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
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4, 6-10 and 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Han et al (2023/0034668).
Consider claims 1, 8 and 15, Han et al teach a method, viewing device and non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions operable to cause one or more processors to perform operations comprising: receiving, by a viewing device connected to a conference, a selection of a subset of content streams transmitted by presenting devices (par. 0050-0052; “the system receives, from a first participant, a request to initiate sharing of one or more screen elements from a user device associated with the first participant. In some embodiments, the request can be received by the participant navigating within the communication interface provided for display on the client device the participant is using”; “A screen element represents any element, subset, or superset of a screen or UI that may be displayed on a client device. A screen element may be, e.g., a “window” within a desktop UI containing multiple windows, each representing a container for an application or element of an application”; par. 0055; “in response to receiving the request to initiate sharing, the system captures and displays the screen element(s) from the user device to the communication interfaces of the participants. In some embodiments, the system captures the screen element(s) by deploying one or more algorithms for capturing elements of a screen, such as, e.g., algorithms for screen capture, window capture, desktop capture, sharing of documents, sharing of media, or any other suitable algorithms. In some embodiments, the system can display the screen element(s) via streaming or broadcasted video of the captured screen element(s) or any other suitable displaying technique. In some embodiments, the system captures the screen elements in segments, and displays the segments in real time as they are captured”), wherein each of the content streams is transmitted from a respective presenting device connected to the conference, and wherein each presenting device is associated with a respective conference participant (par. 0045; “the system connects participants of a communication session to a live communication stream. The communication session may be any “session” (such as an instance of a video conference, webinar, informal chat session, or any other suitable session) initiated and hosted via the communication platform, for remotely communicating with one or more users of the communication platform, i.e., participants within the communication session. Participants are connected on user devices, and are associated with user accounts within the communication platform”); receiving, by the viewing device, the subset of the content streams; and displaying, by the viewing device, at least one of the subset of the content streams (par. 0055; “the system can display the screen element(s) via streaming or broadcasted video of the captured screen element(s) or any other suitable displaying technique. In some embodiments, the system captures the screen elements in segments, and displays the segments in real time as they are captured. In some embodiments, video and/or audio of the screen elements are captured. The capturing and displaying continue until there is no more of the screen elements to capture (for example, when the user has opted to stop sharing his or her screen or window)”).
Consider claim 2, Han et al teach wherein displaying, by the viewing device, the at least one of the subset of the content streams comprises: receiving a selection of the at least one of the subset of the content streams; and in response to receiving the selection of the at least one of the subset of the content streams, displaying, by the viewing device, the at least one of the subset of the content streams (par. 0060; “the system provides to one or more participants, via the communication interface for the participant, control over configuration of the screen element(s) as well as the additional screen elements. In some embodiments, this control may include, e.g., size or orientation of each screen element within the participant’s configuration interface. In some embodiments, this control may include a selection of which screen elements to display and which to not display”).
Consider claim 3, Han et al teach wherein the at least one of the subset of the content streams comprises at least two content streams, and wherein displaying, by the viewing device, the at least one of the subset of the content streams comprises: simultaneously displaying, by the viewing device, the at least two content streams (par 0059-0060; “the concurrent display of multiple screen elements from multiple users requires one or more techniques or steps which function to enable the concurrency to be possible for each participant of the communication session and/or each user device associated with each participant”).
Consider claim 4, Han et al teach further comprising: receiving, by the viewing device, an indication to display another content stream of the subset of the content streams that is different from the at least one of the subset of the content streams (par. 0058; “in response to receiving the additional requests to initiate sharing of additional screen elements, the system captures and displays the additional screen elements from the user devices of the additional participants to the communication interfaces of the participants. In some embodiments, the system may capture and display the additional screen elements in a similar or identical fashion to the system capturing and displaying the screen element(s) in step 208”); stopping, by the viewing device, the displaying of the at least one of the subset of the content streams; and displaying, by the viewing device, the another content stream (par. 0060; “the system provides to one or more participants, via the communication interface for the participant, control over configuration of the screen element(s) as well as the additional screen elements. In some embodiments, this control may include, e.g., size or orientation of each screen element within the participant’s configuration interface. In some embodiments, this control may include a selection of which screen elements to display and which to not display”; par. 0069; “the participant may opt to view two, three, or all four screens or screen elements simultaneously. In some embodiments, where multiple displayed screens or screen elements include audio playback simultaneously, the participant may be able to select between them in order to only hear one audio signal at a time”).
Consider claim 6, Han et al teach wherein each of the at least one of the subset of the content streams is associated with a tab of a tabbed user interface (par. 0051; “A screen element represents any element, subset, or superset of a screen or UI that may be displayed on a client device. A screen element may be, e.g., a “window” within a desktop UI containing multiple windows, each representing a container for an application or element of an application. A screen element may be a full screen displayed on a user device. A screen element may also be, e.g., a “tab” among multiple tabs within a browser, with each tab displaying a single page the user has navigated to”).
Consider claim 7, Han et al teach wherein the at least one of the subset of the content streams is displayed in a grid user interface (par. 0092; “For example, in some embodiments, three shared screens can be viewed side-by-side. In other embodiments, a 4×4 grid of shared screens may be viewable simultaneously. In yet other embodiments, a “gallery view” setting or other setting may enable a user to view a 5×5 grid of shared screens, or potentially a larger grid of shared screens. In some embodiments, an arbitrary number of shared screens may be viewable in any of a number of configurations”).
Consider claim 9, Han et al teach wherein the at least one of the subset of the contents streams is displayed in response to a selection of the at least one of the subset of the content streams received from a user of the viewing device (par. 0060; “the system provides to one or more participants, via the communication interface for the participant, control over configuration of the screen element(s) as well as the additional screen elements. In some embodiments, this control may include, e.g., size or orientation of each screen element within the participant’s configuration interface. In some embodiments, this control may include a selection of which screen elements to display and which to not display”).
Consider claim 10, Han et al teach wherein the at least one of the subset of the content streams comprises at least two content streams that are simultaneously displayed by the viewing device (par 0059-0060; “the concurrent display of multiple screen elements from multiple users requires one or more techniques or steps which function to enable the concurrency to be possible for each participant of the communication session and/or each user device associated with each participant”).
Consider claim 12, Han et al teach wherein the subset of the content streams comprises a content stream associated with a secondary device connected to a presenting device (par. 0047; “the system receives a number of video feeds depicting imagery of a number of participants, the video feeds each having multiple video frames. In some embodiments, the video feeds are each generated via an external device, such as, e.g., a video camera or a smartphone with a built-in video camera, and then the video content is transmitted to the system. In some embodiments, the video content is generated within the system, such as on a participant’s client device”).
Consider claim 13, Han et al teach wherein the processor is configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to: display the at least one of the subset of the content streams in a tabbed user interface (par. 0051; “A screen element represents any element, subset, or superset of a screen or UI that may be displayed on a client device. A screen element may be, e.g., a “window” within a desktop UI containing multiple windows, each representing a container for an application or element of an application. A screen element may be a full screen displayed on a user device. A screen element may also be, e.g., a “tab” among multiple tabs within a browser, with each tab displaying a single page the user has navigated to”).
Consider claim 14, Han et al teach wherein the processor is configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to: output an identifier of the respective conference participant in association with a corresponding one of the at least one of the subset of the content streams (par. 0083; “a list of shared screens and/or screen elements is presented in the drop-down menu. The user is currently viewing Zak Peirce’s shared screen, as designated by the checkmark next to the name. The option to also show Brad Whitlock’s screen in addition to Zak Peirce’s screen can be selected by clicking on Brad Whitlock’s name. Checkmarks would then appear on both names, and both shared screens would be shown side-by-side”).
Consider claim 16, Han et al teach wherein displaying, by the viewing device, the at least one of the subset of the content streams comprises: displaying a respective identifier of a presenting participant in association with the at least one of the subset of the content streams (par. 0083; “a list of shared screens and/or screen elements is presented in the drop-down menu. The user is currently viewing Zak Peirce’s shared screen, as designated by the checkmark next to the name. The option to also show Brad Whitlock’s screen in addition to Zak Peirce’s screen can be selected by clicking on Brad Whitlock’s name. Checkmarks would then appear on both names, and both shared screens would be shown side-by-side”).
Consider claim 17, Han et al teach wherein the at least one of the subset of the content streams are displayed according to an arrangement received from a viewing participant associated with the viewing device (par. 0066; “each participant has the ability to maximize, minimize, resize, and/or position each displayed screen element within the participant’s communication interface. Each screen element can therefore be positioned as if it is a “window” UI element, to provide the participant with the ability to arrange the screen elements flexibility for optimum viewing and working space on the screen of the user device”).
Consider claim 18, Han et al teach wherein the operations further comprise: receiving an indication that one of the presenting devices is a primary presenting device (par. 0064; “the host can figure his or her own shared screen as a primary screen that is prominently displayed to participants, and one or more additional shared screens from additional participants as secondarily displayed, e.g., displayed next to the primary screen but less prominently. In some embodiments, different participants can view the screens and/or screen elements differently depending on the participant’s user device and configuration (e.g., one monitor or multiple monitors)”).
Consider claim 19, Han et al teach wherein the operations further comprise: receiving an indication that one of the presenting devices is a secondary presenting device (par. 0064; “the host can figure his or her own shared screen as a primary screen that is prominently displayed to participants, and one or more additional shared screens from additional participants as secondarily displayed, e.g., displayed next to the primary screen but less prominently. In some embodiments, different participants can view the screens and/or screen elements differently depending on the participant’s user device and configuration (e.g., one monitor or multiple monitors)”).
Consider claim 20, Han et al teach wherein the operations further comprise: outputting, in a user interface, a list indicative of the content streams, wherein the selection of the subset of the content streams is received based on selections from the list (par. 0083; “a list of shared screens and/or screen elements is presented in the drop-down menu. The user is currently viewing Zak Peirce’s shared screen, as designated by the checkmark next to the name. The option to also show Brad Whitlock’s screen in addition to Zak Peirce’s screen can be selected by clicking on Brad Whitlock’s name. Checkmarks would then appear on both names, and both shared screens would be shown side-by-side”).
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 5 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han et al (2023/0034668) in view of van Rensburg et al (2024/0031416).
Consider claims 5 and 11, Han et al teach further comprising: receiving an indication that one of the content streams is a primary content stream; and in response to receiving the indication, the host can figure his or her own shared screen as a primary screen that is prominently displayed to participants, and one or more additional shared screens from additional participants as secondarily displayed, e.g., displayed next to the primary screen but less prominently. In some embodiments, different participants can view the screens and/or screen elements differently depending on the participant’s user device and configuration (e.g., one monitor or multiple monitors)”). Han et al did not explicitly suggest of highlighting the one of the content streams. In the same field of endeavor, van Rensburg et al suggest of highlighting content to represent the primary portion to participant who shares the content to focus on the primary portion of the content to enhance the sharing experience (par. 0060; 0063). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date to incorporate the teaching of van Rensburg et al into view of Han et al in order to focus on the primary portion of the content to enhance the sharing experience.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any response to this action should be mailed to:
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/Quoc D Tran/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2691
December 9, 2025
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