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 .
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.
Claims 1, 3, 7, 8, 10, 14, 15, 17 and 20-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication 2004/0162877 to Van Dok et al. in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 2006/0075351 to Brumfield and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 2013/0055112 to Joseph et al.
Van Dok et al. ‘877 disclose:
As concerns claim 1, an operating method of a user terminal, the operating method comprising:
displaying a chat room (0016-presentation of real-time messages) provided by a chat service server (0073-server); and
sequentially receiving messages (Fig. 2A) from the chat service server, and
displaying a part of the messages in response to a scrolling action (0062-scrolling is an option) in the chat room by applying different color change effects over time to user messages (0016-0017-assign color, automatic, personalized; 0047-0048-distiguish users, different colors) and other participant messages (0047-0048) according to elapsed time since each message was received;
wherein a color of each of the user messages displayed in response to the scrolling action is changed over time to be finally displayed in a first color; and
wherein a color of each of the other participant messages displayed in response to the scrolling action is faded over time to be finally displayed in a second color, the second color being visually distinguished from the first color.
Van Dok et al. ‘877 do not disclose:
color change effects over time, wherein a color of each of the user messages displayed in response to the scrolling action is changed over time to be finally displayed in a first color; and
wherein a color of each of the other participant messages displayed in response to the scrolling action is faded over time to be finally displayed in a second color, the second color being visually distinguished from the first color.
Brumfield ‘351 teach:
color change effects over time (0033-colors indicating elapsed period of time since a previous response; 0035-elapsed time; 0039-chat session, timer, elapsed time with table lookup for color; color adjusted depending on elapsed time; 0041), wherein a color of each of the user messages displayed in response to the scrolling action is changed over time to be finally displayed in a first color (0033-colors indicating elapsed period of time since a previous response; 0035-elapsed time; 0039-chat session, timer, elapsed time with table lookup for color; color adjusted depending on elapsed time; 0041).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide the system of Van Dok et al. ‘877 with color change effects over time, as taught by Brumfield ‘351, in order to provide a visual indicator to users as to an age of messages.
Joseph et al. ‘112 teach:
wherein a color of each of the other participant messages displayed in response to the scrolling action is faded (0015-older message may fade, 0021-new message, bold, color, older message degrade in color; 0538-gradually transparent) over time to be finally displayed in a second color, the second color being visually distinguished from the first color (0021-color scale levels; 0191).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide the system of Van Dok et al. ‘877 as modified, with fading, as taught by Joseph et al. ‘112, in order to provide a visual indicator to users for distinguishing between messages.
Claims 8 and 15 are rejected for the same rational as claim 1. (memory and processor (Van Dok et al. 877: see Fig. 8)).
Brumfield ‘351 further teach:
As concerns claim 3, the operating method of claim 1, wherein the displaying the part of the messages includes
displaying a recent message of which the elapsed time is within a predetermined time in a different color from a message of which the elapsed time that is beyond the predetermined time (0041-0042; 0049).
As concerns claim 7, the operating method of claim 1, wherein the displaying the part of the message includes
differently setting message display attributes according to the elapsed time of the messages to display the messages in the chat room (0037-set preferences; 0041-0042; 0049).
As concerns claim 10, the user terminal of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to display a recent message of which the elapsed time is within a predetermined time in a different color from a message of which the elapsed time that is beyond the predetermined time (0041-0042; 0049).
As concerns claim 14, the user terminal of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to differently set message display attributes according to the elapsed time of the messages to display the messages in the chat room (0037-set preferences; 0041-0042; 0049).
As concerns claim 17, the computer program of claim 15, wherein the displaying the part of the message includes
displaying a recent message of which the elapsed time is within a predetermined time in a different color from a message of which the elapsed time that is beyond the predetermined time (0041-0042; 0049).
As concerns claim 20, the computer program of claim 15, wherein the displaying the part of the message in the chat room includes differently setting message display attributes according to the elapsed time of the messages to display the messages in the chat room (0037-set preferences; 0041-0042; 0049).
See motivation above for Brumfield ‘351.
Joseph et al. ‘112 further teach:
As concerns claim 21, the operating method of claim 1, wherein the displaying the part of the message includes:
changing the color of each of the user message over time (0021-color scale levels; 0191; 0015; 0021) after initially displaying the user message in a third color, and wherein fading the color (0015-older message may fade, 0021-new message, bold, color, older message degrade in color; 0538-gradually transparent) of each of the other participant message over time after initially displaying the other participant message in the third color.
As concerns claim 22, the user terminal of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to: change the color of each of the user message over time after initially displaying the user message in a third color (0021-color scale levels; 0191; 0015; 0021); and fade the color (0015-older message may fade, 0021-new message, bold, color, older message degrade in color; 0538-gradually transparent) of each of the other participant message over time after initially displaying the other participant message in the third color.
As concerns claim 23, the computer program of claim 15, wherein the displaying the part of the messages includes:
changing the color of each of the user message over time after initially displaying the user message in a third color (0021-color scale levels; 0191; 0015; 0021), and fading the color (0015-older message may fade, 0021-new message, bold, color, older message degrade in color; 0538-gradually transparent) of each of the other participant message over time after initially displaying the other participant message in the third color.
See motivation above for Joseph et al. ‘112
Claims 4, 11, 18 and 24-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication 2004/0162877 to Van Dok et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication 2006/0075351 to Brumfield and U.S. Patent Application Publication 2013/0055112 to Joseph et al. in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 2015/0339373 to Carlson et al.
Van Dok et al. ‘877 as modified do not disclose:
As concerns claim 4, the operating method of claim 1, wherein the displaying the messages includes differently providing a visual indication of the messages according to the elapsed time, depending on a message's sender.
As concerns claim 11, the user terminal of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to differently provides a visual indication of the messages according to the elapsed time depending on a message's sender.
As concerns claim 18, the computer program of claim 15, wherein the displaying the part of the messages in the chat room includes differently providing a visual indication of the messages according to the elapsed time depending on a message's sender.
As concerns claims 24, 25 and 26, wherein the first color is a specified color other than white and the second color is a white color.
Carlson et al. ’373 teach:
As concerns claim 4, the operating method of claim 1, wherein the displaying the messages includes differently providing a visual indication of the messages according to the elapsed time, depending on a message's sender (0071-messages arranged based on chronological order, and colors based on …sender, user preferences).
As concerns claim 11, the user terminal of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to differently provides a visual indication of the messages according to the elapsed time depending on a message's sender (0071-messages arranged based on chronological order, and colors based on …sender, user preferences).
As concerns claim 18, the computer program of claim 15, wherein the displaying the part of the messages in the chat room includes differently providing a visual indication of the messages according to the elapsed time depending on a message's sender (0071-messages arranged based on chronological order, and colors based on …sender, user preferences).
As concerns claims 24, 25 and 26, wherein the first color is a specified color other than white and the second color is a white color (0071- colors based on …sender, user preferences; varying colors would include white).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide the system of Van Dok et al. ‘877 with varying indication of message based on a sender, as taught by Carlson et al. ‘373, in order to provide relevant messages for a user to effectively identify.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed April 3, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The applicant’s arguments are directed to newly amended limitations that necessitated the new grounds of rejection. The newly amended limitations have been addressed in the rejections cited above.
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.
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/JOHN B WALSH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2451
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