DETAILED ACTION
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 .
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 final rejection. 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 01/22/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-8, 10-15 and 17-20 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
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, 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.
Claim(s) 1-8, 10-15, 17-20 and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ihara et al. (hereinafter ‘Ihara’, Pub. No. 2019/0377479) in view of Kannan et al. (hereinafter ‘Kannan’, Pub. No. 2021/0105518) in further view of Earle (Pub. No. 2015/0319474).
Regarding claims 1, 7, 11, 13 and 17, Ihara teaches a system (100, Fig. 1) (with corresponding method and non-transitory computer readable medium) comprising:
processing circuitry; and memory, accessible by the processing circuitry, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processing circuitry (elements on Fig. 10, where those elements are inherent on computing devices; [0040]; [0081]-[0083]), cause the processing circuitry to perform operations comprising:
generating a content design graphical user interface (GUI) (Fig. 3-8) configured to:
receive a first input selecting a content source of one or more available content sources, each having one or more video rendering parameters (902, Fig. 9A; [0044]; [0055]);
receive a second input selecting one or more content parameters from the one or more content parameters of the selected content source (906, Fig. 9A; [0050]); and
receive a third input selecting an access parameter, wherein the access parameter defines one or more user profiles authorized to view the selected content source (user targets content based on profiles of the users/devices/platforms that are the recipients of the targeted content, [0018]; [0030]; [0036]); and
generating an end user GUI (Fig. 3-8) configured to:
render a content item associated with the selected content source, the one or more selected content parameters, and the selected access parameter via a display of one or more client devices; and embed the content item within a video player of a platform (based on the selected parameters and for the audience/platform/content is targeted, target content is generated and rendered for the user and forward use of other users on the platform, [0042]; [0045]; [0047]; [0050]).
On the other hand, Ihara does not explicitly teach wherein the one or more user profiles authorized to view the selected content satisfy one or more access credentials including a token, a username, a password, or a combination thereof.
However, in an analogous art, Kannan teaches a system that facilitates adaptive processing and content control (Abstract). The system creates and orders content composites (from different sources) based on analysis models for interactions with the graphical user interface ([0008]-[0010]; [0109]). Kannan teaches that the content could be from external sources ([0103]) and that the access credentials are stored for each individual ([0060]-[0063]; [0076]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ihara’s invention with Kannan’s feature of having access credentials and offer an interface of recommended content targeted to a user/device for the benefit of presenting content composite that the user is allowed to watch.
Additionally, Ihara and Kannan do not explicitly teach
wherein the content source is received based on a content provider map stored in a configuration table associated with a content provider application.
However, in an analogous art, Earl teaches a system that incorporates content information from different sources, which may not be part of the content provider. The system generates a GUI with multiple sources from different platforms, including third party audio/video ([0031]-[0034]). The interface uses tabulated data from all the sources identifying the content, including information for the delivery (Figs. 5-8; [0050]). The information database is stored on a remote data storage facility or a device ([0029]). The information includes content that is accessible to the user after verification ([0029]; [0035]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ihara and Kannan’s invention with Earl’s feature is received based on content provider map stored on a configuration table associated with the content provider for the benefit of organizing the data including delivery resources/address.
Regarding claims 2 and 19, Ihara, Kannan and Earl teach comprising providing access, via one or more application programming interfaces (APIs), to the one or more available content sources (Ihara: [0035]; [0044]-[0047]).
Regarding claims 3 and 12, Ihara, Kannan and Earl teach wherein the content design GUI is configured to:
display one or more pieces of content based on the selected content source, the selected one or more content parameters, and the selected access parameter (Ihara: based on the selected parameters and for the audience/platform/content is targeted, target content is generated and rendered for the user and forward use of other users on the platform, [0042]; [0045]; [0047]; [0050]); and
receive a fourth input selecting a particular piece of content from the one or more pieces of content; wherein the content item rendered by the end user GUI comprises the particular piece of content (Ihara: [0018]; [0036], where the targeted content is displayed at the platform as previously setup. It is inherent that the end user must select the platform/content, etc.).
Regarding claims 4 and 18, Ihara, Kannan and Earl teach comprising embedding the selected particular piece of content within a video player of a platform (Ihara: [0046]; [0048]).
Regarding claim 5, Ihara, Kannan and Earl teach comprising augmenting the selected particular piece of content using a design canvas of the content design GUI by incorporating one or more static images, one or more text strings, or both (Ihara: Figs. 3-8; [0018]-[0021]; [055]).
Regarding claims 6 and 15, Ihara, Kannan and Earl teach wherein the content design GUI is configured to receive a fifth input selecting an access time parameter, one or more display parameters, one or more playback parameters (Ihara: re-sizing/scaling factor, [0037]; [0038]), or any combination thereof.
Regarding claims 8, 14 and 20, Ihara and Kannan teach wherein the first input, the second input, or the third input, or any combination thereof, is based on one or more configuration tables of a content provider application associated with the available content sources (Ihara: [0044]; [0049]; [0064]).
Regarding claims 9 and 16, Ihara, Kannan and Earl teach wherein the first input is based on a received search query (Ihara: search box, Figs. 3 and 6).
Regarding claim 10, Ihara, Kannan and Earl teach wherein the one or more selected content parameters comprise a play bar, a volume, a full screen, or any combination thereof (Ihara: [0031]; [0037], where the target content can be re-sized according to user’s desire).
Regarding claim 22, Ihara, Kannan and Earl teach comprising determining that the content item associated with the selected content source is externally hosted prior to generating the end user GUI (Kannan: [0103]).
Claim(s) 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ihara et al. (hereinafter ‘Ihara’, Pub. No. 2019/0377479) in view of Kannan et al. (hereinafter ‘Kannan’, Pub. No. 2021/0105518) in view of Earle (Pub. No. 2015/0319474) in further view of Leung et al. (hereinafter ‘Leung’, WO 2023/129556).
Regarding claim 21, Ihara, Kannan and Earl teach all the limitations of the claim it depends on. On the other hand, they do not explicitly teach comprising receiving an access time parameter associated with a playback time of the selected content source.
However, in an analogous art, Leung teaches a system that integrates content from different platforms from which the user can select content through a content interface ([0021]; [0022]; [0030]). The system, when content is restricted, is presented with a price to be paid for access (Figs. 8 and 9; [0030]-[0034]) for a window of time.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ihara and Ihara, Kannan and Earl’s invention with Leung’s feature of receiving an access period of time parameter to allow the user to playback restricted content for the benefit of allowing the user know when he/she can consume content after purchase/subscription from different platforms.
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OMAR S PARRA whose telephone number is (571)270-1449. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: Mostly 10-6PM.
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/OMAR S PARRA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2421