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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-9 and 11-17, are amended.
Drawings
Drawings received on 05/31/2024 are acceptable.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05/31/2024 has been considered by the examiner.
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 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claim 17 recites “evaluation score”, and “whose evaluation score is greater than a threshold score”. Claims 1, 5 and 8 recite “intensity of an emotion of a person”. Claims 9, 11-17 recite “moving image pieces”. None of these claimed subject matter are disclosed in the Specification. For example, while the “feeling” of the person is as originally mentioned in the Specification, “the emotion” or “intensity of the emotion” is new matter.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1-6, 9, 11, 14, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by HATANO (No. JP2011077883A “Hatano”).
Regarding claim 1, Hatano teaches “A method for editing a moving image by a computer, the method comprising: obtaining the moving image;” ([0010] An object of the present invention is to analyze a still image file generated from a moving image file or a moving image file).
“extracting a specific timing in the moving image by analyzing the moving image based on at least one of a feature calculated therefrom, a type and/or an intensity of an emotion of a person estimated therefrom, or a result of detection of a person or an object;” (And analyzing the moving image file by the changed analysis method, and the optimal audio extraction timing for the generated still image file from the audio mode information and the analysis result of the moving image file; [0011]); (detecting whether a person is photographed in the generated still image file, and the size of the person is detected; 0012);
“and adding at least one sound effect to the specific timing in the moving image based on at least one of the feature that has been calculated, the type and/or the intensity of the emotion of the person that has been estimated, or a type of the object or the person that has been detected.” (generating a sound-added still image file in association with the optimal speech and the generated still image file; [0011]); (detecting whether a person is photographed in the generated still image file, and the size of the person is detected; 0012); (The extraction timing is preferably in the same event as the generated still image file; 0013);
Regarding claim 2, Hatano teaches “wherein the analyzing the moving image obtains the feature by analyzing an image included in the moving image,” ([0010] An object of the present invention is to analyze a still image file generated from a moving image file or a moving image file, thereby extracting sound at an optimal timing for the still image and generating a still image file with optimal sound).
“and the extracting the specific timing is performed based on the feature.” (the optimal audio extraction timing for the generated still image file; [0011]).
Regarding claim 3, Hatano teaches “wherein the analyzing the moving image obtains the feature by analyzing a sound included in the moving image,” (The analysis method of the moving image file is changed according to sound mode information, the moving image file is analyzed by the changed analysis method, and the generated still image is analyzed from the sound mode information and the analysis result of the moving image file; [0016]).
“and the extracting the specific timing is performed based on the feature.” (the optimal audio extraction timing for the generated still image file; [0011]).
Regarding claim 4, Hatano teaches “wherein the analyzing the moving image obtains the feature by analyzing both an image and a sound included in the moving image,” ([0010] An object of the present invention is to analyze a still image file generated from a moving image file or a moving image file, thereby extracting sound at an optimal timing for the still image and generating a still image file with optimal sound).
“and the extracting the specific timing is performed based on the feature.” (the optimal audio extraction timing for the generated still image file; [0011]).
Regarding claim 5, Hatano teaches “estimating the emotion of the person in the moving image based on the feature,” (The still image analysis means 16 detects the person who is the main subject by face detection for the input still image file, and the detected person size is a predetermined value or more (for example, the face size is If the input still image is a square that is about 1/6 to 1/7 of the short side of the still image), the mode is set to emphasize the voice expressing emotion of the person (person mode); [0026]).
“wherein the analyzing the moving image obtains the feature by analyzing the moving image,” (For example, when the still image shown in FIG. 7A is selected, the moving image file is analyzed, and a scene (FIG. 7B) where the mouth is wide open is detected; [0037]).
“and the extracting the specific timing is performed based on the type and/or the intensity of the emotion of the person.” (The scene in FIG. 7B is a timing when the volume is high because the child is talking (enlarged view of a person; see FIG. 7C), and the timing of FIG. 7B is the extraction timing; [0037]).
The still image is analyzed to decide whether the person is detected, if so the expression of the person is than analyzed to determine their expression. If it is set to person mode then the feeling of the person is to be determined. Capturing the face of the person can help estimate the feeling the person is expressing which can then associate the still image with a sound the reflects the feeling of the person.
Regarding claim 6, Hatano teaches “detecting, in the moving image, the person or the object that is set in advance, by analyzing an image included in the moving image,” ([0028] Next, when the input audio mode information is the person mode, the shape and sound of the person's mouth are analyzed for the same event or the same scene in the moving image file, the mouth is opened wide, and the volume).
“wherein the extracting the specific timing is performed based on the result of detection of the person or the object.” (If there is a large timing (that is, whether or not the voice is being spoken), that timing is taken as the extraction timing, and if there is no scene with the mouth wide open, facial expressions are analyzed, smiling and loud. The timing (that is, whether the voice is uttered when there is a facial expression) is set as the extraction timing; [0028]).
Regarding claim 9, Hatano teaches “A method for editing a moving image by a computer, the method comprising: obtaining the moving image;” ([0010] An object of the present invention is to analyze a still image file generated from a moving image file or a moving image file).
“dividing the moving image into one or more moving image pieces by analyzing the moving image;” (an image is selected from a plurality of still images constituting the moving image; [0003];
An object of the present invention is to analyze a still image file generated from a moving image file or a moving image file; [0010]).
“determining a characteristic of each of the one or more moving image pieces based on at least one of a feature calculated therefrom, a result of language analysis thereon, a result of sound analysis thereon, or a result of image analysis thereon;” (the step of reading the moving image file, and the read moving image file Extracting a selected still image to generate a still image file; [0011]); (The still image analysis means 16 detects the person who is the main subject; 0026); (The moving image analysis unit 18 receives the moving image file output from the moving image reading unit 12 and the audio mode information output from the still image analysis unit 16; 0027);
“and determining a background sound to be added to each of the one or more moving image pieces, based on the characteristic determined for a corresponding one of the one or more moving image pieces.” (an image is selected from a plurality of still images constituting the moving image; [0003]; (analyzing the generated still image file to generate audio mode information; and analyzing the moving image file based on the audio mode information; [0011]).
Regarding claim 11, Hatano teaches “wherein the analyzing the moving image obtains a feature by analyzing a sound included in the moving image,” (The analysis method of the moving image file is changed according to sound mode information, the moving image file is analyzed by the changed analysis method, and the generated still image is analyzed from the sound mode information and the analysis result of the moving image file; [0016]).
“and the dividing the moving image into the one or more moving image pieces is performed based on the feature.” (an image is selected from a plurality of still images constituting the moving image; [0003]; An object of the present invention is to analyze a still image file generated from a moving image file or a moving image file; [0010];
[0005] Furthermore, in Patent Document 3, moving image data and audio data are separated from the acquired moving image data with sound, frame division processing is performed from the separated moving image data, and the image is extracted as still image data of a plurality of frames).
Regarding claim 14, Hatano teaches “the analyzing the moving image obtains a feature by analyzing an image included in the moving image,” ([0010] An object of the present invention is to analyze a still image file generated from a moving image file or a moving image file, thereby extracting sound at an optimal timing for the still image and generating a still image file with optimal sound).
“wherein the dividing the moving image into the one or more moving image pieces is performed based on the feature.” (an image is selected from a plurality of still images constituting the moving image; [0003]; An object of the present invention is to analyze a still image file generated from a moving image file or a moving image file; [0010];
[0005] Furthermore, in Patent Document 3, moving image data and audio data are separated from the acquired moving image data with sound, frame division processing is performed from the separated moving image data, and the image is extracted as still image data of a plurality of frames).
Regarding claim 19, Hatano teaches “A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing an editing program, which when executed by at least one processor, causes a computer to perform the method according to claim 1.” (Further, the present invention may be configured as the above-described image file generation program as a computer-readable medium or a computer-readable memory; [0049]).
Regarding claim 20, Hatano teaches “An editing device configured to perform the method according to claim 1.” ([0019] An image file generation apparatus of the present invention that implements an image file generation method according to the present invention will be described in detail below based on preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings).
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) 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, and 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HATANO in view of ASANO et al (No. JP2019205158A “Asano”).
Regarding claim 7, Hatano fails to teach the limitations of claim 7. However, Asano teaches “wherein the adding the at least one sound effect is performed by referring to a table that is set in advance to associate a type of the specific timing and the at least one sound effect.” ([0036] FIG. 5 shows an outline of the table structure of the sound effect database of the present embodiment;
[0037] In this embodiment, sound data (sound effects) is managed using a sound effect database having a table structure as shown in FIG. 5, and the search unit 32 refers to the sound effect database to search for sound data. (S108) is executed).
Hatano and Asano are analogous art as both of them are related to image file producing and information processing.
The motivation for the above is to have an efficient list of sound effects predetermined for the moving image.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to have modified Hatano by adding the at least one sound effect is performed by referring to a table that is set in advance to associate a type of the specific timing and the at least one sound effect as taught by Asano.
Regarding claim 8, Hatano fails to teach the limitations of claim 8. However, Asano teaches “wherein the adding the at least one sound effect is performed by dynamically generating the at least one sound effect based on one of the feature calculated, the type and/or the intensity of the emotion of the person estimated, or a type of the object or the person detected, at the specific timing.” (The identified sound data is acquired from the sound data stored in the auxiliary storage unit 105 (S204). As a result, sound data of sound effects to be added to the moving image data (reproduction data, first reproduction data) currently being reproduced is generated (extracted); [0037]).
The motivation for the above is to have easily identify the sound effect best related to the moving image.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to have modified Hatano by adding the at least one sound effect is performed by dynamically generating the at least one sound effect based on one of the feature calculated, the type and/or the intensity of the emotion of the person estimated, or a type of the object or the person detected, at the specific timing as taught by Asano.
Regarding claim 10, Hatano fails to teach the limitations of claim 10. However, Asano teaches “wherein the analyzing the moving image includes analyzing a language included in the moving image,” ([0058] [Modification 6] In the information processing system 10 of the above-described embodiment, the voice (recognition word) recognized by the voice recognition unit is used as an onomatopoeia, and sound data (sound effect) is added to the moving image data based on the onomatopoeia;
Corresponding to this, the recognition word in the sound effect database is set not only for Japanese but also for other languages such as English, so that a search according to the language is possible).
“and the dividing the moving image is performed based on an analysis result of the language.” (Some of them include both moving image data (image information) and sound data (sound information). The moving image (moving image data) is composed of a plurality of frame-by-frame images (image data) arranged in time series. Hereinafter, reproduction data including moving image data may be simply referred to as moving image data; [0020]).
The motivation for the above is to have easy analysis of language within moving image for better efficiency.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to have modified Hatano by analyzing the moving image includes analyzing a language included in the moving image and the dividing the moving image is performed based on an analysis result of the language as taught by Asano.
Regarding claim 12, Hatano fails to teach the limitations of claim 12. However, Asano teaches “extracting an utterance section of an utterer in the moving image based on the feature,” ([0038] For example, when the voice uttered by the worker using the system 10 is “don't care”, when the voice recognition unit 31 recognizes this voice (YES in S106), the search unit 32 stores the sound effect database. Referring to the sound data of the sound effect corresponding to the recognized voice “Dokan” (recognition word) is searched (S203). As shown in FIG. 5, the sound data of the sound effect corresponding to the recognition word “Dokan” is “Sound data C2 (explosive pronunciation)”, and therefore, among the sound data stored in the auxiliary storage unit 105 "Sound data C2" is acquired from (S204)).
“wherein the dividing the moving image into the one or more moving image pieces based on the feature is performed based on the utterance section.” (Some of them include both moving image data (image information) and sound data (sound information). The moving image (moving image data) is composed of a plurality of frame-by-frame images (image data) arranged in time series. Hereinafter, reproduction data including moving image data may be simply referred to as moving image data; [0020]).
The motivation for the above is to have voice recognition analysis for the moving image for better efficiency.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to have modified Hatano by extracting an utterance section of an utterer in the moving image based on the feature wherein the dividing the moving image into the one or more moving image pieces based on the feature is performed based on the utterance section as taught by Asano.
Regarding claim 13, Hatano fails to teach the limitations of claim 13. However, Asano teaches “wherein the extracting the utterance section includes identifying the utterer in the moving image,” ([0039] Here, when the voice (recognition word) uttered by the operator overlaps with a plurality of genres, for example, when the recognition word is “about” shown in FIG. 5, the search unit 32 makes a sound corresponding to “about”.… In this case, one sound data is randomly specified (extracted) from the plurality of sound data and acquired).
“and the dividing the moving image into the one or more moving image pieces based on the utterance section is performed based on a result of identification of the utterer.” (Some of them include both moving image data (image information) and sound data (sound information). The moving image (moving image data) is composed of a plurality of frame-by-frame images (image data) arranged in time series. Hereinafter, reproduction data including moving image data may be simply referred to as moving image data; [0020]).
The motivation for the above is to have efficient analysis of voice recognition for the moving image.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to have modified Hatano by extracting the utterance section includes identifying the utterer in the moving image and the dividing the moving image into the one or more moving image pieces based on the utterance section is performed based on a result of identification of the utterer as taught by Asano.
Regarding claim 15, Hatano fails to teach the limitations of claim 15. However, Asano teaches “wherein the determining the background sound is performed by referring to a table that is set in advance to associate a type of each of the one or more moving image pieces and the background sound.” (Obtaining sound information corresponding to the input recognized by the recognition means from the sound information stored in the storage means, and generating sound information associated with the reproduction data, the storage means The sound information stored in the table is managed by classification, and further comprises a specifying means capable of specifying a classification of the sound information to be generated by the generating means among the classifications; [0011]).
The motivation for the above is to choose an efficient sound with a predetermined table of sounds.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to have modified Hatano by determining the background sound is performed by referring to a table that is set in advance to associate a type of each of the one or more moving image pieces and the background sound as taught by Asano.
Regarding claim 16, Hatano fails to teach the limitations of claim 16. However, Asano teaches “wherein the determining the background sound includes dynamically generating the background sound based on an analysis result of the moving image for each of the one or more moving image pieces.” ([0012] According to this, sound information is generated based on the input during reproduction of the reproduction data, and the generated sound information is associated with the reproduction data, so that it is possible to improve the efficiency of the work related to image production).
The motivation for the above is to generate a compatible sound from on the analysis of the moving image for better efficiency.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to have modified Hatano by determining the background sound includes dynamically generating the background sound based on an analysis result of the moving image for each of the one or more moving image pieces as taught by Asano.
Regarding claim 17, Hatano fails to teach the limitations of claim 17. However, Asano teaches “collecting an evaluation score regarding another moving image different from the moving image,” (When the “Preview” button 202 is pressed (clicked), moving image data to which sound data corresponding to the sound icon displayed in the sound editing display area 204 is added, that is, the sound data and moving image data to be edited are displayed. The reproduction data (second reproduction data) obtained by synthesizing the data is reproduced from the beginning; [0028]);
Then, the editing unit 22 changes and edits the reproduction position information (reproduction time information) of the sound data thereby evaluating the sound icon IC according to the movement of the sound data on the timeline (on the time axis); [0044]).
“wherein the determining the background sound is performed based on another background sound included in the another moving image whose evaluation score is greater than a threshold score.” (The editing unit 22 is configured to be able to execute various types of editing processing such as adding the sound data read by the reading unit 23 to the moving image data and adjusting the reproduction position of the sound data with respect to the moving image data. Yes. Further, the playback unit 21 is configured to be able to execute processing related to playback of playback data including sound data and moving image data edited by the editing unit 22; [0019]).
The evaluation is collected based on previewing the reproduced moving image and making adjustments during the playbacks. Using the user’s observations and interaction with the editing of the moving image as the evaluation being collected. The moving image becomes the evaluation to be collected and the user’s ability to view and edit the moving image constitutes the evaluation. In the editing unit, adjustments are made due to the evaluation collected from user. Thus, a proper sound could be added to the moving image based on the evaluation from the editing unit.
The motivation for the above is to better evaluate the moving image for accurate background sound chosen for moving image.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to have modified Hatano by collecting an evaluation score regarding another moving image different from the moving image, wherein the determining the background sound is performed based on another background sound included in the another moving image whose evaluation score is greater than a threshold score as taught by Asano.
Regarding claim 18, Hatano fails to teach the limitations of claim 18. However, Asano teaches “wherein the determining the background sound is performed based on an attribute of a user who edits or views the moving image.” (The timeline display area 203 also displays the waveform HK of the sound data when the reproduction data of the moving image reproduced and displayed in the reproduction display area 202 includes sound data such as BGM (background music). It is configured. That is, the timeline display area 203 can also display reproduction position information (sound timeline) on the time axis of sound data. As a result, the operator looks at the timeline display area 203, so that the correspondence between the reproduction position of the moving image reproduced and displayed in the image reproduction display area 202, the sound reproduced accompanying the moving image, and the reproduction position are displayed; [0025]).
The motivation for the above is to have background sound chosen with the user controllability.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to have modified Hatano by determining the background sound is performed based on an attribute of a user who edits or views the moving image as taught by Asano.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Page 8, filed 04/08/2026, with respect to Claim 5 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The 112b rejection of 05/31/2024 has been withdrawn.
The Applicant’s argues claim 5 112b rejection is rendered moot by the present amendment of claim 5.
The Examiner replies that the 112b rejection of claim 5 is withdrawn due to the amendment of claim 5.
Applicant’s arguments, see Page 8, filed 04/08/2026, with respect to Claim 9 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The 112b rejection of 05/31/2024 has been withdrawn.
The Applicant’s argues claim 9 112b rejection is rendered moot by the present amendment of claim 5.
The Examiner replies that the 112b rejection of claim 9 is withdrawn due to the amendment of claim 9.
Applicant’s arguments, see Page 8, filed 04/08/2026, with respect to Claim 17 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The 112b rejection of 05/31/2024 has been withdrawn.
The Applicant’s argues claim 17 112b rejection is rendered moot by the present amendment of claim 5.
The Examiner replies that the 112b rejection of claim 17 is withdrawn due to the amendment of claim 17.
Applicant's arguments filed 04/08/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding the 35 USC 102(a)(1) rejection of claim 1, The Applicant argues claim 1 is not anticipated or rendered obvious by Hatano. The Applicants believes that Hatano fails to teach at least "extracting a specific timing in the moving image by analyzing the moving image based on at least one of a feature calculated therefrom, a type and/or an intensity of an emotion of a person estimated therefrom, or a result of detection of a person or an object" and "adding at least one sound effect to the specific timing in the moving image based on one of the feature that has been calculated, the type and/or the intensity of the emotion of the person that has been estimated, or a type of the object or the person that has been detected," as specifically required by claim 1 as amended.
The Examiner replies that Hatano anticipates the applicant’s claim language.
“obtaining the moving image;” ([0010] An object of the present invention is to analyze a still image file generated from a moving image file or a moving image file).
“extracting a specific timing in the moving image by analyzing the moving image based on at least one of a feature calculated therefrom, a type and/or an intensity of an emotion of a person estimated therefrom, or a result of detection of a person or an object; and (And analyzing the moving image file by the changed analysis method, and the optimal audio extraction timing for the generated still image file from the audio mode information and the analysis result of the moving image file; [0011]); (detecting whether a person is photographed in the generated still image file, and the size of the person is detected; 0012);
Hatano teaches getting optimal audio extract timing for the a still of the moving image file, or a still image. Thus, within the image file, detecting at least a person in the image which teases the claimed subject matter.
“adding at least one sound effect to the specific timing in the moving image based on at least one of the feature that has been calculated, the type and/or the intensity of the emotion of the person that has been estimated, or a type of the object or the person that has been detected.” (generating a sound-added still image file in association with the optimal speech and the generated still image file; [0011]); (detecting whether a person is photographed in the generated still image file, and the size of the person is detected; 0012); (The extraction timing is preferably in the same event as the generated still image file; 0013);
Hatano teaches adding a sound to the still image file, a still of the moving image file. Within the still image file, there is at least a person detected where the added sound can be based on that detected person.
Therefore, Hatano anticipates the claimed subject matter as Hatano discloses a moving image file that can add a sound to a still image file that is derived from the moving image file. The sound effect is added to timing of the still image. Within the image there is a person that can be is detected that assist in the generation of the moving image with a specific sound affect based on the feature of the moving image.
Regarding claims 2-8, 19 and 20, The Applicant argues that claims 2-8, 19 and 20 are not anticipated or rendered obvious by virtue of dependency from claim 1.
The Examiner replies that claims 2-8, 19 and 20 are dependent on claim 1. Since claim 1 rejection is maintained, claims 2-8, 19 and 20 are rejected under virtue of dependency to claim 1. Therefore, the Examiner maintains the rejections of claims 2-8, 19 and 20.
Regarding the 35 USC 102(a)(1) rejection of claim 9, The Applicant argues claim 9 is not anticipated or rendered obvious by Hatano. The Applicant believes that Hatano is silent as to "dividing the moving image into one or more moving image pieces," as required by claim 9 as amended. Accordingly, that Hatano fails to teach "determining a characteristic of each of the one or more moving image pieces based on at least one of a feature calculated therefrom, a result of language analysis thereon, a result of sound analysis thereon, or a result of image analysis thereon" and "determining a background sound to be added to each of the one or more moving image pieces, based on the characteristic determined for a corresponding one of the one or more moving image pieces," as required by claim 9, as amended.
The Examiner replies that Hatano anticipates the applicant’s claim language.
“obtaining the moving image;” ([0010] An object of the present invention is to analyze a still image file generated from a moving image file or a moving image file).
“dividing the moving image into one or more moving image pieces by analyzing the moving image;” (an image is selected from a plurality of still images constituting the moving image; [0003]; An object of the present invention is to analyze a still image file generated from a moving image file or a moving image file; [0010]).
Hatano teaches a plurality of still images constituting a moving image. This teaches the claimed subject matter of moving image pieces under broadest reasonable interpretation of image pieces also relating to still images.
“determining a characteristic of each of the one or more moving image pieces based on at least one of a feature calculated therefrom, a result of language analysis thereon, a result of sound analysis thereon, or a result of image analysis thereon; and” (the step of reading the moving image file, and the read moving image file Extracting a selected still image to generate a still image file; [0011]); (The still image analysis means 16 detects the person who is the main subject; 0026); (The moving image analysis unit 18 receives the moving image file output from the moving image reading unit 12 and the audio mode information output from the still image analysis unit 16; 0027);
Hatano teaches the still image analysis and moving image analysis which assist in teaching the claimed subject matter of determining a characteristic from those analysis results.
“determining a background sound to be added to each of the one or more moving image pieces, based on the characteristic determined for a corresponding one of the one or more moving image pieces.” (an image is selected from a plurality of still images constituting the moving image; [0003]; (analyzing the generated still image file to generate audio mode information; and analyzing the moving image file based on the audio mode information; [0011]).
Hatano additionally teaches audio mode information that, using Broadest Reasonable Interpretation, can teach background sound for the image pieces. To reiterate, a plurality of still images constitutes a moving image. This teaches the claimed subject matter of moving image pieces under broadest reasonable interpretation of image pieces also relating to still images.
Therefore, Hatano anticipates the claimed subject matter as Hatano discloses a plurality of still images constituting moving image pieces and the feature of image analysis assist with determining the characteristic of the moving image pieces.
Regarding claims 10-18, The Applicant argues that claims 10-18 are not anticipated or rendered obvious by virtue of dependency from claim 9.
The Examiner replies that claims 10-18 are dependent on claim 9. Since claim 9 rejection is maintained, claims 10-18 are rejected under virtue of dependency to claim 9. Therefore, the Examiner maintains the rejections of claims 10-18.
Regarding the 35 USC 103 rejection of claims 7, 8, 10, 12, 13 and 15-18, The Applicant argues a prima facie case of obviousness has not been established with regards to claims 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, and 15-18, by virtue of their dependency to claim 1 or claim 9.
The Examiner replies that claims 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, and 15-18 are dependent on claim 1 or claim 9. Since claim 1 and claim 9 rejections are maintained, claims 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, and 15-18 are rejected under virtue of dependency to claim 1 or 9. Therefore, the Examiner maintains the rejections of claims 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, and 15-18, at least by virtue of their dependency from claim 1 or claim 9.
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 BRIGITER D PROTAZI whose telephone number is (571)272-7995. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30-5.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Said A Broome can be reached at 5712722931. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/B.D.P./Examiner, Art Unit 2612
/Said Broome/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2612
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