DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Double Patenting
A rejection based on double patenting of the “same invention” type finds its support in the language of 35 U.S.C. 101 which states that “whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process... may obtain a patent therefor...” (Emphasis added). Thus, the term “same invention,” in this context, means an invention drawn to identical subject matter. See Miller v. Eagle Mfg. Co., 151 U.S. 186 (1894); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Ockert, 245 F.2d 467, 114 USPQ 330 (CCPA 1957).
A statutory type (35 U.S.C. 101) double patenting rejection can be overcome by canceling or amending the claims that are directed to the same invention so they are no longer coextensive in scope. The filing of a terminal disclaimer cannot overcome a double patenting rejection based upon 35 U.S.C. 101.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as claiming the same invention as that of claims 1-20, respectively, of prior U.S. Patent No. 11,908,184. This is a statutory double patenting rejection.
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1, 3 and 5-9 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-7, respectively, of U.S. Patent No. 10,896,332 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims of the patent anticipate the claims of the current application. As an example, the table below shows the corresponding limitations between claim 1 of the instant application and claim 1 of Patent ‘332.
Claim 1 of the instant application
Claim 1 of Patent ‘332
1. A surveillance system, comprising one or more hardware computing devices in electronic communication with each of a surveillance device, a display device, and a database storing preference settings that describe desired modifications of a video stream, the one or more hardware computing devices storing computer program instructions that, upon execution, cause the one or more hardware computing devices to:
receive a surveillance video stream comprising a plurality of frames arranged in a sequence and captured, for a duration from a first time to a second time, by the surveillance device, the surveillance video stream representing a surveillance area visible to the surveillance device for the duration;
identify, in the surveillance video stream, surveillance data indicating that one or more objects present in the surveillance area for the duration each bear a first tag;
determine from the surveillance data a first identifier derived from the first tag;
using the first identifier, obtain from the database a first set of preference settings associated with the first tag; obtain modification data identified using the first set of preference settings;
transform each frame of the plurality of frames using the modification data to produce a modified surveillance video stream in which a first object of the one or more objects is displayed according to the first set of preference settings; and
send the modified surveillance video stream to the display device.
1. A surveillance system comprising:
a database storing a plurality of records each including an identifier and one or more preference settings describing desired modifications of a video stream; and one or more hardware computing devices in communication with the database and storing computer program instructions that, upon execution, cause the one or more hardware computing devices to:
receive a first set of preference settings input by a user;
store the first set of preference settings with a first identifier in a first record of the plurality of records, the first identifier derived from a first tag;
receive a surveillance video stream comprising a plurality of frames arranged in a sequence and captured, for a duration from a first time to a second time, by an imaging device of a drone, the surveillance video stream representing a surveillance area visible to the drone for the duration;
identify, in the surveillance video stream, surveillance data indicating that one or more objects present in the surveillance area for the duration each bear the first tag;
determine the first identifier from the surveillance data;
retrieve the first record from the database using the first identifier;
based on the first set of preference settings, obtain modification data pertaining to display of a first object of the one or more objects, the first object being associated with the user;
transform each frame of the plurality of frames using the modification data to produce a modified surveillance video stream in which the first object is displayed according to the preference settings; and
send the modified surveillance video stream to a display device in communication with the one or more hardware computing devices.
Dependent claim 3 is similarly rejected for including features which are anticipated by claim 2 of Patent ‘332.
Dependent claim 5 is similarly rejected for including features which are anticipated by claim 3 of Patent ‘332.
Dependent claim 6 is similarly rejected for including features which are anticipated by claim 4 of Patent ‘332.
Dependent claim 7 is similarly rejected for including features which are anticipated by claim 5 of Patent ‘332.
Dependent claim 8 is similarly rejected for including features which are anticipated by claim 6 of Patent ‘332.
Dependent claim 9 is similarly rejected for including features which are anticipated by claim 7 of Patent ‘332.
Claims 12-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 7-9, 11, 12 and 14, respectively, of U.S. Patent No. 10,896,332 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims of the patent anticipate the claims of the current application. As an example, the table below shows the corresponding limitations between claim 12 of the instant application and claim 7 of Patent ‘332.
Claim 12 of instant application
Claim 7 of Patent ‘332
12. A surveillance data processing system comprising one or more hardware computing devices storing computer program instructions that, upon execution, cause the one or more hardware computing devices to:
receive a video stream comprising image data captured at a first time by a surveillance device, the image data representing a surveillance area visible to the surveillance device at the first time;
determine, based at least in part on the image data, that a first tag is present in the surveillance area at the first time, wherein the first tag is not a unique identifier of any specific object present in the surveillance area;
identify a first target appearing in the image data, the first target representing a first object bearing the first tag;
identify a first portion of the image data that is associated with the first target;
determine that the first object is at a first location in the surveillance area at the first time;
determine that the first portion of the image data overlaps, at an overlapping portion, a second portion of the image data depicting a second object present at a second location in the surveillance area at the first time;
determine that the second location is closer than the first location to the surveillance device; transform a target portion of the image data, the target portion comprising the first portion excluding the overlapping portion, using modification data associated with the first tag to produce surveillance image data; and send a modified surveillance video stream comprising the surveillance image data to a display device in communication with the one or more hardware computing devices.
7. A surveillance data processing system comprising one or more hardware computing devices storing computer program instructions that, upon execution, cause the one or more hardware computing devices to:
receive a video stream comprising image data captured at a first time by an imaging device of a drone, the image data representing a surveillance area visible to the drone at the first time;
determine, based at least in part on the image data, that a first tag and a second tag are present in the surveillance area at the first time, wherein the first tag is not a unique identifier of any specific object present in the surveillance area;
identify, based on information stored in memory of the one or more hardware computing devices, the first tag as a do-not-track tag;
determine that the second tag is associated with a first preference setting indicating a highlighting of associated targets;
identify a first target appearing in the image data, the first target representing a first object bearing the first tag;
identify, as a second target, a second object appearing in the image data and associated with the second tag;
identify a first portion of the image data that is associated with the first target and a second portion of the image data that is associated with the second target;
transform the image data using modification data to produce surveillance image data comprising an image of the surveillance area at the first time wherein the first object is obscured and visibility of the second object is increased; and
send a modified surveillance video stream comprising the surveillance image data to a display device in communication with the one or more hardware computing devices;
wherein to transform the image data, the one or more hardware computing devices execute the computer program instructions to:
select obscurant data and a highlighting indicator as the modification data;
determine that the first portion of the image data and the second portion of the image data overlap at an overlapping portion;
determine that the first object is at a first location in the surveillance area at the first time, and the second object is at a second location in the surveillance area at the first time;
determine which of the first location and the second location is closer to the imaging device;
responsive to a determination that the first location is closer to the imaging device than the second location, apply the obscurant data to the first portion including the overlapping portion, and add the highlighting indicator to the second portion excluding the overlapping portion; and
responsive to a determination that the second location is closer to the imaging device than the first location, apply the obscurant data to the first portion excluding the overlapping portion, and add the highlighting indicator to the second portion including the overlapping portion.
Dependent claim 13 is similarly rejected for including features which are anticipated by claim 7 of Patent ‘332.
Dependent claim 14 is similarly rejected for including features which are anticipated by claim 7 of Patent ‘332.
Dependent claim 15 is similarly rejected for including features which are anticipated by claim 8 of Patent ‘332.
Dependent claim 16 is similarly rejected for including features which are anticipated by claim 9 of Patent ‘332.
Dependent claim 18 is similarly rejected for including features which are anticipated by claim 11 of Patent ‘332.
Dependent claim 19 is similarly rejected for including features which are anticipated by claim 12 of Patent ‘332.
Dependent claim 20 is similarly rejected for including features which are anticipated by claim 14 of Patent ‘332.
Claim 12 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 9,940,525. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims of the patent anticipate the claims of the current application. As an example, the table below shows the corresponding limitations between claim 12 of the instant application and claim 1 of Patent ‘525.
Claim 12 of instant application
Claim 1 of Patent ‘525
12. A surveillance data processing system comprising one or more hardware computing devices storing computer program instructions that, upon execution, cause the one or more hardware computing devices to:
receive a video stream comprising image data captured at a first time by a surveillance device, the image data representing a surveillance area visible to the surveillance device at the first time;
determine, based at least in part on the image data, that a first tag is present in the surveillance area at the first time, wherein the first tag is not a unique identifier of any specific object present in the surveillance area;
identify a first target appearing in the image data, the first target representing a first object bearing the first tag;
identify a first portion of the image data that is associated with the first target;
determine that the first object is at a first location in the surveillance area at the first time;
determine that the first portion of the image data overlaps, at an overlapping portion, a second portion of the image data depicting a second object present at a second location in the surveillance area at the first time;
determine that the second location is closer than the first location to the surveillance device;
transform a target portion of the image data, the target portion comprising the first portion excluding the overlapping portion, using modification data associated with the first tag to produce surveillance image data; and
send a modified surveillance video stream comprising the surveillance image data to a display device in communication with the one or more hardware computing devices.
1. A surveillance data processing system comprising one or more hardware computing devices storing computer program instructions that, upon execution, cause the one or more hardware computing devices to:
receive image data captured at a first time by an imaging device of a drone, the image data representing a surveillance area visible to the drone at the first time;
determine, based at least in part on the image data, that a first tag and a second tag different from the first tag are present in the surveillance area at the first time, wherein the first tag is not a unique identifier of any specific object present in the surveillance area, and wherein the second tag is associated with a first preference setting indicating that targets associated with the second tag are to be highlighted;
identify a first target appearing in the image data, the first target representing a first object bearing the first tag;
identify a first portion of the image data that is associated with the first target;
identify a second target appearing in the image data, the second target representing a second object that is present in the surveillance area at the first time and is associated with the second tag;
identify a second portion of the image data that is associated with the second target;
transform the first portion of the image data using obscurant data and the second portion of the image data using a highlighting indicator to produce surveillance image data comprising an image of the surveillance area at the first time wherein the first object is obscured and visibility of the second object is increased,
wherein to transform the first portion and add a highlighting indicator to the second portion of the image data, the one or more hardware computing devices execute the computer program instructions to:
determine that the first portion of the image data and the second portion of the image data overlap at an overlapping portion;
receive information identifying, in the surveillance area, a first location of the first object and a second location of the second object;
determine which of the first location and the second location is closer to the imaging device at the first time;
responsive to a determination that the first location is closer to the imaging device than the second location, modify the overlapping portion with the obscurant data and not the highlighting indicator; and
responsive to a determination that the second location is closer to the imaging device than the first location, modify the overlapping portion to include the highlighting indicator and not the obscurant data; and
send the surveillance image data to a display device in communication with the one or more hardware computing devices.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The references made of record pertain generally to addressing privacy of persons present or detected in surveillance images.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAMAH A BEG whose telephone number is (571)270-7912. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9 AM - 5 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, HENOK SHIFERAW can be reached at 571-272-4637. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SAMAH A BEG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2676