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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This final action is in response to amendment filed on 06/16/2026. In this amendment, claims 1-6, 11-20 and 22 are amended. Claims 1-8, 10-20 and 22 are pending, with claims 1, 11 and 17 being independent.
Priority
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/538,744, filed on September 15, 2023, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/16/2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
Claim Objection
Objection is withdrawn in view of amended claims.
The Rejection of Claims Under §112
Rejection is withdrawn in view of amended claims.
Rejection of Claims Under§ 103
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 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.
Claim Objections
Claims 4, 14 and 20 are objected to because of underline words “the first-degree connections are weigthed more heavilty” (emphasis added).
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 4, 14 and 20 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. The claims recite “the first-degree connections are weigthed more heavilty than the activity”; however, there is no clear explanation for this subject matter described in the specification. The closet descriptions are figure 9 and paragraph 140 of the examined application which recite that friend 920 "J" of the connectivity network 926 and user 910 "A" have five friends in common, the threshold 907 may be having five friends in common and the activity 921 would be determined based on the activity 921 between "J" and "C", "J" and "D", "J" and "E", and "J" and "G". In other words, the closest descriptions indicate the activity would be determined based on the activity between user “J” and each friend in common; however, it is not the same as the first-degree connections are weighted more heavily than the activity as recited in the claims.
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 of this title, 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 1-4, 7, 11-14 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zadeh et al. (US 2013/0145288, Pub. Date: Jun. 6, 2013), in view of Yamamoto et al. (US 2015/0046542, Pub. Date: Feb. 12, 2015), in view of Jagadish et al. (US 2009/0271370, Pub. Date: Oct. 29, 2009).
As per claim 1, Zadeh discloses a computing device (Zadeh fig. 1 and para. [0026], The present invention may be implemented as computer software on a conventional computer system. Referring now to FIG. 1, a conventional computer system 150 for practicing the present invention is shown) comprising:
one or more processors (Zadeh fig. 1, Processor 160); and
one or more memories (Zadeh fig. 1, Storage 162) storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, configure the one or more processors to perform operations (Zadeh fig. 1, Storage 162 and para. [0026], Processor 160 retrieves and executes software instructions stored in storage 162 such as memory, which may be Random Access Memory (RAM) and may control other components to perform the present invention) comprising:
accessing a location of a user system of a user (Zadeh fig. 3, user systems 310 and para. [0039], location information, including the GPS coordinates of the user or the user's device, may be received on a regularly repeating basis whenever such information is available), the user being a member of an interaction platform (Zadeh para. [0037], social network access information received from the user as part of step 212 and with the user's permission may be used to access the user's social network account via the social networking website, and social networking data corresponding to the user's account may be retrieved);
determining a list of nearby users, the list of nearby users comprising nearby users that have value of connectivity (Per specification of examined application, paragraph 23 and 140 indicate that the level or value of connectivity value is determined based on having a number of common connections and the connectivity value is a number of connections between the user and nearby users; Zadeh para. [0072], If the selected other user ("second user") is not identified as a friend of the selected user 232, then a compatibility score and popularity score may be determined for the second user 238 … social networking data for both users may be used to determine if the two users share any mutual friends [value of connectivity] … the compatibility score for a user that shares interests and/or social network friends with the selected user may be higher than the compatibility score for a user that does not share any interests or mutual social network friends with the selected user), the list of nearby users associated with nearby user systems (Zadeh fig. 3, user systems 310; Zadeh para. [0111], A user registers with the server system 320, or logs in to the server system 320, using user system 310 that may include a conventional wireless communication device, such as a cell phone, with a conventional browser coupled to the Internet using suitable communications techniques), the nearby user systems (Zadeh fig. 3, user systems 310 and para. [0117], GPS receipt manager 416 may receive location information for a user at regular intervals, such as every 5 seconds or any other interval, as conventional current location coordinates (i.e. latitude, longitude) from handset GPS manager 516 of user system 310) transgressing a minimum threshold distance from the location of the user system (Zadeh para. [0060], Other users within the selected user's maximum distance or within a base or other maximum distance from a nearby public meeting space that is within the user's maximum distance are identified 226. In one embodiment, location information received for the user and for other users may be used to identify other users within such distance thresholds. [Within the selected user's maximum distance is understood as from 0 to the selected user's maximum distance i.e., 0 is corresponding to the minimum threshold distance from the location of the user system]),
causing to be displayed, on a screen of the user system (Zadeh fig.5, handset user interface manager 570), indications of the nearby users of the list of nearby users (Zadeh para. [0015], The user may view a list of the displayed other users nearby to that user, along with information about that other user such as the distance between the user and the other user …. The user may click on a link for the other user to display the profile of the other user, a link to send a friend request to the other user) and user interface items for the user to send a friend request to a corresponding nearby user of the list of nearby users (Zadeh para. [0150], If the user requests to send a message to the selected nearby potential match, such clicking on a send message link provided by handset user interface manager 570).
Zadeh does not explicitly disclose:
nearby users that transgress a threshold connectivity, wherein connectivity is determined based on a number of first-degree connections with the user weighted based on an activity between the user and a corresponding nearby user of the list of nearby users;
wherein the user transgresses the threshold connectivity for being nearby to each nearby user of the list of nearby users.
Yamamoto teaches:
users that transgress a threshold connectivity, wherein connectivity is determined based on a number of first-degree connections with the user (Per specification of examined application, paragraph 23 and 140 indicate that the level or value of connectivity value is determined based on having a number of common connections and the connectivity value is a number of connections between the user and nearby users. Yamamoto para. [0104], The suggest unit 214 adds a user, who has common friends in the friend list, to the suggest list of the server memory 20 as a friend candidate. The operation example (F) may be performed when the number of the common friends is equal to or more than a predetermined number, for example, three);
wherein the user transgresses the threshold connectivity for being suggested to each user of the list of users (per paragraph 141 of examined application indicates users must transgress the threshold to be eligible for the list of nearby users for one another. Yamamoto para. [0104], (F) The suggest unit 214 adds a user, who has common friends in the friend list, to the suggest list of the server memory 20 as a friend candidate. The operation example (F) may be performed when the number of the common friends is equal to or more than a predetermined number, for example, three; Yamamoto para. [0079], the chatting control unit 14 has a friend recommendation function, determines other user to be recommended to the registered user, as a friend candidate. [the citation indicates the same predetermined number of common friends (3) is applied to all users in a chat system for friend recommendation. In other words, users must transgress the threshold to be recommended to other users]).
It would been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Zadeh in view of Yamamoto in order to incorporate applying transgressing a threshold connectivity, wherein connectivity is determined based on a number of first-degree connections with the user to determine a list of other users and the user transgresses the threshold connectivity for being nearby to each nearby user of the list of nearby users.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motived because it offers the advantage of efficiently recognizing users having a higher intimacy for friend suggestion (see Yamamoto para. [0033]).
Zadeh-Yamamoto does not explicitly disclose:
wherein connectivity is weighted based on an activity between the user and a corresponding nearby user of the list of nearby users.
Jagadish teaches:
connectivity is weighted based on an activity between the user and a corresponding user of the list of users (per fig. 9 and paragraph 141 of examined application indicate that the connectivity value 937 would then have to be determined between user 910 "J" and user 910 "A". For example, the activity 921 would be determined based on the activity 921 between "J" and "C", "J" and "D", "J" and "E", and "J" and "G". In other words, connectivity is based on activity with common friends. Jagadish fig. 7, 700B and para. [0077], contact A includes within a contact list, contacts B-E, while contact B includes at least contacts F-G; contact C includes at least H-I; contact D includes at least contact F; and contact E includes at least H. In other words, F and A have B, D are common contacts; G and A have B, C are common contacts etc., Jagadish fig. 7, 700B and para. [0081], edges of the friends graph can be weighted by a normalized score of an amount of interactions between users and its friends … the diffusion model can be applied to this graph where the energy is disseminated relative to the strength (edge weights) between users; Jagadish fig. 5, block 503&508 and para. [0118], At block 508, the list of ordered candidates may be further trimmed by inhibiting a display of those candidates that fall below the minimum threshold … for graph 700B, with the threshold at 0.1, all of contacts H, G, F, and contact I would be displayed to the requesting user).
It would been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to further modify Zadeh in view of Jagadish for connectivity is weighted based on an activity between the user and a corresponding nearby user of the list of nearby users.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motived because it offers the advantage of providing list of candidate friends based on interactions between users and their friends (see Jagadish para. [0081, 0118]).
As per claim 2, Zadeh-Yamamoto-Jagadish discloses the device according to claim 1, as set forth above, Zadeh does not explicitly disclose wherein the number of first-degree connections with the user is for the user and the corresponding nearby user to have within an interaction platform.
Yamamoto teaches:
number of first-degree connections with the user is for the user and the corresponding nearby user to have within an interaction platform (Yamamoto para. [0104], (F) The suggest unit 214 adds a user, who has common friends in the friend list, to the suggest list of the server memory 20 as a friend candidate. The operation example (F) may be performed when the number of the common friends is equal to or more than a predetermined number, for example, three; Yamamoto para. [0070], the server 10 has a friend recommendation function of recommending a friend in the chatting system).
It would been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to further modify Zadeh in view of Yamamoto for the number of first-degree connections with the user is for the user and the corresponding nearby user to have within an interaction platform.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motived because it offers the advantage of recommending a friend in the chatting system (Yamamoto para. [0070]).
As per claim 3, Zadeh-Yamamoto-Jagadish discloses the device according to claim 1, as set forth above, Zadeh does not explicitly disclose wherein the number of first-degree connections with the user is for the user and the corresponding other nearby user to have outside an interaction platform or within the interaction platform.
Yamamoto teaches:
number of first-degree connections with the user is for the user and the corresponding other nearby user to have outside the an interaction platform or within the interaction platform (Yamamoto para. [0104], (F) The suggest unit 214 adds a user, who has common friends in the friend list, to the suggest list of the server memory 20 as a friend candidate. The operation example (F) may be performed when the number of the common friends is equal to or more than a predetermined number, for example, three; Yamamoto para. [0070], the server 10 has a friend recommendation function of recommending a friend in the chatting system).
It would been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to further modify Zadeh in view of Yamamoto for the number of first-degree connections with the user is for the user and the corresponding other nearby user to have outside an interaction platform or within the interaction platform.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motived because it offers the advantage of recommending a friend in the chatting system (Yamamoto para. [0070]).
As per claim 4, Zadeh-Yamamoto-Jagadish discloses the device according to claim 1, as set forth above, Zadeh does not explicitly disclose the first-degree connections are weigthed more heavilty than the activity.
Jagadish teaches:
first-degree connections are weigthed more heavilty than the activity (Jagadish fig. 4-5 and para. [0107], At block 414 of FIG. 4, a search is performed upon the contact lists of the subset of contacts to identify common friends. Using the graph 600 of FIG. 6, those contacts having more than one friend in common would then be: W (4), X(3), Y(2), Z(3), and Y1(2, where the number in parenthesis indicates a number of other contacts that contact is found to be in common; Jagadish fig. 4-5, Rank Candidates using Selected Ordering Mechanism (See Fig. 5) at 422 and Rank Candidates Using Weight Traversal at 506; Jagadish para. [0081], edges of the friends graph can be weighted by a normalized score of an amount of interactions between users and its friends; Jagadish fig. 5, block 503&508 and para. [0118], At block 508, the list of ordered candidates may be further trimmed by inhibiting a display of those candidates that fall below the minimum threshold … for graph 700B, with the threshold at 0.1, all of contacts H, G, F, and contact I would be displayed to the requesting user. [these citations indicate identifying common friends (i.e., first-degree connections) must happen first in order to perform weighting the edges of the friends graph based on an amount of interactions (i.e., activity) between friends. In other words, first-degree connections are weighted more heavily than the activity]).
It would been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to further modify Zadeh in view of Jagadish for the first-degree connections are weigthed more heavilty than the activity.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motived because it offers the advantage of providing list of candidate friends based on interactions between users and their friends (see Jagadish para. [0081, 0118]).
As per claim 7, Zadeh-Yamamoto-Jagadish discloses the device according to claim 1, as set forth above, Zadeh also discloses wherein the operations further comprise:
receiving an indication that the user is sharing location information (Zadeh para. [0117], GPS receipt manager 416 may receive location information for a user at regular intervals, such as every 5 seconds or any other interval, as conventional current location coordinates (i.e. latitude, longitude) from handset GPS manager 516 of user system 310, along with the user identifier of the user for which the location information is received. Handset GPS manager 516 may read such location coordinates from a conventional GPS receiver (not shown), at intervals or at any time, and handset GPS manager 516 may send such information to GPS receipt manager 416).
Per claims 11-14, they do not teach or further define over the limitations in claims 1-4 respectively. As such, claims 11-14 are rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claims 1-4 respectively.
Per claims 17-20, they do not teach or further define over the limitations in claims 1-4 respectively. As such, claims 17-20 are rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claims 1-4 respectively.
Claims 5 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zadeh et al. (US 2013/0145288, Pub. Date: Jun. 6, 2013), in view of Yamamoto et al. (US 2015/0046542, Pub. Date: Feb. 12, 2015), in view of Jagadish et al. (US 2009/0271370, Pub. Date: Oct. 29, 2009), in view of Char et al. (US 12,315,085, Filed: Mar. 27, 2023).
As per claim 5, Zadeh-Yamamoto-Jagadish discloses the device according to claim 1, as set forth above, Zadeh does not explicitly disclose wherein the threshold connectivity is determined based on an age of the user.
Char teaches:
threshold is determined based on an age of the user (Char col. 8 lines 30-32, the user-specific suggestion criteria include a respective age threshold (e.g., the user 115 and a suggested user are within a predetermined age range (e.g., within 2 years, 5 years, 10 years))).
It would been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to further modify Zadeh in view of Char for the threshold connectivity is determined based on an age of the user.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motived because it offers the advantage of identifying other users that are compatible with the user.
Per claim 15, it does not teach or further define over the limitations in claim 5. As such, claim 15 is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 5.
Claims 6 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zadeh et al. (US 2013/0145288, Pub. Date: Jun. 6, 2013), in view of Yamamoto et al. (US 2015/0046542, Pub. Date: Feb. 12, 2015), in view of Jagadish et al. (US 2009/0271370, Pub. Date: Oct. 29, 2009), in view of Rusu et al. (US 10,212,555, Date of Patent: Feb.19,2019).
As per claim 6, Zadeh-Yamamoto-Jagadish discloses the device according to claim 1, as set forth above, Zadeh-Yamamoto also discloses wherein the user is a first user (Zadeh para. [0011], With respect to a selected other user who is not a friend of the selected user), the user system is a first user system (Zadeh fig. 3, user system 310), the location is a first location (Zadeh para. [0039], location information, including the GPS coordinates of the user or the user's device, may be received on a regularly repeating basis whenever such information is available), and wherein the operations further comprise:
determine that the first user transgresses the minimum threshold distance of a second location of a system of a second user (Zadeh para. [0060], Other users within the selected user's maximum distance or within a base or other maximum distance from a nearby public meeting space that is within the user's maximum distance are identified 226. In one embodiment, location information received for the user and for other users may be used to identify other users within such distance thresholds. [Within the selected user's maximum distance is understood as from 0 to the selected user's maximum distance. 0 is corresponding to the minimum threshold distance from the location of the user system]) and a connectivity between the first user and the second user transgresses the threshold connectivity (Yamamoto para. [0104], The suggest unit 214 adds a user, who has common friends in the friend list, to the suggest list of the server memory 20 as a friend candidate. The operation example (F) may be performed when the number of the common friends is equal to or more than a predetermined number, for example, three).
Similar rationale in claim 1 is applied.
Zadeh does not explicitly disclose:
in response to the first user not sharing location information, cause to be displayed on a screen of the first user system, a user interface item for the first user to share location information.
Rusu teaches:
in response to the first user not sharing location information, cause to be displayed on a screen of the first user system, a user interface item for the first user to share location information (Rusu fig. 4&6 and col. 11 lines 23-26, At 609, a recommendation to enable location sharing is provided to the device associated with the user. The recommendation 169 may be for the device to ask the user if they would like to enable location sharing).
It would been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to further modify Zadeh in view of Rusu for in response to the first user not sharing location information, cause to be displayed on a screen of the first user system, a user interface item for the first user to share location information.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motived because it offers the advantage of enabling the user and others to view their proximities (see Rusu fig. 5).
Per claim 16, it does not teach or further define over the limitations in claim 6. As such, claim 16 is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 5.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zadeh et al. (US 2013/0145288, Pub. Date: Jun. 6, 2013), in view of Yamamoto et al. (US 2015/0046542, Pub. Date: Feb. 12, 2015), in view of Jagadish et al. (US 2009/0271370, Pub. Date: Oct. 29, 2009), in view of Snavely et al. (US 2010/0299060, Pub. Date: Nov. 25, 2010).
As per claim 8, Zadeh-Yamamoto-Jagadish discloses the device according to claim 1, as set forth above, Zadeh does not explicitly disclose wherein the operations further comprise:
determining based on the location of the user system whether the user system is within a restricted location; and
in response to the user system being within the restricted location, turning off sharing location information.
Snavely teaches:
determining based on the location of the user system (Snavely para. [0019], method 300 may advance to stage 320 where computing device 400 may receive information about the user. For example, cellular telephone 220 may receive a current location from a GPS component of cellular telephone 220) whether the user system is within a restricted location (Snavely para. [0020], Once computing device 400 receives the user information in stage 320, method 300 may continue to stage 330 where computing device 400 may determine whether to share the information according to the rule; Snavely para. [0018], The rule may comprise, for example, a parameter restricting sharing of the user's information according to a time duration, a distance and/or proximity to another user, and/or a distance and/or proximity to another location); and
in response to the user system being within the restricted location, turning off sharing location information (Snavely para. [0021], If, at stage 330, computing device 400 determines that the information should not be shared, method 300 may end at stage 365; Snavely para. [0028], rules may be created that restrict sharing of a user's location if the user is within a certain proximity of another user and/or another location … The rule may disable sharing of the attendee's location if they are in proximity to certain other locations, such as a restroom).
It would been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to further modify Zadeh in view of Snavely for determining based on the location of the user system whether the user system is within a restricted location; and in response to the user system being within the restricted location, turning off sharing location information.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motived because it offers the advantage of providing privacy options for user in sharing location.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zadeh et al. (US 2013/0145288, Pub. Date: Jun. 6, 2013), in view of Yamamoto et al. (US 2015/0046542, Pub. Date: Feb. 12, 2015), in view of Jagadish et al. (US 2009/0271370, Pub. Date: Oct. 29, 2009), in view of Zhang et al. (US 2019/0095868, Pub. Date: Mar. 28, 2019).
As per claim 10, Zadeh-Yamamoto-Jagadish discloses the device according to claim 1, as set forth above, Zadeh does not explicitly disclose wherein the computing device is the user system.
Zhang teaches:
the computing device is the user system (Zhang fig. 2, Platform Server 206 and Sending Client 202-1 and para. [0073], FIGS. 3A-4 depict exemplary logic for carrying out the interactions described above. Although these figures describe exemplary operations as being performed on a server device, it is understood that any of the described steps may be performed on either the client or the server, as appropriate).
It would been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to further modify Zadeh in view of Zhang for the computing device is the user system.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motived because it offers the advantage of flexibility in implementing system.
Claim 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zadeh et al. (US 2013/0145288, Pub. Date: Jun. 6, 2013), in view of Yamamoto et al. (US 2015/0046542, Pub. Date: Feb. 12, 2015), in view of Jagadish et al. (US 2009/0271370, Pub. Date: Oct. 29, 2009), in view of Moscaritolo (NPL: Facebook Launches 'Nearby Friends' on IOS, Android, Pub. Date: Apr. 17, 2014).
As per claim 22, Zadeh-Yamamoto-Jagadish discloses the device according to claim 1, as set forth above, Yamamoto also discloses wherein a minimum threshold number of first- degree connections is set by the interaction platform (Yamamoto para. [0104], The suggest unit 214 adds a user, who has common friends in the friend list, to the suggest list of the server memory 20 as a friend candidate. The operation example (F) may be performed when the number of the common friends is equal to or more than a predetermined number, for example, three).
Similar rationale in claim 1 is applied.
Zadeh does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the determining is performed only when both the user and the list of nearby users have activated location sharing within the interaction platform, and wherein the indications indicate locations of the nearby users in association with named geographic areas.
Moscaritolo teaches:
determining is performed only when both the user and the list of nearby users have activated location sharing within the interaction platform (Moscaritolo pg. 2, Location sharing with Nearby Friends is a two-way street, meaning someone will only see that you're nearby if you share this information with them, and vice versa, Vaccari said. “You and your friends both have to turn on Nearby Friends and choose to share with each other to see when you're nearby,"), and wherein the indications indicate locations of the nearby users in association with named geographic areas (Moscaritolo pg. 3, figure displaying list of friends are near San Francisco, CA with named geographic areas e.g., Pierre Morrels [Castro] and Jason Jun Ge [Marina]; Moscaritolo pg. 2, The new feature can also help you easily share your exact location with friends, if you want. You can, for instance, share your particular location with a certain friend for a set period of time, like for the next hour. When you take advantage of this option, your friend will see exactly where you are on a map, so you can easily locate each other).
It would been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to further modify Zadeh in view of Moscaritolo for the determining is performed only when both the user and the list of nearby users have activated location sharing within the interaction platform, and wherein the indications indicate locations of the nearby users in association with named geographic areas.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motived because it offers the advantage of ensuring safety and providing insight about nearby friends.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Vaccari et al. (US 2022/0382357) Nearby Friend Notifications On Online Social Networks;
Chen et al. (US 20240069690) Information Processing Method, Electronic Device, And Storage Medium;
He et al. (US 20160070770) Suggesting Social Groups From User Social Graphs;
Kaal et al. (US 20110113149) Contact Information In A Peer To Peer Communications Network.
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 VINH NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-4487. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM.
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/VINH NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2453
/KAMAL B DIVECHA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2453
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