DETAILED ACTION
This communication is responsive to Amendment, filed 01/30/2026.
Claims 1-5, 7-20 are pending in this application. In the Amendment, claim 6 has been cancelled, and claims 1, 2, 16, 17 and 20 have been amended. This action is made Final.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1, 8-13, 16 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Paul et al. (“Paul”, Pub. No. US 2023/0205905), Dornbush et al. (“Bornbush”, Pub. No. US 2021/0165829), Sicora et al. (“Sicora”, Pat. No. US 10,684,738), and Brevoort et al. (“Brevoort”, Pub. No. US 2023/0368105).
Per claim 1, Paul teaches a method of content sharing, comprising:
in response to acquiring a preset content input by a first user account in a service interface, displaying a first window in the service interface, the first window comprising at least one content to be shared, (figs. 2 and 4; [0026]; [0087]-[0088]; which show a user may invoke a list 226 of suggested documents (e.g., scrollable list of “referenceable objects”) to reference in the composition portion 228 of the interface element 224); and
in response to a selection operation on at least one target shared content in the at least one content to be shared, displaying the at least one target shared content in a displayed field of the service interface and sharing the at least one target shared content to at least one second user account corresponding to the service interface (figs. 2 and 3; [0090]; [0091]; [0102]; which show link 240 to the document, a link to UserCD 242, a link to All Virtual Space Users 244 can be added to the composition interface element 224);
wherein the service interface comprises one of an instant messaging session interface, a live streaming interface, or a video conference interface, and the at least one content to be shared comprises at least one of a group contact card and document ([0079]; [0091]; [0102]; which show the at least one content to be shared comprises at least of a link to All Virtual Space Users 244 (i.e. group contact card) and a link to document).
Paul does not specifically teach a category of the at least one content to be shared and a cloud document.
However, Dornbush teaches a cloud document ([0076]; [0082]; which show cloud-based management platform for presenting one or more relevant document cards based on the context of a user).
Sicora teaches a category of the at least one content to be shared (fig. 21B; col. 23, li es 3-17; col. 78, lines 8-22; which show grouping of different type of content/objects into tabs/categories).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the teaching of Dornbush and Sicora in the invention of Paul in order to provide the users with the cloud-based content management platform can collaborate over a network to create and store documents in the cloud storage and edit, comment upon, or share the documents, and in order to provide the users with grouping of content/objects to enhance user’s experience for exploring and discovering of content/objects with ease, thus enhancing collaboration between users.
The modified Paul teaches displaying the at least one target shared content in a displayed field of the service interface (Paul, fig. 3, 304) comprises: a document can be accessible (e.g., with various types of permissions) to multiple users (e.g., multiple user accounts or profiles) (Paul, [0009]), presenting a permissions interface element that, when selected, can affect (e.g., change, update, increase, decrease, etc.) the user's permissions with respect to the document (Paul, [0012]), and providing one or more affordances 314 and 316 to affect the permissions (e.g., enable editing, viewing only, etc.) (Paul, 0094]).
The modified Paul does not specifically teach in response to a trigger operation on a first target widget component corresponding to the at least one target shared content in the display field, displaying a second window in the service interface, and in response to a permission setting operation performed by a user in the second window, setting a second permission of the at least one target shared content to a second permission value, such that the at least one second user account performs a second operation on the at least one target shared content, and wherein a number of the at least one second user account is greater than one, and in response to the at least one second user account comprises a plurality of accounts, a plurality of second permissions set for the plurality of second user accounts are the same or different.
However, Brevoort teaches in response to a trigger operation on a first target widget component corresponding to the at least one target shared content in the display field, displaying a second window in the service interface (fig. 2D, options 272 and menu/window 274; [0143]…the first user can select the plurality of collaborative documents and the “Group Information” section to effectuate permissions to access (or view, edit, etc.) to the entire user group the “Group Information” section of each of the plurality of collaborative documents. In some embodiments, the collaborative document comprises one or more tasks 270 along with one or more corresponding assignment options 272, as shown. In some embodiments, an assignment dropdown menu 274 may be displayed in response to a user selecting one of the one or more assignment options 272.), and in response to a permission setting operation performed by a user in the second window, setting a second permission of the at least one target shared content to a second permission value, such that the at least one second user account performs a second operation on the at least one target shared content (fig. 2D, options 272 and menu/window 274; [0143]… sections of the collaborative document may have individual permissions associated with them. For example, a collaborative document having sections with individual permissions may provide a first user permission to view, edit, or comment on a first section, while a second user does not have permission to view, edit, or comment on the first section. Alternatively, a first user may have permissions to view a first section of the collaborative document, while a second user has permissions to both view and edit the first section of the collaborative document. The permissions associated with a particular section of the document may be assigned by a first user via various methods, including manual selection of the particular section of the document by the first user or another user with permission to assign permissions, typing or selecting an “assignment” indicator, such as the “@” symbol, or selecting the section by a name of the section…the first user can select the plurality of collaborative documents and the “Group Information” section to effectuate permissions to access (or view, edit, etc.) to the entire user group the “Group Information” section of each of the plurality of collaborative documents. In some embodiments, the collaborative document comprises one or more tasks 270 along with one or more corresponding assignment options 272, as shown. In some embodiments, an assignment dropdown menu 274 may be displayed in response to a user selecting one of the one or more assignment options 272., and wherein a number of the at least one second user account is greater than one, and in response to the at least one second user account comprises a plurality of accounts, a plurality of second permissions set for the plurality of second user accounts are the same or different (fig. 2D, options 272 and menu/window 274; [0143]… sections of the collaborative document may have individual permissions associated with them. For example, a collaborative document having sections with individual permissions may provide a first user permission to view, edit, or comment on a first section, while a second user does not have permission to view, edit, or comment on the first section. Alternatively, a first user may have permissions to view a first section of the collaborative document, while a second user has permissions to both view and edit the first section of the collaborative document. The permissions associated with a particular section of the document may be assigned by a first user via various methods, including manual selection of the particular section of the document by the first user or another user with permission to assign permissions, typing or selecting an “assignment” indicator, such as the “@” symbol, or selecting the section by a name of the section…the first user can select the plurality of collaborative documents and the “Group Information” section to effectuate permissions to access (or view, edit, etc.) to the entire user group the “Group Information” section of each of the plurality of collaborative documents. In some embodiments, the collaborative document comprises one or more tasks 270 along with one or more corresponding assignment options 272, as shown. In some embodiments, an assignment dropdown menu 274 may be displayed in response to a user selecting one of the one or more assignment options 272).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the teaching of Brevoort in the invention of the modified Paul in order to provide the users with options to effectuate permission settings for users because doing so would improve collaborations and efficiency in setting permissions for shared content.
Per claim 8, the modified Paul teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the first window comprises at least one category label, and wherein displaying the first window in the service interface comprises: in response to a trigger operation on a target label in the at least one category label, displaying, in the first window, the at least one content to be shared that matches the target label (Sicora, fig. 21B; col. 23, lines 3-17; col. 78, lines 8-22, which show tabs/categories 2104a-e for results that can be presented, with the top results 2104a being a combination of results across all categories, the hashtag results 2104b being hashtag results, the products results 2104c being product element results, the people results 2104d being identified users, and post results 2104e being social media post).
Per claim 9, the modified Paul teaches the method of claim 8, further comprising: in response to a number of categories of the at least one content to be shared being at least two, the category label comprises: at least two first sub-labels, each of at least two first sub-labels matching a category of the content to be shared; and a second sub-label matching all of the at least one content to be shared (Sicora, fig. 21B; col. 23, lines 3-17; col. 78, lines 8-22, which show tabs/categories 2104a-e for results that can be presented, with the top results 2104a being a combination of results across all categories;).
Per claim 10, the modified Paul teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising: displaying, in the first window, label information corresponding to the at least one content to be shared (Paul, fig. 2, list 226 with associated label for each object).
Per claim 11, the modified Paul teaches the method of claim 10, wherein: in response to the at least one content to be shared including a personal contact card, the label information comprises a personal status and/or a personal label; in response to the at least one content to be shared including a group contact card, the label information comprises update time of a group message; or in response to the at least one content to be shared including a cloud document, the label information comprises a document owner and/or update time of the document (Paul, [0045]…document data may include presence information indicating one or more users presently interacting with the document. The presence information may identify a user (e.g., user account). In some examples, the presence information may indicate a manner in which the user is presently interacting with the document, such as by presently viewing, editing, having open in a background, etc. In some examples, the presence information may indicate (or be used to determine) various other attributes associated with the user, such as permissions of the user with respect to the document and/or whether the user is a member of a virtual space associated with the document).
Per claim 12, the modified Paul teaches the method of claim 1, wherein a content to be shared is related to the service interface, and/or a content to be shared is not related to the service interface; and wherein displaying a first window in the service interface, the first window comprising at least one content to be shared, further comprising one of: displaying, in the first window, only the content to be shared that is related to the service interface; displaying, in the first window, only the content to be shared that is not related to the service interface; or displaying, in the first window, the content to be shared that is related to the service interface, and the content to be shared that is not related to the service interface, respectively (fig. 2; Paul, [0088]… identify one or more documents (e.g., “Doc C” and “Doc J” in FIG. 2) to be presented in the list 226. The one or more documents can be identified using various techniques, such as by identifying one or more attributes associated with a user and/or virtual space, and determining, based on the one or more attributes, whether a condition is satisfied).
Per claim 13, the modified Paul teaches the method of claim 1 as described above. Brevoori further teaches a search bar and wherein the method further comprises: in response to a search operation performed based on a keyword in the search bar, displaying the at least one content to be shared that matches the keyword in the first window ([0104]…in some embodiments, title bar 202 comprises search bar 220. Search bar 220 may allow users to search for content located in the current workspace of the group-based communication system, such as files, messages, channels, members, commands, functions, and the like. Users may refine their searches by attributes such as content type, content author, and by users associated with the content. Users may optionally search within specific workspaces, channels, direct message conversations, or documents. In some embodiments, title bar 202 comprises navigation commands allowing a user to move backwards and forwards between different panes, as well as to view a history of accessed content. Title bar 202 may comprise additional resources such as links to help documents and user configuration settings.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the teaching of Brevoori in the invention of the modified Paul in order to allow users to search for content located in the current workspace of the group-based communication system, such as files, messages, channels, members, commands, functions, and the like.
Claims 16 and 20 are rejected under the same rationale as claim 1.
Claim(s) 2-5, 7 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Paul et al. (“Paul”, Pub. No. US 2023/0205905), Dornbush et al. (“Bornbush”, Pub. No. US 2021/0165829), Sicora et al. (“Sicora”, Pat. No. US 10,684,738), Brevoort et al. (“Brevoort”, Pub. No. US 2023/0368105), and Hassan et al. (“Hassan”, Pub. No. US 2023/0412554).
Per claim 2, the modified Paul teaches the method of claim 1, wherein acquiring the preset content input by the first user account in the service interface comprises: acquiring a preset sign input by the first user account in an input field of the service interface (fig. 2 and 4; [0026]; [0087]-[0088]; which show preset sign input: @); and
wherein in response to the selection operation on the at least one target shared content in the at least one content to be shared, sharing the at least one target shared content to the at least one second user account corresponding to the service interface comprises: in response to the selection operation on the at least one target shared content in the at least one content to be shared, displaying the at least one target shared content in the input field (fig. 2, @Doc C 240; [0090]; [0091]; [0102]; which show link 240 to the document a link to UserCD 242, a link to All Virtual Space Users 244 can be added to the composition interface element 224 );
displaying the at least one target shared content in a display field of the service interface (fig. 3; [0095]; which show @DOC A 310)
The modified Paul does not specifically teach in response to a send operation on the input field, displaying the at least one target shared content in a display field of the service interface.
However, Hassan teaches similarly teaches in response to a send operation on the input field, displaying the at least one target shared content in a display field of the service interface ( figs. 2B, 3A-3C; [0038]-[0042]; [0046]; [0053]; [0056]; which show selection of the group communication stream icon 351 of the user input 370 of the second user (“USER2”) 238, such as by a user input 370 (e.g., a mouse click, a long tap, a double-tap, etc.), can autofill the selection in the compose field 216 and supplement the send button 217 with the group communication stream icon 366 as illustrated in FIG. 3C. in addition, the one or more characters 227 from the compose field 216 between the “@” symbol 226 and the cursor 228 include the text character “S”, the set of one or more users can include users available to the first user having respective usernames starting with the text character “S” at some major portion, such as a first letter of a first name or a last name associated with the username, a first character of the username, a first character of an email address associated with the username, etc.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the teaching of Hassan in the invention of the modified Paul in order to provide the users a simple an action command in the a compose filed for locating a group of users and inputting message to along with send button having indicator for type of transmission that will be transmitted for the group of the users.
Per claim 3, the modified Paul teaches the method of claim 2, wherein the at least one target shared content displayed in the input field comprises at least one of a group name corresponding to the group contact card and a document name corresponding to the cloud document (Paul, figs. 2-3; [0079]; [0091]; [0102]; which show the at least one content to be shared comprises at least of a link to group name All Virtual Space Users 244and a link to document name “DOC C” 238 or “DOC A” 310); and
wherein displaying the at least one target shared content in the display field of the service interface comprises at least one of:
in response to the at least one target shared content comprising one of the group name and the document name, displaying a card component for the group contact card or a card component for the cloud document respectively corresponding to one of the group contact card and the cloud document in the display field, wherein the card component for the group contact card comprises an access corresponding to the group contact card, and the card component for the cloud document comprises an access corresponding to the cloud document; or in response to the at least one target shared content comprising both the group name and the document name, displaying the group name, the document name, and respective accesses corresponding to the group name and the document name in the display field (Paul, figs. 2-3; [0079]; [0091]; [0102]; which show the at least one content to be shared comprises at least of a link to group name All Virtual Space Users 244, and a link to document name “DOC C” 238 or “DOC A” 310; Donrnbush, [0076]; [0082]; Hassan, figs. 2B, 3C; [0040]-[0042]; [0053]; [0056]).
Per claim 4, the modified Paul teaches the method of claim 2, wherein the at least one target shared content displayed in the input field comprises:
message information and at least one of a person's name corresponding to a personal contact card, a group name corresponding to the group contact card and a document name corresponding to the cloud document (Paul, figs. 2-3; [0079]; [0091]; [0102]; which show the at least one content to be shared comprises at least of a link to group name All Virtual Space Users 244 and a link to document name “DOC C” 238 or “DOC A” 310; Donrnbush, [0076]; [0082]; Hassan, fig. 2B, [0041]… the second user (“USER2”) 238 has been selected and an additional character message “HOW'S IT GOING?” has been entered in the compose field 216 ); and
wherein displaying the at least one target shared content in the display field of the service interface comprises at least one of:
in response to the at least one target shared content comprising the message information and the person's name, displaying the message information, the person's name, and an access corresponding to the person's name in the display field, in response to the at least one target shared content comprising the message information and one of the group name and the document name, displaying, in the display field, the message information and a card component for the group contact card or a card component for the cloud document respectively corresponding to one of the group contact card and the cloud document, wherein the card component for the group contact card comprises an access corresponding to the group contact card, and the card, component for the cloud document comprises an access corresponding to the cloud document, or in response to the at least one target shared content comprising the message information, the group name and the document name, displaying, in the display field, the message information, the group name, the document name, and respective accesses corresponding to the group name and the document name (Paul, fig. 3, message “GOOD! @DOC A” 310; [0079]; group name channel A; [0091]; [0102]; which show the at least one content to be shared comprises at least of a link to group name All Virtual Space Users 244 and a link to “DOC A” 310; Donrnbush, [0076]; [0082]; Hassan, fig. 2B, [0041]; figs. 2B, 3C; [0040]-[0042]; [0053]; [0056]).
Per claim 5, the modified Paul teaches the method of claim 2, wherein displaying the at least one target shared content in the display field of the service interface further comprises: setting a first permission of the at least one target shared content to a default value, such that the at least one second user account performs a first operation on the at least one target shared content (Paul, [0012]…techniques of the present disclosure can determine what level of permissions are associated with a user, which has access to the virtual space in which the document is referenced. In addition, examples can present a user-permissions indicator that indicates what level of permission the user has (e.g., no access, viewing only, editing, etc.). For example, if a user that has access to the virtual space does not have access to the document, then the user-permissions indicator may indicate “no access.” In addition, examples can present a permissions interface element that, when selected, can affect (e.g., change, update, increase, decrease, etc.) the user's permissions with respect to the document. [0094]…the automated message 312 may indicate that the user (e.g., UserEF) has limited permission with respect to the document (e.g., Doc A) referenced in the prior message and provide one or more affordances 314 and 316 to affect the permissions (e.g., enable editing, viewing only, etc.). ).
Per claim 7, the modified Paul teaches the method of claim 2, further comprising: acquiring an input content subsequent to the preset content in the input field and determining, based on the input content subsequent to the preset content, the at least one content to be shared in the first window (Hassan, interface figs. 2B, 3C; [0038]-[0042]; [0053]; [0056]; which show selection of the group communication stream icon 351 of the user input 370 of the second user (“USER2”) 238, such as by a user input 370 (e.g., a mouse click, a long tap, a double-tap, etc.), can autofill the selection in the compose field 216 and supplement the send button 217 with the group communication stream icon 366 as illustrated in FIG. 3C. In addition, the one or more characters 227 from the compose field 216 between the “@” symbol 226 and the cursor 228 include the text character “S”, the set of one or more users can include users available to the first user having respective usernames starting with the text character “S” at some major portion, such as a first letter of a first name or a last name associated with the username, a first character of the username, a first character of an email address associated with the username, etc.).
Claim 17 is rejected under the same rationale as claim 2.
Claim(s) 14-15 and 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentale over Paul et al. (“Paul”, Pub. No. US 2023/0205905), Dornbush et al. (“Bornbush”, Pub. No. US 2021/0165829), Sicora et al. (“Sicora”, Pat. No. US 10,684,738), Brevoort et al. (“Brevoort”, Pub. No. US 2023/0368105), and Rubinstein et al. (“Rubinstein”, Pat. No. 11,190,366)
Per claim 14, the modified Paul teaches the method of claim 1, but does not teach in response to a first trigger operation on a second target widget component in the first window, generating a preselection sub-widget component for each of the at least one content to be shared; in response to a selection operation on the preselection sub-widget component, determining at least one target shared content; and in response to a second trigger operation on the second target widget component, sharing the at least one target shared content to the at least one second user account corresponding to the service interface.
However, Rubinstein teaches to a first trigger operation on a second target widget component in the first window, generating a preselection sub-widget component for each of the at least one content to be shared (col. 7, lines 1-10; fig. 2, tag setting (i.e. preselection sub widget component) for which types of member data can be used as a tag (e.g., a title, company, office, city, state, country and department)); in response to a selection operation on the preselection sub-widget component, determining at least one target shared content (fig. 3; col. 7, lines 19-42…convert the tags to a linked text (e.g., a hypertext, etc.), which is linked to another graphical user interface or data page displaying a list of the recipients corresponding to the tags 162 and 164. The system may also provide data related to the target recipients of the tags 162 and 164. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the system may cause Kadji's device to display a system message 166 indicating a number of the target recipients for the tags 162 and 164 as shown in FIG. 1, or a list of the target recipients. Col. 7, lines 43-62…When the user enters a message and add a tag “@On-Shift,” the user device may send the tag to the system, which may, in turn, generate and send, to the user device, a list of tags containing “On-Shift,” such as, “Cashier On-Shift,” “Florist On-Shift,” “Houseware On-Shift,” “Manager On-Shift,” etc. The received list of tags may be displayed via the user interface for selection by the user.); and in response to a second trigger operation on the second target widget component, sharing the at least one target shared content to the at least one second user account corresponding to the service interface (fig. 1). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the teaching of Rubeinstein in the invention of the modified Paul in order to provide an automated message recipient identification system, which allows a message sender to use a tag to characterize to whom his or her message should be sent. Thus, this would enhance collaboration among users in a group-based communication.
Per claim 15, the modified Paul teaches the method of claim 14, further comprising: displaying, in the target widget component, a number of the at least one selected target shared content; and/or displaying, at a target position in the first window, identification information of the at least one selected target shared content (Brubeinstein, fig. 3; col. 7, lines 19-42…convert the tags to a linked text (e.g., a hypertext, etc.), which is linked to another graphical user interface or data page displaying a list of the recipients corresponding to the tags 162 and 164. The system may also provide data related to the target recipients of the tags 162 and 164. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the system may cause Kadji's device to display a system message 166 indicating a number of the target recipients for the tags 162 and 164 as shown in FIG. 1, or a list of the target recipients. Col. 7, lines 43-62…When the user enters a message and add a tag “@On-Shift,” the user device may send the tag to the system, which may, in turn, generate and send, to the user device, a list of tags containing “On-Shift,” such as, “Cashier On-Shift,” “Florist On-Shift,” “Houseware On-Shift,” “Manager On-Shift,” etc. The received list of tags may be displayed via the user interface for selection by the user.)
Claims 18-19 are rejected under the same rationale as claims 14-15 respectively.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Shin et al. (Pub. No. US 2016/0202889) discloses a mobile terminal for efficiently sharing many images.
Inquiries
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THANH T VU whose telephone number is (571)272-4073. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 7AM - 3:30PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Fred Ehichioya can be reached at (571) 272-4034. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/THANH T VU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2179