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 .
This Office action is in response to the RCE, filed on 6/25/2026, and the amendments, arguments and remarks, filed on 6/11/2026, in which claim(s) 1-3, 5, 7-10 and 20 is/are presented for further examination.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 7-9 and 20 has/have been amended.
Claim(s) 4 and 6 has/have been previously cancelled.
Claim(s) 11-19 has/have been previously withdrawn.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant’s submission filed on 6/11/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendment(s) to claim(s) 1 and 20 has/have been accepted. The rejection(s) of the claim(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), as being indefinite, has/have been withdrawn. Consequently, the rejection(s) of claim(s) 2, 3, 5, 7-10, which depend(s) from claim 1 has/have also been withdrawn.
Applicant’s amendment(s) to claim(s) 1, 2, 7-9 and 20 has/have been accepted.
Note: The examiner requests that applicant cite where in the specification there is support for applicant’s amendment(s)/addition(s). It will quicken the prosecution if the examiner does not have to search the entire specification to ensure that applicant has not introduced new matter.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-3, 5, 7-10 and 20, filed on 6/11/2026, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-3, 5, 7-10 and 20, under 35 U.S.C. 103, see pages 7-9 of applicant’s remarks, filed on 6/11/2026, have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 1 is/are objected to because of the following informalities: in lines 10-11 and in line 12, “user-select icon” should be corrected to “user select icon” (i.e., in subsequent dependent claims “user select icon” is not hyphenated). Appropriate correction is required.
Claim(s) 2, 3, 5 and 7-10 is/are objected to because of the following informalities: in line 1, “The method” should be corrected to “The computer-implemented method”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim(s) 20 is/are objected to because of the following informalities: in line 14 and in line 16, “user-select icon” should be corrected to “user select icon”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 7-10 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim(s) 1 recites the limitation "a target playlist" in lines 1-2 and 14. It is unclear whether the same “target playlist” is being recited or a different “target playlist” is being recited, thus, making the claim indefinite. As such, the claim is being rejected as being indefinite for that reason.
Claim(s) 2, 3, 5, 7-10 inherit(s) the deficiencies of the claim it/they depend(s) from.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the currently playing song" in line 11. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Note: “a currently playing one of the plurality of songs” is recited in line 10.
Claim(s) 2, 3, 5 and 7-10 inherit(s) the deficiencies of the claim it/they depend(s) from.
Claim 20 recites the limitation "the currently playing song" in line 15. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Note: “a currently playing one of the plurality of songs” is recited in line 14.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 7-10 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(2) as being anticipated by Logan et al., US 2008/0092168 A1 (hereinafter “Logan”).
Claims 1 and 20
Logan discloses a computer-implemented method for generating a target playlist comprising:
obtaining, by a computing device (Logan, [0267], see personal video recorder “PVR” (also called a digital video recorder “DVR”)), a single audio file having a plurality of songs located at different time positions within the single audio file (Logan, [0046], see, at the remote location, broadcast programming from a source 100 is received [i.e., “obtaining a single audio file”, where the broadcast programming is being interpreted as the “single audio file”] at 101 and may be processed immediately or saved in a storage unit 103 for later processing. The incoming broadcast programming signals may be received as a live public broadcast, or may take the form of programming content received prior to the time of its later public broadcast. At 105, the incoming broadcast signals are parsed or subdivided into logically separate segments, which need not be contiguous and which may be overlapping or nested; and Logan, [0054], see the broadcast programming content received at the user location at 141 may be immediately processed or stored for later processing and viewing. … When the user hears or views a song [i.e., discloses that there are many segments in the broadcast programming, where the segments can be songs, which discloses the “plurality of songs”] or program that he or she likes, the user presses a “Catch” button, and the program will set aside the all of a predetermined part of the stored programming in the circular buffer, as well as a further predetermined part of the incoming broadcast that continues the saved portion, and retains both in temporary storage at 103. Later metadata may then be applied to that segment identifying the beginning and end of the program or song being played at the time the catch button was activated. If the button was hit after a program or song was over, but before or after another began, the system would assume the user was trying to capture the last played song);
obtaining metadata for each of the plurality of songs, the metadata including, for each song, a respective start time and end time within the single audio file (See Logan, [0054] above, disclosing “the metadata may then be applied to that segment identifying the beginning [i.e., corresponds to the “start time”] and end [i.e., corresponds to the “end time”] of the program or song being played at the time the catch button was activated);
playing the single audio file in an application on the computing device (See Logan, [0054], see the broadcast programming content received at the user location at 141 may be immediately processed or stored for later processing and viewing. … When the user hears or views a song [i.e., discloses that the broadcast programming of segments of songs is played on the device locally and heard by the user] or program that he or she likes, the user presses a “Catch” button, and the program will set aside the all of a predetermined part of the stored programming in the circular buffer, as well as a further predetermined part of the incoming broadcast that continues the saved portion);
displaying, during playback of the single audio file and based on the metadata, a notification window identifying a currently playing one of the plurality of songs (See Logan, [0054] above how the segments can be songs; Logan, [0010], see a segment guide listing containing the text description of each segment is displayed with the text description of the currently playing segment being visually identified on the list; Logan, [0279], see the interface presented to the viewer by the extended-capability PVR shown in FIG. 2 preferably displays an on-screen program segment index of the type shown at 310 in FIG. 3. The index 310 transparently overlays the content of the normal programming whenever a “segment guide” button is pressed on the remote control unit, or selected from a menu of other options; Logan, [0281], see, when the segment index is displayed, the currently playing segment is highlighted as shown at 311 in FIG. 3 and at 411 in FIG. 4. The index can be easily taken off the screen with a click of the remote (using the “segment guide” button to toggle the guide ON and OFF); and Logan, Figs. 3 &4, see the list of content (see “Theme song”, “Letter ‘A’”, “Hopper’s party”, etc.) and what is currently being played (see “Ernie sings”)) and a user-select icon associated with the currently playing song (See Logan, [0054], see, when the user hears or views a song or program that he or she likes, the user presses a “Catch” button [i.e., corresponds to the “user-select icon”], and the program will set aside the all of a predetermined part of the stored programming in the circular buffer, as well as a further predetermined part of the incoming broadcast that continues the saved portion, and retains both in temporary storage at 103);
detecting selection, by a user, of the user-select icon for the currently playing song (Logan, [0054], see, when the user hears or views a song or program that he or she likes, the user presses a “Catch” button [i.e., corresponds to “detecting selection, by a user, of the user-select icon for the currently playing song”], and the program will set aside the all of a predetermined part of the stored programming in the circular buffer, as well as a further predetermined part of the incoming broadcast that continues the saved portion, and retains both in temporary storage at 103);
obtaining link information for the currently playing song based on the metadata (See below);
sending the link information for the currently playing song to a target playlist (See below);
adding the currently playing song to the target playlist based on the link information (Logan, [0238], see the metadata, which describes individual program segments [i.e., using BRI, the metadata described is “link information” and see above how the program segments can be songs], may be combined to form an ordered playlist. As described in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,271,811, 5,732,216, and 6,199,076, and in co-pending application Ser. No. 09/782,546 filed on Feb. 13, 2001, by James D. Logan et al., by James D. Logan et al., the metadata as assembled at the server and transmitted to the user location may take the form of a playlist consisting of a scheduling file of metadata which specifies the content and schedules a default playback sequence in which that content is reproduced); and
displaying a confirmation that the currently playing song has been added to the target playlist (Logan, [0247], see producing a personalized playlist, which is made available to automate the user’s playback sessions [i.e., where the inclusion of the particular song on the playlist gives confirmation to the user that song was added to the playlist]).
Claim(s) 20 recite(s) similar limitations to claim 1 and is/are rejected under the same rationale.
With respect to claim 20, Logan discloses a computing device (Logan, [0268], see the PVR) comprising:
one or more processors (Logan, [0268], see the PVR [i.e., “personal video recorder”] includes a processor); and
a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (Logan, [0267], see the PVR performs the data storage [i.e., where the storage occurs is interpreted as the “non-transitory computer-readable storage medium”]).
Claim 2
With respect to claim 2, Logan discloses wherein the metadata of the audio file further comprises a plurality of chapters in the single audio file, each chapter corresponding to one of the plurality of songs (See Logan, [0054] above how the segments can be songs; and Logan, [0071], see a segment may be a combined collection or sequence of such programs, may correspond precisely to a single program as broadcast, or may be only one part of a longer program. Importantly, segments may be organized into groups of other segments or programs, and can form a hierarchy of sections, chapters, sub-chapters, etc.).
Claim 3
With respect to claim 3, Logan discloses wherein the metadata of the audio file comprises a title and artist information of each of the more than one song (Logan, [0132], see the user can prohibit the listing of any song [i.e., denoted by the song name/“title”] by a particular artist, of a particular song by any artist, or further editions of a serialized program; and Logan, [0253], see users may sort the program listing list by artist).
Claim 5
With respect to claim 5, Logan discloses wherein the link information comprises a uniform resource locator (URL) of each of the more than one song (See Logan, [0054] above how the segments can be songs; and Logan, [0075], see stored segments may be identified by a file name, a URL, or by some other unique access key (such as the primary key value in a relational database storage system).
Claim 7
With respect to claim 7, Logan discloses wherein displaying the information about each of the more than one song based on the metadata comprises, during playback of the currently playing song:
displaying a notification window with a title and artist name of each of the more than one song (Logan, [0281], see, when the segment index is displayed, the currently playing segment is highlighted as shown at 311 in FIG. 3 and at 411 in FIG. 4. The index can be easily taken off the screen with a click of the remote (using the “segment guide” button to toggle the guide ON and OFF); and Logan, Figs. 3 &4, see the list of content (see “Theme song”, “Letter ‘A’”, “Hopper’s party”, etc.) and what is currently being played (see “Ernie sings”)); and
displaying a user select icon, wherein the user select icon, when selected, inputs an add to library command (Logan, [0054], see the broadcast programming content received at the user location at 141 may be immediately processed or stored for later processing and viewing. … When the user hears or views a song [i.e., discloses that there are many segments in the broadcast programming, where the segments can be songs, which discloses the “plurality of songs”] or program that he or she likes, the user presses a “Catch” button, and the program will set aside the all of a predetermined part of the stored programming in the circular buffer, as well as a further predetermined part of the incoming broadcast that continues the saved portion, and retains both in temporary storage at 103).
Claim 8
With respect to claim 8, Logan discloses wherein adding any of the more than one song to the target playlist based on the displayed information comprises:
determining that the user select icon was selected (Logan, [0054], see, when the user hears or views a song or program that he or she likes, the user presses a “Catch” button [i.e., corresponds to “detecting selection, by a user, of the user-select icon for the currently playing song”], and the program will set aside the all of a predetermined part of the stored programming in the circular buffer, as well as a further predetermined part of the incoming broadcast that continues the saved portion, and retains both in temporary storage at 103);
obtaining link information of each of the more than one song based on the metadata (See below);
adding each of the more than one song based on the link information (Logan, [0238], see the metadata, which describes individual program segments [i.e., using BRI, the metadata described is “link information” and see above how the program segments can be songs], may be combined to form an ordered playlist. As described in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,271,811, 5,732,216, and 6,199,076, and in co-pending application Ser. No. 09/782,546 filed on Feb. 13, 2001, by James D. Logan et al., by James D. Logan et al., the metadata as assembled at the server and transmitted to the user location may take the form of a playlist consisting of a scheduling file of metadata which specifies the content and schedules a default playback sequence in which that content is reproduced).
Claim 9
With respect to claim 9, Logan discloses wherein adding any of the more than one song to the target playlist based on the displayed information comprises:
determining that the user select icon was selected (Logan, [0054], see, when the user hears or views a song or program that he or she likes, the user presses a “Catch” button [i.e., corresponds to “detecting selection, by a user, of the user-select icon for the currently playing song”], and the program will set aside the all of a predetermined part of the stored programming in the circular buffer, as well as a further predetermined part of the incoming broadcast that continues the saved portion, and retains both in temporary storage at 103);
obtaining link information of each of the more than one song based on the metadata (See below);
sending the link information of each of the more than one song to a separate application, wherein the separate application comprises the target playlist and is configured to add each of the more than one song to the target playlist (Logan, [0238], see the metadata, which describes individual program segments [i.e., using BRI, the metadata described is “link information” and see above how the program segments can be songs], may be combined to form an ordered playlist. As described in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,271,811, 5,732,216, and 6,199,076, and in co-pending application Ser. No. 09/782,546 filed on Feb. 13, 2001, by James D. Logan et al., by James D. Logan et al., the metadata as assembled at the server and transmitted to the user location may take the form of a playlist consisting of a scheduling file of metadata which specifies the content and schedules a default playback sequence in which that content is reproduced); and
displaying a confirmation window, wherein the confirmation window is configured to show that each of the more than one song was added to the target playlist (Logan, [0247], see producing a personalized playlist, which is made available to automate the user’s playback sessions [i.e., where the inclusion of the particular song on the playlist gives confirmation to the user that song was added to the playlist]).
Claim 10
With respect to claim 10, Logan discloses further comprising:
obtaining at least one chapter for the audio file based on the metadata, wherein the at least one chapter is a time stamp of where each of the at least more than one song begins and ends in the audio file (See Logan, [0054] above how the segments can be songs; and Logan, [0071], see a segment may be a combined collection or sequence of such programs, may correspond precisely to a single program as broadcast, or may be only one part of a longer program. Importantly, segments may be organized into groups of other segments or programs, and can form a hierarchy of sections, chapters, sub-chapters, etc.; and Logan, [0054], see the broadcast programming content received at the user location at 141 may be immediately processed or stored for later processing and viewing. … When the user hears or views a song [i.e., discloses that there are many segments in the broadcast programming, where the segments can be songs, which discloses the “plurality of songs”] or program that he or she likes, the user presses a “Catch” button, and the program will set aside the all of a predetermined part of the stored programming in the circular buffer, as well as a further predetermined part of the incoming broadcast that continues the saved portion, and retains both in temporary storage at 103. Later metadata may then be applied to that segment identifying the beginning [i.e., corresponds to the “start time”] and end [i.e., corresponds to the “end time”] of the program or song being played at the time the catch button was activated. If the button was hit after a program or song was over, but before or after another began, the system would assume the user was trying to capture the last played song); and
skipping to the at least one chapter in the audio file (Logan, [0239], see navigation controls including skip forward and skip backward controls may be used to skip the remainder of the segment being played and resume the playback at the beginning of the next segment, at the beginning of the current segment, or the beginning of the prior segment).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
– Hughes, 2004/0034536 for selecting a music channel;
– Qureshey et al., 2012/0143729 for obtaining playlist content over a network;
– KR 100422477 for purchasing music disks during listening to music on the internet;
– Jung et al., KR 20000036565 for a web singer selection method based on the internet;
– Reznor et al., WO 2014066410 for distributing a playlist within a music service; and
– Bilinski et al., KR 201401021131 for creating playlists.
Point of Contact
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HUBERT G CHEUNG whose telephone number is (571) 270-1396. The examiner can normally be reached M-R 8:00A-5:00P EST; alt. F 8:00A-4:00P EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Apu Mofiz can be reached at (571) 272-4080. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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HUBERT G. CHEUNG
Assistant Examiner
Art Unit 2161
Examiner: Hubert Cheung
/Hubert Cheung/Assistant Examiner, Art Unit 2161Date: September 25, 2026
/APU M MOFIZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2161
