DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the RCE filed on 07/21/2026.
In the instant application, claims 1-29 are cancelled; claims 30 and 32 are independent claims; Claims 30-35 have been examined and are pending. This action is made non-final.
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 .
Drawings
The drawings submitted on 02/26/2024 are acceptable.
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 Notice of Allowance. 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicants’ submission filed on 07/21/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 30-31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 30, claim 30 recites the limitation "method for rendering modified graphical content, the graphical content including a plurality of cells …." in lines 1-2 of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Regarding claim 31, claim 31 is rejected due to its dependency on the independent claim 30.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 30-35 are allowed when the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, are resolved.
Examiner’s Statement of reason of Allowance
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The present invention is directed to methods for rendering modified graphical content is disclosed. The graphical content includes a plurality of cells. The method includes receiving the graphical content with metadata modifying the graphical content, rendering the graphical content upon a screen according to the metadata, and receiving user input. The method also includes in response to the user input, progressing through at least a subset of the cells, wherein the progressing includes moving a camera view from cell to cell in the at least a subset, each of the cells in the at least a subset being displayed as a focus point with surrounding area being adjusted in opacity according to the metadata.
Independent claims 30 and 32 when considered as a whole, are allowable over the prior art of record.
The closest prior arts can be found: Olson (US 2008/0077857) teaches a method for enhancing the use of digitized content by users of the content by causing portions of the content to be adjusted in size according to dimensions which would best facilitate electronic review of the content. Mechanisms and/or techniques are provided for preparing the content for user review according to the invention, and additional mechanisms and/or techniques are provided for enabling user access to the prepared content in accordance with the invention. The portions may be in the form of panels, as in a comic book, or in different shapes and sizes in their original form, and may be adjusted to varying sizes so as to permit a more detailed and enjoyable view by users of the content. For instance, panels of content may be scaled up in size when selected by a user so that the panel becomes larger to enable easier viewing of the details of the content. The instant invention may be used in any client machine capable of displaying digitized content, such as personal computers and cell phones. Wilensky (US 2008/0122858) teaches a method for receiving an image mask where the image mask identifies a first opacity value of pixels in a raster image. The first opacity value ranges between a value representing foreground and a value representing background. Each pixel in the image has a color. A first boundary pixel is identified in the image. A second opacity value for the first boundary pixel is determined using a first local color model of opacity. The first local color model of opacity is determined based on the colors of the pixels in the image within a local neighborhood of the first boundary pixel. Christie (US 2008/0165141) teaches a method for implementing gestures with touch sensitive devices (such as a touch sensitive display) for managing and editing media files on a computer system. Specifically, gestural inputs of a human hand over a touch/proximity sensitive device may be used to control, edit, and manipulate files, such as media files including without limitation photo files and video files.
However, closest prior arts as discussed above, do not teach or suggest the particular combination of steps or elements as recited in the independent claims 30 and 32. For example, the prior arts do not teach of suggest the steps of “rendering the graphical content, which concurrently renders the plurality of cells, upon a screen according to metadata that modifies the graphical content, wherein each cell includes (i) a border surrounding the cell and (ii) one or more visual features within the cell; defining, by a processor, polygonal overlay metadata for each cell in at least a subset of the plurality of cells, wherein the polygonal overlay metadata includes a sequence of polygons defining a surrounding area for said each cell and the surrounding area of each cell overlies at least one other cell including the visual features within the at least one other cell; rendering, under control of the processor, the sequence of polygons, in accordance with the polygonal overlay metadata, such that for each cell the defined surrounding area is adjusted in opacity and deemphasizes the at least one other cell located within the surrounding area of said each cell with respect to salient features within said each cell; receiving user input; and in response to the user input, progressing through the at least a subset of the cells, wherein the progressing includes moving a camera view from cell to cell, each of the cells in the at least a subset being displayed as a focus point with the surrounding area of each of the cell displayed as a focus point being adjusted in opacity according to the polygonal overlay metadata, wherein the metadata specifies the polygonal overlay metadata” as claimed in claim 30 or the steps of “rendering the graphical content, which concurrently renders the plurality of cells, upon a screen according to metadata that modifies the graphical content, wherein each cell includes (i) a border surrounding the cell and (ii) one or more visual features within the cell; defining, by a processor, polygonal overlay metadata for each cell in at least a subset of the plurality of cells, wherein the polygonal overlay metadata includes a sequence of polygons defining a surrounding area for said each cell and the surrounding area of each cell overlies at least one other cell including the visual features within the at least one other cell; rendering, under control of the processor, the sequence of polygons, in accordance with the polygonal overlay metadata, such that for each cell the defined surrounding area is adjusted in opacity and deemphasizes the at least one other cell located within the surrounding area of said each cell with respect to salient features within said each cell; receiving user input; and in response to the user input, progressing through the at least a subset of the cells, wherein the progressing includes moving a camera view from cell to cell, each of the cells in the at least a subset being displayed as a focus point with the surrounding area of each of the cell displayed as a focus point being adjusted in opacity according to the polygonal overlay metadata, wherein the metadata specifies the polygonal overlay metadata,” as claimed in claim 32.
While the cited prior arts disclose some of the claimed features as explained above, however, the cited prior arts fail to disclose or suggest each and every limitation together as Claimed. Furthermore, the Examiner cannot determine a reasonable motivation, either from the cited prior art or the existing case law, to combine the known references to render the claimed invention.
The dependent claims further add limitations to the allowable subject matter of the corresponding independent claims; thus are also allowable.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record on form PTO-892 and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Applicant is required under 37 C.F.R. § 1.111(c) to consider these references fully when responding to this action.
It is noted that any citation to specific, pages, columns, lines, or figures in the prior art references and any interpretation of the references should not be considered to be limiting in any way. A reference is relevant for all it contains and may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill in the art. In re Heck, 699 F.2d 1331, 1332-33,216 USPQ 1038, 1039 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (quoting In re Lemelson, 397 F.2d 1006,1009, 158 USPQ 275,277 (CCPA 1968)).
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Tam T. Tran whose telephone number is (571) 270-5029. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, William L. Bashore can be reached on 571-272-4088. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TAM T TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2174
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