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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. JP2022-196209, filed on 12/08/2022.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/04/2023 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 12/04/2023. These drawings are acceptable.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 2, 9, 10, 15 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Zavesky et al. (hereinafter “Zavesky”, US2024/0112280) in view of Fisher (hereinafter “Fisher”, US2013/0006733) and further in view of Dotan-Cohen et al. (hereinafter “Dotan-Cohen”, US2019/0205839).
Regarding claim 1, 9 and 15, Zavesky discloses A non-transitory storage medium processing apparatus comprising: at least one memory configured to store one or more instructions; and at least one processor configured to execute the one or more instructions to processing method: (i.e., A non-transitory machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising. As described in claim 19).
Zavesky discloses Determine one or a plurality of reference users having a predetermined relationship with a target user whose activity area in a target period is to be estimated, based on post information posted on social media by each user within a search period being set based on the target period; (i.e., In embodiments where the user identity is a first user identity, the operations can further comprise, based on the distributing of the experience token, determining that user input, associated with a second user identity that is a member of the group of user identities, As described in paragraph [0016]). And In some aspects, the value of a particular attributable identity token can be determined as a function of the volume of attributable identity tokens that are exchanged within defined periods of time, As described in paragraph [0035])
Zavesky discloses all limitations recited within claims as described above, but does not expressly disclose: Estimate an activity area of the reference user in the target period; and decide an activity area of the target user in the target period, based on an activity area of the reference user in the target period.
In a similar endeavor, Fisher discloses Estimate an activity area of the reference user in the target period; (i.e., The method may further comprise determining the user activity within a set or variable periods of time, wherein the user activity is measured in activity points. The method may further comprise assigning a rank to the user or connected members depending on their activity points, As described in paragraph [0012]).
And Dotan-Cohen further discloses decide an activity area of the target user in the target period, based on an activity area of the reference user in the target period. (i.e., Information about user activity history from the other users may be relied upon for inferring patterns of user activity for a given user, As described in paragraph [0027]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Dotan-Cohen and Fisher into the invention of Zavesky in order to provide a solution for a problem of improving precision in decision in a technique for deciding an activity area of a target user, based on information of another person.
Regarding claim 2, 10 and 16, Zavesky, Fisher and Dotan-Cohen disclose all limitations recited within claims as described above, but does not expressly disclose: wherein the processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to determine a user having a connection with the target user on social media, and
determine the reference user from among determined users, based on the post information of a determined user within the search period.
In a similar endeavor, Fisher discloses wherein the processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to determine a user having a connection with the target user on social media, (i.e., the method may further comprise determining the relationships among connected members in different two or more social media sites., As described in paragraph [0012]).
And determine the reference user from among determined users, based on the post information of a determined user within the search period.. (i.e., the determining of one or more connected members includes determining of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree of connection relationship between the user and connected members., As described in paragraph [0010]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Fisher into the invention of Zavesky, Fisher and Dotan-Cohen in order to provide a solution for a problem of improving precision in decision in a technique for deciding an activity area of a target user, based on information of another person.
Claims 3, 11 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Zavesky et al. (hereinafter “Zavesky”, US2024/0112280) in view of Fisher (hereinafter “Fisher”, US2013/0006733) and Dotan-Cohen et al. (hereinafter “Dotan-Cohen”, US2019/0205839), and further in view of Øhrn (hereinafter “Øhrn”, US2021/0233037).
Regarding claim 3, 11 and 17, Zavesky, Fisher and Dotan-Cohen disclose all limitations recited within claims as described above, but does not expressly disclose: wherein the predetermined relationship includes at least one of having posted an image including the target user within the search period, having posted a message mentioning the target user within the search period, having posted the post information in which the target user is tagged within the search period, and having been in a same place at same timing as the target user within the search period.
In a similar endeavor, Øhrn discloses wherein the predetermined relationship includes at least one of having posted an image including the target user within the search period, having posted a message mentioning the target user within the search period, having posted the post information in which the target user is tagged within the search period (i.e., Interactions between users may be in the form of electronic communications that include, for example and without limitation, email; text messages; instant message, including group chats; social media communications, which may include tags, likes, comments, and comments to tweets, posts, snaps, picture-grams, As described in paragraph [0060]).
and Øhrn further discloses having been in a same place at same timing as the target user within the search period, (i.e., Another pair of meeting attendees may be determined to live in the same city, have 120 common “friends” on a social media platform, support the same charitable organization, and frequently shop at the same stores.., As described in paragraph [0066]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Øhrn into the invention of Zavesky, Fisher and Dotan-Cohen in order to provide a solution for a problem of improving precision in decision in a technique for deciding an activity area of a target user, based on information of another person.
Claims 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Zavesky et al. (hereinafter “Zavesky”, US2024/0112280) in view of Fisher (hereinafter “Fisher”, US2013/0006733) and Dotan-Cohen et al. (hereinafter “Dotan-Cohen”, US2019/0205839), and further in view of McCoy et al. (hereinafter “McCoy”, US2018/0285362).
Regarding claim 4, 12, and 18, Zavesky, Fisher and Dotan-Cohen disclose all limitations recited within claims as described above, but does not expressly disclose: wherein the processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to set a weight for each of a plurality of the reference users, based on the post information of each of a plurality of the reference users within the search period, and
decide an activity area of the target user in the target period, based on an activity area of each of a plurality of the reference users in the target period and a weight of each of a plurality of the reference users.
In a similar endeavor, Fisher discloses wherein the processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to set a weight for each of a plurality of the reference users, based on the post information of each of a plurality of the reference users within the search period, (i.e., Each activity action can be assigned with activity points. Amount of activity points may vary depending on the action and a number of actions. In addition, tracking of user activity can be performed within certain time limits or variable time limits. As described in paragraph [0048]).
And McCoy further discloses decide an activity area of the target user in the target period, based on an activity area of each of a plurality of the reference users in the target period and a weight of each of a plurality of the reference users., (i.e., the scoring platform may identify users associated with the data objects, may identify relationships between the users and/or other users based on the data objects and/or connections between the users and/or other users, and may perform actions based on information identifying the scores and/or users., As described in paragraph [0028]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Fisher and McCoy into the invention of Zavesky, Fisher and Dotan-Cohen in order to provide a solution for a problem of improving precision in decision in a technique for deciding an activity area of a target user, based on information of another person.
Regarding claim 5, 13 and 19, Fisher, Dotan-Cohen and McCoy disclose all limitations recited within claims as described above, but does not expressly disclose: wherein the processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to set the weight, based on at least one of a number of images including the target user posted within the search period, a number of messages mentioning the target user posted within the search period, and
a number of pieces of the post information in which the target user is tagged posted within the search period.
In a similar endeavor, McCoy further discloses wherein the processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to set the weight, based on at least one of a number of images including the target user posted within the search period, a number of messages mentioning the target user posted within the search period, and
a number of pieces of the post information in which the target user is tagged posted within the search period., (i.e., As shown in FIG. 1D, and by reference number 130, the scoring platform may assign a score to the data object based on the received text data, image data, and location data., As described in paragraph [0024]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of McCoy into the invention of Fisher, Dotan-Cohen and McCoy in order to provide a solution for a problem of improving precision in decision in a technique for deciding an activity area of a target user, based on information of another person.
Regarding claim 6, 14 and 20 Fisher, Dotan-Cohen and McCoy disclose all limitations recited within claims as described above, but does not expressly disclose: wherein the processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to set the weight, based on at least one of a number of days having posted an image including the target user within the search period, a number of days having posted a message mentioning the target user within the search period, and
a number of days having posted the post information in which the target user is tagged within the search period.
In a similar endeavor, McCoy discloses wherein the processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to set the weight, based on at least one of a number of days having posted an image including the target user within the search period, a number of days having posted a message mentioning the target user within the search period, and
a number of days having posted the post information in which the target user is tagged within the search period. (i.e., wherein the scores are aggregated over a period of time. As described in claim 8).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of McCoy into the invention of Fisher, Dotan-Cohen and McCoy in order to provide a solution for a problem of improving precision in decision in a technique for deciding an activity area of a target user, based on information of another person.
Regarding claim 7, Zavesky, Fisher and Dotan-Cohen discloses all limitations recited within claims as described above, but does not expressly disclose: wherein a number of pieces of the post information posted on social media by the target user within the target period is less than a reference value.
In a similar endeavor, McCoy discloses wherein a number of pieces of the post information posted on social media by the target user within the target period is less than a reference value. (i.e., In some implementations, scoring platform 220 may identify a new value to be associated with a predefined element based on aggregating the scores. For example, scoring platform 220 may determine that a particular value (e.g., word, phrase, image, video, user, location, and/or the like) occurs in a set of data objects associated with scores that satisfy a threshold. As described in paragraph [0079]. As used herein, satisfying a threshold may refer to a value being greater than the threshold, more than the threshold, higher than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, fewer than the threshold, lower than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, etc. As described in paragraph [0090]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of McCoy into the invention of Zavesky, Fisher and Dotan-Cohen in order to provide a solution for a problem of improving precision in decision in a technique for deciding an activity area of a target user, based on information of another person.
Claims 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Zavesky et al. (hereinafter “Zavesky”, US2024/0112280) in view of Fisher (hereinafter “Fisher”, US2013/0006733) and Dotan-Cohen et al. (hereinafter “Dotan-Cohen”, US2019/0205839), and further in view of TSUBOUCHI et al. (hereinafter “TSUBOUCHI”, US2022/0316915).
Regarding claim 8, Zavesky, Fisher and Dotan-Cohen discloses all limitations recited within claims as described above, but does not expressly disclose: wherein the processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to have a first mode that decides an activity area of the target user in the target period, based on the post information posted by the target user, and a second mode that decides an activity area of the target user in the target period, based on an activity area of the reference user in the target period, execute the first mode when a number of pieces of the post information posted on social media by the target user within the target period is equal to or more than a reference value, and
execute the second mode when a number of pieces of the post information posted on social media by the target user within the target period is less than the reference value.
In a similar endeavor, Zavesky discloses wherein the processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to have a first mode that decides an activity area of the target user in the target period, based on the post information posted by the target user, . (i.e., identifying, based on the social media data, a location of the location data and a time corresponding to the location, and determining, based on the location and the time, that a user associated with the user identity attended an event that took place at the location and the time, As described in paragraph [0015]).
and Dotan-Cohen discloses a second mode that decides an activity area of the target user in the target period, based on an activity area of the reference user in the target period, (i.e., Information about user activity history from the other users may be relied upon for inferring patterns of user activity for a given user, As described in paragraph [0027]).
Similarly, TSUBOUCHI discloses execute the first mode when a number of pieces of the post information posted on social media by the target user within the target period is equal to or more than a reference value, (i.e., The decision unit 153 executes determination processing. The decision unit 153 determines whether the position value of the addition candidate data is a threshold or more. When the position value of the addition candidate data is the threshold or more, the decision unit 153 decides to add the addition candidate data to the data set. As described in paragraph [0095]). and execute the second mode when a number of pieces of the post information posted on social media by the target user within the target period is less than the reference value.. (i.e., , When the position value of the addition candidate data is not the threshold or more, the decision unit 153 decides not to add the addition candidate data to the data set. As described in paragraph [0095]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Zavesky, Dotan-Cohen and TSUBOUCHI into the invention of Zavesky, Fisher and Dotan-Cohen in order to provide a solution for a problem of improving precision in decision in a technique for deciding an activity area of a target user, based on information of another person.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIC M. VO whose telephone number is (571)272-9854. The examiner can normally be reached T-F; 7:30 - 5:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kathy Wang-Hurst can be reached at 571-270-5371. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Eric M. Vo/ Examiner, Art Unit 2644
/KATHY W WANG-HURST/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2644