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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-51 are cancelled.
Claims 52-70 are pending.
Claims 52-53, 55, 57-59, 61, 63-65, 67 and 69 are amended.
Claim 70 is new.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 52-69 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection.
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.
5. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
6. Claims 52-70 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Williams (US 2014/0298169), hereinafter referred to as Williams, in view of Ben-Itzhak (US 2017/0250930), hereinafter referred to as Ben-Itzhak.
7. Regarding claims 52, 58 and 64, Williams discloses a method comprising: receiving a plurality of activities that a user is scheduled to participate in, wherein a first activity of the plurality of activities occurs at a first geographic location and a first future time (paragraph 11 wherein the system may automatically generate a recommended trip playlist based at least in part on data representative of a travel itinerary for a trip, which may include a journey from one geographic location to another geographic location, and wherein the first geographic location happens at a first time in the future and the second geographic location occurs at a second time in the future);
determining that a media asset is being displayed on a device associated with the user (paragraph 89 wherein a playlist facility may be configured to detect the playback of the media program and perform one or more updates in response to the playback);
and accessing metadata associated with the media asset, wherein the metadata comprises characteristics related to one or more segments of the media asset (paragraph 34 wherein the media program data may include metadata for a collection of media programs (e.g., a repository of media programs that are available to one or more users by way of a media distribution service), and trip playlist facility may use trip elements as search criteria to search the metadata to identify media programs that are related to the trip elements).
However Williams is silent in regards to disclosing determining that a first segment of the media asset is associated with the first geographic location based, at least in part, on comparing the first geographic location corresponding to the first activity with the characteristics related to the one or more segments of the media asset; and in response to determining that the first segment of the media asset is associated with the first geographic location, generating for display a first media asset recommendation to be displayed during display of the first segment of the media asset, wherein the first media asset recommendation is associated with the first geographic location.
Ben-Itzhak discloses determining that a first segment of the media asset is associated with the first geographic location based, at least in part, on comparing the first geographic location corresponding to the first activity with the characteristics related to the one or more segments of the media asset (paragraphs 87-88 and 96 wherein the content recommendations may be filtered by one or more content recommendation scope parameters, such as, for example, by features the content recommendation was selected by (e.g., categories the user saw, user geographic location, scope preferences explicitly chosen or dismissed by the user, etc.));
and in response to determining that the first segment of the media asset is associated with the first geographic location, generating for display a first media asset recommendation to be displayed during display of the first segment of the media asset, wherein the first media asset recommendation is associated with the first geographic location (paragraphs 97-99 wherein based at least in part on the event, the one or more content recommendations that would be displayed on the web page).
Ben-Itzhak provides motivation to combine the references wherein the user profile is stored and may be modified, changed, augmented, and expanded over time in view of the user's activities (e.g., interactions with previously provided content recommendations, web-based history, purchasing history, search history, etc.) (paragraph 17). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Williams, with the teachings of Ben-Itzhak.
8. Regarding claims 53, 59 and 65, Ben-Itzhak discloses the method of claim 52, wherein the plurality of activities is associated with a profile of the user (paragraph 17 wherein the user profile is stored and may be modified, changed, augmented, and expanded over time in view of the user's activities (e.g., interactions with previously provided content recommendations, web-based history, purchasing history, search history, etc.)).
9. Regarding claims 54, 60 and 66, Williams discloses the method of claim 53, wherein determining that the media asset is being displayed comprises: receiving a selection of the media asset, wherein the media selection is associated with an account (paragraph 21 wherein a user may configure settings of a user account with a travel service used by the user such that the computing system associated with the travel service is configured to automatically send a travel itinerary for the user to travel itinerary facility);
and determining that that account is related to the profile of the user (paragraph 48 wherein user data may include a user profile, user preferences regarding media programs, a user's history of accessing and/or consuming media programs, demographic information about a user, and/or any other information about a user).
10. Regarding claims 55, 61 and 67, Williams discloses the method of claim 52, wherein receiving the plurality of activities further comprises: identifying a plurality of non-media guidance applications that are associated with a profile of the user (paragraphs 47-48 wherein trip playlist facility may access and use user data representative of information about a user as an additional basis for generating a trip playlist);
querying each non-media guidance application of the plurality of non-media guidance applications for information relating to the plurality of activities (paragraph 47 wherein playlist facility may use such identified landmarks as search criteria to search media program data and identify any media programs that are related to the landmarks);
receiving, in response to the querying, information about an activity of the plurality of activities that the user is scheduled to participate in (paragraph 49 wherein playlist facility may use user data in any suitable way as a basis for generating a trip playlist of media programs related to a trip);
and adding the information to the plurality of activities (paragraph 48 wherein trip playlist facility accesses and uses both itinerary data and user data to generate trip playlist).
11. Regarding claims 56, 62 and 68, Williams discloses the method of claim 55, wherein querying each non- media guidance application comprises querying at least one of planning or conducting a travel activity, attendance at an event, content browsing, or messaging communications (paragraph 48 wherein trip playlist facility accesses and uses both itinerary data and user data to generate trip playlist).
12. Regarding claims 57, 63 and 69, Williams discloses the method of claim 52, further comprising: receiving the plurality of activities that the user is scheduled to participate in, wherein a second activity of the plurality of activities occurs at a second geographic location and a second future time (paragraph 73 wherein a different portion of the trip timeline to visually indicate an association of the media program represented by cover art image to a latter portion of the trip timeline that is proximate the destination location of the trip ;
determining that a second segment of the media asset is associated with the second geographic location (paragraph 74 wherein a second portion of the trip timelines that is associated with a second media program represented by cover art image);
and in response to determining that the second segment of the media asset is associated with the second geographic location, generating for display a second media asset recommendation to be displayed during the display of the second segment of the media asset, wherein the second media asset recommendation is associated with the second geographic location (paragraph 74 wherein position of the marker along the visual representation of the trip timeline may be determined and/or adjusted by trip playlist facility based on the running times of the media programs included in the trip playlist and/or a travel time for a trip segment).
13. Regarding claim 70, Williams discloses the method of claim 52, wherein the first activity of the plurality of activities does not correspond to consuming electronic media (paragraph 11 wherein the system may automatically generate a recommended trip playlist based at least in part on data representative of a travel itinerary for a trip, which may include a journey from one geographic location to another geographic location).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
14. 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.
15. Claims 52, 58 and 64 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite in that it fails to point out what is included or excluded by the claim language. This claim is an omnibus type claim. The claim language “at least in part”, is indefinite for not clearly disclosing the meets and bounds of the claim.
Conclusion
16. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHARLES N HICKS whose telephone number is (571)270-3010. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10-7 EST.
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/CHARLES N HICKS/Examiner, Art Unit 2424
/BENJAMIN R BRUCKART/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2424