Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Double Patenting
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.
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Claims 29-41 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-19 of U.S. Patent No. 10,366,694. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims in the present application define an invention that is merely an obvious variation of the invention claimed in the patent for the following reasons. Comparing the two documents, as shown below for claims 29 of the application and claim 1 of the patent, it is clear that all the elements of claim 29 are found in claim 1. Therefore claim 29 is anticipated by claim 1 and similarly by claim 14 of the patent.
The dependent claims do not introduce additional limitation or element that is not anticipated by the patent.
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10366694
29. A system for implementing cross-fading between audio streams, the system comprising; a processor; and a computing device; wherein the processor of the computing device causes the computing device to: time align compressed packets of a first audio stream with compressed packets of a second audio stream; decompose data in each time aligned compressed packet of the first audio stream and the second audio stream into subcomponents; derive composited compressed packets by combining each subcomponent of each time aligned compressed packet of the first audio stream with a corresponding subcomponent of a time aligned compressed packet of the second audio stream; and decoding the composite compressed packets during a cross-fade between the first audio stream and the second audio stream.
1. A computer-implemented method for implementing cross-fading between compressed audio streams, comprising: time aligning compressed packets of a first audio stream with compressed packets of a second audio stream; decomposing data in each time aligned compressed packet of the first audio stream and the second audio stream into subcomponents; deriving composite compressed packets by combining each subcomponent of each time aligned compressed packet of the first audio stream with a corresponding subcomponent of a time aligned compressed packet of the second audio stream; and decoding the composite compressed packets during a cross-fade between the first audio stream and the second audio stream.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL DEMELASH ABEBE whose telephone number is (571)272-7615. The examiner can normally be reached monday-friday 7-4.
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/DANIEL ABEBE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2657