setting is interpreted as the enlarging/reducing, resizing, or cropping (or trimming) various images (for example, the background image of a home screen, the background image of a lock screen, and the image of an icon/widget) included in the theme data),
wherein the second user device is identified based on a user profile associated with the first user device (i.e. “The theme server 2603, for example, may transmit a theme synchronization notification signal to the second user device 2602 and the third user device 2605 based on the obtained user account information”; fig. 26a, 27, para. [0346], [0347]; Examiner note: the user profile is interpreted as the user account information) and
the modified setting of the second user device is of a different media type than the modified setting of the first user device (i.e. “In addition to applying the theme data received from the theme server 1603, the smartphone 1602 may share the received theme with a tablet PC 1604, a smart watch 1605, and a smart TV 1606 (hereinafter referred to as a peripheral device), which are connected to the smartphone 1602. At this point, the theme sharing method described with reference to FIG. 14A or FIG. 14B may be performed between the smartphone 1601 and each peripheral device.”; para. [0266]. Further, i.e. “the first electronic device 101 may modify the theme data based on the properties of a display included in the second electronic device 102 (or another electronic device). For example, the processor 120 of the first electronic device 101 may generate various images to be included in second theme data by enlarging/reducing, resizing, or cropping (or trimming) various images (for example, the background image of a home screen, the background image of a lock screen, and the image of an icon/widget) included in the theme data for first electronic device.”; para. [0240]; Examiner note: the first user device is interpreted as the smartphone 1602. The second user device is interpreted as the tablet PC 1604, a smart watch 1605, and a smart TV 1606. The properties of the display are interpreted as the different media type); and
outputting, using control circuitry, a recommendation of media content at the second user device based on the contextual information relating to the modification of the setting of the first user device (i.e. “the processor 120 of the electronic device 101 may provide a guide for first theme resource data to an object at various time points. For example, the guide may be provided based a user input history (or context).”; para. [0319]. Further, i.e. “The guide may be outputted to the display 160 in various forms.”; para. [0316]; Examiner note: the control circuitry is interpreted as the processor. The outputting a recommendation is interpreted as the provide a guide),
wherein the media content corresponds to an operational theme determined based on the contextual information (i.e. “a user theme based on a set password”; para. [0160]; Examiner note: the contextual information is interpreted as the set password), and
wherein the recommendation includes an option to add the media content to a second user profile associated with the second user device (i.e. “the electronic device 2602 may add a theme layout (for example, the first home screen layout 2611-1Y and the second home screen layout 2611-2Y)”; para. [0358]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Joo that teaches a user authentication module into the combination of the prior arts of Gordon that teaches device coordination, and Abou Mahmoud that teaches associating contextual information with electronic communications. Additionally, this enhances the ability to use temporal and location data for defining moments more precisely and partitioning moment collections into more specific subgroups.
The motivation for doing so would be to maximize the use of electronic devices because it would deliver the most appropriate theme data according to the user's current emotions (Joo, para. [0003], [0408]-[0409]).
As per claim 2, Gordon, Abou Mahmoud and Joo teach all the limitations as discussed in claim 1 above.
Additionally, Gordon teaches wherein the method further comprises determining an operational theme based on the contextual information, and wherein the media content corresponds to the operational theme (i.e. “the user may preconfigure the settings button to display customized functions (e.g. clear away all filters, redo filter search based on profile suggestions from Friend X, navigate me to home using a real-time traffic feed, etc.). In further embodiments, the bookmarked shortcuts may include a destination, a reoccurring event, a utility (e.g. Call Taxicab, etc.), a theme (e.g. explore top locations nearby, etc.)).”; para. [1399], [1408]).
As per claim 6, Gordon, Abou Mahmoud and Joo teach all the limitations as discussed in claim 1 above.
Additionally, Gordon teaches wherein the media content comprises at least one of video content, audio content, a video game, a television show, an e-book, a film, an audiobook, a song, or an advertisement (i.e. “the tablet computer or phone device may be configured to process data streams, including causing a social networking application and/or one or more components of received media content (e.g., video component and/or an audio component) to be presented on (or at) the television device.”; para. [1044]. Further, i.e. “a set of items associated with an online content delivery and/or purchase site may be identified. In various embodiments, the items may include television shows, movies, music, and/or any other digital content.”; para. [1696], [1807]-[1808]).
As per claim 7, Gordon, Abou Mahmoud and Joo teach all the limitations as discussed in claim 1 above.
Additionally, Gordon teaches where the modification of the setting of the first user device comprises at least one of a modification of the setting of an interface of the first user device, a modification of the setting of the appearance of the first user device, a modification of a setting of a physical configuration of the first user device, a selection of a wallpaper for the first user device, a selection of a screensaver for the first user device, a selection of a theme for the first user device, a selection of an audio file for a notification setting of the first user device, or a selection of an audio file for use with a virtual assistant (i.e. “The user of the tablet computer or phone device may select the program to be viewed on the television device. Additionally, the user interface for managing social interactions on the device may also be used to determine what the user is viewing.”; figs. 29-34, para. [1248]).
As per claim 8, Gordon, Abou Mahmoud and Joo teach all the limitations as discussed in claim 1 above.
Additionally, Gordon teaches wherein the media content is added to the user profile responsive to receiving confirmation that the media content is to be added (i.e. “the user interface 3000 may include a check box 3018 to indicate that availability of the present device is to be treated as a trigger parameter, and that the present device will not be commanded to make itself available without user confirmation.”; figs. 30-34, para. [0374], [0472]).
As per claim 10, Gordon, Abou Mahmoud and Joo teach all the limitations as discussed in claim 1 above.
Additionally, Gordon teaches wherein the method further comprises modifying a setting of a second user device based on the derived contextual information (i.e. “the user of a tablet computer or phone device may gain control of another friend's device. The user may capture an image of the screen, modify the image, and then set the image as the wallpaper of the friend's device. Of course, in various embodiments, the user may alter a friend's device in any manner, pursuant to preconfigured policies and/or security permissions granted by each of the users and friends.”; fig. 68, para. [1249]-[1254]; Examiner note: the setting of the second user device based on the derived contextual information is interpreted as the capture an image of the screen, modify the image, and then set the image as the wallpaper of the friend's device).
As per claim 11, Gordon teaches a system (i.e. “a method, apparatus, and computer program product”; Abstract) comprising control circuitry (i.e. “processor”; para. [0003], [1867]-[1868]; Examiner note: it is also know that the control circuitry is a key part of a processor) configured to:
determine a modification of a setting of a first user device (i.e. “… the tablet computer is being used in a mobile setting, for example, yet still automatically detect and react to the presence of desktop peripheral devices and mounts.”; fig. 27, para. [0407]-[0411], [1372]; Further, i.e. “a control panel which allows users to view and manipulate basic system settings and controls, such as adding hardware, adding and removing software, controlling user accounts, and changing accessibility options associated with the desktop mode use (and possibly even tablet mode use), and/or 9) a video conference control interface for initiating, managing, controlling, etc.”; para. [0528]; Examiner note: the first user device is interpreted as the tablet computer; the determining modification of the setting of the first user device is interpreted as the detect and react to the presence of desktop peripheral devices and mounts);
However, it is noted that the prior art of Gordon does not explicitly teach “derive contextual information relating to the modification of the setting of the first user device by using a processor to process metadata relating to the modified setting to indicate a category of an aspect derived from the modified setting; and automatically modify a setting of a second user device to be consistent with the category of the aspect derived from the modified setting, wherein the second user device is identified based on a user profile associated with the first user device and the modified setting of the second user device is of a different media type than the modified setting of the first user device; and output a recommendation of media content at the second user device based on the contextual information relating to the modification of the setting of the first user device, wherein the media content corresponds to an operational theme determined based on the contextual information, and wherein the recommendation includes an option to add the media content to a second user profile associated with the second user device.”
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor, Abou Mahmoud teaches derive contextual information (i.e. “contextual information generation program 200 may determine the window of time based on information derived from one or more actions of a user of client device”; para. [0004], [0033]; Examiner note: the deriving contextual is interpreted as the information derived from one or more actions of a user of client device)
relating to the modification of the setting of the first user device
by using a processor (i.e. “one or more computer processors monitoring one or more activities of a user of a computing device.”; Abstract, fig. 4, para. [0004])
to process metadata relating to the modified setting (i.e. “contextual information generation program 200 excludes (e.g., filters) activities associated with or containing information (e.g., flags, keywords, meta-data, etc.)”; fig. 2, para. [0028]-[0029]; Examiner note: the process metadata relating to the modified setting is interpreted as the contextual information generation program 200 excludes (e.g., filters) activities associated with or containing information (e.g., flags, keywords, meta-data, etc.))
to indicate a category of an aspect derived from the modified setting (i.e. “contextual information generation program 200 may determine high-level information, such as tags, meta-data, keywords, time, an author, due date, etc. that is associated with one or more user activities. In some embodiments, contextual information generation program 200 may initially categorize and filter (e.g., does not record, discards) contextual information associated with the activities of a user. … For example, prefiltered contextual information may include: URLs, subject lines, videos, wikis, meta-data, blogs, bookmarks, news articles, e-books, and names of activities (e.g., word processor, spreadsheet, etc.) including files utilized by the activities (e.g., Monthly report).”; fig. 2, para. [0029]; Examiner note: the indicate the category of the aspect derived from the modified setting is interpreted as the contextual information generation program 200 may initially categorize and filter (e.g., does not record, discards) contextual information associated with the activities of a user);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Abou Mahmoud that teaches associating contextual information with electronic communications into Gordon that teaches device coordination. Additionally, this enhances the ability to use temporal and location data for defining moments more precisely and partitioning moment collections into more specific subgroups.
The motivation for doing so would be to facilitate electronic communications transmitted between users with different device settings because it is user-friendly and anticipates the speed of response by other users (Abou Mahmoud, para. [0002]-[0003]).
However, it is noted that the combination of the prior arts of Gordon and Abou Mahmoud do not explicitly teach “automatically modify a setting of a second user device to be consistent with the category of the aspect derived from the modified setting, wherein the second user device is identified based on a user profile associated with the first user device and the modified setting of the second user device is of a different media type than the modified setting of the first user device; and output a recommendation of media content at the second user device based on the contextual information relating to the modification of the setting of the first user device, wherein the media content corresponds to an operational theme determined based on the contextual information, and wherein the recommendation includes an option to add the media content to a second user profile associated with the second user device.”
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor, Joo teaches automatically modify a setting of a second user device to be consistent with the category of the aspect derived from the modified setting (i.e. “modify the theme data based on the properties of a display included in the second electronic device 102 (or another electronic device). For example, the processor 120 of the first electronic device 101 may generate various images to be included in second theme data by enlarging/reducing, resizing, or cropping (or trimming) various images (for example, the background image of a home screen, the background image of a lock screen, and the image of an icon/widget) included in the theme data for first electronic device.”; fig.14a, para. [0240], [0242], [0243]; Examiner note: the setting is interpreted as the properties of a display. The category of the aspect derived from the modified setting is interpreted as the enlarging/reducing, resizing, or cropping (or trimming) various images (for example, the background image of a home screen, the background image of a lock screen, and the image of an icon/widget) included in the theme data),
wherein the second user device is identified based on a user profile associated with the first user device (i.e. “The theme server 2603, for example, may transmit a theme synchronization notification signal to the second user device 2602 and the third user device 2605 based on the obtained user account information”; fig. 26a, 27, para. [0346], [0347]; Examiner note: the user profile is interpreted as the user account information) and
the modified setting of the second user device is of a different media type than the modified setting of the first user device (i.e. “In addition to applying the theme data received from the theme server 1603, the smartphone 1602 may share the received theme with a tablet PC 1604, a smart watch 1605, and a smart TV 1606 (hereinafter referred to as a peripheral device), which are connected to the smartphone 1602. At this point, the theme sharing method described with reference to FIG. 14A or FIG. 14B may be performed between the smartphone 1601 and each peripheral device.”; para. [0266]. Further, i.e. “the first electronic device 101 may modify the theme data based on the properties of a display included in the second electronic device 102 (or another electronic device). For example, the processor 120 of the first electronic device 101 may generate various images to be included in second theme data by enlarging/reducing, resizing, or cropping (or trimming) various images (for example, the background image of a home screen, the background image of a lock screen, and the image of an icon/widget) included in the theme data for first electronic device.”; para. [0240]; Examiner note: the first user device is interpreted as the smartphone 1602. The second user device is interpreted as the tablet PC 1604, a smart watch 1605, and a smart TV 1606. The properties of the display are interpreted as the different media type); and
output a recommendation of media content at the second user device based on the contextual information relating to the modification of the setting of the first user device (i.e. “the processor 120 of the electronic device 101 may provide a guide for first theme resource data to an object at various time points. For example, the guide may be provided based a user input history (or context).”; para. [0319]. Further, i.e. “The guide may be outputted to the display 160 in various forms.”; para. [0316]; Examiner note: the control circuitry is interpreted as the processor. The output a recommendation is interpreted as the provide a guide),
wherein the media content corresponds to an operational theme determined based on the contextual information (i.e. “a user theme based on a set password”; para. [0160]; Examiner note: the contextual information is interpreted as the set password), and
wherein the recommendation includes an option to add the media content to a second user profile associated with the second user device (i.e. “the electronic device 2602 may add a theme layout (for example, the first home screen layout 2611-1Y and the second home screen layout 2611-2Y)”; para. [0358]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Joo that teaches a user authentication module into the combination of the prior arts of Gordon that teaches device coordination, and Abou Mahmoud that teaches associating contextual information with electronic communications. Additionally, this enhances the ability to use temporal and location data for defining moments more precisely and partitioning moment collections into more specific subgroups.
The motivation for doing so would be to maximize the use of electronic devices because it would deliver the most appropriate theme data according to the user's current emotions (Joo, para. [0003], [0408]-[0409]).
As per claim 12, Gordon, Abou Mahmoud and Joo teach all the limitations as discussed in claim 11 above.
Additionally, Gordon teaches wherein the control circuitry is further configured to determine an operational theme based on the contextual information, and wherein the media content corresponds to the operational theme (i.e. “the user may preconfigure the settings button to display customized functions (e.g. clear away all filters, redo filter search based on profile suggestions from Friend X, navigate me to home using a real-time traffic feed, etc.). In further embodiments, the bookmarked shortcuts may include a destination, a reoccurring event, a utility (e.g. Call Taxicab, etc.), a theme (e.g. explore top locations nearby, etc.)).”; para. [1399], [1408]).
As per claim 16, Gordon, Abou Mahmoud and Joo teach all the limitations as discussed in claim 11 above.
Additionally, Gordon teaches wherein the media content comprises at least one of video content, audio content, a video game, a television show, an e-book, a film, an audiobook, a song, or an advertisement (i.e. “the tablet computer or phone device may be configured to process data streams, including causing a social networking application and/or one or more components of received media content (e.g., video component and/or an audio component) to be presented on (or at) the television device.”; para. [1044]. Further, i.e. “a set of items associated with an online content delivery and/or purchase site may be identified. In various embodiments, the items may include television shows, movies, music, and/or any other digital content.”; para. [1696], [1807]-[1808]).
As per claim 17, Gordon, Abou Mahmoud and Joo teach all the limitations as discussed in claim 11 above.
Additionally, Gordon teaches where the modification of the setting of the first user device comprises at least one of a modification of the setting of an interface of the first user device, a modification of the setting of the appearance of the first user device, a modification of a setting of a physical configuration of the first user device, a selection of a wallpaper for the first user device, a selection of a screensaver for the first user device, a selection of a theme for the first user device, a selection of an audio file for a notification setting of the first user device, or a selection of an audio file for use with a virtual assistant (i.e. “The user of the tablet computer or phone device may select the program to be viewed on the television device. Additionally, the user interface for managing social interactions on the device may also be used to determine what the user is viewing.”; figs. 29-34, para. [1248]).
As per claim 18, Gordon, Abou Mahmoud and Joo teach all the limitations as discussed in claim 11 above.
Additionally, Gordon teaches wherein the media content is added to the second user profile responsive to receiving confirmation that the media content is to be added (i.e. “the user interface 3000 may include a check box 3018 to indicate that availability of the present device is to be treated as a trigger parameter, and that the present device will not be commanded to make itself available without user confirmation.”; figs. 30-34, para. [0374], [0472]).
As per claim 20, Gordon, Abou Mahmoud and Joo teach all the limitations as discussed in claim 11 above.
Additionally, Gordon teaches wherein the control circuitry is further configured to modify a setting of a second user device based on the derived contextual information (i.e. “the user of a tablet computer or phone device may gain control of another friend's device. The user may capture an image of the screen, modify the image, and then set the image as the wallpaper of the friend's device. Of course, in various embodiments, the user may alter a friend's device in any manner, pursuant to preconfigured policies and/or security permissions granted by each of the users and friends.”; fig. 68, para. [1249]-[1254]; Examiner note: the setting of the second user device based on the derived contextual information is interpreted as the capture an image of the screen, modify the image, and then set the image as the wallpaper of the friend's device).
7. Claims 3-5 and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Gordon et al. (US 20190361694 A1) in view of Abou Mahmoud et al. (US 20170006094 A1) in further view of Joo et al. (US 20170099602 A1) still in further view of Chapman et al. (US 20220382766 A1).
As per claim 3, Gordon, Abou Mahmoud and Joo teach all the limitations as discussed in claim 2 above.
However, it is noted that the combination of the prior arts of Gordon, Abou Mahmoud and Joo do not explicitly teach “wherein the operational theme is a predefined operational theme corresponding to the contextual information, or an operational theme generated based on the contextual information.”
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor, Chapman teaches wherein the operational theme is a predefined operational theme corresponding to the contextual information, or an operational theme generated based on the contextual information (i.e. “a set of topics may be predefined.”; fig. 5, para. [0060]; Examiner note: the predefined operational theme is interpreted as the set of topics may be predefined).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Chapman that teaches automatic media asset suggestions into the combination of Gordon that teaches device coordination, Abou Mahmoud that teaches associating contextual information with electronic communications, and Joo that teaches a user authentication module. Additionally, this enhances the ability to use temporal and location data for defining moments more precisely and partitioning moment collections into more specific subgroups.
The motivation for doing so is to gathering and use of data available from various sources to improve the delivery to users of content sharing suggestions because it can also optimize content sharing suggestions for users (Chapman, para. [0093]).
As per claim 4, Gordon, Abou Mahmoud and Joo teach all the limitations as discussed in claim 2 above.
However, it is noted that the combination of the prior arts of Gordon, Abou Mahmoud and Joo do not explicitly teach “wherein the operational theme is updated responsive to receiving additional information associated with the operational theme.”
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor, Chapman teaches wherein the operational theme is updated responsive to receiving additional information associated with the operational theme (i.e. “users may also be presented with a user interface option to change or update the selected media asset for a given Memory over time, e.g., as the user's musical tastes change and/or the user (or the media management system) is able to identify and discover another audio media asset that the user may find more appropriate to serve as the soundtrack for the given Memory.”; fig. 7, para. [0075]-[0079]; Examiner note: where the user interface option as illustrated in fig. 7 has several topics presented to the user).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Chapman that teaches automatic media asset suggestions into the combination of Gordon that teaches device coordination, Abou Mahmoud that teaches associating contextual information with electronic communications, and Joo that teaches a user authentication module. Additionally, this enhances the ability to use temporal and location data for defining moments more precisely and partitioning moment collections into more specific subgroups.
The motivation for doing so is to gathering and use of data available from various sources to improve the delivery to users of content sharing suggestions because it can also optimize content sharing suggestions for users (Chapman, para. [0093]).
As per claim 5, Gordon, Abou Mahmoud and Joo teach all the limitations as discussed in claim 4 above.
However, it is noted that the combination of the prior arts of Gordon, Abou Mahmoud and Joo do not explicitly teach “further comprising outputting to an interface of the first user device an option to update the operational theme when the additional information is received, and wherein the operational theme is updated responsive to receiving confirmation that the operational theme is to be updated.”
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor, Chapman teaches further comprising outputting to an interface of the first user device an option to update the operational theme when the additional information is received (i.e. i.e. “a user interface option to change or update the selected media asset for a given Memory over time, e.g., as the user's musical tastes change and/or the user (or the media management system) is able to identify and discover another audio media asset that the user may find more appropriate to serve as the soundtrack for the given Memory.”; fig. 7, [0052], [0074]-[0079]), and
wherein the operational theme is updated responsive to receiving confirmation that the operational theme is to be updated (i.e. “once the user selects a media asset to use to accompany the user media items of the Memory, the media asset may be retrieved from the media asset repository for playback.”; fig. 7, para. [0079]; Examiner notes: the operational theme is updated responsive to receiving confirmation that the operational theme is to be updated is interpreted as the media asset may be retrieved from the media asset repository for playback; a user selection is also known as a user confirmation).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Chapman that teaches automatic media asset suggestions into the combination of Gordon that teaches device coordination, Abou Mahmoud that teaches associating contextual information with electronic communications, and Joo that teaches a user authentication module. Additionally, this enhances the ability to use temporal and location data for defining moments more precisely and partitioning moment collections into more specific subgroups.
The motivation for doing so is to gathering and use of data available from various sources to improve the delivery to users of content sharing suggestions because it can also optimize content sharing suggestions for users (Chapman, para. [0093]).
As per claim 13, Gordon, Abou Mahmoud and Joo teach all the limitations as discussed in claim 12 above.
However, it is noted that the combination of the prior arts of Gordon, Abou Mahmoud and Joo do not explicitly teach “wherein the operational theme is a predefined operational theme corresponding to the contextual information, or an operational theme generated based on the contextual information.”
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor, Chapman teaches wherein the operational theme is a predefined operational theme corresponding to the contextual information, or an operational theme generated based on the contextual information (i.e. “a set of topics may be predefined.”; fig. 5, para. [0060]; Examiner note: the predefined operational theme is interpreted as the set of topics may be predefined).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Chapman that teaches automatic media asset suggestions into the combination of Gordon that teaches device coordination, Abou Mahmoud that teaches associating contextual information with electronic communications, and Joo that teaches a user authentication module. Additionally, this enhances the ability to use temporal and location data for defining moments more precisely and partitioning moment collections into more specific subgroups.
The motivation for doing so is to gathering and use of data available from various sources to improve the delivery to users of content sharing suggestions because it can also optimize content sharing suggestions for users (Chapman, para. [0093]).
As per claim 14, Gordon, Abou Mahmoud and Joo teach all the limitations as discussed in claim 12 above.
However, it is noted that the combination of the prior arts of Gordon, Abou Mahmoud and Joo do not explicitly teach “wherein the operational theme is updated responsive to receiving additional information associated with the operational theme.”
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor, Chapman teaches wherein the operational theme is updated responsive to receiving additional information associated with the operational theme (i.e. “users may also be presented with a user interface option to change or update the selected media asset for a given Memory over time, e.g., as the user's musical tastes change and/or the user (or the media management system) is able to identify and discover another audio media asset that the user may find more appropriate to serve as the soundtrack for the given Memory.”; fig. 7, para. [0075]-[0079]; Examiner note: where the user interface option as illustrated in fig. 7 has several topics presented to the user).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Chapman that teaches automatic media asset suggestions into the combination of Gordon that teaches device coordination, Abou Mahmoud that teaches associating contextual information with electronic communications, and Joo that teaches a user authentication module. Additionally, this enhances the ability to use temporal and location data for defining moments more precisely and partitioning moment collections into more specific subgroups.
The motivation for doing so is to gathering and use of data available from various sources to improve the delivery to users of content sharing suggestions because it can also optimize content sharing suggestions for users (Chapman, para. [0093]).
As per claim 15, Gordon, Abou Mahmoud and Joo teach all the limitations as discussed in claim 14 above.
However, it is noted that the combination of the prior arts of Gordon, Abou Mahmoud and Joo do not explicitly teach “wherein the control circuitry is further configured to output to an interface of the first user device an option to update the operational theme when the additional information is received, and wherein the operational theme is updated responsive to receiving confirmation that the operational theme is to be updated.”
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor, Chapman teaches wherein the control circuitry is further configured to output to an interface of the first user device an option to update the operational theme when the additional information is received (i.e. i.e. “a user interface option to change or update the selected media asset for a given Memory over time, e.g., as the user's musical tastes change and/or the user (or the media management system) is able to identify and discover another audio media asset that the user may find more appropriate to serve as the soundtrack for the given Memory.”; fig. 7, [0052], [0074]-[0079]), and
wherein the operational theme is updated responsive to receiving confirmation that the operational theme is to be updated (i.e. “once the user selects a media asset to use to accompany the user media items of the Memory, the media asset may be retrieved from the media asset repository for playback.”; fig. 7, para. [0079]; Examiner notes: the operational theme is updated responsive to receiving confirmation that the operational theme is to be updated is interpreted as the media asset may be retrieved from the media asset repository for playback; a user selection is also known as a user confirmation).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Chapman that teaches automatic media asset suggestions into the combination of Gordon that teaches device coordination, Abou Mahmoud that teaches associating contextual information with electronic communications, and Joo that teaches a user authentication module. Additionally, this enhances the ability to use temporal and location data for defining moments more precisely and partitioning moment collections into more specific subgroups.
The motivation for doing so is to gathering and use of data available from various sources to improve the delivery to users of content sharing suggestions because it can also optimize content sharing suggestions for users (Chapman, para. [0093]).
Prior Art of Record
8. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Badr et al. (US 20200293787 A1), teaches providing contextual information for presented media.
Thielbar et al. (US 20200267197 A1), teaches providing a contextual layer for digital content.
Conclusion
9. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 ANTONIO CAIA DO whose telephone number is (469)295-9251. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday / 06:30 to 16:30.
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/ANTONIO J CAIA DO/
Examiner, Art Unit 2164/AMY NG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2164