DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to the RCE and Amendment dated 09 July 2026. Claims 1, 18 and 19 are amended. No claims have been added or cancelled. Claims 1-20 are pending and have been considered below.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 09 July 2026 has been received, entered into the record, and considered. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all 15obviousness 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 1-11, 13, 14 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2013/0330019 A1) in view of Srinivasan et al. (US 2021/0011608 A1) and further in view of Raju et al. (US 2024/0112464 A1).
As for independent claim 1, Kim teaches a system comprising:
one or more hardware processors; and at least one memory storing instructions that cause the one or more hardware processors to perform operations comprising: [(e.g. see Kim paragraphs 0051, 0071) ”includes one or more processors 511 (e.g., ASIC, CPU, etc.), and can further include an electronic display device 512 (for displaying graphics, text, and other data), a main memory 513 (e.g., random access memory (RAM)) … The computer program instructions when provided to a processor produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor, create means for implementing the functions/operations”].
searching, via a client device, a plurality of media content, the plurality of media content including first media content captured by an interaction client included in the client device and second media content captured by an application executable by the client device [(e.g. see Kim paragraphs 0029, 0033, 0037, 0053, 0061) ”mobile wireless device such as a mobile phone, the system 500 further includes an image capture device such as a camera 15. The system 500 may further include application modules … social network interface (SNI) module 524 … image capture module 527 … the social space tab 220 provides for selection of social space photos and albums. In one example, the social space photos and albums comprise photos and albums that are provided to/from a social network platform or website and is either downloaded/pulled to the mobile device 20 or shared from a social platform (e.g., via a link) … a user's private or public social network information may be searched and accessed by communicating with the social network server 1250, using an application programming interface ("API") provided by the social network operator … The camera module 15 is used to capture images of objects, such as people, surroundings, places, etc. … photos and albums that are personal to a user, for example, personally taken photos … album filtering comprises ordering/sorting photos/albums based on photo/album storage location, e.g., photos/albums stored in local memory on the mobile device 20”].
retrieving, via the client device, a first selection of the first media content from the plurality of media content captured by the interaction client included in the client device [(e.g. see Kim paragraphs 0028, 0029, 0053, 0061) ”The system 10 comprises a mobile image gallery module 11 including an image gallery selection module 12 … photo images 19 may also be pushed/pulled from one or more networks (e.g., cloud networks, social networks, etc.) … The system 500 may further include application modules as … social network interface (SNI) module 524 … a user's private or public social network information may be searched and accessed by communicating with the social network server 1250, using an application programming interface ("API") provided by the social network operator”].
retrieving, via the client device, a second selection of the second media content from the plurality of media content captured by the application executable by the client device [(e.g. see Kim paragraphs 0028, 0029) ”The system 10 comprises a mobile image gallery module 11 including an image gallery selection module 12 … The camera module 15 is used to capture images of objects, such as people, surroundings, places, etc”].
displaying the first selection of the first media content alongside the second selection of the second media content on a display of the client device [(e.g. see Kim paragraphs 0032, 0037 and Figs. 2-6C) ”album filtering comprises ordering/sorting photos/albums based on photo/album storage location, e.g., photos/albums stored in local memory on the mobile device 20, stored on a cloud environment, stored on a network, stored in external media, etc. … photos/albums images display section 260 for displaying various sized photo images”].
Kim does not specifically teach receiving a user selection of the first selection of the first media content, of the second selection of media content, or of a combination thereof or providing the user selection as part of a message transmitted via the client device. However, in the same field of invention, Srinivasan teaches:
receiving a user selection of the first selection of the first media content, of the second selection of media content, or of a combination thereof [(e.g. see Srinivasan paragraphs 0046, 0047 and Fig. 2) ”In scenario 200, thumbnails 242 and 244 each include a selection check 250 indicating that thumbnails 242 and 244 were selected … User interface 210 may include selectable options in share dock 270 to share or upload selected thumbnails to share services or content hosts such as those represented by duck share icon 272, flower share icon 274, thumbtack share icon 276, or fruit share icon 278, which each correspond to services related to, e.g., duck icon 225, flower icon 226, thumbtack icon 227, and fruit icon 228”].
providing the user selection as part of a message transmitted via the client device [(e.g. see Srinivasan paragraphs 0002, 0047) ”User interface 210 may include selectable options in share dock 270 to share or upload selected thumbnails to share services or content hosts such as those represented by duck share icon 272, flower share icon 274, thumbtack share icon 276, or fruit share icon 278, which each correspond to services related to, e.g., duck icon 225, flower icon 226, thumbtack icon 227, and fruit icon 228 … Sharing content may include posting, uploading, messaging, streaming, recording, saving, sending and/or transmitting content for consumption”].
Therefore, considering the teachings of Kim and Srinivasan, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add receiving a user selection of the first selection of the first media content, of the second selection of media content, or of a combination thereof and providing the user selection as part of a message transmitted via the client device, as taught by Srinivasan, to the teachings of Kim because it increases the speed and ease of sharing content (e.g. see Srinivasan paragraph 0004).
Kim and Srinivasan do not specifically teach determining a count of the first media content and the second media content saved within a predetermined period of time, determining the count of the first media content and second media content satisfies a threshold count, or in response to the determining the count, displaying […]. However, in the same field of invention or solving similar problems, Raju teaches:
determining a count of the first media content and the second media content saved within a predetermined period of time [(e.g. see Raju paragraphs 0010, 0020, 0023, 0068) ”The computing device includes a memory to maintain a photo gallery containing photos captured by camera(s) of the computing device, photos saved and/or downloaded to the computing device … The photo gallery 124 is also maintained in the memory 118 and includes various media such as photos and videos, which can be captured by the cameras 112 and/or audio capture devices of the computing device 102. Additionally or alternatively, the photos and videos may be captured by other devices, transmitted (e.g., over the network(s) 106) to the computing device 102, and subsequently saved to the photo gallery 124 … number of photos detected in the photo gallery 124 that were captured during a particular time period (e.g., from January 10 to January 17), and the first collection of photos includes photos that were captured during the particular time period”].
determining the count of the first media content and second media content satisfies a threshold count [(e.g. see Raju paragraphs 0010, 0020, 0028, 0068) ”The computing device includes a memory to maintain a photo gallery containing photos captured by camera(s) of the computing device, photos saved and/or downloaded to the computing device … The photo gallery 124 is also maintained in the memory 118 and includes various media such as photos and videos, which can be captured by the cameras 112 and/or audio capture devices of the computing device 102. Additionally or alternatively, the photos and videos may be captured by other devices, transmitted (e.g., over the network(s) 106) to the computing device 102, and subsequently saved to the photo gallery 124 … the catalyst identification module 128 identifies the catalyst 202 as a threshold number of photos in the photo gallery 124 that were captured during a particular time period, e.g., based on the capture data 126. The threshold number of photos, for instance, can be a deviation from an average number of photos taken during the particular time period. For example, the catalyst 202 is identified based on a number of photos being added to the photo gallery 124 over the course of seven days that is at least five times greater than the average number of photos added to the photo gallery 124 during any given seven day span … the first collection of photos 204 is related to or associated with the catalyst 202. In one specific example, for instance, the catalyst 202 is a threshold number of photos detected in the photo gallery 124 that were captured during a particular time period, and as such, the first collection of photos 204 includes photos captured during the particular time period”].
in response to the determining the count, displaying […] [(e.g. see Raju paragraphs 0059, 0068, 0070) ”the catalyst 202 is a threshold number of photos detected in the photo gallery 124 that were captured during a particular time period, and as such, the first collection of photos 204 includes photos captured during the particular time period … At 608, one or more candidate display photos that satisfy the one or more criteria are identified from the first collection of photos, the one or more candidate display photos being output to the photo gallery. By way of example, the candidate display photo module 134 identifies the candidate display photos 214 from the first collection of photos 204 that satisfy the criteria 206 … the candidate display photos 214 are displayed in the user interface 116 of the computing device”]. Examiner notes that the “in response to” limitation does not reference the count satisfying the threshold.
Therefore, considering the teachings of Kim, Srinivasan and Raju, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add determining a count of the first media content and the second media content saved within a predetermined period of time, determining the count of the first media content and second media content satisfies a threshold count, and in response to the determining the count, displaying […], as taught by Raju, to the teachings of Kim and Srinivasan because automatically identifying candidate photos that are likely to perform well saves the user time and from the tedious manual task of inspecting a large number of photos to identify a suitable photo (e.g. see Raju paragraph 0014).
As for dependent claim 2, Kim, Srinivasan and Raju teach the system as described in claim 1 and Kim further teaches:
wherein displaying the first selection of the first media content alongside the second selection of the second media content comprises displaying a first set of thumbnails representative of the first selection of the first media content alongside a second set of thumbnails representative of the second selection of the second media content [(e.g. see Kim paragraphs 0032, 0037 and Figs. 2-6C) ”album filtering comprises ordering/sorting photos/albums based on photo/album storage location, e.g., photos/albums stored in local memory on the mobile device 20, stored on a cloud environment, stored on a network, stored in external media, etc. … photos/albums images display section 260 for displaying various sized photo images” ].
As for dependent claim 3, Kim, Srinivasan and Raju teach the system as described in claim 2 and Kim further teaches:
wherein displaying the first set of thumbnails comprises displaying an indicia representative of a first capture source used to capture the first media content, to edit the first media content, or a combination thereof [(e.g. see Kim paragraph 0049) ”The thumbnail structure 700 may include the album/author name 720 and source 710 (e.g., social platform symbol, name, etc.)”].
As for dependent claim 4, Kim, Srinivasan and Raju teach the system as described in claim 3 and Kim further teaches:
wherein the indicia comprises a geometric shaped used to display each of the first set of thumbnails [(e.g. see Kim paragraph 0030 and Figs. 4A-C and 6A-C) ”The system 10 provides selection of photo image space type (e.g., personal space photos or social space photos) and organizational display of photos with respect to order and thumbnail sizing based on defaults criteria or selected filtering on the display 21 of the mobile device 20”]. Examiner notes that, as depicted in Figs. 4A-C and 6A-C, the displayed thumbnails are geometric shapes.
As for dependent claim 5, Kim, Srinivasan and Raju teach the system as described in claim 4 and Kim further teaches:
wherein the geometric shape comprises a rectangle [(e.g. see Kim paragraph 0030 and Figs. 4A-C and 6A-C) ”The system 10 provides selection of photo image space type (e.g., personal space photos or social space photos) and organizational display of photos with respect to order and thumbnail sizing based on defaults criteria or selected filtering on the display 21 of the mobile device 20”]. Examiner notes that, as depicted in Figs. 4A-C and 6A-C, a displayed geometric shape comprises a rectangle.
Kim, Srinivasan and Raju show thumbnails of different shapes. Given that there is a finite number of shapes to choose from, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, namely a software developer, to try any available shape that would achieve graphical discernment between thumbnails, with reasonable success (i.e. sufficiently variant to visualize a difference). A person of ordinary skill has good reason to pursue the known options within his or her technical grasp. If this leads to the anticipated success, it is likely the product not of invention but of ordinary skill and common sense. See MPEP 2143(I)(E) – KSR: “Obvious to Try”
As for dependent claim 6, Kim, Srinivasan and Raju teach the system as described in claim 3 and Kim further teaches:
wherein the indicia comprises a first thumbnail size used to display each of the first set of thumbnails [(e.g. see Kim paragraphs 0025, 0031) ”organizing photos in display order and display size based on photo image space type … determining information for sizing of thumbnail display size and photo image ordering/sorting based on filtering criteria (e.g., alphabetical, time, people names, location, tags, etc.) and photo image space type”].
As for dependent claim 7, Kim, Srinivasan and Raju teach the system as described in claim 6 and Kim further teaches:
wherein the first thumbnail size is larger than a second thumbnail size used to display each of the second set of thumbnails [(e.g. see Kim paragraphs 0025, 0040) ”organizing photos in display order and display size based on photo image space type … the default ordering/sorting of photos may be set to display albums sorted in distance (from the top of the display as a user scrolls vertically) by the image sorting module 14 from most local storage location (e.g., memory on the mobile device 20) to the furthest storage location of photo albums (e.g., memory of a cloud environment). In one embodiment, for the default photo sizing organization in the personal photo image space type, the image sizing module 22 sizes the thumbnails”].
As for dependent claim 8, Kim, Srinivasan and Raju teach the system as described in claim 2 and Kim further teaches:
wherein displaying the second set of thumbnails comprises displaying an indicia representative of a second capture source used to capture the second media content, to edit the second media content, or a combination thereof [(e.g. see Kim paragraph 0047) ”The thumbnail structure 530 may include the album/author name 540 and source 550 (e.g., location of storage, where or who the photo was obtained from, etc.”].
As for dependent claim 9, Kim, Srinivasan and Raju teach the system as described in claim 8 and Kim further teaches:
wherein the indicia comprises a geometric shape used to display each of the second set of thumbnails [(e.g. see Kim paragraph 0030 and Figs. 4A-C and 6A-C) ”The system 10 provides selection of photo image space type (e.g., personal space photos or social space photos) and organizational display of photos with respect to order and thumbnail sizing based on defaults criteria or selected filtering on the display 21 of the mobile device 20”]. Examiner notes that, as depicted in Figs. 4A-C and 6A-C, the displayed thumbnails are geometric shapes.
As for dependent claim 10, Kim, Srinivasan and Raju teach the system as described in claim 9 and Kim further teaches:
wherein the geometric shape comprises a square [(e.g. see Kim paragraph 0030 and Figs. 4A-C and 6A-C) ”The system 10 provides selection of photo image space type (e.g., personal space photos or social space photos) and organizational display of photos with respect to order and thumbnail sizing based on defaults criteria or selected filtering on the display 21 of the mobile device 20”]. Examiner notes that, as depicted in Figs. 4A-C and 6A-C, a displayed geometric shape comprises a square.
Kim, Srinivasan and Raju show thumbnails of different shapes. Given that there is a finite number of shapes to choose from, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, namely a software developer, to try any available shape that would achieve graphical discernment between thumbnails, with reasonable success (i.e. sufficiently variant to visualize a difference). A person of ordinary skill has good reason to pursue the known options within his or her technical grasp. If this leads to the anticipated success, it is likely the product not of invention but of ordinary skill and common sense. See MPEP 2143(I)(E) – KSR: “Obvious to Try”
As for dependent claim 11, Kim, Srinivasan and Raju teach the system as described in claim 2 and Kim further teaches:
wherein the second set of thumbnails comprise at least one thumbnail having an indicia of a data store used to store the second media content [(e.g. see Kim paragraph 0047) ”The thumbnail structure 530 may include the album/author name 540 and source 550 (e.g., location of storage”].
As for dependent claim 13, Kim, Srinivasan and Raju teach the system as described in claim 2 and Kim further teaches:
wherein displaying the first set of thumbnails representative of the first selection of the first media content alongside the second set of thumbnails representative of the second selection of the second media content comprises displaying a sorted first set of thumbnails and a sorted second set of thumbnails via a chronologically-based sort [(e.g. see Kim paragraphs 0035, 0038) ”the filters provide for organizing/sorting photos/albums in … chronological order … time filtering comprises ordering/sorting photos/albums based on a timestamp associated with the album/photo”].
As for dependent claim 14, Kim, Srinivasan and Raju teach the system as described in claim 13 and Kim further teaches:
wherein the chronologically-based sort comprises a reverse-chronological order sort displaying the sorted first set of thumbnails and the sorted second set of thumbnails by placing thumbnails in the first set or in the second set having newer timestamps before thumbnails in the first set or in the second set having older timestamps [(e.g. see Kim paragraphs 0035, 0038, 0044) ”the filters provide for organizing/sorting photos/albums in … chronological order … time filtering comprises ordering/sorting photos/albums based on a timestamp associated with the album/photo … the recent activity filtering is based on a most recent posting/liking, etc. based on time”].
As for dependent claim 17, Kim, Srinivasan and Raju teach the system as described in claim 1, but Kim does not specifically teach the following limitation. However, Srinivasan teaches:
the first selection of the first media content comprises a first media content having a first timestamp of creation or of editing within 24 hours or less of a current date and time, and wherein the second selection of the second media content comprises a second media content having a second timestamp of creation or of editing within 24 hours or less of the current date and time [(e.g. see Srinivasan paragraph 0030) ”day label 132 indicates that content items (e.g., photographs) corresponding to thumbnails 134, 136, 138, 140, 142, and 144 are from “Today—Sunday.””].
The motivation to combine is the same as that used for claim 1.
As for independent claim 18, Kim, Srinivasan and Raju teach a method. Claim 18 discloses substantially the same limitations as claim 1. Therefore, it is rejected with the same rational as claim 1.
As for independent claim 19, Kim, Srinivasan and Raju teach a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Claim 19 discloses substantially the same limitations as claim 1. Therefore, it is rejected with the same rational as claim 1.
As for dependent claim 20, Kim, Srinivasan and Raju teach the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in claim 19; further, claim 20 discloses substantially the same limitations as claims 2, 4, 5, 9 and 10. Therefore, it is rejected with the same rational as claims 2, 4, 5, 9 and 10.
Claims 12, 15 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2013/0330019 A1) in view of Srinivasan et al. (US 2021/0011608 A1) in view of Raju et al. (US 2024/0112464 A1), as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Jack et al. (US 2017/0094023 A1).
As for dependent claim 12, Kim, Srinivasan and Raju teach the system as described in claim 11 and Kim further teaches:
wherein the indicia comprises a text string comprising a data store name [(e.g. see Kim paragraph 0047) ”The thumbnail structure 530 may include the album/author name 540 and source 550 (e.g., location of storage”].
Kim, Srinivasan and Raju do not specifically teach and a number of the second selection of the second media content available for selection by a user. However, in the same field of invention, Jack teaches:
and a number of the second selection of the second media content available for selection by a user [(e.g. see Jack paragraph 0119 and Fig. 19) ”a notification 1302 indicates the number of photos in a group”]. Examiner notes that, as depicted in Fig. 16, the number of photos for a group row are indicated.
Therefore, considering the teachings of Kim, Srinivasan, Raju and Jack, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add and a number of the second selection of the second media content available for selection by a user, as taught by Jack, to the teachings of Kim, Srinivasan and Raju because it streamlines photo organization and allows for easily processing and managing photos on mobile devices (e.g. see Jack paragraphs 0002, 0003).
As for dependent claim 15, Kim, Srinivasan and Raju teach the system as described in claim 13 and Kim further teaches:
wherein the chronologically-based sort comprises a source-based reverse-chronological order, and wherein the first row display of thumbnails and the second row display of thumbnails are each sorted via a reverse chronological order sort [(e.g. see Kim paragraphs 0035, 0038, 0044) ”the filters provide for organizing/sorting photos/albums in … chronological order … time filtering comprises ordering/sorting photos/albums based on a timestamp associated with the album/photo … the recent activity filtering is based on a most recent posting/liking, etc. based on time”].
Kim, Srinivasan and Raju do not specifically teach the following limitation. However, Jack teaches:
wherein a first row display of thumbnails contains only thumbnails from the first set of thumbnails and wherein a second row display of thumbnails contains only thumbnails from the second set of thumbnails [(e.g. see Jack paragraph 0077 and Fig. 3) ”a list of options for photo transfer is shown, such as personal backup on a cloud, sharing on a social network (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.), and transferring to another computing device. On the other hand, a photo transfer module is configured to receive photos from other devices, such as receiving photos from social network feed”]. Examiner notes that, as depicted in Fig. 3, each row contains thumbnails linked to a specific source (e.g. cloud, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter).
The motivation to combine is the same as that used for claim 12.
As for dependent claim 16, Kim, Srinivasan and Raju teach the system as described in claim 13, but do not specifically teach the following limitation. However, Jack teaches:
wherein displaying the first selection of the first media content alongside the selection of the second media content comprises limiting displaying the second set of thumbnails to a maximum number of thumbnails in a section of the display [(e.g. see Jack paragraph 0077 and Fig. 3) ”a list of options for photo transfer is shown, such as personal backup on a cloud, sharing on a social network (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.), and transferring to another computing device. On the other hand, a photo transfer module is configured to receive photos from other devices, such as receiving photos from social network feed”]. Examiner notes that, as depicted in Fig. 3, each source row is limited to 3 thumbnails.
The motivation to combine is the same as that used for claim 12.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments, filed 09 July 2026, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that [“Kim does not teach or suggest ‘determining a count of the first media content and the second media content saved within a predetermined period of time,’ ‘determining the count of the first media content and the second media content satisfies a threshold count,’ and ‘in response to the determining the count, displaying the first selection of the first media content alongside the second selection of the second media content on a display of the client device,’ as recited in the independent claims as amended” (Page 8).].
The argument described above, in paragraph number 8, with respect to the newly added limitations to the independent claims has been considered, but is moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. PGPub 2021/0357083 A1 issued to Aspinall et al. on 18 November 2021. The subject matter disclosed therein is pertinent to that of claims 1-20 (e.g. using images having timestamps within a threshold period of time to display in preview rows).
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER J FIBBI whose telephone number is (571)-270-3358. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday (8am-6pm).
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/CHRISTOPHER J FIBBI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2174
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