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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/14/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues:
“"a first queue storing a plurality of content titles to be delivered to a Video-on-Demand (VOD) server accessible to customers over a content delivery network." The Examiner appears to be referencing a disclosure in Tsang relating to a "cinema queue processor 522," (See Rejection at 4). The Examiner's rejection, however, has provided no notice to the applicant as to what element of Tsang (See FIG.2) constitutes the claimed "VOD server." In the bulk passages cited by the Examiner, Tsang discloses several things that could be construed as this element e.g., the Content Delivery Network 280 (See Tsang at col. 8 lines 24- 26), the Content Repository 274 (Id.) or the actual servers that host the titles broadcast to the client device (See Tsang at col. 8 lines 36-40 i.e., "information is actually delivered, downloaded, transferred or received by one of the Internet-based servers in or associated with the content delivery network 280.")(emphasis added).”. Remarks, page 5. To this matter, the examiner respectfully disagrees.
Independent claim language broadly calls for “a processor connected to a first queue storing plurality of content title to be delivered to a Video-on-Demand server”. Given that the whole system of Tsang is a VOD system, any server in it is considered a ‘VOD server’. Tsang teaches having multiple servers that have access to content with a finite availability and delivered transmitted through a delivery network. The queue or the list of titles based on the remaining time to deliver them (remaining availability).
Prioritizer module calculates a priority for the content based on the rights date start, date end, linear start date, etc. (col. 16 line 57 to col. 18 line 62). Then, the cinema queue module having a processor 522 and modifies/updates the data on the cinema queue database (col. 13 line 53 35 to col. 14 line 14; col. 17 line 39 to line 29).
There is no specific reference in the claim language to when the calculation is performed (i.e. maintaining a database or queue -buffer- at the time of transmission) or if the VOD server is one of a specific type.
Therefore, the examiner respectfully believes that the art of record covers all the limitations of the invention as claimed.
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by Tsang et al. (hereinafter ‘Tsang’, Patent No. 8,533,767).
Regarding claims 1, 9, 16 and 17, Tsang teaches a processor (Cinema queue processor 522, Fig. 4 or prioritizer 350, col. 11 lines 49-64, which are elements on a platform that includes VOD content) operatively connected to a first queue storing a plurality of content titles to be delivered to a Video-on-Demand (VOD) server accessible to customers over a content delivery network (Fig. 4; col. 13 lines 35 to col. 14 line 14; 810, Fig. 9, col. 17 line 39 to col. 18 line 29), each content title having an associated availability window start time at the VOD server, the processor configured to selectively reorder the plurality of content titles in the queue using, for each of the plurality of content titles, a comparison between its associated availability window start time and a calculated estimate of a remaining time to deliver it to the VOD server (col. 14 lines 1-61; col. 16 line 57 to col. 18 line 62).
Regarding claims 2 and 10, Tsang teaches connected to a second queue in which each of the plurality of content titles will be stored after leaving the first queue, the processing device configured to selectively reorder content titles in the second queue (based on different factors, including time availability, demand, the removed/moved content is sent to a different queue, at least col. 26 lines 1-55).
Regarding claims 3 and 11, Tsang teaches operatively connected to a queue in a Video Content Management System (VCMS) (Col. 7 lines 52-57).
Regarding claims 4, 12 and 20, Tsang teaches where the calculated estimate of the remaining time is determined using information from the VCMS (connected schedule material to the content manager system, col. 16 lines 41-67).
Regarding claims 5 and 13, Tsang teaches configured to selectively reorder the plurality of content titles in the queue using a score calculated from: (i) a value representing the comparison; and (ii) at least one additional parameter (a priority value includes different factors including availability dates/times, col. 15 lines 45-52; col. 16 lines 41-67; col. 17 line 61 to col. 18 line 21).
Regarding claims 6 and 14, Tsang teaches where the value and the at least one additional parameter have respectively different associated weightings (col. 19 lines 22-33; col. 27 lies 51-57; col. 28 lines 10-42).
Regarding claim 7, Tsang teaches where the weightings are configurable (col. 17 lines 61-67; col. 19 lines 34-44).
Regarding claims 8, 15 and 18, Tsang teaches configured to reorder the plurality of content in the queue in a manner that increases the number of content titles in the queue being delivered to the VOD server prior to their respectively associated availability window start times absent reordering (col. 22 lines 42-54; col. 24 lines 7-13).
Regarding claim 19, Tsang teaches where the VCMS includes a plurality of queues into which each content title is sequentially stored, and the processor is configured to reorder the content titles in each of the plurality of queues (Figs. 11a an 11b).
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OMAR S PARRA whose telephone number is (571)270-1449. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: Mostly 10-6PM.
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/OMAR S PARRA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2421