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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 8/26/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments and amendments filed 7/31/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The Examiner notes that the amendments do not overcome the previous prior art rejection of record. The amendments have broadened the independent claims. Applicant has amended the claims to only require that user-variable content is categorized into one or more of multiple options of categories (which has converted this portion of the claim into a markush claim, wherein only one of the items listed in the markush listing is required to be met). Therefore, instead of the Examiner being required to find delayable and non-delayable content, the claims now require the Examiner to find a single category. The Examiner has eliminated the secondary Craner reference and has now applied a 102 rejection using the Oswal reference (see the updated rejection below).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4, 6-7, 9-12 and 14, 16-17, 20 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Oswal et al. (WO 2017/103004).
Referring to claim 1, Oswal discloses a media distribution management unit for providing multi-content media to a plurality of users, each user having a respective user profile (see Page 2, Lines 5-16).
Oswal also discloses mapping, in accordance with the respective user profiles of users, user-variable content into a first media streams comprising main content (see Figure 6 and Page 23, Line 25 through Page 25, Line 5 for the user-variable content being scenes contained within the main video content), wherein the user-variable content is categorized into delayable content and immediate, non-delayable content (see Figure 6 and Page 23, Line 25 through Page 25, Line 5 for the user-variable content being scenes contained within the main video content, wherein the user-variable content is non-delayable by allowing scenes of the content to be viewed and delayable by blocking to view content of scenes that have been determined to be objectionable by a parent or guardian).
Oswal also discloses schedule, in accordance with the content categories of user variable content, playback of the plurality of media streams comprising the main content and the user-variable content (see Page 23, Line 25 through Page 25, Line 20 and Figures 6-7 for displaying the video content with objectionable scenes to be replaced or obscured for other users with AR glasses and allowing the parent to decide which scenes are to be replaced or obscured).
Oswal also discloses playback, in accordance with the schedule, the plurality of media streams comprising the main content and the user-variable content to the plurality of users, wherein the user-variable content is rendered to the respective users according to the one or more content categories in which the user-variable content is categorized (see Figures 8 and 10 and Page 26, Lines 6-18 for displaying the video content with objectionable scenes in an unmodified manner (non-delayable) and a modified manner (delayable)).
Referring to claim 2, Oswal also discloses allocating a respective channel for the respective user-variable content (see Page 13, Lines 21-28 for transmitting the content over well-known television transmission systems, therefore transmitting content over television channels).
Referring to claim 4, Oswal also discloses reallocating the channels for at least two of the users in accordance with their respective profiles and available content (see Page 13, Lines 21-28 in conjunction with Page 24, Line 24 through Page 25, Line 5).
Referring to claim 6, Oswal also discloses communicating with a screen for showing on each allocated channel the first stream and the respective user-variable content (see Page 4, Line 30 to Page 4, Line 2).
Referring to claim 7, Oswal also discloses mapping user-variable content in accordance with at least one of: allowable content, forbidden content and additional content (see Figure 6 and Page 23, Line 25 to Page 25, Line 5).
Referring to claim 9, Oswal also discloses that the user-variable content comprises updated information on ongoing events or alternative views of a scene (see Page 25, Lines 15-20).
Referring to claim 10, Oswell discloses performing an authentication process before activation of the media distribution management unit (see Page 24, Lines 28-31 for authenticating that all scenes are approved before receiving the approved scenes, thereby authenticating receipt of content before receiving/activation of the media distribution management unit).
Referring to claims 11-12 and 14, 16-17 and 20, see the rejection of claims 1-2, 4 and 6-7 and 10, respectively.
Referring to claim 24, see the rejection of claim 1.
Claims 3 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oswal et al. (WO 2017/103004) in view of Elwell et al. (U.S. Patent No. 8,687,054).
Referring to claims 3 and 13, Oswal discloses all of the limitations of claim 2, while Oswal also discloses allocating on each allocated channel the first stream to a pair of user wearable glasses (see Figure 1), but fails to teach that the glasses have a specific phase of an active shutter mechanism and a specific direction in relation to a screen on which the content is rendered.
Elwell discloses that a pair of user wearable glasses has a specific phase of an active shutter mechanism and a specific direction in relation to a screen on which the content is rendered (see Column 4, Line 43 through Column 5, Line 47).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the AR glasses, as taught by Oswal, using the active shutter component, as taught by Elwell, for the purpose of providing two viewers the ability to view and hear two versions of a video program, such as a child friendly version and an adult version, during a single showing of the video program (see Column 1, Lines 53-57 of Elwell).
Claims 5 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oswal et al. (WO 2017/103004).
Referring to claims 5 and 15, Oswal also discloses all of the limitations of claim 4, but fails to teach reallocating the channels upon determining that a current channel allocation fails to render all required user-variable content.
The Examiner takes Official Notice that a content distribution system reallocates channels upon determining that a current channel allocation fails to render all required user-variable content.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the content distribution system, as taught by Oswal, using the channel allocation functionality, as taught by the Examiner’s statement of Official Notice, for the purpose of ensuring users receive all of the user-variable content available.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON P SALCE whose telephone number is (571)272-7301. The examiner can normally be reached 5:30am-10:00pm M-F (Flex Schedule).
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/Jason Salce/Senior Examiner, Art Unit 2421
Jason P Salce
Senior Examiner
Art Unit 2421
September 8, 2026
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