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 .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 25 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed June 22, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
With regard to claim 1, Applicant submits that the cited prior art does not teach the amendments to the claim. Remarks, pp. 12-15.
Claim 1 is rejected under Ahmed et al. (US 2022/0180898), Loheide et al. (US 2018/0343484, hereinafter “Loheide ‘484”), Loheide et al. (US 20210297714, hereinafter “Loheide ‘714”), and Allaire et al. (US 2007/0038931).
Loheide ‘484 teaches causing encoding of primary content with alternative content opportunity markers indicating the content insertion timings ([0074], “The encoder 218 may be configured to encode the received media feed received from the play-out server 216 and generate a compressed media stream encoded with a plurality of trigger messages, i.e. with SCTE-35 messages, from the plurality of metadata triggers, i.e. SCTE-104 metadata triggers. The SCTE-35 is a standardized advertisement insertion specification that is utilized to define, for example, cue and insertion points in the encoded compressed media stream. The encoder 218 may be configured to receive the plurality of trigger messages from the EOS server 210. In accordance with an embodiment, the encoder 218 may be configured to encode the received media feed and generate the encoded compressed media stream in a specified format. In an exemplary instance, the specified format may be the MPEG-2 transport stream (TS).”). Loheide ‘484 also provides a teaching for different types of Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) markers ([0043], “An example of the plurality of identifiers may include SCTE-104 triggers or SCTE-35 triggers.” [0074], “The SCTE-35 is a standardized advertisement insertion specification that is utilized to define, for example, cue and insertion points in the encoded compressed media stream.” [0075], “SCTE-104 is a standardized metadata insertion specification that may be utilized to declare digital insertion points of program and advertisement content in high definition (HD) SDI streams. SCTE-104 enables the insertion of advertisements (commercials) and custom content such as the ACR-based triggers and items in the HD SDI broadcast stream. The encoder 218 may be configured to encode the received linear feed (or nonlinear feed) and generate an encoded compressed stream with content triggers translated from the broadcast SCTE-104 messages.”).
Allaire teaches: identify one or more non-in-scene content insertion timings within a timeline of primary content; and cause the encoding of the primary content with a non-in-scene insertion marker different than in-scene content insertion timings, the non-in-scene insertion marker indicating a time when non-in-scene secondary content may be inserted into the timeline of the primary content ([0224], “The ad insertion tools allows the publisher 22 to define the placement and accepted formats of advertising, and the content delivery engine 80 (FIG. 6) dynamically matches and serves advertisements based on the content and user 12 context.” [0225], “After the publisher 22 provisions and publishes a program, the publisher console 20 provides the publisher 22 with an interface in which the publisher can set advertising cue points in the player, and choose the quantity and format of advertising at these cue points. For example, for a 45-minute video a publisher could set a cue point for pre-roll advertising that enables 2 20-second video spots, another cue point at a transition 15 minutes into the program where they enable an overlay-based advertisement, another cue point at 35 minutes that inserts 3 video spots, and so on.”). Allaire also provides a teaching for insertion markers for different types of advertising ([0225], “After the publisher 22 provisions and publishes a program, the publisher console 20 provides the publisher 22 with an interface in which the publisher can set advertising cue points in the player, and choose the quantity and format of advertising at these cue points. For example, for a 45-minute video a publisher could set a cue point for pre-roll advertising that enables 2 20-second video spots, another cue point at a transition 15 minutes into the program where they enable an overlay-based advertisement, another cue point at 35 minutes that inserts 3 video spots, and so on.”).
In view of Allaire’s teaching, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination to identify one or more non-in-scene content insertion timings within the timeline of the primary content; and cause the encoding of the primary content with a non-in-scene insertion marker different than the alternative content opportunity markers, the non-in-scene insertion marker indicating a time when non-in-scene secondary content may be inserted into the timeline of the primary content. The modification would serve to facilitate insertion of content of different formats. The modification would thereby enhance the viewing experience for users.
Furthermore, considering Allaire’s teaching for insertion markers for different types of advertising ([0225]) with Loheide ‘484’s teaching for different types of Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) markers ([0043]), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings wherein: the alternative content opportunity markers comprising first Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) markers comprising metadata indicating that the alternative content opportunity markers are alternative content opportunity markers; and the non-in-scene insertion marker comprises a second SCTE marker different than the first SCTE markers, comprising metadata indicating that the non-in-scene insertion marker is a non-scene insertion marker. The modification would serve enhance interoperability with other services and/or systems.
The examiner additionally notes that claim 4 was stated in the prior office action as being allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims; however, only a portion of the limitations of claim 4 and now-cancelled claim 3 have been incorporated into claim 1. Accordingly, claim 1 is not allowable. The above reasoning similarly applies to independent claims 23 and 33.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 35 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 35 recites, in part, “generating the alternative content opportunity markers after receiving the user request based on features of the primary content, characteristics of the user, or both.”
The specification discloses generating alternative content opportunity markers based on features of the primary content, characteristics of the user, or both ([0033]); however, the specification as originally filed does not appear to disclose or suggest generating alternative content opportunity markers “after receiving the user request based on features of the primary content, characteristics of the user, or both.” Accordingly, claim 35 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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, 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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 7, 9, 23-24, 29, 31, and 33 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over a combination of Ahmed et al. (US 2022/0180898), Loheide et al. (US 2018/0343484, hereinafter “Loheide ‘484”), Loheide et al. (US 20210297714, hereinafter “Loheide ‘714”), and Allaire et al. (US 2007/0038931).
Regarding claim 1, Ahmed teaches a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, of one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to:
receive primary content ([0034], “FIG. 2 shows a content streaming service 202 that obtains content fragments and metadata for the clips of primary content 204 corresponding to a media content item and replacement clip(s) of replacement content 206, and provides manifest data to a media player (not shown) on client device 108 so that client device 208 can generate requests for content fragments of the primary content 204 and replacement content 206.”);
receive one or more in-scene content insertion timings indicative of when alternative content is available in a timeline of the primary content ([0016], “A candidate insertion point is a potential two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) placement for a virtual product or branding. … Attributes of a candidate insertion point can include a start time of the pertinent clip, an end time and/or duration of the pertinent clip, and attributes of pertinent physical object(s) represented within the clip.” [0059], “For a given media content item, replacement media generation logic 322 identifies one or more candidate insertion points using media attributes 406 associated with the media content item. Metadata marking the start time of a candidate insertion point may be stored in association with the media content item.” [0020]);
wherein alternative content opportunity markers, during subsequent playback of the encoded primary content:
trigger a request for selection of a subset of the alternative content to replace a portion of the primary content during the in-scene content insertion timings ([0059], “For a given media content item, replacement media generation logic 322 identifies one or more candidate insertion points using media attributes 406 associated with the media content item. Metadata marking the start time of a candidate insertion point may be stored in association with the media content item. When a client device requests the media content item, the metadata may be recognized as an insertion point and a replacement clip may be selected for the client device.” [0061], “In some implementations, replacement media generation logic 322 selects one or more secondary content items from secondary content information 408 that are suitable for ‘insertion’ at the candidate insertion point using media attributes 406, attributes of secondary content items (from secondary content information 408), and replacement media generation constraints 410 to select the secondary content item(s) that it will use to generate replacement clip(s) for the candidate insertion point.” [0102], “one or more candidate placements have previously been identified/selected for the video, where each candidate placement corresponds to a clip containing the candidate placement.”); and
in response to the selection of the subset of the alternative content, cause the replacement of the portion of the primary content by causing a manifest manipulation to a manifest that
inserts segments of the subset of alternative content for playback during the in-scene content insertion timing ([0036], “As playback continues, the player on client device 208 generates content fragment requests that corresponds to fragments of replacement content 206 for those segments that have been replaced with system-generated replacement clips. As illustrated in dashed box 214, service 202 may use fragment indices 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4. In this manner, fragments of primary content 204 and replacement content 206 originating from two different sources may be seamlessly stitched together.” [0061], “In some implementations, replacement media generation logic 322 selects one or more secondary content items from secondary content information 408 that are suitable for ‘insertion’ at the candidate insertion point using media attributes 406, attributes of secondary content items (from secondary content information 408), and replacement media generation constraints 410 to select the secondary content item(s) that it will use to generate replacement clip(s) for the candidate insertion point.”).
Ahmed teaches the limitations specified above; however, the combination does not expressly teach causing encoding of the primary content with alternative content opportunity markers indicating the in-scene content insertion timings. Ahmed also does not expressly teach that the manifest manipulation to the manifest removes segments associated with the portion of the primary content during the in-scene content insertion timing. Ahmed also does not expressly teach the one or more computers to identify one or more non-in-scene content insertion timings within the timeline of the primary content; and cause encoding of the primary content with a non-in-scene insertion marker different than the alternative content opportunity markers, the non-in-scene insertion marker indicating a time when non-in-scene secondary content may be inserted into the timeline of the primary content, wherein: the alternative content opportunity markers comprise first Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) markers comprising metadata indicating that the alternative content opportunity markers are alternative content opportunity markers for in-scene insertion; and the non-in-scene insertion marker comprises a second SCTE marker different than the first SCTE markers, comprising metadata indicating that the non-in-scene insertion marker is a non-in-scene insertion marker for non-in-scene insertion.
Loheide ‘484 teaches causing encoding of primary content with alternative content opportunity markers indicating the content insertion timings ([0074], “The encoder 218 may be configured to encode the received media feed received from the play-out server 216 and generate a compressed media stream encoded with a plurality of trigger messages, i.e. with SCTE-35 messages, from the plurality of metadata triggers, i.e. SCTE-104 metadata triggers. The SCTE-35 is a standardized advertisement insertion specification that is utilized to define, for example, cue and insertion points in the encoded compressed media stream. The encoder 218 may be configured to receive the plurality of trigger messages from the EOS server 210. In accordance with an embodiment, the encoder 218 may be configured to encode the received media feed and generate the encoded compressed media stream in a specified format. In an exemplary instance, the specified format may be the MPEG-2 transport stream (TS).”). Loheide ‘484 also provides a teaching for different types of Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) markers ([0043], “An example of the plurality of identifiers may include SCTE-104 triggers or SCTE-35 triggers.” [0074], “The SCTE-35 is a standardized advertisement insertion specification that is utilized to define, for example, cue and insertion points in the encoded compressed media stream.” [0075], “SCTE-104 is a standardized metadata insertion specification that may be utilized to declare digital insertion points of program and advertisement content in high definition (HD) SDI streams. SCTE-104 enables the insertion of advertisements (commercials) and custom content such as the ACR-based triggers and items in the HD SDI broadcast stream. The encoder 218 may be configured to encode the received linear feed (or nonlinear feed) and generate an encoded compressed stream with content triggers translated from the broadcast SCTE-104 messages.”).
In view of Loheide ‘484’s teaching, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ahmed to include causing encoding of the primary content with alternative content opportunity markers indicating the in-scene content insertion timings. The modification would serve to facilitate distribution and usage of primary and alternative content.
The combination teaches the limitations specified above; however, the combination does not expressly teach that the manifest manipulation to the manifest removes segments associated with the portion of the primary content during the in-scene content insertion timing. The combination also does not expressly teach the one or more computers to identify one or more non-in-scene content insertion timings within the timeline of the primary content; and cause encoding of the primary content with a non-in-scene insertion marker different than the alternative content opportunity markers, the non-in-scene insertion marker indicating a time when non-in-scene secondary content may be inserted into the timeline of the primary content, wherein: the alternative content opportunity markers comprise first Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) markers comprising metadata indicating that the alternative content opportunity markers are alternative content opportunity markers for in-scene insertion; and the non-in-scene insertion marker comprises a second SCTE marker different than the first SCTE markers, comprising metadata indicating that the non-in-scene insertion marker is a non-in-scene insertion marker for non-in-scene insertion.
Loheide ‘714 teaches a manifest manipulation to a manifest that removes segments associated with a portion of primary content ([0168], “In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a system, such as the Live to On-Demand toolkit system 117, may comprise one or more processors configured to capture a live input stream and a manifest of the live input stream from one of the content delivery system 160 or media storage 162. The Live to On-Demand toolkit system 117 may be further configured to identify one or more media segments referenced in the manifest for one or more edits. The one or more edits may correspond to removal or replacement of the one or more media segments referenced in the manifest based on one or more indicators in the manifest.”).
In view of Loheide ‘714’s teaching, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination such that the manifest manipulation to the manifest removes segments associated with the portion of the primary content during the in-scene content insertion timing. The modification would serve to facilitate identification and retrieval of appropriate content.
The combination teaches the limitations specified above; however, the combination does not expressly teach one or more computers to identify one or more non-in-scene content insertion timings within the timeline of the primary content; and cause encoding of the primary content with a non-in-scene insertion marker different than the alternative content opportunity markers, the non-in-scene insertion marker indicating a time when non-in-scene secondary content may be inserted into the timeline of the primary content, wherein: the alternative content opportunity markers comprise first Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) markers comprising metadata indicating that the alternative content opportunity markers are alternative content opportunity markers for in-scene insertion; and the non-in-scene insertion marker comprises a second SCTE marker different than the first SCTE markers, comprising metadata indicating that the non-in-scene insertion marker is a non-in-scene insertion marker for non-in-scene insertion.
Allaire teaches: identify one or more non-in-scene content insertion timings within a timeline of primary content; and cause the encoding of the primary content with a non-in-scene insertion marker different than in-scene content insertion timings, the non-in-scene insertion marker indicating a time when non-in-scene secondary content may be inserted into the timeline of the primary content ([0224], “The ad insertion tools allows the publisher 22 to define the placement and accepted formats of advertising, and the content delivery engine 80 (FIG. 6) dynamically matches and serves advertisements based on the content and user 12 context.” [0225], “After the publisher 22 provisions and publishes a program, the publisher console 20 provides the publisher 22 with an interface in which the publisher can set advertising cue points in the player, and choose the quantity and format of advertising at these cue points. For example, for a 45-minute video a publisher could set a cue point for pre-roll advertising that enables 2 20-second video spots, another cue point at a transition 15 minutes into the program where they enable an overlay-based advertisement, another cue point at 35 minutes that inserts 3 video spots, and so on.”). Allaire also provides a teaching for insertion markers for different types of advertising ([0225], “After the publisher 22 provisions and publishes a program, the publisher console 20 provides the publisher 22 with an interface in which the publisher can set advertising cue points in the player, and choose the quantity and format of advertising at these cue points. For example, for a 45-minute video a publisher could set a cue point for pre-roll advertising that enables 2 20-second video spots, another cue point at a transition 15 minutes into the program where they enable an overlay-based advertisement, another cue point at 35 minutes that inserts 3 video spots, and so on.”).
In view of Allaire’s teaching, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination to identify one or more non-in-scene content insertion timings within the timeline of the primary content; and cause the encoding of the primary content with a non-in-scene insertion marker different than the alternative content opportunity markers, the non-in-scene insertion marker indicating a time when non-in-scene secondary content may be inserted into the timeline of the primary content. The modification would serve to facilitate insertion of content of different formats. The modification would thereby enhance the viewing experience for users.
Furthermore, considering Allaire’s teaching for insertion markers for different types of advertising ([0225]) with Loheide ‘484’s teaching for different types of Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) markers ([0043]), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings wherein: the alternative content opportunity markers comprising first Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) markers comprising metadata indicating that the alternative content opportunity markers are alternative content opportunity markers; and the non-in-scene insertion marker comprises a second SCTE marker different than the first SCTE markers, comprising metadata indicating that the non-in-scene insertion marker is a non-scene insertion marker. The modification would serve enhance interoperability with other services and/or systems.
Regarding claim 23, Ahmed teaches a system, comprising: one or more processors; and a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable instructions ([0038], [0040], Fig. 3).The rejection of claim 1 under 35 USC §103 is similarly applied to the remaining limitations of claim 23.
The rejection of claim 1 under 35 USC §103 is similarly applied to the limitations of claim 33.
Regarding claims 2 and 24, the combination further teaches wherein the alternative content opportunity markers comprise a start time and an end time where alternative content comprising in-scene inserted secondary content may replace a portion of the primary content (Ahmed: [0016], “Attributes of a candidate insertion point can include a start time of the pertinent clip, an end time and/or duration of the pertinent clip, and attributes of pertinent physical object(s) represented within the clip.” [0028]).
Regarding claims 7 and 29, the combination further teaches wherein the alternative content opportunity markers, when identified during subsequent playback of the primary content, cause: an alternative content clip to be selected for playback with the primary content; and an indication of segments of the alternative content clip to be stitched into a playback manifest of a subsequent playback at a location in the playback manifest that is indicated by the alternative content opportunity markers (Ahmed: [0034], “FIG. 2 shows a content streaming service 202 that obtains content fragments and metadata for the clips of primary content 204 corresponding to a media content item and replacement clip(s) of replacement content 206, and provides manifest data to a media player (not shown) on client device 108 so that client device 208 can generate requests for content fragments of the primary content 204 and replacement content 206.” [0036], “Using this manifest data, the player on client device 208 generates content fragment requests that correspond to content fragments of primary content 204 and begins consuming that content stream. As playback continues, the player on client device 208 generates content fragment requests that corresponds to fragments of replacement content 206 for those segments that have been replaced with system-generated replacement clips.”).
Regarding claims 9 and 31, the combination further teaches comprising computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors of the one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to:
perform a frame-by-frame analysis to identify candidate portions of the primary content for insertion of alternative content (Ahmed: [0020], “Prior to playback, frames of the movie are analyzed using computer vision and surface 106 of box 104 is identified as a candidate placement 108 for secondary content.” [0031], “During analysis of frames of the movie, a candidate placement 146 corresponding to screen 146 of television 144 is identified.” [0043], “Content service 302 may also include media analysis logic 320 configured to analyze media content items and store attributes of the media content items resulting from the analysis in a knowledge base maintained in data store 312.”); and
provide the primary content and the candidate portions of the primary content to a secondary content creation service to cause generation of the alternative content (Ahmed: [0043], “Content service 302 may also include replacement media generation logic 322 that facilitates the generation of replacement clips using secondary content, unmodified clips of primary content, and the attributes of the of the unmodified clips of primary content.” [0058], [0061], “In some implementations, replacement media generation logic 322 selects one or more secondary content items from secondary content information 408 that are suitable for ‘insertion’ at the candidate insertion point using media attributes 406, attributes of secondary content items (from secondary content information 408), and replacement media generation constraints 410 to select the secondary content item(s) that it will use to generate replacement clip(s) for the candidate insertion point.” [0045], “It should be noted that, while logic 310, 320, 322, and 326, and data store 312 are shown as integrated with content service 302, implementations are contemplated in which some or all of these operate remotely from the associated content service, and/or are under the control of an independent or more loosely integrated entity.”).
Claim(s) 5, 10, 27, and 32 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over a combination of Ahmed, Loheide ‘484, Loheide ‘714, Allaire, and Ram et al. (US 11228792).
Regarding claims 5 and 27, the combination further teaches comprising computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors of the one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to:
receive the in-scene content insertion timings (Ahmed: [0016], “A candidate insertion point is a potential two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) placement for a virtual product or branding. … Attributes of a candidate insertion point can include a start time of the pertinent clip, an end time and/or duration of the pertinent clip, and attributes of pertinent physical object(s) represented within the clip.” [0059], “For a given media content item, replacement media generation logic 322 identifies one or more candidate insertion points using media attributes 406 associated with the media content item. Metadata marking the start time of a candidate insertion point may be stored in association with the media content item.” [0020]).
The combination teaches the limitations specified above; however, the combination does not expressly teach that the in-scene content insertion timings are received from a secondary content creation service that creates alternative content that may replace a portion of the primary content that is within the alternative content opportunity markers.
Ram teaches content insertion timings are received from a secondary content creation service that creates alternative content that may replace a portion of primary content that is within alternative content opportunity markers (Ram: Col. 4, lines 44-50, “In order to obtain the necessary information, the manifest manipulation service 110 can make a call to a content origin 112, which may be offered by the same entity as the content management system or a third party, among other such options. In response to the call, the manifest manipulation service 110 can receive a template video manifest. A template manifest can include basic information for the primary video content on a stream, such as the timing and location in which to display supplemental content, such as advertising in response to one or more ad markers in the template manifest.”).
In view of Ram’s teaching, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination wherein the in-scene content insertion timings are received from a secondary content creation service that creates alternative content that may replace a portion of the primary content that is within the alternative content opportunity markers. The modification would serve to facilitate distribution of metadata and content for processing and subsequent transmission to client devices.
Regarding claim 10, the combination teaches the limitations specified above; however, the combination does not expressly teach computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors of the one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to:
receive the alternative content from the secondary content creation service; and
cause transcoding of the alternative content into one or more formats compatible with playback of the primary content.
Ram teaches:
receive alternative content from an secondary content creation service; and cause transcoding of the alternative content into one or more formats compatible with playback of primary content (Col. 2, lines 31-36, “In order to provide a consistent viewing experience, among other such advantages, approaches in accordance with various embodiments can take advantage of dynamic transcoding of supplemental content to provide properly formatted supplemental content through the same stream as the primary content.” Col. 6, lines 42-45, “Approaches in accordance with various embodiments can instead transcode the supplemental content to the format requested by the video player that will be consistent with that of the primary content.” Col. 15, lines 20-25, “FIG. 4 illustrates an example environment 400 wherein media content can be dynamically transcoded. In this example, a content publisher 402 can provide primary and/or supplemental media content 408 to a source store 406 or some other storage location provided by the service provider 404.”).
In view of Ram’s teaching, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination to include computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors of the one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to: receive the alternative content from the secondary content creation service; and cause transcoding of the alternative content into one or more formats compatible with playback of the primary content. The modification would serve to enable a more consistent and pleasant viewing experience (Ram: Col. 18, lines 28-32).
Regarding claim 32, the combination teaches wherein the tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium comprises computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
receive the alternative content , wherein the alternative content comprises a version of the portion of the primary content that is modified to include an overlaid object (Ahmed: [0059], “For a given media content item, replacement media generation logic 322 identifies one or more candidate insertion points using media attributes 406 associated with the media content item. Metadata marking the start time of a candidate insertion point may be stored in association with the media content item. When a client device requests the media content item, the metadata may be recognized as an insertion point and a replacement clip may be selected for the client device.” [0061], “In some implementations, replacement media generation logic 322 selects one or more secondary content items from secondary content information 408 that are suitable for ‘insertion’ at the candidate insertion point using media attributes 406, attributes of secondary content items (from secondary content information 408), and replacement media generation constraints 410 to select the secondary content item(s) that it will use to generate replacement clip(s) for the candidate insertion point.” [0102], “one or more candidate placements have previously been identified/selected for the video, where each candidate placement corresponds to a clip containing the candidate placement.”).
However, the combination does not expressly teach receiving the alternative content from the secondary content creation service, and causing transcoding of the alternative content into one or more formats compatible with playback of the primary content.
Ram teaches:
receiving alternative content from an secondary content creation service; and causing transcoding of the alternative content into one or more formats compatible with playback of primary content (Col. 2, lines 31-36, “In order to provide a consistent viewing experience, among other such advantages, approaches in accordance with various embodiments can take advantage of dynamic transcoding of supplemental content to provide properly formatted supplemental content through the same stream as the primary content.” Col. 6, lines 42-45, “Approaches in accordance with various embodiments can instead transcode the supplemental content to the format requested by the video player that will be consistent with that of the primary content.” Col. 15, lines 20-25, “FIG. 4 illustrates an example environment 400 wherein media content can be dynamically transcoded. In this example, a content publisher 402 can provide primary and/or supplemental media content 408 to a source store 406 or some other storage location provided by the service provider 404.”).
In view of Ram’s teaching, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination to include computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors of the one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to: receive the alternative content from the secondary content creation service; and cause transcoding of the alternative content into one or more formats compatible with playback of the primary content. The modification would serve to enable a more consistent and pleasant viewing experience (Ram: Col. 18, lines 28-32).
Claim(s) 6, 28, and 34 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over a combination of Ahmed, Loheide ‘484, Loheide ‘714, Allaire, and Fink et al. (US 2024/0386684).
Regarding claims 6, 28, and 34, the combination the tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of comprising computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors of the one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to:
generate instant-video-ingest (IVI) metadata based upon received in-scene content insertion timings, the IVI metadata providing a sequence of related secondary content insertion areas within a timeline of the primary content (Ahmed: [0059], “For a given media content item, replacement media generation logic 322 identifies one or more candidate insertion points using media attributes 406 associated with the media content item. Metadata marking the start time of a candidate insertion point may be stored in association with the media content item. When a client device requests the media content item, the metadata may be recognized as an insertion point and a replacement clip may be selected for the client device.” [0096], “For a given video, metadata of a corresponding video file may be updated to include a marker that identifies a candidate insertion point within the video.”); and
provide the IVI metadata to a secondary content decisioning service, enabling the secondary content decisioning service to select consistent secondary content to insert in the related secondary content insertion areas during a subsequent playback of the primary content (Ahmed: [0043], “Content service 302 may also include replacement media generation logic 322 that facilitates the generation of replacement clips using secondary content, unmodified clips of primary content, and the attributes of the of the unmodified clips of primary content.” [0058], [0061], “In some implementations, replacement media generation logic 322 selects one or more secondary content items from secondary content information 408 that are suitable for ‘insertion’ at the candidate insertion point using media attributes 406, attributes of secondary content items (from secondary content information 408), and replacement media generation constraints 410 to select the secondary content item(s) that it will use to generate replacement clip(s) for the candidate insertion point.” [0045], “It should be noted that, while logic 310, 320, 322, and 326, and data store 312 are shown as integrated with content service 302, implementations are contemplated in which some or all of these operate remotely from the associated content service, and/or are under the control of an independent or more loosely integrated entity.”).
The combination teaches the limitations specified above; however, the combination does not expressly teach wherein the consistent secondary content comprises a common overlay in non-contiguous frames of the primary content.
Fink teaches wherein consistent secondary content comprises a common overlay in non-contiguous frames of content ([0015], “the virtual objects appear as if placed at specific location(s) in the surroundings and so can move in and out of the camera frame in response to device motion, similar to real, physical objects in the surroundings.”).
In view of Fink’s teaching, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination wherein the consistent secondary content comprises a common overlay in non-contiguous frames of the primary content. The modification would serve to simulate real, physical objects in content. The modification would serve to enhance the user experience.
Claim(s) 8 and 30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over a combination of Ahmed, Loheide ‘484, Loheide ‘714, Allaire, and Woods et al. (US 2013/0170813).
Regarding claims 8 and 30, the combination further teaches wherein the segments of the alternative content clip comprise video segments and not audio segments or subtitle segments.
Woods teaches segments of alternative content clip comprise video segments and not audio segments or subtitle segments ([0116], “FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of steps that describes a process for supplementing a primary content asset accessed on a primary user device in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. … In some implementations, the user may specify that only one type of supplemental content asset is desired. For example, in response to a user input indication that only supplemental video content are desired, processing circuitry of a primary user device may generate a message template that indicates only supplemental video content are to be searched and provided by the detected secondary devices. The supplemental content asset type preference indicated in the message template may reduce the time used by processing circuitry of a secondary device to search for a supplemental content asset.”).
In view of Woods’s teaching, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination wherein the segments of the alternative content clip comprise video segments and not audio segments or subtitle segments. The modification would potentially reduce time used to identify appropriate alternative content clips for insertion. (Woods: [0116]).
Claim(s) 35 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over a combination of Ahmed, Loheide ‘484, Loheide ‘714, Allaire, and Osman (US 2013/0183021).
Regarding claim 35, the combination further teaches computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors of the one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to:
receive a user request for the primary content from a user via a graphical user interface (GUI) (Ahmed: [0099], “In some implementations, the user may log into a user account and request a video for playback via an on-demand system. For example, a request to initiate playback of a video corresponding to a video title of a video library may be received from the client device (902).”);
receive the primary content based on the user request (Ahmed: [0099], “In some implementations, the user may log into a user account and request a video for playback via an on-demand system. For example, a request to initiate playback of a video corresponding to a video title of a video library may be received from the client device (902).” Figs. 1A-1C); and
generating the alternative content opportunity markers based on features of the primary content, characteristics of the user, or both (Ahmed: [0059], “For a given media content item, replacement media generation logic 322 identifies one or more candidate insertion points using media attributes 406 associated with the media content item. Metadata marking the start time of a candidate insertion point may be stored in association with the media content item. When a client device requests the media content item, the metadata may be recognized as an insertion point and a replacement clip may be selected for the client device.” [0061], “In some implementations, replacement media generation logic 322 selects one or more secondary content items from secondary content information 408 that are suitable for ‘insertion’ at the candidate insertion point using media attributes 406, attributes of secondary content items (from secondary content information 408), and replacement media generation constraints 410 to select the secondary content item(s) that it will use to generate replacement clip(s) for the candidate insertion point.” [0102], “one or more candidate placements have previously been identified/selected for the video, where each candidate placement corresponds to a clip containing the candidate placement.”).
The combination teaches the limitations specified above; however, the combination does not expressly teach generating the alternative content opportunity markers after receiving the user request.
Osman teaches identifying markers after receiving a user request ([0036], “A user can enable the selection of non-video content in the menus, and then during the movie, a mobile device can track visible markers in the video in order to identify the temporal position in the video while it is played.”).
In view of Osman’s teaching, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination to include generating the alternative content opportunity markers after receiving the user request. The modification would serve to produce an enhanced system enabled with alternative and/or supplemental means for generating alternative content opportunity markers.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
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/MICHAEL R TELAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2426
