DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed 8/14/2025 has been entered. Claims 6-7 have been cancelled. Claims 21-22 have been added. Claims 1-5, 8-17, and 20-22 remain pending in the application. Applicant’s amendments to the claims have overcome the objection stated in the previous Office Action.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 8/14/2025, have been fully considered and are moot upon a new ground(s) of rejection, as necessitated by amendment, as outlined below.
Prior Art
Listed herein below are the prior art references relied upon in this Office Action:
Mouawad (US Patent Number 11,144,854), referred to as Mouawad herein [previously presented].
Gauger (US Patent Application Publication 2007/0192156), referred to as Gauger herein [previously presented].
Werner et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2012/0169772), referred to as Werner herein.
Examiner’s Note
Strikethrough notation in the pending claims has been added by the Examiner.
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) 1-5, 8-17 and 20-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mouawad in view of Werner.
Regarding claim 1, Mouawad discloses an information processing method, comprising: receiving first task information; and displaying the received first task information at an interface for a first user (Mouawad, Figs. 5 and 41 with 10:54-11:3, 50:31-47 – task creation interface includes regions for inputting assignees and followers),
wherein the interface is a session interface of an instant messaging client in a form of a task card having a preset style (Mouawad, 30:50-60 – text message. 36:4-38 – chat messaging client. Fig. 37 with 47:8-38 – task notes);
displaying second task information in a task interface after a first preset control in the displayed first task information is triggered by an operation of the first user, wherein participant information of the first task information and participant information of the second task information are different (Mouawad, Figs. 5 and 41 with 10:54-11:3, 50:31-51:3 – users can fill out selections for followers and assignees via data entry controls),
and display regions for participants of corresponding task information are different from display regions for executors or creators of the corresponding task information; and in response to an operation on a second preset control in the first task information, displaying task detail information associated with the task in a
However, Mouawad appears not to expressly disclose the limitation in strikethrough above. However, in the same field of endeavor, Werner discloses an interface for modifying tasks information (Werner, Abstract and Figs. 3D, 4A with ¶0055, ¶0058 – virtual whiteboard including shape objects. Objects can represent tasks, processes or workflow elements), including
displaying task detail information associated with the object in a sidebar of the session interface (Werner, Figs. 3D, 4A with ¶0035, ¶0038, ¶0041-¶0042 – object has editable properties that are modified via a fact sheet interface. The fact sheet may be included as a side bar anchored to one side of the whiteboard).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the task interface of Mouawad to include a sidebar menu based on the teachings of Werner. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide the menu at a predicable and dedicated location within the interface so that it can be found easily, especially for busy or crowded interfaces.
Regarding claim 2, Mouawad as modified discloses the elements of claim 1 above, and further discloses wherein receiving first task information comprises receiving the first task information at the instant messaging client, and displaying second task information in a task interface comprises displaying the second task information in a task interface of the instant messaging client (Mouawad, 36:4-38 – chat messaging client).
Regarding claim 3, Mouawad as modified discloses the elements of claim 1 above, and further discloses when information of a preset field of the second task information is changed, sending a first notification message to a participant of the second task information, and sending a second notification message to an executor of the second task information or without sending the first notification message to an executor of the second task information (Mouawad, 11:11-21, 44-65 – added followers are able to receive team messages for the followed task. 12:65-13:19 – assignees also receive team messages for the assigned task. 13:25-33 – requestor can also receive team messages for the assigned task).
Regarding claim 4, Mouawad as modified discloses the elements of claim 1 above, and further discloses when information of a preset field of the second task information is changed, sending a third notification message to an executor of the second task information, and sending a fourth notification message to a participant of the participants of the second task information or without sending the third notification message to a participant of the participants of the second task information (Mouawad, 11:11-21, 44-65 – added followers are able to receive team messages for the followed task. 12:65-13:19 – assignees also receive team messages for the assigned task. 13:25-33 – requestor can also receive team messages for the assigned task).
Regarding claim 5, Mouawad as modified discloses the elements of claim 3 above, and further discloses wherein the preset field includes at least one of a title of a task, a content of the task, a deadline of the task, a participant of the participants of the second task information, an executor of the task, and a state of the task (Mouawad, Fig. 5 with 10:54-63 – title, description, target date, followers, assignee. 14:31-15:7 – “in progress”, “declined”, “overdue”, “complete”, “reopened” state),
Regarding claim 8, Mouawad as modified discloses the elements of claim 1 above, and further discloses wherein the task detail information includes the participant information of the first task information (Mouawad, 50:39-47 – detailed task information includes followers).
Regarding claim 9, Mouawad as modified discloses the elements of claim 2 above, and further discloses wherein the displaying second task information in the task interface of the instant messaging client after the first preset control in the first task information is triggered comprises: displaying task detail information associated with the first task information after the first preset control in the first task information is triggered; and displaying the second task information in the task interface of the instant messaging client after a third preset control in the task detail information is triggered (Mouawad, Figs. 5 and 41 with 10:54-11:3, 50:31-51:3 – users can fill out selections for followers and assignees via data entry controls).
Regarding claim 10, Mouawad as modified discloses the elements of claim 1 above, and further discloses wherein the displaying the second task information in the task interface comprises: displaying the second task information in a task interface that is different from a task interface displaying an executed or created task (Mouawad, Figs. 5 and 41 with 10:54-11:3, 50:31-51:3 – users can fill out selections for followers and assignees via data entry controls in the task interface for creating a new task).
Regarding claim 11, Mouawad as modified discloses the elements of claim 1 above, and further discloses wherein the task interface is configured to allow a participant of the participants of the second task information to view the second task information, but give no permission to a participant of the participants of the second task information to modify an executor, a creator, a deadline, or a remark content in the second task information (Mouawad, 11:44-54 – followers can see task details. Table 1 with 17:37-42 and 19:54-20:2 – follower permissions can be limited to viewing the project and leaving comments, unable to assign tasks (modify an executor or target date for example)).
Regarding claim 12, Mouawad as modified discloses the elements of claim 1 above, and further discloses wherein after the first preset control in the first task information is triggered, a fourth preset control is displayed at a position at which the first preset control is displayed, and the method further comprises: no longer displaying the second task information in the task interface after the fourth preset control is triggered (Mouawad, 11:22-43 – modifying the followers list, including removing all followers. An “x” may be placed next to followers for removal).
Regarding claim 13, Mouawad as modified discloses the elements of claim 1 above, and further discloses wherein after a third preset control in task detail information is triggered, a fifth preset control is displayed at a position at which the third preset control is displayed, and the method further comprises: no longer displaying the second task information in the task interface after the fifth preset control is triggered (Mouawad, 11:22-43 – modifying the followers list, including removing all followers. An “x” may be placed next to followers for removal).
Regarding claim 14, Mouawad as modified discloses the elements of claim 1 above, and further discloses wherein a task corresponding to the first task information comprises a completed task (Mouawad, 8:15-21, 12:37-41, 14:52-15:7 – completed tasks).
Regarding claim 15, Mouawad as modified discloses the elements of claim 1 above, and further discloses wherein the displaying the second task information in a task interface after the first preset control in the first task information is triggered comprises: determining a content of a preset field of the second task information based on information of a user executing an operation on the first preset control, wherein the content of the preset field includes a content associated with a participant of the participants of the second task information (Mowad, Fig. 3B-3C with 11:11-21 – followers are selected from colleagues. 9:44-10:2 – invited colleagues are managed in a colleague list).
Regarding claim 16, Mouawad discloses an information processing method, comprising: receiving first task information; display the received first task information at an interface for a first user (Mouawad, Figs. 5 and 41 with 10:54-11:3, 50:31-47 – task creation interface includes regions for inputting assignees and followers),
wherein the interface is a session interface of an instant messaging client in a form of a task card having a preset style (Mouawad, 30:50-60 – text message. 36:4-38 – chat messaging client. Fig. 37 with 47:8-38 – task notes);
obtaining second task information by modifying participant information of the first task information after a first preset control in the displayed first task information is triggered by an operation of the first user (Mouawad, Figs. 5 and 41 with 10:54-11:3, 50:31-51:3 – users can fill out selections for followers and assignees via data entry controls),
where the first task information includes a participant information set and an executor information set (Mouawad, Figs. 5 and 41 with 10:54-11:3, 50:31-51:3 – users can fill out selections for followers and assignees. Followers and assignees are shown in different corresponding sections of the interface); and
in response to an operation on a second preset control in the first task information, displaying task detail information associated with the task card in a
However, Mouawad appears not to expressly disclose the limitation in strikethrough above. However, in the same field of endeavor, Werner discloses an interface for modifying tasks information (Werner, Abstract and Figs. 3D, 4A with ¶0055, ¶0058 – virtual whiteboard including shape objects. Objects can represent tasks, processes or workflow elements), including
displaying task detail information associated with the object in a sidebar of the session interface (Werner, Figs. 3D, 4A with ¶0035, ¶0038, ¶0041-¶0042 – object has editable properties that are modified via a fact sheet interface. The fact sheet may be included as a side bar anchored to one side of the whiteboard).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the task interface of Mouawad to include a sidebar menu based on the teachings of Werner. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide the menu at a predictable and dedicated location within the interface so that it can be found easily, especially for busy or crowded interfaces.
Regarding claim 17, Nguyen discloses the elements of claim 16 above, and further discloses according to the executor information set, avoiding sending the first notification message to the executor of the second task information, or sending a second notification message to the executor of the second task information (Mouawad, 11:11-21, 44-65 – added followers are able to receive team messages for the followed task. 12:65-13:19 – assignees also receive team messages for the assigned task. 13:25-33 – requestor can also receive team messages for the assigned task).
Regarding claim 20, Mouawad discloses an information processing method, comprising: after a first preset control in first task information in a
displaying second task information in the
wherein the first task information is displayed in a session interface of an instant messaging client in a form of a task card having a preset style (Mouawad, 30:50-60 – text message. 36:4-38 – chat messaging client. Fig. 37 with 47:8-38 – task notes); and
in response to an operation on a second preset control in the first task information, displaying task detail information associated with the task card in a
However, Mouawad appears not to expressly disclose the limitation in strikethrough above. However, in the same field of endeavor, Werner discloses an interface for modifying tasks information (Werner, Abstract and Figs. 3D, 4A with ¶0055, ¶0058 – virtual whiteboard including shape objects. Objects can represent tasks, processes or workflow elements), including
displaying task detail information associated with the object in a sidebar of the session interface (Werner, Figs. 3D, 4A with ¶0035, ¶0038, ¶0041-¶0042 – object has editable properties that are modified via a fact sheet interface. The fact sheet may be included as a side bar anchored to one side of the whiteboard).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the task interface of Mouawad to include a sidebar menu based on the teachings of Werner. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide the menu at a predicable and dedicated location within the interface so that it can be found easily, especially for busy or crowded interfaces.
Regarding claim 21, Mouawad discloses the elements of claim 1 above, and further discloses wherein each of the participants of the corresponding task information is a user with a participant role associated with the corresponding task (Mouawad, Figs. 5 and 41 with 10:54-11:3, 50:31-51:3 – users can fill out selections for followers. 11:11-21 – followers are included in correspondence in the team relating to the task, but need not perform the actions of the task),
each of the executors of the corresponding task information is a user with an executor role associated with the corresponding task (Mouawad, Figs. 5 and 41 with 10:54-11:3, 50:31-51:3 – users can fill out selections for assignees. Assignees are users that the task is assigned to), and
each of the creators of the corresponding task information is a user with a creator role associated with the corresponding task (Mouawad, 14:7-30 – requestor is the assignor of the task).
Claim(s) 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mouawad in view of Werner in further view of Gauger.
Regarding claim 22, Mouawad discloses the elements of claim 1 above, and further discloses wherein a difference between the participant information of the first task information and the participant information of the second task information includes information for
wherein the difference comprising one of the following: the participant information of the first task information does not include information for
However, Mouawad as modified appears not to expressly disclose the limitation in strikethrough above. In particular, Mouawad appears not to expressly disclose that a follower can add or remove themselves from the task.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Gauger discloses a task assignment interface (Gauger, Abstract), including
wherein individuals can subscribe to or unsubscribe from task correspondence (Gauger, Fig. 2 with ¶0096, ¶0098, ¶0135, ¶0157, ¶0163, ¶0166).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the task interface of Mouawad to include enabling users to follower or unfollow tasks based on the teachings of Gauger. The motivation for doing so would have been to afford users greater control over their notifications, avoiding notifications which are unnecessary (Gauger, ¶0006).
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL W PARCHER whose telephone number is (303)297-4281. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00am - 5:00pm, Mountain Time.
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/DANIEL W PARCHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2174