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
Response to Amendment
This is in response to applicant’s amendment/response filed on 07/29/2026, which has been entered and made of record. Claims 1, 12-15, 17, 20, 21, 23, 24, 26, 29, 30 have been amended. Claims 31-34 are added. Claims 1, 12-15, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 26-34 are pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 07/29/2026 regarding claims rejection have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant submits “in cited paragraphs [0004], [0137], and [0280]-[0283], Dion does not teach editing the first sound content "by changing at least one of a playback duration or an amount of information of the first sound content based on information related to the first operation mode." (Remarks, Page 11.).
The examiner disagrees with Applicant’s premises and conclusion. “an amount of information of the first sound content” is very broad. One way to map Dion to this feature is normal operation mode to channel mode in background music ¶0210. Another is Information area 2628 and information area 2630 may be customized to provide additional information to the users in ¶0239. Also it can be mapped to a registered user in ¶0280-0281. "by changing at least one of a playback duration” can be mapped to introduce themselves (e.g., through introductory audio and/or video clips) in ¶0283.
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 1, 12-15, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 26-34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hariton (US Pub 2021/0090340 A1) in view of Dion et al. (US Pub 2017/0286059 A1).
As to claim 1, Hariton teaches an information processing apparatus comprising: at least one memory storing instructions; and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions (Hariton, ¶0005, ¶0145-0146.)
to: select a first operation mode from among a plurality of operating modes in accordance with payment information related to a subscription of a user (Hariton, ¶0003, “The system may access subscription information for the first user and/or permission information of the virtual content of the second user to determine whether the first user may access the virtual content of the second user. Based on the identification of the second user and a determination that the first user may access at least a portion of the virtual content of the second user, virtual content information defining virtual content (e.g., an augmented rendering) of the second user may be obtained. Based on the subscription information and permission information, the virtual content that is presented to the first user may differ.” ¶0013, “A user's selections regarding access to their virtual content may be reflected in permission information and/or subscription information for the virtual content.”. ¶0014, “a first user may request access to virtual content of different users, purchase additional access (e.g., by purchasing additional subscription(s) and/or pay for access to virtual content of a particular user) and/or select from available content (content accessible by the first user) to display in the augmented reality environment viewed by the first user.” ¶0069, “determine the virtual content that is available to a viewing user for a given viewed user based on permission information for the content, subscription information for the viewing user, and/or other information. For example, an indication of which content is available and to which user may be determined based on the permission information, the subscription information.”),
display a first display image including a representation of an avatar based on an operation performed on a user terminal (Hariton, ¶0014, “a first user may request access to virtual content of different users, purchase additional access (e.g., by purchasing additional subscription(s) and/or pay for access to virtual content of a particular user) and/or select from available content (content accessible by the first user) to display in the augmented reality environment viewed by the first user.” ¶0015, “An avatar of a user may comprise an icon or figure representing a particular person when the person is not physically present, such as when a user is remote or for use in an interactive game.” ¶0090, “an augmented rendering of a user that is utilized as an avatar in an interactive game may be based on a known individual or celebrity, a fictional character, a stock character generated for display in an augmented reality environment, and/or other predefined three-dimensional representation. As such, a third party may enable a user, through access to virtual content information defining virtual content of the user, to utilize an augmented rendering of a user that is based on a fictional character as an avatar for the user in the interactive game.”);
provide first sound content associated with the avatar based on the payment information (Hariton, ¶0063, “Each user may have one or more augmented renderings and each augmented rendering of a user may have numerous identifiable aspects. For example, identifiable aspects may comprise different components, colors, sounds, and/or other features of an augmented rendering.” ¶0100, “the linkage points may be defined by one or more specific sound patterns. For example, the linkage points may be defined by predefined sound patterns associated with one or more specific linkage points to be synchronized with one or more points of virtual content.”), and
control to output the first sound content in association with display of the avatar (Hariton, ¶0141, “display device 140 may include or be associated with one or more speakers for playing one or more sounds associated with a virtual content object.”).
Hariton does not explicitly disclose temporarily control output of second sound content corresponding to a second operation mode upgraded from the first operation mode, wherein the first sound content is edited by changing at least one of a playback duration or an amount of information of the first sound content based on information related to the first operation mode, and wherein the first sound content is related to the second sound content.
Dion teaches temporarily control output of second sound information corresponding to a second operation mode upgraded from the first operation mode (Dion, ¶0114, “a Personal Music Assistant recognizing, for example, a preferred customer or a customer with a large number of credits might morph the jukebox into a jukebox more enjoyable to that specific user.” “a patron could pay a certain amount of money to morph the jukebox into a particular type of jukebox. For example, a patron having a party (e.g. a birthday party) at a particular location could rent a jukebox and morph it into a jukebox that allows only that patron's favorite songs. In another related feature, a patron could exclusively rent a jukebox and prevent others from selecting songs by, for example, programming a playlist through another device (e.g. the web or other communications network operably connected to the jukebox system) or by restricting access to the jukebox through a password or the like.” ¶0131, “Alternatively, the user may elect to have a song played in more than one of the zones 121, 123, 125 simultaneously, or in more than one of the zones at different times. The user may have to pay additional credits to implement either of these features.” ¶0154, “the user is shown the top price paid for a priority play, and can pay more than that price to obtain the highest priority available.”).
wherein the first sound content is edited by changing at least one of a playback duration or an amount of information of the first sound content based on information related to the first operation mode (Dion, ¶0210, “The thousands of songs provided to the jukebox may be played in a coherent grouping as background music, for example, through this channel feature. For example, a predetermined amount of time after no money has been inserted into the jukebox and/or after all songs in the queue have been played, a channel of music (e.g., selected by a proprietor, manager, etc.) may play. The channel may be activated in this illustrative case substantially free from direct user input, for example, so that the switching from normal jukebox operation to background mode is substantially transparent to the normal patrons and/or authorized users (e.g., managers, proprietors, etc.) of the jukebox. Of course, it will be appreciated that authorized users of the jukebox may also cause the jukebox to change from normal operation mode to a channel mode and vice versa, control the switching of channels, choose between channels, etc.” ¶0239, “Information area 2628 and information area 2630 may be customized to provide additional information to the users.” ¶0004, “are operable to play music in response to receiving a payment from a user”. ¶0137, “The jukebox then determines the price based on the number of zones selected 147. The jukebox accepts payment from the user 149 and queues the song for play in the selected zone or zones 151.” ¶0280, “when a person operating a jukebox selects the local playlists option from a jukebox, the playlists for each registered user on the jukebox may be made available.” “an exemplary screenshot of a “Local Playlists” screen in which registered users are represented by avatars. Next to the registered users' names, nicknames, or other identifying marks 3302 a-e may be the particular user's avatar 3304 a-e.” “After the user selects a group of local playlists associated with a registered user and represented by an avatar, that user's playlists may be displayed. The user operating the jukebox may then select an individual playlist associated with the user represented by the avatar. Once selected, the contents of the playlist (e.g., one or more songs) may be displayed, along with the user's avatar, the name of the playlist, and the number of plays required for play.” ¶0281, “acting on behalf of the registered user, a lead-in audio or video may be played to introduce the songs, transition between songs, and/or conclude the playlist. For example, the avatar itself may be animated. When the avatar is a picture, a slide show may cause the image appear to be animated, or various images may be superimposed over the mouth to make it appear as if the avatar is speaking or singing. The same or similar functionality may be made available if the avatar is an animated character. For example, an avatar may sing and/or dance along with the music (e.g., the avatar may head-bang to heavy metal music, line dance with other real or simulated avatars to country music, etc., as programmed by the registered user or as automatically generated by the jukebox), using, for example, custom animations, inverse kinematics techniques, etc.” ¶0283, “It also may be helpful to registered users on the go, who wish to be creative (e.g., to make new friends) or to introduce themselves (e.g., through introductory audio and/or video clips), while also having access to the user's own library of music, etc.”) and
wherein the first sound content is related to the second sound content (Dion, ¶0114, “a Personal Music Assistant recognizing, for example, a preferred customer or a customer with a large number of credits might morph the jukebox into a jukebox more enjoyable to that specific user.” “a patron could pay a certain amount of money to morph the jukebox into a particular type of jukebox. For example, a patron having a party (e.g. a birthday party) at a particular location could rent a jukebox and morph it into a jukebox that allows only that patron's favorite songs. In another related feature, a patron could exclusively rent a jukebox and prevent others from selecting songs by, for example, programming a playlist through another device (e.g. the web or other communications network operably connected to the jukebox system) or by restricting access to the jukebox through a password or the like.” ¶0131, “Alternatively, the user may elect to have a song played in more than one of the zones 121, 123, 125 simultaneously, or in more than one of the zones at different times. The user may have to pay additional credits to implement either of these features.” ¶0154, “the user is shown the top price paid for a priority play, and can pay more than that price to obtain the highest priority available.”).
Hariton and Dion are considered to be analogous art because all pertain to entertainment system. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hariton with the features of “temporarily control output of second sound content corresponding to a second operation mode upgraded from the first operation mode, wherein the first sound content is edited by changing at least one of a playback duration or an amount of information of the first sound content based on information related to the first operation mode, and wherein the first sound content is related to the second sound content.” as taught by Dion. The suggestion/motivation would have been in order to makes selecting songs a more enjoyable, dynamic, and responsive process while removing the immediate pressure placed on the user to know which song to choose (Dion, ¶0114.) and cause the avatar to react to the instance of media, before, during, and/or after it is played (Dion, ¶0281.)
Claims 12-14 recite the same features of claim 1 in different forms. Therefore, claims 12-14 are rejected for the same reasons in claim 1 rejection.
As to claim 15, claim 1 is incorporated and Hariton does not explicitly disclose display, within the first display image and in a region that does not overlap with the representation of the avatar, a second display image associated with the avatar, the second display image being configured to accept a selection based on the payment information; and provide the sound content ion based on the user selecting the second display image.
Dion teaches display, within the first display image and in a region that does not overlap with the representation of the avatar, a second display image associated with the avatar, the second display image being configured to accept a selection based on the payment information; and generate the sound information based on the user selecting the second display image (Dion, Fig. 3, Fig. 6, Fig. 33, Fig. 45, ¶0018, “users' actions on jukeboxes and/or via remote interfaces may be represented by avatars specific to and/or customizable by the user. Jukeboxes may include avatar action programmed logic circuitry (e.g., any appropriate combination of hardware, software, or the like) to take actions on behalf of and/or represent the actions of the user. Such actions may include introducing songs with audio and/or video, singing and/or dancing along with music, marking online transactions (e.g., messages, postings, file transfers, etc.), etc. As such, user avatars may yet further increase senses of ownership and/or belonging, drawing users to jukeboxes. Moreover, avatars may further increase the enjoyment of the individual user, regular patrons, and/or newcomers to an area.” ¶0280, “This example is depicted in FIG. 33, which is an exemplary screenshot of a “Local Playlists” screen in which registered users are represented by avatars. Next to the registered users' names, nicknames, or other identifying marks 3302a-e may be the particular user's avatar 3304a-e. This may provide further customization and personalization to a jukebox by, for example, showing the regulars of a bar whom many patrons may know or recognize, encourage casual jukebox patrons to become more active in creating custom playlists, etc. After the user selects a group of local playlists associated with a registered user and represented by an avatar, that user's playlists may be displayed. The user operating the jukebox may then select an individual playlist associated with the user represented by the avatar. Once selected, the contents of the playlist (e.g., one or more songs) may be displayed, along with the user's avatar, the name of the playlist, and the number of plays required for play.” ¶0281, “If the playlist, or a portion thereof, is selected for play by the user, a now playing screen may be displayed, as shown in FIG. 34, which is an exemplary screenshot of a “now playing” screen. This screen may display the avatar 3304a, the name of the registered user 3402, the name of the playlist 3404, etc. Additionally, acting on behalf of the registered user, a lead-in audio or video may be played to introduce the songs, transition between songs, and/or conclude the playlist. For example, the avatar itself may be animated. When the avatar is a picture, a slide show may cause the image appear to be animated, or various images may be superimposed over the mouth to make it appear as if the avatar is speaking or singing. The same or similar functionality may be made available if the avatar is an animated character. For example, an avatar may sing and/or dance along with the music (e.g., the avatar may head-bang to heavy metal music, line dance with other real or simulated avatars to country music, etc., as programmed by the registered user or as automatically generated by the jukebox), using, for example, custom animations, inverse kinematics techniques, etc. The and/or other features may be enabled by any suitable avatar action programmed logic circuitry (e.g., a processor on or accessible by a jukebox or remote jukebox interface comprising any suitable combination of hardware, software, or the like). In general, the avatar action programmed logic circuitry may cause the avatar to react to the instance of media, before, during, and/or after it is played.”).
Hariton and Dion are considered to be analogous art because all pertain to virtual avatar. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hariton with the features of “display, within the first display image and in a region that does not overlap with the representation of the avatar, a second display image associated with the avatar, the second display image being configured to accept a selection based on the payment information; and generate the sound information based on the user selecting the second display image.” as taught by Dion. The suggestion/motivation would have been in order to cause the avatar to react to the instance of media, before, during, and/or after it is played (Dion, ¶0281.)
As to claim 17, claim 1 is incorporated and Hariton does not explicitly disclose provide the sound content associated with the avatar in accordance with a number of user actions based on a behavior history of the user.
Dion teaches provide the sound content associated with the avatar in accordance with a number of user actions based on a behavior history of the user (Dion, ¶0004, “are operable to play music in response to receiving a payment from a user”. ¶0137, “The jukebox then determines the price based on the number of zones selected 147. The jukebox accepts payment from the user 149 and queues the song for play in the selected zone or zones 151.” ¶0157, “provide a “lock in” feature, a user can “lock in” a priority ranking with a payment of a pre-selected amount. For example, if a user pays 15 credits to obtain a ranking of 3.sup.rd in priority, and wishes to guarantee the third ranking, the user may pay, for example, 4 more credits to “lock in” the ranking. Since locking in the ranking may require the “lock in” of all the rankings above the user as well, the user may be required to pay a certain amount to “lock in” all songs above the user's selection. In one such situation, the user can either choose to pay the price quoted for the “lock in” or pay the same or a varying amount of credits in an attempt to prevent future over-bidding or to move the user's song up further in the priority list.” The user payments can be mapped to “a number of user actions based on a behavior history of the user” ¶0157, “This feature may enable user-tracking by various establishments, advertisers, etc. Establishments may, for example, provide special offers to regulars or others in a particular area to entice them to come visit. Advertisers may monitor the personal information, location information, and playlists to provide, for example, concert tickets, special offers on CDs, t-shirts, and/or other merchandise that may seem to be appealing based on the user's preferences. Still further, if such account/profile information is stored locally on various terminals, the system may communicate with those other terminals to provide the playlists in preparation for a user's visit.” The user-tracking can also be mapped to “a number of user actions based on a behavior history of the user”. ¶0320, “Tracking visited locations: A user may receive information pertaining to the locations the user has visited. Such information may include, for example, names of locations, addresses of locations, directions to/from locations, relevant promotions at locations, information about locations, statistics about visits (e.g., how many times visited, length of time visited, songs played, friends made, etc.), and/or the like.”).
Hariton and Dion are considered to be analogous art because all pertain to virtual avatar. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hariton with the features of “provide the sound content associated with the avatar in accordance with a number of user actions based on a behavior history of the user” as taught by Dion. The suggestion/motivation would have been in order to provide special offers to regulars or others in a particular area (Dion, ¶0157), and cause the avatar to react to the instance of media, before, during, and/or after it is played (Dion, ¶0281.)
As to claim 18, claim 12 is incorporated and the combination of Hariton and Dion discloses display, within the first display image and in a region that does not overlap with the representation of the avatar, a second display image associated with the avatar, the second display image being configured to accept a selection based on the payment information; and provide the sound content based on the user selecting the second display image (See claim 15 for detailed analysis.).
As to claim 20, claim 12 is incorporated and the combination of Hariton and Dion discloses provide the sound content associated with the avatar in accordance with a number of user actions based on a behavior history of the user (See claim 17 for detailed analysis.).
As to claim 21, claim 13 is incorporated and the combination of Hariton and Dion discloses displaying, within the first display image and in a region that does not overlap with the representation of the avatar, a second display image associated with the avatar, the second display image being configured to accept a selection based on the payment information; and provide the sound content based on the user selecting the second display image (See claim 15 for detailed analysis.).
As to claim 23, claim 13 is incorporated and the combination of Hariton and Dion discloses providing the sound content associated with the avatar in accordance with a number of user actions based on a behavior history of the user (See claim 17 for detailed analysis.).
As to claim 24, claim 14 is incorporated and the combination of Hariton and Dion discloses display, within the first display image and in a region that does not overlap with the representation of the avatar, a second display image associated with the avatar, the second display image being configured to accept a selection based on the payment information; and provide the sound content based on the user selecting the second display image (See claim 15 for detailed analysis.).
As to claim 26, claim 14 is incorporated and the combination of Hariton and Dion discloses provide the sound content associated with the avatar in accordance with a number of user actions based on a behavior history of the user (See claim 17 for detailed analysis.).
As to claim 27, claim 1 is incorporated and the combination of Hariton and Dion discloses the at least one processor is further configured to temporarily change the first operation mode to the second operation mode corresponding to an upgraded contract plan only for a predetermined time as a trial period without updating contract information (Dion, Fig. 15, ¶0143, “FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an exemplary implementation of an automatic jukebox morph initiation process based on a triggering event. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the user may define an event 201, for example a themed night or a time of day, as a triggering event which triggers a jukebox morph. The jukebox then operates as normal 203, checking periodically to see if the triggering event occurs 205. If the triggering event has not occurred, the jukebox simply continues to operate 203, but if the triggering event occurs, the jukebox is morphed into a “new” jukebox. The triggering events may be one time events, or they may be scheduled to occur weekly, daily, monthly or scheduled based on any other suitable criteria. It should be noted that in a multi-zone configuration, different zones may be morphed while others do not change. This feature of the illustrative embodiments allows, for example, a given zone or zones to be dedicated to a certain kind of music while the other(s) may vary based on any variety of factors, such as the time of day, an owner's desire to change the music, or a user's request.” ¶0339, “a special programmed event (e.g., get 2 free plays on St. Patrick's Day, get 5 free plays on a typically slow night, etc.), a patron becoming a frequent user of the jukebox or other associated systems (e.g., playing more than a predetermined number of songs within a particular time period or all-time, purchasing a certain amount of drinks or other goods and services, logging a certain number of hours on the social networking site, etc.), and/or other circumstances.”).
As to claim 28, claim 12 is incorporated and the combination of Hariton and Dion discloses the at least one processor is further configured to temporarily change the first operation mode to the second operation mode corresponding to an upgraded contract plan only for a predetermined time as a trial period without updating contract information (See claim 26 for detailed analysis.).
As to claim 29, claim 13 is incorporated and the combination of Hariton and Dion discloses the temporarily controlling of output of the second sound content corresponding to the second operation mode upgraded from the first operation mode comprises temporarily changing the first operation mode to the second operation mode corresponding to an upgraded contract plan only for a predetermined time as a trial period without updating contract information (See claim 26 for detailed analysis.).
As to claim 30, claim 14 is incorporated and the combination of Hariton and Dion discloses the temporarily controlling of output of the second sound content corresponding to the second operation mode upgraded from the first operation mode comprises temporarily changing the first operation mode to the second operation mode corresponding to an upgraded contract plan only for a predetermined time as a trial period without updating contract information (See claim 26 for detailed analysis.).
As to claim 31, claim 1 is incorporated and the combination of Hariton and Dion discloses the avatar is a character, and the at least one processor is further configured to change a movement of the avatar (Hariton, ¶0008, “a user may modify a three-dimensional representation of a user via user input indicating a request to modify one or more parameters that define the appearance, movements, animation, tactile feedback, and/or other aspects of the augmented rendering.” ¶0044, “Modifying the parameters may alter the appearance, movements, animation, tactile feedback, and/or other aspects of the three-dimensional representation.” ¶0057, “the user will appear as the augmented rendering as if they looked and moved like the augmented rendering in real-life.” Dion, ¶0279, “A user's avatar may be depicted graphically, for example, as a picture, as a moving animation, as a character, or in any other way suitable for identifying the user.”).
As to claim 32, claim 12 is incorporated and the combination of Hariton and Dion discloses the avatar is a character, and the at least one processor is further configured to change a movement of the avatar (See claim 31 for detailed analysis.).
As to claim 33, claim 13 is incorporated and the combination of Hariton and Dion discloses the avatar is a character, and the information processing method further comprises changing a movement of the avatar (See claim 31 for detailed analysis.).
As to claim 34, claim 14 is incorporated and the combination of Hariton and Dion discloses wherein the avatar is a character, and the computer is further caused to change a movement of the avatar (See claim 31 for detailed analysis.).
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YU CHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7951. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8-5 PST Mid-day flex.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Xiao Wu can be reached on 571-272-7761. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/YU CHEN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2613
Prosecution Insights