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
This Office Action is in response to an AMENDMENT entered on August 27, 2025 for patent application 18/679,040 filed on May 30, 2024.
Claims 1-5 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claims contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention.
Claim 1 requires “(c) said MABR device receiving from said session router a further modified said encrypted request including data indicating a redirection to receive said content from said MABR device based upon an encryption key of said MABR device (emphasis added by Examiner).” However, Applicant’s specification states that:
[0064] Upon the session router 352 receiving the data from the MABR client 320, the session router 352 decodes the preamble 362, which provides the information to identify the origin of the request for the data. The session router 352 processes the remainder of the socket data 364 using TLS, depending on the encryption technique used. The session router 352 may look up the MABR channel name for the particular URL 366, such as, https://proxy.cs.mabr.com/live/foxhls/hls.m3u8. In this manner, the session router 352 may determine a particular channel for the MABR client 320 where the content may be obtained. The session router 352 may provide a TLS socket response 368 for the unicast player 322 to the MABR client 320. This TLS socket response 368 contains the re-direct response where the TLS end-point is the unicast player 322.
[0065] The MABR client 320 receives the TLS socket response 368 and forwards 380 the TLS socket response 368 to the unicast client 322. The received TLS socket response 368 provides information in the form of a redirect 380 for obtaining the desired information from the MABR client 320 in a manner that is transparent to the unicast client 322. For example, gw001.cs.mabr.com: 8443 provides the information of where to obtain the requested video content from the local MABR client 320, which corresponds to the metadata that was provided to the session router 352. The unicast client 322 uses the redirect 380 to provide a request 382 to the MABR client 320 for the content. It is noted that this technique maintains encrypted communications among all, or at least portions of, the communications between different components of the system. Further, the MABR client 320 may decrypt the communications because it has a certificate for gw001.cs.mabr.com. (Emphasis added by Examiner)
These paragraphs show that the MABR device receives a “TLS socket response” from the session router, rather than a “further modified said encrypted request,” as claimed.
Examiner’s position is buttressed by Applicant’s own response to the previous Office Action, in which Applicant states “[t]he method shows the MABR device 320 receiving request 510 from the client device 322. FIG. 5 shows that MABR device 320 modifies the request by adding a preamble containing metadata 512 and provides the modified message to the session router 352. The MABR device 320 then receives the TLS Socket Response 368 for the content device (ABR Player 322). See also [0057] to [0073] of the specification (Emphasis added by Examiner).”
A response to a request cannot be reasonably referred to as a modified request, or even a “further modified said encrypted request,” as claimed. It makes sense to refer to the request to which a preamble has been added as a “modified encrypted request,” as it is still a request, albeit a request that has been modified.
However, the session router receives the request, “decodes the preamble,” and then “processes the remainder of the socket data,” and then “the session router 352 may determine a particular channel for the MABR client 320 where the content may be obtained,” before “provid[ing] a TLS socket response 368 for the unicast player 322 to the MABR client 320.”
Thus, there is no support in Applicant’s specification for the claimed “said MABR device receiving from said session router a further modified said encrypted request.” Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-5 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 1 recites the limitation “(c) said MABR device receiving from said session router a further modified said encrypted request including data indicating a redirection to receive said content from said MABR device based upon an encryption key of said MABR device (emphasis added by Examiner).”
The claim language is confusing, as it is not clear which entity disclosed in the claim language is to “receive said content.”
In one potential interpretation, it appears as if the MABR device would receive the content from itself. That is, “said MABR device receiving … a …request including data indicating a redirection to receive said content from said MABR device.” The claim language, as written, can be read to mean that the MABR device receives a request to receive said content from said MABR device; i.e., to receive data from itself.
Although this is clearly not what Applicant means to claim, the claim language does not specify what entity is to “receive” said content. Applicant may want to modify the claim language to state “including data indicating a redirection for device X to receive said content from said MABR device,” or something similar, assuming such an amendment is supported in the specification as originally filed.
Claims 1-5 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 1 recites the limitation “(c) said MABR device receiving from said session router a further modified said encrypted request including data indicating a redirection to receive said content from said MABR device based upon an encryption key of said MABR device (emphasis added by Examiner).”
The specification never explicitly discloses that the MABR device has an encryption key, and while it can be assumed, based on the fact that TLS is used, and that the MABR client has a certificate, generally a certificate issued by a certificate authority contains the server’s public key, so to claim that the key is “an encryption key of said MABR device” is not inherently supported in the specification as originally filed. Applicant may want to modify the language to ensure that it is supported, and holds up under potential post-allowance scrutiny.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 3-5, filed August 27, 2025, with respect to the rejections of claims 1-6 under 35 USC § 112 and 35 USC § 102 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, new grounds of rejection are made in view of 35 USC § 112.
Conclusion
Claims 1-5 are rejected.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Joshua D Taylor whose telephone number is (571)270-3755. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8 am - 6 pm.
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/Joshua D Taylor/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2426 April 15, 2026
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