DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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) 1,2,7,9,10,12,14,15,17,19,20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being fully met by Classen (USP 8073160).
Regarding Claims 1,14,20 Classen discloses a system and method for electronically producing media content, comprising:
presenting, via a graphical user interface 100, a composition canvas area 102;
receiving, via one or more input devices (Col. 2 lines 4-15)), a location selection 308 for each of one or more graphical elements 150, wherein each of the one or more graphical elements 150 represents media content including any one of (i) a track, (ii) one or more instruments, or (iii) an additional user, and wherein the location selection 308 identifies a location on the composition canvas area at which to overlay a respective one of the one or more graphical elements 150; and
producing 360 at least a section of a digital composition based on the location of the one or more graphical elements 150 on the composition canvas area 102 (Abstract).
Regarding Claims 2,15, Classen discloses determining one or more parameter values (amplification or stereo position, Cols. 5 and 6) for each of the one or more graphical elements 150 based on the location of the one or more graphical elements 150; and producing at least the section of the digital composition based at least in part on (i) the media content represented by each of the one or more graphical elements 150 and (ii) the one or more parameter values (Fig. 2A).
Regarding Claims 7,17, Classen discloses receiving, via the one or more input devices, a position modification instruction to move a first graphical element of the one or more graphical elements from a first location on the composition canvas area to a second location on the composition canvas area; and wherein producing at least a section of the digital composition includes: modifying the digital composition based on the position modification instruction (Col. 3, lines 13-56).
Regarding Claims 9,19, Classen discloses receiving, via the one or more input devices, a position modification instruction to move a first graphical element 150 of the one or more graphical elements, wherein: when the position of a first graphical element 150 is moved along an X-axis of the composition canvas area, a first set of composition parameter values change, and when the position of the first graphical element 150 is moved along the Y-axis of the composition canvas area, a second set of composition parameter values change; and wherein at least the section of the digital composition is produced, at least in part, based on one or more of the first set of composition parameter values or the second set of composition parameter values (Col. 11, lines 34-52).
Regarding Claim 10, Classen discloses receiving, via the one or more input devices, a graphic element selection of a first graphical element 150 from the one or more graphical elements on the composition canvas area, thereby causing a parameter prompt 1512-1518 to be presented via the graphical user interface 202 (Figs. 2B,2C);
receiving, via the one or more input devices, a parameter modification instruction causing a parameter value 1512-1518 associated with the first graphical element 150 to be modified, thereby generating a modified parameter value; and modifying at least the section of the digital composition based on the modified parameter value (Col. 12, line 60 – Col. 13 line 39).
Regarding Claim 12, Classen discloses before receiving the location selection, presenting via the graphical user interface, at least one of the one or more of the graphical elements on the composition canvas, 306, 308 (Fig. 3A).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 3,4,16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Classen in view of Lengeling et al (USPGP 20120060668).
Regarding Claims 3,16, Classen (applied here in a similar manner as claims 1 and 14 above) discloses all features claimed, but does not explicitly teach receiving, via the one or more input devices, one or more parameter values associated with the one or more graphical elements, the one or more parameter values representing (i) a predetermined playing style, (ii) a timbre value corresponding to a predetermined style of music, (iii) a complexity value corresponding to a degree of complexity of at least the section of the digital composition, or (iv) any combination thereof.
Lengeling et al discloses a graphical user interface (Fig. 2A) for music programming that comprises receiving, via the one or more input devices 190, one or more parameter values associated with the one or more graphical elements (Fig. 2a), the one or more parameter values representing (i) a predetermined playing style, (ii) a timbre value corresponding to a predetermined style of music, (iii) a complexity value corresponding to a degree of complexity 224 of at least the section of the digital composition, or (iv) any combination thereof.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date, to adapt the teachings of Classen with those of Lengeling so as to allow for greater musical variety to be controlled by the user with a simplified GUI as is known in the art to be desirable.
Regarding Claim 4, Lengeling discloses the degree of complexity corresponds to any one of (i) a predefined range of chord complexity, (ii) a predefined range of melodic complexity,(iii) a predefined range of chord-melody tension, (iv) a predetermined range of chord progression novelty, (v) a predetermined range of chord bass melody, (vi) a degree of instrumentational variety (paras. 0026-0028), (vi) a combination thereof.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5,6,8,11,13,18 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The references cited show related teachings in subject matter.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEFFREY DONELS whose telephone number is (571)272-2061. The examiner can normally be reached M-F.
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JEFFREY . DONELS
Examiner
Art Unit 2837
/JEFFREY DONELS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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