DETAILED ACTION
Remarks
Claims 1-20 have been examined and rejected. This Office action is responsive to the amendment filed on 11/26/2025, which has been entered in the above identified application.
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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP §§ 706.02(l)(1) - 706.02(l)(3) for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
Claims 1, 2, 5-7, 12, and 19 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 2-5, 8-10, 12, and 13 of US 10,028,008 B2 in view of Kosiba et al. (US 20080005348 A1, published 01/03/2008), hereinafter Kosiba, in further view of Gibson et al. (US 20100325549 A1, published 12/23/2010), hereinafter Gibson, in further view of Ramachandran (US 20130145267 A1, published 06/06/2013). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because:
18419520 (Instant Application)
US 10,028,008 B2
Claims 1, 12, 19): A method, comprising:
Claims 1, 8, 12) A method, comprising:
receiving, by a mobile device, a user request associated with a first media item of a plurality of media items of a content platform, the first media item being consumable by a user of the content platform via at least one of a web browser or a mobile application executed on the mobile device;
displaying, on a screen of the mobile device, a first portion of a scrollable document in a user interface (UI) of the mobile application executed on the mobile device, the UI of the mobile application comprising a media player in a first position, wherein the first portion of the scrollable document is visible to the user of the content platform in the UI of the mobile application and includes the first media item of the plurality of media items and second media items of the plurality of media items, wherein the first media item is playable by the media player in the UI for consumption by the user via the UI of the mobile application
displaying, by an electronic device, a first portion of a scrollable document in a user interface (UI) of an application executed on the electronic device, the UI comprising a media player, the scrollable document identifying a plurality of media items, wherein the first portion of the scrollable document is visible to a user in the UI and includes a first media item of the plurality of media items and second media items of the plurality of media items, wherein the first media item is a first video that is played by the media player in the UI, and the second media items comprise a second video playable by the media player and added to a playback queue to be played after the first media item;
displaying, on a screen of a mobile device, in a user interface (UI) of a mobile application provided by a content platform
in response to a first user swipe gesture indicating a user interest in consuming the first media item via the UI of the mobile application while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the first media item via the UI of the mobile application, moving the media player from the first position to a second position in the UI of the mobile application
scrolling the scrollable document in response to the input, wherein the scrolling of the scrollable document in response to the input causes the media player, which continues to play the first media item and be visible in the UI, to move within the UI while continuing the scrolling of the scrollable document to present at least one of the third media items from the second portion of the scrollable document in the UI;
in response to a first user swipe gesture
detecting a second user gesture to scroll to a second portion of the scrollable document, wherein the second portion follows the first portion in the scrollable document and includes third media items of the plurality of media items, wherein when the second user gesture is detected, the second media items are visible to the user in the UI of the mobile application and the third media items are not visible to the user in the UI of the mobile application
receiving an input to scroll to a second portion of the scrollable document, wherein the second portion follows the first portion in the scrollable document and includes third media items of the plurality of media items that are not visible to the user in the UI at a time of the input;
scrolling the scrollable document in response to the second user gesture, wherein the scrolling of the scrollable document in response to the second user gesture is performed concurrently with playing the first media item by the media player, which continues to be visible in the UI of the mobile application in the second position, wherein continuing the scrolling of the scrollable document causes the third media items from the second portion of the scrollable document to become visible to the user in the UI of the mobile application
scrolling the scrollable document in response to the input, wherein the scrolling of the scrollable document in response to the input causes the media player, which continues to play the first media item and be visible in the UI, to move within the UI while continuing the scrolling of the scrollable document to present at least one of the third media items from the second portion of the scrollable document in the UI;
and in response to detecting a third user gesture to select a third media item of the third media items that were caused to become visible in the UI of the mobile application, stopping playback of the first media item and starting playback of the selected third media item by the media player in the UI of the mobile application
Claims 2, 13) wherein the scrollable document displayed in the UI of the mobile application is distinct from a UI of the web browser, and comprises at least one of a list of the plurality of media items, a social feed identifying the plurality of media items, an array of elements identifying the plurality of media items, or a set of columnar elements identifying the plurality of media items
Claims 2, 9, 13) wherein the scrollable document comprises at least one of a list of the plurality of media items, a social feed identifying the plurality of media items, an array of elements identifying the plurality of media items, or a set of columnar elements identifying the plurality of media items
Claim 5) wherein the media player is to play the second media item for a period of time
Claims 4, 10) wherein the media player is to play the first media item for a period of time
Claim 6) further comprising presenting a call-to-action after the period of time
Claim 5) further comprising presenting a call-to-action after the period of time
Claim 7) allowing the user to perform an action with respect to a first media item being played by the media player in the second position
Claim 3) further comprising receiving, via the interface, an input for the first media item
In the same field of endeavor Kosiba teaches: displaying, on a screen of a mobile device, in a user interface (UI) of a mobile application; in response to detecting a third user gesture to select one of the third media items visible in the UI, stopping playback of the first media item and starting playback of the selected third media item by the media player in the UI (Kosiba Figs. 1-15; [0034], [0037], [0042], [0051-0052]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated displaying, on a screen of a mobile device, in a user interface (UI) of a mobile application; in response to detecting a third user gesture to select one of the third media items visible in the UI, stopping playback of the first media item and starting playback of the selected third media item by the media player in the UI as suggested in Kosiba. Doing so would be desirable because with today's widespread use of the Internet as a major communication medium, networks are increasingly being used to transmit digital multimedia data or content (e.g., audio, full-motion video, pictures, etc.). An example of a simple network architecture enabling the transmission of multimedia content includes a client device requesting the downloading of the multimedia content from a server. Once downloaded, the client may then consume, or present, the content. Although this architecture is relatively easy to implement, the client must wait for the downloading to complete before the presentation can begin. This delay can be considerable when large blocks of multimedia data are involved (see Kosiba [0008]). A "playlist" in its simplest form is just a list of media clips that can be used to manage playback of local multimedia content or to control streaming of server-side multimedia content during a streaming media session. For example, a playlist can include a list of the media clips, e.g., a mixture of program content and advertisements (ads), that a streaming media server can stream to a client device during a streaming media session with the client. As another example, a playlist can include several short media clips or several long blocks of programming. Thus, playlists provide an extensible, dynamic environment for delivering customizable audio and video content to users via streaming (see Kosiba [0011]). What is needed is a system and method for supporting client-side navigational control of server-side playlists with minimal impact to the client device and/or no impact to an existing media player resident on that client device (see Kosiba [0016]).
In the same field of endeavor, Gibson teaches: receiving, by a mobile device, a user request associated with a first media item of a plurality of media items of a content platform, the first media item being consumable by a user of the content platform via at least one of a web browser or a mobile application executed on the mobile device; the user of the content platform (Figs. 1-5; abs., [0013], [0019-0020], [0026-0027], [0033], [0035], [0039-0041], [0047], [0054]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated receiving, by a mobile device, a user request associated with a first media item of a plurality of media items of a content platform, the first media item being consumable by a user of the content platform via at least one of a web browser or a mobile application executed on the mobile device; the user of the content platform. The web pages are configured for integration with the media player so that the media player is persistently displayed by the browser. The media player may be configured to play media files providing a variety of different media types. The media player may also be configured to provide contextually relevant information during playback of the media (see Gibson [0002]). Online digital media stores often allow users to play media while viewing web pages within the online digital media store website. However, a user is typically limited to the media in the specific web page that the user is currently viewing. Therefore, if the user navigates away from the web page that contains the media to a different web page, the media is not available to the user and thus cannot be played. For example, a user may choose to play a song selected from a web page within an online digital media store that offers music. The user may then navigate to a web page within the store that offers videos, which causes playback of the selected song to stop. Previous techniques that were developed to address these issues involved installation of client side components such as browser plug-ins, which lessened the user experience (see Gibson [0012]). Techniques are described to provide persistent media playback across a web browsing session without the installation of client side components (see Gibson [0013]).
In the same field of endeavor, Ramachandran teaches: in response to a first swipe gesture indicating a user interest in consuming the first media item via the UI of the mobile application while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the first media item via the UI of the mobile application, moving the media player from the first position to a second position in the UI of the mobile application (Figs. 1-10; [0032-0039]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated in response to a first swipe gesture indicating a user interest in consuming the first media item via the UI of the mobile application while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the first media item via the UI of the mobile application, moving the media player from the first position to a second position in the UI of the mobile application as suggested in Ramachandran. Doing so would be desirable because with the increasing popularity of streaming audio and video over networks, such as the Internet, there is a need for optimizing data transfer so that the client experience can be maximized. If the data transfer is not optimized, frames can be lost resulting in glitching or pausing of the streamed content (see Ramachandran [0002]). Enhancements in video streaming in a browser are desirable to maximize the user experience and allow the user to efficiently consume content (see Ramachandran [0006]).
Claims 1, 4-8, 11, 12, 15, 17, and 19 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 3, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, and 19 of US 10,667,002 B2 in view of Kosiba et al. (US 20080005348 A1, published 01/03/2008), hereinafter Kosiba, in further view of Gibson et al. (US 20100325549 A1, published 12/23/2010), hereinafter Gibson, in further view of Ramachandran (US 20130145267 A1, published 06/06/2013). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because:
18419520 (Instant Application)
US 10,667,002 B2
Claims 1, 12, 19): A method, comprising:
Claims 1, 12, 20) A method, comprising:
receiving, by a mobile device, a user request associated with a first media item of a plurality of media items of a content platform, the first media item being consumable by a user of the content platform via at least one of a web browser or a mobile application executed on the mobile device:
displaying, on a screen of the mobile device, a first portion of a scrollable document in a user interface (UI) of the mobile application executed on the mobile device, the UI of the mobile application comprising a media player in a first position, wherein the first portion of the scrollable document is visible to the user of the content platform in the UI of the mobile application and includes the first media item of the plurality of media items and second media items of the plurality of media items, wherein the first media item is playable by the media player in the UI for consumption by the user via the UI of the mobile application
displaying, by an electronic device, a first portion of a scrollable document in a user interface (UI) of an application executed on the electronic device, the UI comprising a media player in a first position, wherein the first portion of the scrollable document is visible to a user in the UI and comprises a plurality of videos of a plurality of media items, wherein a first video of the plurality of videos is played by the media player in the UI, and a second video of the plurality of videos is playable by the media player after the first media item;
displaying, on a screen of a mobile device, in a user interface (UI) of a mobile application provided by a content platform
in response to a first user swipe gesture indicating a user interest in consuming the first media item via the UI of the mobile application while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the first media item via the UI of the mobile application, moving the media player from the first position to a second position in the UI of the mobile application
detecting a second user gesture to scroll to a second portion of the scrollable document, wherein the second portion follows the first portion in the scrollable document and includes third media items of the plurality of media items, wherein when the second user gesture is detected, the second media items are visible to the user in the UI of the mobile application and the third media items are not visible to the user in the UI of the mobile application
receiving a scroll input to scroll to a second portion of the scrollable document away from the first position, wherein the second portion follows the first portion in the scrollable document and includes media items of the plurality of media items that were not visible to the user in the UI at a time of the scroll input;
scrolling the scrollable document in response to the second user gesture, wherein the scrolling of the scrollable document in response to the second user gesture is performed concurrently with playing the first media item by the media player, which continues to be visible in the UI of the mobile application in the second position, wherein continuing the scrolling of the scrollable document causes the third media items from the second portion of the scrollable document to become visible to the user in the UI of the mobile application
scrolling the scrollable document in response to the scroll input, wherein the scrolling of the scrollable document in response to the scroll input causes the media player, which continues to play the first video and be visible in the UI, to move within the UI while continuing the scrolling of the scrollable document to present at least one of the media items from the second portion of the scrollable document in the UI; and in response to the media player reaching a second position within the UI while continuing to play the first video and be visible in the UI: stopping the moving of the media player while continuing to scroll the scrollable document; and upon reaching other media items comprising a third video from the second portion of the scrollable document in the UI, presenting the other media items comprising the third video from the second portion of the scrollable document in the UI, wherein the second video from the first portion is no longer visible in the UI, wherein the media player continues to play the first video and be visible in the UI with the other media items comprising the third video,
in response to detecting a third user gesture to select a third media item of the third media items that were caused to become visible in the UI of the mobile application, stopping playback of the first media item and starting playback of the selected third media item by the media player in the UI of the mobile application
starting playback of the selected third media item by the media player in the UI of the mobile application
and wherein the third video is playable by the media player after the first video or the second video
Claims 2, 13) wherein the scrollable document displayed in the UI of the mobile application is distinct from a UI of the web browser, and comprises at least one of a list of the plurality of media items, a social feed identifying the plurality of media items, an array of elements identifying the plurality of media items, or a set of columnar elements identifying the plurality of media items
Claim 2) wherein the scrollable document comprises at least one of a list of the plurality of media items, a social feed identifying the plurality of media items, an array of elements identifying the plurality of media items, or a set of columnar elements identifying the plurality of media items
Claims 3, 14, 20) in response to a fourth user input indicating a user interest in consuming a second media item played by the media player in the UI while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the second media item, moving the media player to a third position in the UI; and in response to detecting a fifth user input to dismiss the media player playing the second media item, causing the media player to be no longer visible in the UI
Claims 4, 15) wherein the fifth user input to dismiss the media player is one of a swipe left gesture or swipe right gesture
Claim 5) wherein the media player is to play the second media item for a period of time
Claim 4) wherein the media player is to play the first video for a period of time
Claim 6) further comprising presenting a call-to-action after the period of time
Claim 5) presenting a call-to-action after the period of time
Claim 7) allowing the user to perform an action with respect to a first media item being played by the media player in the second position
Claim 7) allowing a user to perform an action with respect to the first video being played by the media player in the second position
Claim 8) wherein the action is any one of pausing playback of the first media item, stopping playback of the first media item, closing the media player, sharing the first media item, or liking the first media item
Claim 8) wherein the action is any one of pausing playback of the first video, stopping playback of the first video, closing the media player, sharing the first video, or liking the first video
Claims 9, 16) wherein a size of the media player at the second position is smaller than a size of the media player at the first position
Claims 9, 17) wherein a size of the media player at the second position is smaller than a size of the media player at the first position
Claims 10, 17) wherein the second position is proximate to a bottom of a screen of the electronic device
Claims 10, 18) wherein the second position is proximate to the bottom of a screen of the electronic device
Claims 11, 18) wherein the media player at the second position is presented in a semi-transparent format
Claims 11, 19) wherein the media player at the second position is presented in a semi-transparent format
In the same field of endeavor Kosiba teaches: displaying, on a screen of a mobile device, in a user interface (UI) of a mobile application; in response to detecting a third user gesture to select one of the third media items visible in the UI, stopping playback of the first media item and starting playback of the selected third media item by the media player in the UI (Kosiba Figs. 1-15; [0034], [0037], [0042], [0051-0052]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated displaying, on a screen of a mobile device, in a user interface (UI) of a mobile application provided by a content platform; in response to detecting a third user gesture to select one of the third media items visible in the UI, stopping playback of the first media item and starting playback of the selected third media item by the media player in the UI as suggested in Kosiba. Doing so would be desirable because with today's widespread use of the Internet as a major communication medium, networks are increasingly being used to transmit digital multimedia data or content (e.g., audio, full-motion video, pictures, etc.). An example of a simple network architecture enabling the transmission of multimedia content includes a client device requesting the downloading of the multimedia content from a server. Once downloaded, the client may then consume, or present, the content. Although this architecture is relatively easy to implement, the client must wait for the downloading to complete before the presentation can begin. This delay can be considerable when large blocks of multimedia data are involved (see Kosiba [0008]). A "playlist" in its simplest form is just a list of media clips that can be used to manage playback of local multimedia content or to control streaming of server-side multimedia content during a streaming media session. For example, a playlist can include a list of the media clips, e.g., a mixture of program content and advertisements (ads), that a streaming media server can stream to a client device during a streaming media session with the client. As another example, a playlist can include several short media clips or several long blocks of programming. Thus, playlists provide an extensible, dynamic environment for delivering customizable audio and video content to users via streaming (see Kosiba [0011]). What is needed is a system and method for supporting client-side navigational control of server-side playlists with minimal impact to the client device and/or no impact to an existing media player resident on that client device (see Kosiba [0016]).
In the same field of endeavor, Gibson teaches: receiving, by a mobile device, a user request associated with a first media item of a plurality of media items of a content platform, the first media item being consumable by a user of the content platform via at least one of a web browser or a mobile application executed on the mobile device; the user of the content platform (Figs. 1-5; abs., [0013], [0019-0020], [0026-0027], [0033], [0035], [0039-0041], [0047], [0054]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated receiving, by a mobile device, a user request associated with a first media item of a plurality of media items of a content platform, the first media item being consumable by a user of the content platform via at least one of a web browser or a mobile application executed on the mobile device; the user of the content platform. The web pages are configured for integration with the media player so that the media player is persistently displayed by the browser. The media player may be configured to play media files providing a variety of different media types. The media player may also be configured to provide contextually relevant information during playback of the media (see Gibson [0002]). Online digital media stores often allow users to play media while viewing web pages within the online digital media store website. However, a user is typically limited to the media in the specific web page that the user is currently viewing. Therefore, if the user navigates away from the web page that contains the media to a different web page, the media is not available to the user and thus cannot be played. For example, a user may choose to play a song selected from a web page within an online digital media store that offers music. The user may then navigate to a web page within the store that offers videos, which causes playback of the selected song to stop. Previous techniques that were developed to address these issues involved installation of client side components such as browser plug-ins, which lessened the user experience (see Gibson [0012]). Techniques are described to provide persistent media playback across a web browsing session without the installation of client side components (see Gibson [0013]).
In the same field of endeavor, Ramachandran teaches: in response to a first swipe gesture indicating a user interest in consuming the first media item via the UI of the mobile application while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the first media item via the UI of the mobile application, moving the media player from the first position to a second position in the UI of the mobile application (Figs. 1-10; [0032-0039]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated in response to a first swipe gesture indicating a user interest in consuming the first media item via the UI of the mobile application while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the first media item via the UI of the mobile application, moving the media player from the first position to a second position in the UI of the mobile application as suggested in Ramachandran. Doing so would be desirable because with the increasing popularity of streaming audio and video over networks, such as the Internet, there is a need for optimizing data transfer so that the client experience can be maximized. If the data transfer is not optimized, frames can be lost resulting in glitching or pausing of the streamed content (see Ramachandran [0002]). Enhancements in video streaming in a browser are desirable to maximize the user experience and allow the user to efficiently consume content (see Ramachandran [0006]).
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 2, 4-11, 13-15, 17, 19, and 20 of US 11,368,742 B2 in view of Kosiba et al. (US 20080005348 A1, published 01/03/2008), hereinafter Kosiba, in further view of Gibson et al. (US 20100325549 A1, published 12/23/2010), hereinafter Gibson, in further view of Ramachandran (US 20130145267 A1, published 06/06/2013). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because:
18419520 (Instant Application)
US 11,368,742 B2
Claims 1, 12, 19): A method, comprising:
Claims 1, 13, 19) A method, comprising:
receiving, by a mobile device, a user request associated with a first media item of a plurality of media items of a content platform, the first media item being consumable by a user of the content platform via at least one of a web browser or a mobile application executed on the mobile device:
displaying, on a screen of the mobile device, a first portion of a scrollable document in a user interface (UI) of the mobile application executed on the mobile device, the UI of the mobile application comprising a media player in a first position, wherein the first portion of the scrollable document is visible to the user of the content platform in the UI of the mobile application and includes the first media item of the plurality of media items and second media items of the plurality of media items, wherein the first media item is playable by the media player in the UI for consumption by the user via the UI of the mobile application;
displaying, by an electronic device, a first portion of a scrollable document in a user interface (UI) of an application executed on the electronic device, the UI comprising a media player in a first position, wherein the first portion of the scrollable document is visible to a user in the UI and includes a first media item of a plurality of media items and second media items of the plurality of media items, wherein the first media item is played by the media player in the UI;
displaying, on a screen of a mobile device, in a user interface (UI) of a mobile application provided by a content platform
in response to a first user swipe gesture indicating a user interest in consuming the first media item via the UI of the mobile application while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the first media item via the UI of the mobile application, moving the media player from the first position to a second position in the UI of the mobile application;
scrolling the scrollable document in response to the scroll input, wherein the scrolling of the scrollable document in response to the scroll input is performed concurrently with playing the first media item by the media player, which continues to be visible in the UI in a second position, wherein continuing the scrolling of the scrollable document causes at least one of the third media items from the second portion of the scrollable document to be visible to the user in the UI;
in response to a first user swipe gesture
detecting a second user gesture to scroll to a second portion of the scrollable document, wherein the second portion follows the first portion in the scrollable document and includes third media items of the plurality of media items, wherein when the second user gesture is detected, the second media items are visible to the user in the UI of the mobile application and the third media items are not visible to the user in the UI of the mobile application;
receiving a scroll input to scroll to a second portion of the scrollable document away from the first position, wherein the second portion follows the first portion in the scrollable document and includes third media items of the plurality of media items that are not visible to the user in the UI when the scroll input is received;
scrolling the scrollable document in response to the second user gesture, wherein the scrolling of the scrollable document in response to the second user gesture is performed concurrently with playing the first media item by the media player, which continues to be visible in the UI of the mobile application in the second position, wherein continuing the scrolling of the scrollable document causes the third media items from the second portion of the scrollable document to become visible to the user in the UI of the mobile application; and
scrolling the scrollable document in response to the scroll input, wherein the scrolling of the scrollable document in response to the scroll input is performed concurrently with playing the first media item by the media player, which continues to be visible in the UI in a second position, wherein continuing the scrolling of the scrollable document causes at least one of the third media items from the second portion of the scrollable document to be visible to the user in the UI;
in response to detecting a third user gesture
and in response to detecting a user swipe gesture to dismiss the media player that continues playing the first media item, causing the media player to be no longer visible in the UI
to select a third media item of the third media items that were caused to become visible in the UI of the mobile application, stopping playback of the first media item and starting playback of the selected third media item by the media player in the UI of the mobile application.
Claims 2, 13) wherein the scrollable document displayed in the UI of the mobile application is distinct from a UI of the web browser, and comprises at least one of a list of the plurality of media items, a social feed identifying the plurality of media items, an array of elements identifying the plurality of media items, or a set of columnar elements identifying the plurality of media items
Claims 2, 14) wherein the scrollable document comprises at least one of a list of the plurality of media items, a social feed identifying the plurality of media items, an array of elements identifying the plurality of media items, or a set of columnar elements identifying the plurality of media items
Claims 3, 14, 20) in response to a fourth user input indicating a user interest in consuming a second media item played by the media player in the UI while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the second media item, moving the media player to a third position in the UI; and in response to detecting a fifth user input to dismiss the media player playing the second media item, causing the media player to be no longer visible in the UI
Claims 1, 13, 19) scrolling the scrollable document in response to the scroll input, wherein the scrolling of the scrollable document in response to the scroll input is performed concurrently with playing the first media item by the media player, which continues to be visible in the UI in a second position, wherein continuing the scrolling of the scrollable document causes at least one of the third media items from the second portion of the scrollable document to be visible to the user in the UI; and in response to detecting a user swipe gesture to dismiss the media player that continues playing the first media item, causing the media player to be no longer visible in the UI
Claims 4, 15) wherein the fifth user input to dismiss the media player is one of a swipe left gesture or swipe right gesture
Claims 11, 17, 20) wherein the user swipe gesture is one of a swipe left gesture or swipe right gesture
Claim 5) wherein the media player is to play the second media item for a period of time
Claims 4, 15) wherein the media player is to play the first media item for a period of time
Claim 6) further comprising presenting a call-to-action after the period of time
Claim 5) presenting a call-to-action after the period of time
Claim 7) allowing the user to perform an action with respect to the first media item being played by the media player in the second position
Claim 6) allowing the user to perform an action with respect to the first media item being played by the media player in the second position
Claim 8) wherein the action is any one of pausing playback of the first media item, stopping playback of the first media item, closing the media player, sharing the first media item, or liking the first media item
Claim 7) wherein the action is any one of pausing playback of the first media item, stopping playback of the first media item, closing the media player, sharing the first media item, or liking the first media item
Claims 9, 16) wherein a size of the media player at the second position is smaller than a size of the media player at the first position
Claim 8) wherein a size of the media player at the second position is smaller than a size of the media player at the first position
Claims 10, 17) wherein the second position is proximate to a bottom of a screen of the electronic device
Claim 9) wherein the second position is proximate to the bottom of a screen of the electronic device
Claims 11, 18) wherein the media player at the second position is presented in a semi-transparent format
Claim 10) wherein the media player at the second position is presented in a semi-transparent format
In the same field of endeavor Kosiba teaches: displaying, on a screen of a mobile device, in a user interface (UI) of a mobile application; in response to detecting a third user gesture to select one of the third media items visible in the UI, stopping playback of the first media item and starting playback of the selected third media item by the media player in the UI (Kosiba Figs. 1-15; [0034], [0047], [0042], [0051-0052]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated displaying, on a screen of a mobile device, in a user interface (UI) of a mobile application; in response to detecting a third user gesture to select one of the third media items visible in the UI, stopping playback of the first media item and starting playback of the selected third media item by the media player in the UI as suggested in Kosiba. Doing so would be desirable because with today's widespread use of the Internet as a major communication medium, networks are increasingly being used to transmit digital multimedia data or content (e.g., audio, full-motion video, pictures, etc.). An example of a simple network architecture enabling the transmission of multimedia content includes a client device requesting the downloading of the multimedia content from a server. Once downloaded, the client may then consume, or present, the content. Although this architecture is relatively easy to implement, the client must wait for the downloading to complete before the presentation can begin. This delay can be considerable when large blocks of multimedia data are involved (see Kosiba [0008]). A "playlist" in its simplest form is just a list of media clips that can be used to manage playback of local multimedia content or to control streaming of server-side multimedia content during a streaming media session. For example, a playlist can include a list of the media clips, e.g., a mixture of program content and advertisements (ads), that a streaming media server can stream to a client device during a streaming media session with the client. As another example, a playlist can include several short media clips or several long blocks of programming. Thus, playlists provide an extensible, dynamic environment for delivering customizable audio and video content to users via streaming (see Kosiba [0011]). What is needed is a system and method for supporting client-side navigational control of server-side playlists with minimal impact to the client device and/or no impact to an existing media player resident on that client device (see Kosiba [0016]).
In the same field of endeavor, Gibson teaches: receiving, by a mobile device, a user request associated with a first media item of a plurality of media items of a content platform, the first media item being consumable by a user of the content platform via at least one of a web browser or a mobile application executed on the mobile device; the user of the content platform (Figs. 1-5; abs., [0013], [0019-0020], [0026-0027], [0033], [0035], [0039-0041], [0047], [0054]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated receiving, by a mobile device, a user request associated with a first media item of a plurality of media items of a content platform, the first media item being consumable by a user of the content platform via at least one of a web browser or a mobile application executed on the mobile device; the user of the content platform. The web pages are configured for integration with the media player so that the media player is persistently displayed by the browser. The media player may be configured to play media files providing a variety of different media types. The media player may also be configured to provide contextually relevant information during playback of the media (see Gibson [0002]). Online digital media stores often allow users to play media while viewing web pages within the online digital media store website. However, a user is typically limited to the media in the specific web page that the user is currently viewing. Therefore, if the user navigates away from the web page that contains the media to a different web page, the media is not available to the user and thus cannot be played. For example, a user may choose to play a song selected from a web page within an online digital media store that offers music. The user may then navigate to a web page within the store that offers videos, which causes playback of the selected song to stop. Previous techniques that were developed to address these issues involved installation of client side components such as browser plug-ins, which lessened the user experience (see Gibson [0012]). Techniques are described to provide persistent media playback across a web browsing session without the installation of client side components (see Gibson [0013]).
In the same field of endeavor, Ramachandran teaches: in response to a first swipe gesture indicating a user interest in consuming the first media item via the UI of the mobile application while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the first media item via the UI of the mobile application, moving the media player from the first position to a second position in the UI of the mobile application (Figs. 1-10; [0032-0039]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated in response to a first swipe gesture indicating a user interest in consuming the first media item via the UI of the mobile application while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the first media item via the UI of the mobile application, moving the media player from the first position to a second position in the UI of the mobile application as suggested in Ramachandran. Doing so would be desirable because with the increasing popularity of streaming audio and video over networks, such as the Internet, there is a need for optimizing data transfer so that the client experience can be maximized. If the data transfer is not optimized, frames can be lost resulting in glitching or pausing of the streamed content (see Ramachandran [0002]). Enhancements in video streaming in a browser are desirable to maximize the user experience and allow the user to efficiently consume content (see Ramachandran [0006]).
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 2, 4-10, 11, 13-15, 17, 19, and 20 of US 11,882,330B2 in view of Kosiba et al. (US 20080005348 A1, published 01/03/2008), hereinafter Kosiba, in further view of Gibson et al. (US 20100325549 A1, published 12/23/2010), hereinafter Gibson, in further view of Ramachandran (US 20130145267 A1, published 06/06/2013). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because:
18419520 (Instant Application)
US 11,882,330 B2
Claims 1, 12, 19): A method, comprising:
Claims 1, 13, 19) A method, comprising:
receiving, by a mobile device, a user request associated with a first media item of a plurality of media items of a content platform, the first media item being consumable by a user of the content platform via at least one of a web browser or a mobile application executed on the mobile device:
displaying, on a screen of the mobile device, a first portion of a scrollable document in a user interface (UI) of the mobile application executed on the mobile device, the UI of the mobile application comprising a media player in a first position, wherein the first portion of the scrollable document is visible to the user of the content platform in the UI of the mobile application and includes the first media item of the plurality of media items and second media items of the plurality of media items, wherein the first media item is playable by the media player in the UI for consumption by the user via the UI of the mobile application;
displaying, by an electronic device, a first portion of a scrollable document in a user interface (UI) of an application executed on the electronic device, the UI comprising a media player in a first position, wherein the first portion of the scrollable document is visible to a user in the UI and includes a first media item of a plurality of media items and second media items of the plurality of media items, wherein the first media item is playable by the media player in the UI;
displaying, on a screen of a device, in a user interface (UI) of a mobile application provided by a content platform
in response to a first user swipe gesture indicating a user interest in consuming the first media item via the UI of the mobile application while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the first media item via the UI of the mobile application, moving the media player from the first position to a second position in the UI of the mobile application;
in response to a first user input indicating a user interest in consuming the first media item while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the first media item on the user interface, moving the media player from the first position to a second position in the UI,
in response to a first user swipe gesture
detecting a second user gesture to scroll to a second portion of the scrollable document, wherein the second portion follows the first portion in the scrollable document and includes third media items of the plurality of media items, wherein when the second user gesture is detected, the second media items are visible to the user in the UI of the mobile application and the third media items are not visible to the user in the UI of the mobile application;
receiving a second user input to scroll to a second portion of the scrollable document, wherein the second portion follows the first portion in the scrollable document and includes third media items of the plurality of media items that are not visible to the user in the UI when the second user input is received;
scrolling the scrollable document in response to the second user gesture, wherein the scrolling of the scrollable document in response to the second user gesture is performed concurrently with playing the first media item by the media player, which continues to be visible in the UI of the mobile application in the second position, wherein continuing the scrolling of the scrollable document causes the third media items from the second portion of the scrollable document to become visible to the user in the UI of the mobile application; and
scrolling the scrollable document in response to the second user input, wherein the scrolling of the scrollable document in response to the second user input is performed concurrently with playing the first media item by the media player, which continues to be visible in the UI in the second position, wherein continuing the scrolling of the scrollable document causes at least one of the third media items from the second portion of the scrollable document to be visible to the user in the UI;
in response to detecting a third user gesture
and in response to detecting a third user input to dismiss the media player that continues playing the first media item, causing the media player to be no longer visible in the UI
to select a third media item of the third media items that were caused to become visible in the UI of the mobile application, stopping playback of the first media item and starting playback of the selected third media item by the media player in the UI of the mobile application.
Claims 2, 13) wherein the scrollable document displayed in the UI of the mobile application is distinct from a UI of the web browser, and comprises at least one of a list of the plurality of media items, a social feed identifying the plurality of media items, an array of elements identifying the plurality of media items, or a set of columnar elements identifying the plurality of media items
Claims 2, 14) wherein the scrollable document comprises at least one of a list of the plurality of media items, a social feed identifying the plurality of media items, an array of elements identifying the plurality of media items, or a set of columnar elements identifying the plurality of media items
Claims 3, 14, 20) in response to a fourth user input indicating a user interest in consuming a second media item played by the media player in the UI while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the second media item, moving the media player to a third position in the UI; and in response to detecting a fifth user input to dismiss the media player playing the second media item, causing the media player to be no longer visible in the UI
Claims 1, 13, 19) scrolling the scrollable document in response to the scroll input, wherein the scrolling of the scrollable document in response to the scroll input is performed concurrently with playing the first media item by the media player, which continues to be visible in the UI in a second position, wherein continuing the scrolling of the scrollable document causes at least one of the third media items from the second portion of the scrollable document to be visible to the user in the UI; and in response to detecting a user swipe gesture to dismiss the media player that continues playing the first media item, causing the media player to be no longer visible in the UI
Claims 4, 15) wherein the fifth user input to dismiss the media player is one of a swipe left gesture or swipe right gesture
Claims 11, 17, 20) wherein the third user input to dismiss the media player is one of a swipe left gesture or swipe right gesture
Claim 5) wherein the media player is to play the second media item for a period of time
Claims 4, 15) wherein the media player is to play the first media item for a period of time
Claim 6) further comprising presenting a call-to-action after the period of time
Claim 5) presenting a call-to-action after the period of time
Claim 7) allowing the user to perform an action with respect to a first media item being played by the media player in the second position
Claim 6) allowing the user to perform an action with respect to the first media item being played by the media player in the second position
Claim 8) wherein the action is any one of pausing playback of the first media item, stopping playback of the first media item, closing the media player, sharing the first media item, or liking the first media item
Claim 7) wherein the action is any one of pausing playback of the first media item, stopping playback of the first media item, closing the media player, sharing the first media item, or liking the first media item
Claims 9, 16) wherein a size of the media player at the second position is smaller than a size of the media player at the first position
Claim 8) wherein a size of the media player at the second position is smaller than a size of the media player at the first position
Claims 10, 17) wherein the second position is proximate to a bottom of a screen of the electronic device
Claim 9) wherein the second position is proximate to a bottom of a screen of the electronic device
Claims 11, 18) wherein the media player at the second position is presented in a semi-transparent format
Claim 10) wherein the media player at the second position is presented in a semi-transparent format
In the same field of endeavor Kosiba teaches: displaying, on a screen of a mobile device, in a user interface (UI) of a mobile application; in response to detecting a third user gesture to select one of the third media items visible in the UI, stopping playback of the first media item and starting playback of the selected third media item by the media player in the UI (Kosiba Figs. 1-15; [0034], [0037], [0042], [0051-0052]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated displaying, on a screen of a mobile device, in a user interface (UI) of a mobile application; in response to detecting a third user gesture to select one of the third media items visible in the UI, stopping playback of the first media item and starting playback of the selected third media item by the media player in the UI as suggested in Kosiba. Doing so would be desirable because with today's widespread use of the Internet as a major communication medium, networks are increasingly being used to transmit digital multimedia data or content (e.g., audio, full-motion video, pictures, etc.). An example of a simple network architecture enabling the transmission of multimedia content includes a client device requesting the downloading of the multimedia content from a server. Once downloaded, the client may then consume, or present, the content. Although this architecture is relatively easy to implement, the client must wait for the downloading to complete before the presentation can begin. This delay can be considerable when large blocks of multimedia data are involved (see Kosiba [0008]). A "playlist" in its simplest form is just a list of media clips that can be used to manage playback of local multimedia content or to control streaming of server-side multimedia content during a streaming media session. For example, a playlist can include a list of the media clips, e.g., a mixture of program content and advertisements (ads), that a streaming media server can stream to a client device during a streaming media session with the client. As another example, a playlist can include several short media clips or several long blocks of programming. Thus, playlists provide an extensible, dynamic environment for delivering customizable audio and video content to users via streaming (see Kosiba [0011]). What is needed is a system and method for supporting client-side navigational control of server-side playlists with minimal impact to the client device and/or no impact to an existing media player resident on that client device (see Kosiba [0016]).
In the same field of endeavor, Gibson teaches: receiving, by a mobile device, a user request associated with a first media item of a plurality of media items of a content platform, the first media item being consumable by a user of the content platform via at least one of a web browser or a mobile application executed on the mobile device; the user of the content platform (Figs. 1-5; abs., [0013], [0019-0020], [0026-0027], [0033], [0035], [0039-0041], [0047], [0054]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated receiving, by a mobile device, a user request associated with a first media item of a plurality of media items of a content platform, the first media item being consumable by a user of the content platform via at least one of a web browser or a mobile application executed on the mobile device; the user of the content platform. The web pages are configured for integration with the media player so that the media player is persistently displayed by the browser. The media player may be configured to play media files providing a variety of different media types. The media player may also be configured to provide contextually relevant information during playback of the media (see Gibson [0002]). Online digital media stores often allow users to play media while viewing web pages within the online digital media store website. However, a user is typically limited to the media in the specific web page that the user is currently viewing. Therefore, if the user navigates away from the web page that contains the media to a different web page, the media is not available to the user and thus cannot be played. For example, a user may choose to play a song selected from a web page within an online digital media store that offers music. The user may then navigate to a web page within the store that offers videos, which causes playback of the selected song to stop. Previous techniques that were developed to address these issues involved installation of client side components such as browser plug-ins, which lessened the user experience (see Gibson [0012]). Techniques are described to provide persistent media playback across a web browsing session without the installation of client side components (see Gibson [0013]).
In the same field of endeavor, Ramachandran teaches: in response to a first swipe gesture indicating a user interest in consuming the first media item via the UI of the mobile application while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the first media item via the UI of the mobile application, moving the media player from the first position to a second position in the UI of the mobile application (Figs. 1-10; [0032-0039]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated in response to a first swipe gesture indicating a user interest in consuming the first media item via the UI of the mobile application while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the first media item via the UI of the mobile application, moving the media player from the first position to a second position in the UI of the mobile application as suggested in Ramachandran. Doing so would be desirable because with the increasing popularity of streaming audio and video over networks, such as the Internet, there is a need for optimizing data transfer so that the client experience can be maximized. If the data transfer is not optimized, frames can be lost resulting in glitching or pausing of the streamed content (see Ramachandran [0002]). Enhancements in video streaming in a browser are desirable to maximize the user experience and allow the user to efficiently consume content (see Ramachandran [0006]).
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.
Claims 1-18 are 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.
Regarding claim 1, claim 1 recites “in response to a first user swipe gesture indicating a user interest in consuming the first media item via the UI of the mobile application while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the first media item via the UI of the mobile application, moving the media player from the first position to a second position in the UI of the mobile application” and “scrolling the scrollable document in response to the second user gesture, wherein the scrolling of the scrollable document in response to the second user gesture is performed concurrently with playing the first media item by the media player, which continues to be visible in the UI of the mobile application in the second position”. Per the instant specification:
[0022] A user can navigate (e.g., via a gesture, scroll, click, swipe, etc.) to the portion that is not currently presented in the user interface
[0035] At block 206, the processing logic receives an input to scroll to a second portion of the scrollable document. The input can be associated with an input device, such as a mouse, keyboard, touchscreen, trackpad, etc. The input can be a click, a swipe, a gesture, a wheel rotation, etc
[0043] A user can activate (e.g., click, select, touch) the media item 302. Activation of the media item 302 can result in variety of different behaviors. In one implementation, clicking on the media item 302 pauses it and various gestures (e.g., swipe) will dismiss it or change to a next or previous media item in a playlist
[0047] The persistent media player may be implemented in any of a variety of sizes and is not limited to a specific position within a particular scrollable document or UI. The persistent media player may also be moved (e.g., dragged) within the UI to suit the user's preferences. In one implementation, the persistent media player may be “snapped” or “docked” to a position within the UI
[0052] FIG. 5A illustrates an example screenshot of a content sharing platform application UI 500a with a persistent media player 504. To dismiss the persistent media player 504, the user may swipe left (as shown) or swipe right on the persistent media player 504. FIGS. 5B-5C illustrate the application UI 700 as the user is dismissing the persistent media player 504
The instant specification discloses a media player can be repositioned through a dragging operation ([0047]). The instant specification further discloses that swipe gestures may be used to scroll portions of a scrollable document as well as to dismiss a persistent media player. As shown in Fig. 5, using a swipe gesture is used to move the persistent media player off the screen and dismiss it. However, the swipe gesture does not result in “moving the media player from the first position to a second position in the UI of the mobile application” such that “the media player, which continues to be visible in the UI of the mobile application in the second position” (emphasis added).
Regarding claim 12, claim 12 contains substantially similar limitations to those found in claim 1. Consequently, claim 12 is rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claims 2-11 and 13-18, claims 2-11 and 13-18 are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as being dependent on parent claims failing to comply with the written description requirement.
Claims 1-20 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.
Regarding claim 1, claim 1 further recites:
third media items of the plurality of media items
the third media items are not visible
causes the third media items from the second portion of the scrollable document to become visible to the user in the UI of the mobile application
a third media item of the third media items that were caused to became visible in the UI of the mobile application
The relationship between these elements is unclear. It is unclear whether “third media items of the plurality of media items” and “the third media items from the second portion of the scrollable document” are the same or different third media items. Additionally , it is unclear whether “third media items of the plurality of media items”, “the third media items from the second portion of the scrollable document”, and “the third media items that were caused to became visible in the UI of the mobile application” are the same or different third media items. For the purposes of examination, this limitation is interpreted as:
third media items of the plurality of media items
fourth media items are not visible
causes fifth media items from the second portion of the scrollable document to become visible to the user in the UI of the mobile application
a third media item of sixth media items that were caused to became visible in the UI of the mobile application
Regarding claims 12 and 19, claims 12 and 19 contains substantially similar limitations to those found in claim 1. Consequently, claims 12 and 19 are rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claims 2-11, 13-18, and 20, claims 2-11, 13-18, and 20 are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for depending on an indefinite parent claim.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 5, 7-10, 12, 13, 16, 17, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ramachandran (US 20130145267 A1, published 06/06/2013) in view of Kosiba et al. (US 20080005348 A1, published 01/03/2008), hereinafter Kosiba, in further view of Gibson et al. (US 20100325549 A1, published 12/23/2010), hereinafter Gibson.
Regarding claim 12, Ramachandran teaches the claim comprising:
A system comprising: a memory; and a hardware processor, coupled to the memory, to perform operations comprising (Ramachandran Figs. 1-10; [0024], The illustrated mobile device 100 can include a controller or processor 110; [0025], The illustrated mobile device 100 can include memory 120):
receiving, by a mobile device, a user request associated with a first media item of a plurality of media items, the first media item being consumable by a user via at least one of a web browser or a mobile application executed on the mobile device; displaying, on a screen of the mobile device, a first portion of a scrollable document in a user interface (UI) of the mobile application executed on the mobile device, the UI of the mobile application comprising a media player in a first position, wherein the first portion of the scrollable document is visible to the user in the UI of the mobile application and includes the first media item of the plurality of media items and second media items of the plurality of media items, wherein the first media item is playable by the media player in the UI for consumption by the user via the UI of the mobile application (Ramachandran Figs. 1-10; [0001], The present application relates to video streaming, and, particularly, to video streaming in a web browser; [0023], FIG. 1 is a system diagram depicting an exemplary mobile device 100; [0024], The application programs can include common mobile computing applications (e.g., email applications, calendars, contact managers, web browsers, messaging applications), or any other computing application; [0031], FIG. 3 depicts a front view of an example mobile device 310 displaying a graphical user interface (GUI) on a touchscreen display 316; [0032], A browser page 350 is shown having written content 360 and a video element 362. As described above, a space for the video element can be reserved. For example, two coordinate points can be used for opposing corners in order to identify the space needed for the video element 362. The written content 360 is shown as various sentences labeled "written content 1", "written content 2", etc. having a page layout so as to occupy space not occupied by the video element. A user can provide a user input command, such as a flick gesture, by touching the display 316 and moving their finger in a flicking motion as indicated by arrow 370; [0033-0034], FIG. 5 shows the written content 360 being scrolled as indicated by a finger flick in the direction of arrow 510. As seen, the written content 1 through written content 4 (from FIG. 4) scrolled off of a visible portion of the user interface and written content 8 through written content 12 scrolled onto the visible portion. Notably, the coordinates of the docked video element 362 did not change, as it is in the same relative position to the edge 410 of the browser page or the touch screen; [0035], The video element 362 is generally a first-frame teaser that a user can select in order to play the associated video; [0036], The video can continue to play if it was playing prior to the gesture, such as the flick gesture; examiner note: per the instant specification [0023], media item 116 can include, and are not limited to, digital video, digital movies, digital photos, photo albums, digital music, website content, social media updates, video-on-demand, live-streamed media, electronic books (ebooks), electronic magazines, digital newspapers, digital audio books, electronic journals, web log (blog) entries, real simple syndication (RSS) feeds, electronic comic books, software applications, advertisements, etc);
in response to a first user swipe gesture indicating a user interest in consuming the first media item via the UI of the mobile application while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the first media item via the UI of the mobile application, moving the media player from the first position to a second position in the UI of the mobile application (Ramachandran Figs. 1-10; [0032], A browser page 350 is shown having written content 360 and a video element 362. As described above, a space for the video element can be reserved. For example, two coordinate points can be used for opposing corners in order to identify the space needed for the video element 362. The written content 360 is shown as various sentences labeled "written content 1", "written content 2", etc. having a page layout so as to occupy space not occupied by the video element. A user can provide a user input command, such as a flick gesture, by touching the display 316 and moving their finger in a flicking motion as indicated by arrow 370; [0033], FIG. 4 shows an exemplary result of the flick operation of FIG. 3. In FIG. 4, the video element 362 moved from a first location in FIG. 3 to a second location in FIG. 4; the video element 362 in the docked position, which is determined by its coordinates being within a predetermined threshold distance from an edge of the user interface; [0034], FIG. 5 shows the written content 360 being scrolled as indicated by a finger flick in the direction of arrow 510. As seen, the written content 1 through written content 4 (from FIG. 4) scrolled off of a visible portion of the user interface and written content 8 through written content 12 scrolled onto the visible portion. Notably, the coordinates of the docked video element 362 did not change, as it is in the same relative position to the edge 410 of the browser page or the touch screen; [0035], The video element 362 is generally a first-frame teaser that a user can select in order to play the associated video. When the video element is not playing, the browser engine can have control over both the video element 362 and the written content 360. In such a case, the browser engine is passed coordinates of the video element if it is moved by the user around the browser page to a new location. However, if the user selects the video element, the browser engine can selectively pass control of the video element to the media engine; [0036], Although the video element of FIG. 5 is shown as docked to a left edge of the user interface, it can be docked at any location (i.e., top, bottom, right, and left). Additionally, the video element can handle gestures independent of the rest of the browser page. For example, the video element can be moved and resized; the user can navigate to other parts of the page while watching the video; The video can continue to play if it was playing prior to the gesture, such as the flick gesture; [0038], the video element can be moved relative to the content so that the layout of the page changes. The moving of the video element can be accomplished on a touch screen using a simple flick gesture or drag-and-drop gesture. On a computer, typically, moving of the video element is through a drag-and-drop operation; [0039], user input is received to move the video element. Typically, a flick operation or drag-and-drop operation are performed. In process block 814, the video element automatically moves to a docked position based on the user input. In alternative embodiments, the video element can be moved to a different location without the need to dock the video element. In any event, the video element is then moved by changing the coordinates of the video element on the browser page so that the position of the video element relative to the other content is changed. If the video element coordinates are substantially adjacent an edge of the browser page, then the video element is considered docked; examiner note: see instant specification [0047] indicating that the gesture to move the media player is a drag gesture; see also instant specification [0052] and Fig. 5a indicating a swipe gesture is a movement across the screen);
detecting a second user gesture to scroll to a second portion of the scrollable document, wherein the second portion follows the first portion in the scrollable document and includes third media items of the plurality of media items, wherein when the second user gesture is detected, the second media items are visible to the user in the UI of the mobile application and the third media items are not visible to the user in the UI of the mobile application; scrolling the scrollable document in response to the second user gesture, wherein the scrolling of the scrollable document in response to the second user gesture is performed concurrently with playing the first media item by the media player, which continues to be visible in the UI of the mobile application in the second position, wherein continuing the scrolling of the scrollable document causes the third media items from the second portion of the scrollable document to become visible to the user in the UI of the mobile application (Ramachandran Figs. 1-10; [0032], A browser page 350 is shown having written content 360 and a video element 362. As described above, a space for the video element can be reserved. For example, two coordinate points can be used for opposing corners in order to identify the space needed for the video element 362. The written content 360 is shown as various sentences labeled "written content 1", "written content 2", etc. having a page layout so as to occupy space not occupied by the video element. A user can provide a user input command, such as a flick gesture, by touching the display 316 and moving their finger in a flicking motion as indicated by arrow 370; [0033], FIG. 4 shows an exemplary result of the flick operation of FIG. 3. In FIG. 4, the video element 362 moved from a first location in FIG. 3 to a second location in FIG. 4. In addition, the written content was reformatted to account for the new coordinates of the video element. The new coordinates of the video element 362 are passed to the browser engine, which then reformats the page layout. Another feature is that the video element 362 can be docked to an edge 410 of the browser page. Once docked, the video element is not scrollable like other content in the browser page. For example, FIG. 4 shows the written content 360 prior to the browser page being scrolled. FIG. 4 shows the video element 362 in the docked position, which is determined by its coordinates being within a predetermined threshold distance from an edge of the user interface; [0034], FIG. 5 shows the written content 360 being scrolled as indicated by a finger flick in the direction of arrow 510. As seen, the written content 1 through written content 4 (from FIG. 4) scrolled off of a visible portion of the user interface and written content 8 through written content 12 scrolled onto the visible portion. Notably, the coordinates of the docked video element 362 did not change, as it is in the same relative position to the edge 410 of the browser page or the touch screen; [0035-0036], the video element can handle gestures independent of the rest of the browser page. For example, the video element can be moved and resized. The browser page can then be automatically formatted and resized to account for the video element's new size or position. Typically, the browser page gets resized to take the remaining portion of the touch screen. The video can continue to play if it was playing prior to the gesture, such as the flick gesture; Although the video element of FIG. 5 is shown as docked to a left edge of the user interface, it can be docked at any location (i.e., top, bottom, right, and left); [0039], user input is received to move the video element. Typically, a flick operation or drag-and-drop operation are performed. In process block 814, the video element automatically moves to a docked position based on the user input. In alternative embodiments, the video element can be moved to a different location without the need to dock the video element. In any event, the video element is then moved by changing the coordinates of the video element on the browser page so that the position of the video element relative to the other content is changed. If the video element coordinates are substantially adjacent an edge of the browser page, then the video element is considered docked; the content can be scrolled while the video element remains at the docked position; examiner note, per the instant specification [0023] examples of a media item 116 can include, and are not limited to, digital video, digital movies, digital photos, photo albums, digital music, website content, social media updates, video-on-demand, live-streamed media, electronic books (ebooks), electronic magazines, digital newspapers, digital audio books, electronic journals, web log (blog) entries, real simple syndication (RSS) feeds, electronic comic books, software applications, advertisements, etc);
and in response to detecting a third user gesture to select a third media item of the third media items that were caused to become visible in the UI of the mobile application, stopping playback of the first media item or starting playback of the selected third media item by the media player in the UI of the mobile application (Ramachandran Figs. 1-10; [0030], The browser can also notify both the media engine 216 and the UI renderer 222 about the coordinates of the video element on the display. A video-element identification can be passed to both the UI renderer and the media engine so as to sync up the two entities to exchange video frames. The identification allows for multiple video elements to be simultaneously available on the UI renderer and potentially passed frames directly from the media engine; [0034], FIG. 5 shows the written content 360 being scrolled as indicated by a finger flick in the direction of arrow 510. As seen, the written content 1 through written content 4 (from FIG. 4) scrolled off of a visible portion of the user interface and written content 8 through written content 12 scrolled onto the visible portion [0035], The video element 362 is generally a first-frame teaser that a user can select in order to play the associated video. When the video element is not playing, the browser engine can have control over both the video element 362 and the written content 360. In such a case, the browser engine is passed coordinates of the video element if it is moved by the user around the browser page to a new location. However, if the user selects the video element, the browser engine can selectively pass control of the video element to the media engine. The browser can pass the coordinates of the video element and a video element ID to the media engine. Once control is passed, the media engine and the UI renderer can communicate directly by passing frames from the media engine to the UI renderer without passing through the browser engine. Simultaneously, the browser engine can maintain control of other content, such as the written content 360; [0036], The video can continue to play; If the user stops playing the video, the browser can resume control of content being streamed to the UI renderer; [0040], a user selection of the video element is accomplished by touching the video element, which indicates play of the video is desired).
However, Ramachandran fails to expressly disclose in response to detecting a third user gesture to select a third media item of the third media items that were caused to become visible in the UI of the mobile application, stopping playback of the first media item and starting playback of the selected third media item by the media player in the UI of the mobile application. In the same field of endeavor, Kosiba teaches:
in response to detecting a third user gesture to select a third media item of the third media items that were caused to become visible in the UI of the mobile application, stopping playback of the first media item and starting playback of the selected third media item by the media player in the UI of the mobile application (Kosiba Figs. 1-15; [0034], a plurality of client multimedia devices 160a-160d; [0042], immediately transition from a current media clip 130 to another media clip 130 within the playlist 140 (e.g., switch to media clip X), begin playing another media clip 130 within the playlist 140 at a particular time (e.g., switch to media clip X at time T) and/or switch to another playlist 140 (e.g., switch to playlist B); [0037], a mobile client device 160d; [0051], if the playlist navigation message includes a request for an immediate transition to the next media clip 130 in the playlist 140, upon receipt of the message, the streaming media server 110 seamlessly stops streaming the current media clip and begins streaming the next media clip. Since the client device 160 continuously receives digital multimedia content from the streaming media server 110, a user would not perceive any discontinuity in time of the real-time streaming digital multimedia content. Thus, the streaming digital multimedia content would represent the current media clip for a first portion of the streaming media session and represent the next media clip for a second portion of the streaming media session; [0052], FIG. 3A depicts an exemplary client device display 170 on which both digital multimedia content (media clips 130) and a playlist 140 are displayed, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. The playlist 140 is displayed within a graphical user interface (GUI) 300 on the display that enables a user to select media clips 130 from the playlist 140. For example, the user can control the position of a cursor 310 and/or scroll bar 320 on the GUI 300 using the input device 260 shown in FIG. 2, to select one or more media clips 130 from the playlist 140. For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, the current playlist 140 includes Clips A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H. On the display, Clip A is currently being played. However, if the user desires to skip to Clip C, the user can move the cursor 310 and/or scroll bar 320 to highlight and select Clip C)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated in response to detecting a third user gesture to select a third media item of the third media items that were caused to become visible in the UI of the mobile application, stopping playback of the first media item and starting playback of the selected third media item by the media player in the UI of the mobile application as suggested in Kosiba into Ramachandran. Doing so would be desirable because with today's widespread use of the Internet as a major communication medium, networks are increasingly being used to transmit digital multimedia data or content (e.g., audio, full-motion video, pictures, etc.). An example of a simple network architecture enabling the transmission of multimedia content includes a client device requesting the downloading of the multimedia content from a server. Once downloaded, the client may then consume, or present, the content. Although this architecture is relatively easy to implement, the client must wait for the downloading to complete before the presentation can begin. This delay can be considerable when large blocks of multimedia data are involved (see Kosiba [0008]). A "playlist" in its simplest form is just a list of media clips that can be used to manage playback of local multimedia content or to control streaming of server-side multimedia content during a streaming media session. For example, a playlist can include a list of the media clips, e.g., a mixture of program content and advertisements (ads), that a streaming media server can stream to a client device during a streaming media session with the client. As another example, a playlist can include several short media clips or several long blocks of programming. Thus, playlists provide an extensible, dynamic environment for delivering customizable audio and video content to users via streaming (see Kosiba [0011]). What is needed is a system and method for supporting client-side navigational control of server-side playlists with minimal impact to the client device and/or no impact to an existing media player resident on that client device (see Kosiba [0016]). Additionally, the system of Kosiba would improve the multiple selectable media items of Ramachandran (see Ramachandran [0035]) by providing a scrollable playlist of media items (see Kosiba [0052]) that would enable to the user to selectively initiate playback of an individual desired media item out of a plurality of media items. Controlling individual media items for playback would simplify the viewing of content for the user by enabling the user to focus on specific desired media items as needed, thereby increasing ease of use and user satisfaction.
However, Ramachandran in view of Kosiba fail to expressly disclose receiving, by a mobile device, a user request associated with a first media item of a plurality of media items of a content platform, the first media item being consumable by a user of the content platform via at least one of a web browser or a mobile application executed on the mobile device; the user of the content platform. In the same field of endeavor, Gibson teaches:
receiving, by a mobile device, a user request associated with a first media item of a plurality of media items of a content platform, the first media item being consumable by a user of the content platform via at least one of a web browser or a mobile application executed on the mobile device; the user of the content platform (Gibson Figs. 1-5; abs. Persistent media playback techniques are described. In an implementation, a media player is served via a network; [0013], a media player is served via a network for display by a browser of a client device; [0019], the server 102 may be an application service provider (ASP) that is operable to provide services to client devices 104. For example, the service provider may operate an online media store and the server 102 may be configured to provide an online media store website to clients of the service provider; [0020], The client device 104 may also be configured as a mobile connected device such as a digital media player, a personal digital assistant, a smart phone, or a cell phone that is capable of communicating over a wireless network; an entertainment appliance; a set-top box communicatively coupled to a display device; a game console, and so forth. Thus, the client device 104 may range from full resource devices with substantial memory and processor resources (e.g., a personal computer, a game console, etc.) to comparatively low-resource devices with limited memory and/or processing resources (e.g., a mobile phone, a netbook, a set-top box, etc.); [0026], The client device 104 may further include a browser 120, which may be implemented as a software application stored in memory 114 and executed by the processor 110 of the client device 104; The browser 120 allows the client device 104 to display and interact with web pages provided by the server 102; the browser 120 may be configured as a mobile browser suitable for use by a low-resource device with limited memory and/or processing resources (e.g., a PDA, a smart phone, a cell phone, and so on); [0027], As illustrated in FIG. 1, the server 102 may include a media player module 122, which may be implemented as a software application stored in memory 112 and executed by the processor 108 of the server 102. The media player module 122 is representative of functionality to provide persistent media playback across a web browsing session without the installation of client side components. In an implementation, the media player module 122 is configured as a media player 124 that is served via the network 106 by the server 102. Web pages 126 within a website, such as an online digital media store website 128, may then be served via the network 106 for display with the media player 124 by the browser 120 of the client device 104. The media player module 122 integrates the web pages 126 with the media player 124 so that the media player 124 is persistently displayed by the browser 120 during the browsing session, e.g., during navigation among the web pages 126 of the website 128; Example media players 124 are illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6; [0033], FIG. 2 depicts a procedure 200 in an example implementation in which persistent media playback is provided across a web browsing session; [0035], The requested web page is then served (block 206). As illustrated, the web page may be retrieved (block 208) and integrated with the persistent media player (block 210) so that the media player is persistently displayed with the web page; [0039], a media selection is received (block 306) that identifies media to be added to the queue. For example, a user may select media from a web page 126 of an online media store website 128 to add to the queue. The selected media may then be added to the queue (block 308); [0040], a user may wish to play a media item added to the cue before playing other media items already within the cue when the media item was added. The user may thus reorganize the media items within the queue, e.g., by dragging and dropping the media items in the order desired; [0041], The media are then caused to be played (block 304) in the order queued until the media player is closed; [0047], FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a display 500 of a browser 120 that includes an example media player 124 and web page 126; [0054], To select one of the media offerings from the web page for inclusion in the queue 534, a "pluck" icon ("+") 538 may be selected that is associated with the media item 518. The media item 518 is then be added to the queue 534 in response to the selection)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated receiving, by a mobile device, a user request associated with a first media item of a plurality of media items of a content platform, the first media item being consumable by a user of the content platform via at least one of a web browser or a mobile application executed on the mobile device; the user of the content platform as suggested in Gibson into Ramachandran in view of Kosiba. Doing so would be desirable persistent media playback techniques are described. In an implementation, a media player is served via a network for display by a browser of a device. One or more web pages may then be served via the network for display by the browser of the device with the media player. The web pages are configured for integration with the media player so that the media player is persistently displayed by the browser. The media player may be configured to play media files providing a variety of different media types. The media player may also be configured to provide contextually relevant information during playback of the media (see Gibson [0002]). Online digital media stores often allow users to play media while viewing web pages within the online digital media store website. However, a user is typically limited to the media in the specific web page that the user is currently viewing. Therefore, if the user navigates away from the web page that contains the media to a different web page, the media is not available to the user and thus cannot be played. For example, a user may choose to play a song selected from a web page within an online digital media store that offers music. The user may then navigate to a web page within the store that offers videos, which causes playback of the selected song to stop. Previous techniques that were developed to address these issues involved installation of client side components such as browser plug-ins, which lessened the user experience (see Gibson [0012]). Techniques are described to provide persistent media playback across a web browsing session without the installation of client side components (see Gibson [0013]).
Regarding claims 1 and 19, claims 1 and 19 contain substantially similar limitations to those found in claim 12. Consequently, claims 1 and 19 are rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 2, Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson teaches all the limitations of claim 1, further comprising:
wherein the scrollable document displayed in the UI of the mobile application is distinct from a UI of the web browser, and comprises at least one of a list of the plurality of media items, a social feed identifying the plurality of media items, an array of elements identifying the plurality of media items, or a set of columnar elements identifying the plurality of media items (Ramachandran Figs. 1-10; [0025], Example data can include web pages, text, images, sound files, video data, or other data sets to be sent to and/or received from one or more network servers or other devices via one or more wired or wireless networks; [0032], A browser page 350 is shown having written content 360 and a video element 362. As described above, a space for the video element can be reserved. For example, two coordinate points can be used for opposing corners in order to identify the space needed for the video element 362. The written content 360 is shown as various sentences labeled "written content 1", "written content 2", etc. having a page layout so as to occupy space not occupied by the video element. A user can provide a user input command, such as a flick gesture, by touching the display 316 and moving their finger in a flicking motion as indicated by arrow 370; [0033-0034], FIG. 5 shows the written content 360 being scrolled as indicated by a finger flick in the direction of arrow 510. As seen, the written content 1 through written content 4 (from FIG. 4) scrolled off of a visible portion of the user interface and written content 8 through written content 12 scrolled onto the visible portion; examiner note, per the instant specification [0023] examples of a media item 116 can include, and are not limited to, digital video, digital movies, digital photos, photo albums, digital music, website content, social media updates, video-on-demand, live-streamed media, electronic books (ebooks), electronic magazines, digital newspapers, digital audio books, electronic journals, web log (blog) entries, real simple syndication (RSS) feeds, electronic comic books, software applications, advertisements, etc)
Regarding claim 13, claim 13 contains substantially similar limitations to those found in claim 2. Consequently, claim 13 is rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 5, Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson teaches all the limitations of claim 1, further comprising:
wherein the media player is to play a second media item for a period of time (Ramachandran Figs. 1-10; [0032], A browser page 350 is shown having written content 360 and a video element 362. As described above, a space for the video element can be reserved. For example, two coordinate points can be used for opposing corners in order to identify the space needed for the video element 362. The written content 360 is shown as various sentences labeled "written content 1", "written content 2", etc. having a page layout so as to occupy space not occupied by the video element. A user can provide a user input command, such as a flick gesture, by touching the display 316 and moving their finger in a flicking motion as indicated by arrow 370; [0033], FIG. 4 shows an exemplary result of the flick operation of FIG. 3. In FIG. 4, the video element 362 moved from a first location in FIG. 3 to a second location in FIG. 4. In addition, the written content was reformatted to account for the new coordinates of the video element. The new coordinates of the video element 362 are passed to the browser engine, which then reformats the page layout; [0033-0034], FIG. 5 shows the written content 360 being scrolled as indicated by a finger flick in the direction of arrow 510. As seen, the written content 1 through written content 4 (from FIG. 4) scrolled off of a visible portion of the user interface and written content 8 through written content 12 scrolled onto the visible portion. Notably, the coordinates of the docked video element 362 did not change, as it is in the same relative position to the edge 410 of the browser page or the touch screen; The video can continue to play)
Regarding claim 7, Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson teaches all the limitations of claim 1, further comprising:
allowing the user to perform an action with respect to a media item being played by the media player in the second position (Ramachandran Figs. 1-10; [0032-0033], FIG. 4 shows an exemplary result of the flick operation of FIG. 3. In FIG. 4, the video element 362 moved from a first location in FIG. 3 to a second location in FIG. 4. In addition, the written content was reformatted to account for the new coordinates of the video element. The new coordinates of the video element 362 are passed to the browser engine, which then reformats the page layout; [0034], FIG. 5 shows the written content 360 being scrolled as indicated by a finger flick in the direction of arrow 510. As seen, the written content 1 through written content 4 (from FIG. 4) scrolled off of a visible portion of the user interface and written content 8 through written content 12 scrolled onto the visible portion. Notably, the coordinates of the docked video element 362 did not change, as it is in the same relative position to the edge 410 of the browser page or the touch screen; [0036], Although the video element of FIG. 5 is shown as docked to a left edge of the user interface, it can be docked at any location; The video can continue to play; If the user stops playing the video, the browser can resume control of content being streamed to the UI renderer; [0037], FIG. 6 is an embodiment wherein the video element is resized to a full-screen mode upon a double tap or other pre-designated user input command. In mode 610, the video element is less than full-screen mode and takes only a small portion of the browser page. Full-screen mode is shown at 620, wherein the video element takes the entire browser page, and no written content is displayed)
Regarding claim 8, Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson teaches all the limitations of claim 7, further comprising:
wherein the action is any one of pausing playback of the first media item, stopping playback of the first media item, closing the media player, sharing the first media item, or liking the first media item (Ramachandran Figs. 1-10; [0032-0033], FIG. 4 shows an exemplary result of the flick operation of FIG. 3. In FIG. 4, the video element 362 moved from a first location in FIG. 3 to a second location in FIG. 4. In addition, the written content was reformatted to account for the new coordinates of the video element. The new coordinates of the video element 362 are passed to the browser engine, which then reformats the page layout; [0033-0034], FIG. 5 shows the written content 360 being scrolled as indicated by a finger flick in the direction of arrow 510. As seen, the written content 1 through written content 4 (from FIG. 4) scrolled off of a visible portion of the user interface and written content 8 through written content 12 scrolled onto the visible portion. Notably, the coordinates of the docked video element 362 did not change, as it is in the same relative position to the edge 410 of the browser page or the touch screen; [0036], Although the video element of FIG. 5 is shown as docked to a left edge of the user interface, it can be docked at any location; The video can continue to play; If the user stops playing the video, the browser can resume control of content being streamed to the UI renderer; [0037], FIG. 6 is an embodiment wherein the video element is resized to a full-screen mode upon a double tap or other pre-designated user input command. In mode 610, the video element is less than full-screen mode and takes only a small portion of the browser page. Full-screen mode is shown at 620, wherein the video element takes the entire browser page, and no written content is displayed)
Regarding claim 9, Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson teaches all the limitations of claim 7, further comprising:
a size of the media player at the second position (Ramachandran Figs. 1-10; [0032-0033], FIG. 4 shows an exemplary result of the flick operation of FIG. 3. In FIG. 4, the video element 362 moved from a first location in FIG. 3 to a second location in FIG. 4. In addition, the written content was reformatted to account for the new coordinates of the video element. The new coordinates of the video element 362 are passed to the browser engine, which then reformats the page layout; [0033-0034], FIG. 5 shows the written content 360 being scrolled as indicated by a finger flick in the direction of arrow 510; [0037], Although the video element of FIG. 5 is shown as docked to a left edge of the user interface, it can be docked at any location (i.e., top, bottom, right, and left). Additionally, the video element can handle gestures independent of the rest of the browser page. For example, the video element can be moved and resized. The browser page can then be automatically formatted and resized to account for the video element's new size or position. Typically, the browser page gets resized to take the remaining portion of the touch screen. The video can continue to play if it was playing prior to the gesture, such as the flick gesture)
Ramachandran does not expressly disclose wherein a size of the media player at the second position is smaller than a size of the media player at the first position. However, Ramachandran does disclose that a user can flexibly resize and reposition a video element from a first position to a second position using gestures (Figs. 4-5; [0029], [0033], [0036]). Ramachandran further discloses that after a resize operation the browser page can then be automatically formatted and resized to account for the video element's new size or position. The browser is resized to utilize new screen space that has now become available due a resize operation ([0036]), such as screen additional screen space made created by shrinking the video element. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated wherein a size of the media player at the second position is smaller than a size of the media player at the first position (Ramachandran Figs. 1-10; [0029], [0032-0036]). Doing so would be desirable because it would enable the user to flexibly reposition and resize video content as needed (see Ramachandran [0036]). Additionally, it would enable the user to flexibly create screen space to view additional browser content as desired (see Ramachandran [0036]), thereby increasing ease of viewing and navigating content on devices with smaller screens (see Ramachandran Figs. 3-5; [0043]).
Regarding claim 16, claim 16 contains substantially similar limitations to those found in claim 9. Consequently, claim 16 is rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 10, Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson teaches all the limitations of claim 1, further comprising:
wherein the second position is proximate to a bottom of a screen of the electronic device (Ramachandran Figs. 1-10; [0032-0033], FIG. 4 shows an exemplary result of the flick operation of FIG. 3. In FIG. 4, the video element 362 moved from a first location in FIG. 3 to a second location in FIG. 4. In addition, the written content was reformatted to account for the new coordinates of the video element. The new coordinates of the video element 362 are passed to the browser engine, which then reformats the page layout; [0033-0034], FIG. 5 shows the written content 360 being scrolled as indicated by a finger flick in the direction of arrow 510; [0035-0036], Although the video element of FIG. 5 is shown as docked to a left edge of the user interface, it can be docked at any location (i.e., top, bottom, right, and left))
Regarding claim 17, claim 17 contains substantially similar limitations to those found in claim 10. Consequently, claim 17 is rejected for the same reasons.
Claims 3, 4, 14, 15, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson in further view of Nawle et al. (US 20140075394 A1, published 03/13/2014), hereinafter Nawle.
Regarding claim 3, Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson teaches all the limitations of claim 1, further comprising:
further comprising: in response to a fourth user input indicating a user interest in consuming a second media item played by the media player in the UI while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the second media item, moving the media player to a third position in the UI; and in response to detecting a fifth user input to relocate the media player playing the second media item, causing the media player to be no longer visible in the UI at the previous location (Ramachandran Figs. 1-10; [0032], A browser page 350 is shown having written content 360 and a video element 362. As described above, a space for the video element can be reserved. For example, two coordinate points can be used for opposing corners in order to identify the space needed for the video element 362. The written content 360 is shown as various sentences labeled "written content 1", "written content 2", etc. having a page layout so as to occupy space not occupied by the video element. A user can provide a user input command, such as a flick gesture, by touching the display 316 and moving their finger in a flicking motion as indicated by arrow 370; [0033], FIG. 4 shows an exemplary result of the flick operation of FIG. 3. In FIG. 4, the video element 362 moved from a first location in FIG. 3 to a second location in FIG. 4. In addition, the written content was reformatted to account for the new coordinates of the video element. The new coordinates of the video element 362 are passed to the browser engine, which then reformats the page layout; [0034], FIG. 5 shows the written content 360 being scrolled as indicated by a finger flick in the direction of arrow 510. As seen, the written content 1 through written content 4 (from FIG. 4) scrolled off of a visible portion of the user interface and written content 8 through written content 12 scrolled onto the visible portion. Notably, the coordinates of the docked video element 362 did not change, as it is in the same relative position to the edge 410 of the browser page or the touch screen; [0036], Although the video element of FIG. 5 is shown as docked to a left edge of the user interface, it can be docked at any location (i.e., top, bottom, right, and left); the user can navigate to other parts of the page while watching the video; the video element can handle gestures independent of the rest of the browser page. For example, the video element can be moved and resized; The video can continue to play if it was playing prior to the gesture, such as the flick gesture; [0038], the video element can be moved relative to the content so that the layout of the page changes. The moving of the video element can be accomplished on a touch screen using a simple flick gesture or drag-and-drop gesture. On a computer, typically, moving of the video element is through a drag-and-drop operation; [0039], user input is received to move the video element. Typically, a flick operation or drag-and-drop operation are performed. In process block 814, the video element automatically moves to a docked position based on the user input. In alternative embodiments, the video element can be moved to a different location without the need to dock the video element. In any event, the video element is then moved by changing the coordinates of the video element on the browser page so that the position of the video element relative to the other content is changed. If the video element coordinates are substantially adjacent an edge of the browser page, then the video element is considered docked)
However, Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson fail to expressly disclose a fifth user input to dismiss the media player. In the same field of endeavor, Nawle teaches:
a fifth user input to dismiss the media player (Nawle Figs. 1-10; [0070], FIG. 9 illustrates a screenshot to delink/un-tie a tied application; [0071], Referring to FIG. 9, the browser application 301, the texting application 302, and the copied item container 501 are shown. In order to delink the application displayed on the screen of the touch screen device 100, the user swipes the tied application to the right when the device is in the split screen mode. In an embodiment, the user may perform any gesture to delink the tied applications. As soon as the application is delinked/untied, the below/above tied application is pushed up/down and gets tied with the upper/lower application; [0072], consider a user using the video player application (upper application) and music player application (lower application) in the split screen mode. Once the user closes the video player application by swiping to the right of the said application in the split screen mode, the below tied application that is the music player application is pushed up and it is tied as the upper application)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated a fifth user input to dismiss the media player as suggested in Nawle into Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson. Doing so would be desirable because the smartphone revolution has led to the notion that the ubiquitous mobile device has been re-invented. A smartphone is a mobile device built on a mobile operating system with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a feature phone. Many modern smartphones also include high-resolution touch screens and web browsers that display standard web pages as well as mobile-optimized sites. High-speed data access is provided by Wi-Fi and mobile broadband to quickly access the web content. In recent years, the rapid developments of mobile application markets and mobile commerce have been drivers of smartphone adoption (see Nawle [0003]). Due to intrinsic multi-tasking nature of smartphones, users are more likely to use multiple mobile applications simultaneously to perform various tasks. Presently, some mobile devices only provide a frozen screen state of recent applications while swiping in between applications. From this frozen state, a user can launch applications in a fresh state. Hence, this frozen state of applications while switching is an inefficient technique to perform tasks across these applications (see Nawle [0005]). In certain other smartphones, multiple applications are viewed in a single screen and these applications are scaled down to fit with the other applications. Due to the nature of scaling it is difficult to perform tasks on these applications (see Nawle [0006]). In light of the above mentioned reasons, existing methods fail to facilitate working with the set of applications together (see Nawle [0007]). Additionally, the gestures of Nawle would improve the system of Ramachandran by enabling the user to quickly and easily remove content as desired and enable the system to reformat the content around the available space (see Ramachandran [0033]). Removing non-desired content would provide additional screen space to display desired content on devices with limited screen sizes (see Ramachandran Figs. 3-5; [0043]).
Regarding claims 14 and 20, claims 14 and 20 contain substantially similar limitations to those found in claim 3. Consequently, claims 14 and 20 are rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 4, Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson in further view of Nawle teaches all the limitations of claim 3. Nawle further teaches:
wherein the fifth user input to dismiss the media player is one of a swipe left gesture or swipe right gesture (Nawle Figs. 1-10; [0070], FIG. 9 illustrates a screenshot to delink/un-tie a tied application; [0071], Referring to FIG. 9, the browser application 301, the texting application 302, and the copied item container 501 are shown. In order to delink the application displayed on the screen of the touch screen device 100, the user swipes the tied application to the right when the device is in the split screen mode. In an embodiment, the user may perform any gesture to delink the tied applications. As soon as the application is delinked/untied, the below/above tied application is pushed up/down and gets tied with the upper/lower application; [0072], consider a user using the video player application (upper application) and music player application (lower application) in the split screen mode. Once the user closes the video player application by swiping to the right of the said application in the split screen mode, the below tied application that is the music player application is pushed up and it is tied as the upper application)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated wherein the fifth user input to dismiss the media player is one of a swipe left gesture or swipe right gesture as suggested in Nawle into Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson. Doing so would be desirable because the smartphone revolution has led to the notion that the ubiquitous mobile device has been re-invented. A smartphone is a mobile device built on a mobile operating system with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a feature phone. Many modern smartphones also include high-resolution touch screens and web browsers that display standard web pages as well as mobile-optimized sites. High-speed data access is provided by Wi-Fi and mobile broadband to quickly access the web content. In recent years, the rapid developments of mobile application markets and mobile commerce have been drivers of smartphone adoption (see Nawle [0003]). Due to intrinsic multi-tasking nature of smartphones, users are more likely to use multiple mobile applications simultaneously to perform various tasks. Presently, some mobile devices only provide a frozen screen state of recent applications while swiping in between applications. From this frozen state, a user can launch applications in a fresh state. Hence, this frozen state of applications while switching is an inefficient technique to perform tasks across these applications (see Nawle [0005]). In certain other smartphones, multiple applications are viewed in a single screen and these applications are scaled down to fit with the other applications. Due to the nature of scaling it is difficult to perform tasks on these applications (see Nawle [0006]). In light of the above mentioned reasons, existing methods fail to facilitate working with the set of applications together (see Nawle [0007]). Additionally, the gestures of Nawle would improve the system of Ramachandran by enabling the user to quickly and easily remove content as desired and enable the system to reformat the content around the available space (see Ramachandran [0033]). Removing non-desired content would provide additional screen space to display desired content on devices with limited screen sizes.
Regarding claim 15, claim 15 contains substantially similar limitations to those found in claim 1. Consequently, claim 15 is rejected for the same reasons.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Ahanger et al. (US 20080307454 A1, published 12/11/2008), hereinafter Ahanger.
Regarding claim 6, Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson teaches all the limitations of claim 5. However, Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson fail to expressly disclose further comprising presenting a call-to-action after the period of time. In the same field of endeavor, Ahanger teaches:
further comprising presenting a call-to-action after the period of time (Ahanger Figs. 1-9; [0289], Referring now to FIGS. 7A-7E, example screen shots of application of ad insertion rules during playback of video media via the systems and methods described herein are depicted. In brief overview, FIG. 7A illustrates an example embodiment of an ad inserted during playback of a video media. FIG. 7B illustrates an example embodiment of an ad video clip displayed after selecting the first ad inserted during playback of a video media as depicted in FIG. 7A. FIG. 7C illustrates an example embodiment of a call for action at an end of the video ad depicted in FIG. 7B. FIG. 7D illustrates an example embodiment of submission feedback and availability of new video media after completing the call for action depicted in FIG. 7C. FIG. 7E illustrates an example embodiment of making new video clips available as a result of a user taking a call for action; [0290], Referring now to FIG. 7A, a web-site delivered via the media platform 200 to present video with an embedded player is depicted; [0291], Referring to FIG. 7B. the result of the user selecting the delivered bug ad of FIG. 7A is depicted; [0292], Referring to FIG. 7C, the media platform and/or stream composition service may deliver via an ad insertion rule or otherwise a call to action at the end of playing the video ad delivered as depicted in FIG. 7B; [0293], Referring to FIGS. 7D and 7E, screen shots of a user interface presented to the user after submitting information via the call to action screen of FIG. 7C is depicted)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated further comprising presenting a call-to-action after the period of time as suggested in Ahanger into Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson. Doing so would be desirable because as the number of people communicating over a publicly accessible communication network, such as the Internet, continues to grow, the use, availability and distribution of media content via the Internet, such as video and audio media files, grows as well. The popularity of delivering and experiencing media content via the Internet continues to grow because the Internet provides for both immediacy of the media and interactivity of the media. Media content can provide a rich interactive user experience from a network connected device. In addition, media content delivered to computing devices via a network may receive input from the user or information about the user to both personalize and dynamically enhance the user experience, thereby further increasing the immediacy and interactivity of the medium. As such, delivering media content via the Internet is quickly gaining adoption as a mechanism for reaching consumers for purposes of marketing and monetizing media assets (see Ahanger [0004]). Some of the challenges with marketing and monetizing media assets over the Internet, such as broadband video, are due to the ubiquitous and on-demand nature of the medium. Web-sites provide a wide range of video content varying in content type, duration and quality. Many web-sites make video content accessible at the request or upon demand of the user. Users may search, find, select and play video media when they want. Video media is also available to users from a wide range of network connected devices, such as cell phones and other mobile devices. As such, users may access video media from where ever they want. During playback of the video, users typically have control of the playing of the video via the media player. For example, the user may pause, rewind, stop or fast forward the playing of the video. Thus, users may be able to view the video for how ever long they want and in a manner they want (see Ahanger [0005]). The solution of the ad delivery platform described herein provides for the marketing and monetizing of media assets via the delivery of advertisement with on-demand video. The ad platform optimizes the delivery of ads by controlling the insertion frequency and format of the ad delivered with video streams. The ad platform provides flexible and configurable ad insertion rules to specify the insertion frequency and format for the composition of ads during playback of on-demand video media (see Ahanger [0006]).
Claims 11 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson in further view of Horowitz et al. (US 20080111822 A1, published 05/15/2008), hereinafter Horowitz.
Regarding claim 11, Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson teaches all the limitations of claim 1, further comprising:
wherein the media player at the second position is presented in a format (Ramachandran Figs. 1-10; [0032-0033], FIG. 4 shows an exemplary result of the flick operation of FIG. 3. In FIG. 4, the video element 362 moved from a first location in FIG. 3 to a second location in FIG. 4. In addition, the written content was reformatted to account for the new coordinates of the video element. The new coordinates of the video element 362 are passed to the browser engine, which then reformats the page layout; [0034], FIG. 5 shows the written content 360 being scrolled as indicated by a finger flick in the direction of arrow 510; [0035-0036], Although the video element of FIG. 5 is shown as docked to a left edge of the user interface, it can be docked at any location (i.e., top, bottom, right, and left); The video can continue to play if it was playing prior to the gesture, such as the flick gesture)
However, Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson fail to expressly disclose presented in a semi-transparent format. In the same field of endeavor, Horowitz teaches:
presented in a semi-transparent format (Horowitz Figs. 1-14; abs. video can be displayed in a translucent fashion so that the video is visible and so that other content displayed on the computer display is visible through the video; [0032], one or more videos can be presented translucently. In addition, the one or more videos can be presented in small discrete video display regions on the periphery of a display screen so as to utilize a small percentage of screen space; [0060], The user interface module 306 can be configured with graphical user interface items that are displayed at the display 104 in order to provide the user with tools for interacting with the display, rendering, searching, and/or manipulating of one or more video images being displayed at the display 104. As such, the user interface module 306 can include user input mechanisms to select the playing, stopping, seeking, rewinding, pausing or fast forwarding video. In addition, the user interface module 306 can also include commands for maximizing a displayed video, minimizing a displayed video, displaying a video clip as a video thumbnail, receiving user input for setting a translucency percentage, relocating the location of one or more video thumbnails or displayed videos on the display 104, etc; [0088], Each of the video thumbnails presented as part of user interface 600 can be displayed translucently, depending upon the degree of translucency selected by the user. As previously mentioned, the user can set the translucency degree to be in a range of zero percent to a one hundred percent. In one embodiment, a default translucency of fifty percent can be established in order to permit the video thumbnails to be visible and yet allow other user interface images to also be visible through the video thumbnails; [0100], FIG. 9 depicts a screenshot of a user interface 900 showing an enlarged displayed video; [0103], Menu 1004 can include a slide bar 1012 or another user interface mechanism that can allow the user to set the volume of the audio corresponding to the displayed video in the video thumbnail 706, for example, or the resolution, frame rate, translucency, default size, position, or number of video thumbnails displayed; [0105], the selector/indicator 1014 can permit a user to position a corner layout, a vertical stack layout, a horizontal stack layout, a random layout, a stacked layout, or any other layout configuration selected by the user; [0108], the user can reposition the video thumbnails by dragging and dropping one or more video thumbnails in an area of the display; [0120], the translucency option 1108 can include a transparency slider that permits a user to indicate the degree of transparency that can range from zero (opaque) to one hundred percent (transparent))
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have incorporated presented in a semi-transparent format as suggested in Horowitz into Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson. Doing so would be desirable the expansion of the Internet and the World Wide Web ("web") has given computer users the enhanced ability to listen to and to watch various different forms of media through their computers. Such media can be in the form of audio music, music videos, and television programs, sporting events or any other form of audio or video media that a user wishes to watch or listen to. Media is now overwhelmingly being distributed through computer networks. Furthermore, users frequently access media via a personal computer, handheld devices, etc. However, users who view videos on a computer display generally have to play one video at a time. In addition, current systems for presenting video are not conducive to multitasking (see Horowitz [0004]). The system of Horowitz would improve the system of Ramachandran by displaying video in a translucent fashion so that the video is visible and so that other content displayed on the computer display is visible through the video (see Horowitz abs.) to provide a multitasking environment wherein one or more videos are displayed visibly yet unobtrusively while a user interacts with other applications of a computing device (see Horowitz [0032]). Additionally, they system of Horowitz provide the user with tools for manipulating of one or more video images being displayed at the display 104. The user interface module 306 can also include commands for maximizing a displayed video, minimizing a displayed video, displaying a video clip as a video thumbnail, receiving user input for setting a translucency percentage, relocating the location of one or more video thumbnails or displayed videos on the display 104 (see Horowitz [0060]), thereby enabling the user to flexibly set a desired transparency level as needed, which increases the flexibility and usability of the interface.
Regarding claim 18, claim 18 contains substantially similar limitations to those found in claim 11. Consequently, claim 18 is rejected for the same reasons.
Response to Arguments
The Examiner acknowledges the Applicant’s amendments to claims 1, 2, 12, 13, and 19.
Regarding rejection of claims 1-20 under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) for failing to comply with the written description requirement, the rejection of claims 19 and 20 is respectfully withdrawn. Claims 1-18 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a). Applicant alleges the Specification discloses that the user "can navigate (.. via a ... swipe) to the portion that is not currently presented in the user interface," and then a "watch-while" experience is provided that "allows the user of the content sharing platform 110 at client device 102 to continue to watch a media item, even after scrolling away from the media item's position on a scrollable document without interrupting the playback of the media item in the media viewer 112.". As such, the claim language "a first user swipe gesture indicating a user interest in consuming the first media item via the UI of the mobile application while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the first media item via the UI of the mobile application" is supported by at least the above portions of the Specification (see remarks pp. 11-12). Examiner respectfully disagrees.
The claims recite “in response to a first user swipe gesture indicating a user interest in consuming the first media item via the UI of the mobile application while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the first media item via the UI of the mobile application, moving the media player from the first position to a second position in the UI of the mobile application” and “scrolling the scrollable document in response to the second user gesture, wherein the scrolling of the scrollable document in response to the second user gesture is performed concurrently with playing the first media item by the media player, which continues to be visible in the UI of the mobile application in the second position”. As discussed in the rejection above, the instant specification discloses a media player can be repositioned through a dragging operation ([0047]). The instant specification further discloses that swipe gestures may be used to scroll portions of a scrollable document as well as to dismiss a persistent media player. As shown in Fig. 5, using a swipe gesture is used to move the persistent media player off the screen and dismiss it. However, the swipe gesture does not result in “moving the media player from the first position to a second position in the UI of the mobile application” such that “the media player, which continues to be visible in the UI of the mobile application in the second position”.
Regarding rejection of claims 1-20 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter, Applicant respectfully submits that claims 1-20 have been amended. Accordingly, Applicant respectfully requests that the rejection of claims 1-20 under 35 U.S.C. §112(b) be withdrawn (see remarks pp. 12-13). Examiner respectfully disagrees.
As discussed in the rejection, the metes and bounds of the claimed invention are unclear. Per the MPEP 2173, the definiteness of claim language is to ensure that the scope of the claims is clear so the public is informed of the boundaries of what constitutes infringement of the patent. During examination, a claim must be given its broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the specification as it would be interpreted by one of ordinary skill in the art. If the language of a claim, given its broadest reasonable interpretation, is such that a person of ordinary skill in the relevant art would read it with more than one reasonable interpretation, then a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph is appropriate (see MPEP 2173). As discussed in the rejection, Examiner determined that the language of claims 1, 12, and 19 was indefinite and claims 1-20 stand rejected stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b).
Regarding independent claim 1, the Applicant alleges Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson as described in the previous Office action, does not explicitly teach amended claim 1. Examiner respectfully disagrees.
As described in the rejection above, Ramachandran is considered to teach receiving, by a mobile device, a user request associated with a first media item of a plurality of media items, the first media item being consumable by a user via at least one of a web browser or a mobile application executed on the mobile device; displaying, on a screen of the mobile device, a first portion of a scrollable document in a user interface (UI) of the mobile application executed on the mobile device, the UI of the mobile application comprising a media player in a first position, wherein the first portion of the scrollable document is visible to the user in the UI of the mobile application and includes the first media item of the plurality of media items and second media items of the plurality of media items, wherein the first media item is playable by the media player in the UI for consumption by the user via the UI of the mobile application (Figs. 1-10; [0023], [0024], [0031-0036]); in response to a first user swipe gesture indicating a user interest in consuming the first media item via the UI of the mobile application while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the first media item via the UI of the mobile application, moving the media player from the first position to a second position in the UI of the mobile application (Figs. 1-10; [0032-0039]); detecting a second user gesture to scroll to a second portion of the scrollable document, wherein the second portion follows the first portion in the scrollable document and includes third media items of the plurality of media items, wherein when the second user gesture is detected, the second media items are visible to the user in the UI of the mobile application and the third media items are not visible to the user in the UI of the mobile application; scrolling the scrollable document in response to the second user gesture, wherein the scrolling of the scrollable document in response to the second user gesture is performed concurrently with playing the first media item by the media player, which continues to be visible in the UI of the mobile application in the second position, wherein continuing the scrolling of the scrollable document causes the third media items from the second portion of the scrollable document to become visible to the user in the UI of the mobile application (Ramachandran Figs. 1-10; [0032-0036], [0039]); and in response to detecting a third user gesture to select a third media item of the third media items that were caused to become visible in the UI of the mobile application, stopping playback of the first media item or starting playback of the selected third media item by the media player in the UI of the mobile application (Figs. 1-10; [0030], [0035-0036], [0040]). Kosiba is cited to clarify in response to detecting a third user gesture to select a third media item of the third media items that were caused to become visible in the UI of the mobile application, stopping playback of the first media item and starting playback of the selected third media item by the media player in the UI of the mobile application (Figs. 1-15; [0034], [0037], [0042], [0051-0052]). Gibson is cited to clarify receiving, by a mobile device, a user request associated with a first media item of a plurality of media items of a content platform, the first media item being consumable by a user of the content platform via at least one of a web browser or a mobile application executed on the mobile device; the user of the content platform (Figs. 1-5; abs., [0013], [0019-0020], [0026-0027], [0033], [0035], [0039-0041], [0047], [0054]). Thus Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson is considered to teach claim 1.
Specifically, application alleges Ramachandran is directed to video streaming in a web browser. (Ramachandran, Abstract.) Ramachandran has no mention of a mobile application including a media player, much less of a user interface of a mobile application including a media player. Ramachandran also has no mention of a media item being consumable by at least one of a web browser or a mobile application. Ramachandran also has no mention of a user swipe gesture indicating a user interest in consuming a media item via a user interface (see remarks p. 16). Applicant further alleges Gibson does not teach or suggest presenting a UI of a mobile application comprising a media player. Gibson also has no mention of a media item being consumable by at least one of a web browser or a mobile application, or of a user swipe gesture indicating a user interest in consuming a media item via a user interface. Accordingly, Gibson does not remedy the shortcomings of the proposed combination of Ramachandran and Kosiba with respect to claim 1 (see remarks p. 17). Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Ramachandran discloses that FIG. 3 depicts a front view of an example mobile device 310 displaying a graphical user interface (GUI) on a touchscreen display 316 ([0031]), with a plurality of scrollable media items 360 and a media player 362 ([0032]). Ramachandran discloses the mobile device includes a processor that can execute a plurality of mobile computing applications ([0024]), such as a browser page 350 having written content 360 and a video element 362 ([0032]). The video element can be moved, docked (abs.), and selected to initiate playback of a media stream within a web browser ([0035]). Thus, Ramachandran is considered to teach a media item consumable by a user of a web browser or a mobile application including a media player.
Gibson is cited to clarify a mobile application provided by a content platform and executed on the mobile device and a user of the content platform (Figs. 1-5; abs., [0013], [0019-0020], [0026-0027], [0033], [0035], [0039-0041], [0047], [0054]). Gibson discloses persistent media playback techniques (abs.), including a server ([0019]) and a mobile client device with a browser ([0013], [0020], [0026]). As illustrated in FIG. 1, the server 102 may include a media player module 122. The media player module 122 is configured as a media player 124 that is served via the network 106 by the server 102. The media player module 122 integrates the web pages 126 with the media player 124 so that the media player 124 is persistently displayed by the browser 120 during the browsing session ([0027]). Thus, Gibson is considered to disclose receiving, by a mobile device, a user request associated with a first media item of a plurality of media items of a content platform, the first media item being consumable by a user of the content platform via at least one of a web browser or a mobile application executed on the mobile device and a user of the content platform (Figs. 1-5; abs., [0013], [0019-0020], [0026-0027], [0033], [0035], [0039-0041], [0047], [0054]).
Ramachandran further discloses that while the media player is playing, the user can move the media player to a second location (a user interest in consuming the first media item via the UI of the mobile application while participating in an activity other than the consuming of the first media item via), as shown in Figs. 3-4. Per Ramachandran, a user can provide a user input command, such as a flick gesture, by touching the display 316 and moving their finger in a flicking motion as indicated by arrow 370 ([0032]). FIG. 4 shows an exemplary result of the flick operation of FIG. 3. In FIG. 4, the video element 362 moved from a first location in FIG. 3 to a second location in FIG. 4 ([0033]).
The flick motion touch gesture shown in Fig. 3 is described as “touching the display 316 and moving their finger in a flicking motion as indicated by arrow 370” ([0032]). The instant specification [0052] describes a swipe gesture as a movement left or right on the touchscreen and an illustration of a swipe gesture is shown in Fig. 5 ([0052]). As shown, the swipe gesture includes touching the display and moving the finger horizontally, which is similar to the horizontal gesture described in Ramachandran. See also p. 2 of previously attached NPL “Touch Gesture Reference Guide” (archived by the Wayback Machine on 10/05/2013) describing a flick gesture as “users place a finger on the screen and quickly swipe it”. Thus, Ramachandran’s flick gesture is considered within the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claimed swipe gesture.
Ramachandran further describes that while the media is playing, a user can input a scrolling gesture to cause previously undisplayed third media items to become visible (Fig. 5 and [0034-0036]). Kosiba is cited to clarify in response to detecting a third user gesture to select a third media item of the third media items that became visible in the UI of the mobile application, stopping playback of the first media item and starting playback of the selected third media item by the media player in the UI of the mobile application (Figs. 1-15; [0034], [0037], [0042], [0051-0052]). Kosiba discloses a scrollable list of media clips ([0052]). As shown in FIG. 3A, the current playlist 140 includes Clips A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H. On the display, Clip A is currently being played. The user can skip the currently playing Clip A select Clip C ([0052]).
In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986). Thus Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson is considered to teach claim 1.
Similar arguments have been presented for claims 12 and 19 and thus, Applicant’s arguments are not persuasive for the same reasons.
Applicant states that the dependent claims recite all the limitations of the independent claims, and thus, are allowable in view of the remarks set forth regarding the independent claims. However, as discussed above, Ramachandran in view of Kosiba in further view of Gibson is considered to teach the independent claims, and consequently, the dependent claims are rejected.
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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/JOHN T REPSHER III/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2143
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