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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 4/28/2026 has been entered.
Claim Status
Claims 1-10 and 15-24 are pending in this Office Action.
Claims 1, 15, and 20 are amended.
Claims 11-14 are cancelled.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 15, and 20 have been considered, but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claims 1, 15, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chan et al. (US 10,402,637).
Regarding claims 1, 15, and 20, Chan teaches: A video authoring method, a computer device, and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium [(abstract, Fig. 2)] comprising:
displaying a reading content of a first book [a user reading a block of text from a textual passage (e.g., from a book or electronic book (e-book)) and displaying the text on an a display 204 (col. 4, line 26 through col. 5, line 12, Fig. 1 and 2)]
in response to a selection operation for at least one content segment in the first book, determining a first video material in a plurality of material dimensions that matches an attribute characteristic of the at least one content segment [the user may select a portion of the text, such a portion from the book, through an operation such as pushing a button (col. 4, line 26 through col. 5, line 30, Fig. 1 and 2). In response, the image of text is analyzed, various material are determined, in dimensions such as images and objects, background image, characters, and sounds. The material may match an attribute of the text, such as a color of a character’s hair (col. 5, lines 45-60, col. 10, lines 23-42, col. 12, line 7 through col. 13, line 38, and col. 14, lines 51-67, Fig. 3)]
generating an authored video associated with the first book based on the first video material and the at least one content segment which is selected [generating a synthesized image sequence, such as a video based on the selected text and materials, such as images, objects, background, and sounds (col. 3, lines 10-35, col. 3, line 58 through col. 4, line 12, col. 13, line 39 through col. 14, line 67, and Fig. 3)],
wherein the plurality of material dimensions include two or more of a video background picture dimension, a video audio dimension, a video cover dimension, a video special effect dimension, or a text dubbing dimension [background, sounds, effects, or dubbing (col. 10, lines 8-22, col. 12, lines 55-59, col. 14, lines 1-23, and col. 14, line 51 through col. 15, line 17)], and
wherein the attribute characteristic of the at least one content segment includes at least one of a content style type, a content genre, a content importance, or a content complexity [an attribute of style type for the text, such as colors (col. 3, line 58 through col. 4, line 12 and col. 13, lines 10-24)].
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 2, 6, 16, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chan et al. (US 10,402,637) in view of Sekar et al. (US 11,790,697).
Regarding claims 2, 16, and 21, Chan teaches the method of claim 1; Chan further teaches: determining the first video material in the plurality of material dimensions that matches the attribute characteristic of the at least one content segment in response to the selection operation for the at least one content segment in the first book comprises as explained above. While Chan teaches the use of user preferences in selecting the video materials to be included in the video (col. 6, lines 4-14), Chan does not explicitly disclose: in response to the selection operation for the at least one content segment in the first book, displaying, for each of the material dimensions, a plurality of second video materials matching the attribute characteristic of the at least one content segment; determining the first video material selected by a user from each of the second video materials in the plurality of material dimensions.
Sekar teaches: in response to the selection operation for the at least one content segment in the first book, displaying, for each of the material dimensions, a plurality of second video materials matching the attribute characteristic of the at least one content segment; determining the first video material selected by a user from each of the second video materials in the plurality of material dimensions [in response to a text input, recommending the top images suitable for use based on keyword relevance and color suitability, recommending title and description based on the narration input. Following the recommendations, the user selecting one of the recommendations for inclusion in the video (col. 20, lines 17-57, Fig. 51C and 51D). Recommending the most suitable jokes, riddles, and stories based on keyword comparison (col. 26, lines 31-50, Fig. 72)].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Chan and Sekar before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Chan by incorporating the teaching of Sekar for displaying video materials matching the segment and determining the user selected materials. The motivation for doing so would have been to get user input before selecting the materials to be included in the video (Sekar – col. 20, lines 17-57, Fig. 51C and 51D). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Chan and Sekar to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim.
Regarding claim 6, Chan teaches the method of claim 1; Chan further teaches: generating the authored video associated with the first book based on the first video material and the at least one content segment which is selected comprises: a video frame picture; generating the authored video based on at least one selected from the group consisting of a background music material, a transition special effects material, and a dubbing material corresponding to the content segment in the first video material, and the video frame picture [generating a synthesized image sequence, such as a video based on the selected text and materials, such as images, objects, background, and sounds (col. 3, lines 10-35, col. 3, line 58 through col. 4, line 12, col. 13, line 39 through col. 14, line 67, and Fig. 3). background, effects, or dubbing (col. 10, lines 8-22, col. 12, lines 55-59, col. 14, lines 1-23, and col. 14, line 51 through col. 15, line 17)].
Chan does not explicitly disclose: adding the content segment to a background picture material in the first video material to obtain the video frame picture.
Sekar teaches: adding the content segment to a background picture material in the first video material to obtain the video frame picture [adding the text to a slide incorporated into the background of the video (col. 26, lines 31-60 and Fig. 2B-2D, 51C, and 72)].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Chan and Sekar before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Chan by incorporating the teaching of Sekar for adding the content segment to a background picture material in the first video material to obtain the video frame picture. The motivation for doing so would have been for reading ease (Sekar – col. 27, lines 6-13). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Chan and Sekar to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim.
Claims 3, 17, and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chan et al. (US 10,402,637) in view of Castaneda et al. (US 2019/0155949) and further in view of Kim (US 2021/0390317).
Regarding claims 3, 17, and 22, Chan teaches the method of claim 1; Chan further teaches: determining the first video material in the plurality of material dimensions that matches the attribute characteristic of the at least one content segment in response to the selection operation for the at least one content segment in the first book as explained above. Chan does not explicitly disclose: displaying a plurality of published videos that matches the attribute characteristic of the at least one content segment in response to the selection operation for the at least one content segment in the first book; determining a reference video selected by a user from the plurality of published videos and extracting the first video material of the reference video at the plurality of material dimensions.
Castaneda teaches: displaying a plurality of published videos that matches the attribute characteristic of the at least one content segment in response to the selection operation for the at least one content segment in the first book; determining a reference video selected by a user from the plurality of published videos [displaying multiple search results of related content that may be published videos, such as different published versions of Beauty and the Beast (par. 51, Fig. 5). Receiving of a user selection of the search results (par. 55)].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Chan and Castaneda before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Chan by incorporating the teaching of Castaneda for displaying a plurality of published videos that matches the attribute characteristic of the at least one content segment in response to the selection operation for the at least one content segment in the first book and determining a reference video selected by a user from the plurality of published videos. The motivation for doing so would have been to give the user more control by providing the user options of videos to choose from (Castaneda – 51 and 55). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Chan and Castaneda in obtaining the invention as specified in the instant claim.
Castaneda does not explicitly disclose: extracting the first video material of the reference video at the plurality of material dimensions.
Kim teaches: extracting the first video material of the reference video at the plurality of material dimensions [extracting, from the video, a plurality of clips corresponding to the plurality of contexts, respectively, that have been set for the video (par. 31 and 36, Fig. 8)].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Chan, Castaneda, and Kim before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Chan and Castaneda by incorporating extracting the first video material of the reference video at the plurality of material dimensions as disclosed by Kim. The motivation for doing so would have been to merge the clips to generate a video (Kim – abstract). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Chan and Castaneda with Kim to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim.
Claims 4-5, 7-9, 18-19, and 23-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chan et al. (US 10,402,637) in view of Bharadwaj (US 2023/0205781).
Regarding claims 4, 18, and 23, Chan teaches the method of claim 1; Chan does not explicitly disclose: after generating the authored video associated with the first book, the method further comprises: integrating the authored video into a video collection corresponding to the first book; wherein the video collection comprises a plurality of authored videos associated with the first book, and the plurality of authored videos is associated with different content segments of the first book.
Bharadwaj teaches: after generating the authored video associated with the first book, the method further comprises: integrating the authored video into a video collection corresponding to the first book; wherein the video collection comprises a plurality of authored videos associated with the first book, and the plurality of authored videos is associated with different content segments of the first book [gathering a set of public or private videos associated with an eBook or textbook (par. 163-170)].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Chan and Bharadwaj before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Chan by incorporating integrating the authored video into a video collection corresponding to the first book as disclosed by Bharadwaj. The motivation for doing so would have been to add audiovisual content, like videos, in context integrated with previously unlinked sources like books to form an integrated learning content (Bharadwaj – 4). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Chan and Bharadwaj to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim.
Regarding claims 5, 19, and 24, Chan and Bharadwaj teach the method of claim 4; Bharadwaj further teaches: integrating the authored video into the video collection corresponding to the first book comprises: determining a first video topic matching the authored video from video topics respectively corresponding to a plurality of video collections of the first book; integrating the authored video into the video collection corresponding to the first video topic [a tutor can integrate the video into a set of videos associated with the textbook (par. 164). the tutor generates specific sets of information to go with the textbook and build learning opportunities for the student and the context may be a chapter or sub-chapter in the book (par. 136 and 170)].
Regarding claim 7, Chan teaches the method of claim 1; Chan does not explicitly disclose: after generating the authored video associated with the first book, the method further comprises: displaying a preview identification of the authored video at a preset location in the first book.
Bharadwaj teaches: after generating the authored video associated with the first book, the method further comprises: displaying a preview identification of the authored video at a preset location in the first book [displaying a preview id of the video, such as “Voltage divider video 1”, in a location in the book (par. 146-147, Fig. 8)].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Chan and Bharadwaj before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the video authoring method of Chan by incorporating displaying the preview identification of the authored video after generating the authored video associated with the first book as disclosed by Bharadwaj. The motivation for doing so would have been to add audiovisual content, like videos, in context integrated with previously unlinked sources like books to form an integrated learning content (Bharadwaj – 4). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Chan and Bharadwaj to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim.
Regarding claim 8, Chan teaches the method of claim 1; Chan does not explicitly disclose: after generating the authored video associated with the first book, the method further comprises: displaying a preview identification of the authored video in a recommended video display region associated with the first book.
Bharadwaj teaches: after generating the authored video associated with the first book, the method further comprises: displaying a preview identification of the authored video in a recommended video display region associated with the first book [displaying a preview id of the video, such as “Voltage divider video 1”, in a region in the book as a recommendation (par. 146-147, Fig. 8)].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Chan and Bharadwaj before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the video authoring method of Chan by incorporating displaying a preview identification after generating the authored video associated with the first book as disclosed by Bharadwaj. The motivation for doing so would have been to add audiovisual content, like videos, in context integrated with previously unlinked sources like books to form an integrated learning content (Bharadwaj – 4). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Chan and Bharadwaj to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim.
Regarding claim 9, Chan teaches the method of claim 1; Chan does not explicitly disclose: after generating the authored video associated with the first book, the method further comprises: displaying a preview identification of the authored video in a discussion group associated with the first book.
Bharadwaj teaches: after generating the authored video associated with the first book, the method further comprises: displaying a preview identification of the authored video in a discussion group associated with the first book [the teachers may also be interacting with the student in the context of the eBooks. The use of social media in learning allows the students to interact in groups which also introduce a particular student to the material read. Displaying a preview id of the video, such as “Voltage divider video 1” (par. 146-147, 164, and 169-170, Fig. 8)].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Chan and Bharadwaj before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the video authoring method of Chan by incorporating after generating the authored video associated with the first book, displaying a preview identification of the authored video in a discussion group associated with the first book as disclosed by Bharadwaj. The motivation for doing so would have been to add audiovisual content, like videos, in context integrated with previously unlinked sources like books to form an integrated learning content (Bharadwaj – 4). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Chan and Bharadwaj to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chan et al. (US 10,402,637) in view of Walker et al. (US 2022/0076706).
Regarding claim 10, Chan teaches the method of claim 1; Chan does not explicitly disclose: after generating the authored video associated with the first book, the method further comprises: displaying a video editing page in response to an editing triggering operation for the authored video, the video editing page comprising a plurality of editing tools therein; acquiring a first video after editing the authored video based on the editing tool.
Walker teaches: after generating the authored video associated with the first book, the method further comprises: displaying a video editing page in response to an editing triggering operation for the authored video, the video editing page comprising a plurality of editing tools therein; acquiring a first authored video after editing the authored video based on the editing tool [Video editing tool 130 (e.g., the editor interface) includes various editing tools and functions, such as for stylistic refinements that transform content (e.g., wind noise reduction), duration-impacting refinements that hide content (e.g., “hiding” regions of footage, removing swear words, make a time lapse, shorten to n seconds), and/or contextual functions. The resulting composite video can be played back, saved, exported, or otherwise (par. 11, 118, and 135-140, Fig. 1B and 14)].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Chan and Walker before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the video authoring method of Chan by incorporating after generating the authored video associated with the first book, displaying a video editing page comprising a plurality of editing tools as disclosed by Walker. The motivation for doing so would have been to allow the user to perform editing operations on the video, such as trimming, cropping, rearranging, applying transitions and effects, etc. (Walker – par. 2-3). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Chan and Walker to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim.
Conclusion
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/ALEXANDER BOYD/Examiner, Art Unit 2424
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