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 § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 12, 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claims do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because they claim a computer “program” per se, which is a product that does not have a physical or tangible form (see MPEP 2106.03)
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6-19, 22- 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Brockwell et al. (US 2022/0108675 A1, “Brockwell”).
As to claims 1, 11, 12, 24, Brockwell discloses an information processing apparatus (network device 200, para. 0044) comprising:
a content information setting unit that sets content information including content parameter information defining a content of playback control of content (music compositions 232 with modifiable variables based on environmental data, para. 0045-0046);
a trigger information setting unit that sets trigger information defining a condition for performing playback control of the content (environmental data which modifies music playback include information regarding a user’s surroundings, such as destinations selected by a user, points of interest, weather conditions, landmarks, etc., para. 0039-0041); and
a content generation parameter setting unit that sets a content generation parameter by associating the content information with the trigger information (mapping environmental data to various musical forms and modifications may be set up by a composer; para. 0068, 0097).
As to claim 2, Brockwell discloses: a display unit that displays a screen for setting the content generation parameter (display 212 for setting an adjustable parameter, para. 0057).
As to claim 3, Brockwell discloses: wherein the content information further includes metadata of the content, and the metadata is information including at least one of a key, a beat, BPM, a code, a playback time, tonality, a musical instrument type of the content, or information associated with position data of the content in a case where the content is object audio (music may have an initial tempo indicated in beats per minute (BPM), para. 0057; musical parameters include musical style, instrumentation, pitch, time control, harmony, para. 0017, 0048-0064).
As to claim 4, Brockwell discloses: wherein the content information further includes information for associating first content data configuring the content with information associated with at least one piece of second content data added to the first content data (when the existence of a point-of-interest is determined, a musical POI is added to the background music, para. 0062, such as a particular drum line, a melodic addition, a cowbell, etc., para. 0063).
As to claim 6, Brockwell discloses: wherein the first content data includes data selected from data prepared in advance or includes use of existing music (music played out as background music may be selected by a user or generated based on user preferences, para. 0044), and the second content data includes data selected from data prepared in advance (specific distinct musical phrases associated with POIs and/or other environmental data may be custom-created or selected from a database of pre-existing phrases, para. 0046).
As to claims 7, 15, Brockwell discloses: wherein the trigger information is information including at least any one of POI information, landmark information, area information, information associated with a moving object in which the user is, or information on the user himself/herself (monitored environmental data include outside weather conditions, information regarding a user’s surroundings, safety conditions, points-of-interest data, physical structures being passed, another vehicle, etc., para. 0036, 0039, 0069-0070).
As to claim 8, Brockwell discloses: wherein the POI information is set as information indicating a start point and an end point of a POI, the landmark information is set as information indicating a start point and an end point of a landmark, the area information is set as information indicating start/end of an area, and the information associated with the moving object is set as information indicating start/stop, stop time, start/end of right/left turn, and speed of the moving object (POI musical phrase begins at a predetermined distance from the POI, para. 0050; distance from a particular destination, para. 0102, which may be a landmark, town, etc., para. 0039, particular neighborhood, para. 0046; other vehicle speech sensor, para. 0088).
As to claim 9, Brockwell discloses: wherein at least one of the POI information, the landmark information, or the area information has a unique parameter (distinct musical phrases may be associated with POIs, landmarks, neighborhood/city/downtown area, para. 0046; different musical sounds are allocated to the different POIs, etc., para. 0039, 0048-0050, 0069, Tables 1 and 2).
As to claim 10, Brockwell discloses: wherein the content is track data of a specific sound source acquired by sound source separation intended for existing music (sounds include tracks of music for each condition, para. 0040, 0096, 0112).
As to claims 13, 22, 23, Brockwell discloses: an information processing apparatus comprising:
an event acquisition unit that acquires an event when a user moves (monitors geographic location of user in a moving vehicle, para. 0036, 0039);
an acquisition unit that acquires a content generation parameter set by associating content information including content parameter information defining a content of playback control of content with trigger information defining a condition for performing the playback control of the content (music compositions 232 with modifiable variables based on environmental data, para. 0045-0046; environmental data which modifies music playback include information regarding a user’s surroundings, such as destinations selected by a user, points of interest, weather conditions, landmarks, etc., para. 0039-0041; mapping environmental data to various musical forms and modifications may be set up by a composer; para. 0068, 0097); and
a content playback control unit that performs playback control of the content on a basis of the content information associated with the trigger information in a case where the event serving as the condition defined by the trigger information is acquired (music playback is modified to indicate that the user is approaching a destination, leaving a city, etc., para. 0074).
As to claim 14, Brockwell discloses: wherein the event acquisition unit acquires at least any one of a position of the user, information indicating a state of a moving object in which the user is, or information on the user himself/herself (vehicle status information, location information, distance from destination, etc., para. 0039, 0050).
As to claim 16, Brockwell discloses: further comprising a content generation parameter control unit that determines whether or not to control the content generation parameter on a basis of the event and the trigger information (control module 202 having and environment awareness module 204 which determines if certain conditions exist for altering how the music compositions are played out; para. 0043-0045).
As to clam 17, Brockwell discloses: wherein in a case where it is determined to perform control of the content generation parameter, the content playback control unit performs playback control based on the content generation parameter controlled according to the event (based on certain determined conditions, music compositions are altered according to the detected environmental condition, para. 0045, 0048-0064).
As to claim 18, Brockwell discloses: wherein the content generation parameter control unit performs control of the content generation parameter on a basis of a traffic condition or a speed limit (music is altered to indicate hazardous road conditions, traffic pileups, road and traffic conditions, etc.; para. 0051-0052).
As to claim 19, Brockwell discloses: a sound source separation unit that performs sound source separation on existing music and acquires track data of each sound source, wherein the content playback control unit performs playback control using the track data acquired by sound source separation as the content (sounds include tracks of music for each condition, para. 0040, 0096, 0112).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brockwell in view of Koretzky et al. (US 2023/0186884 A1, “Koretzky”).
Brockwell differs from claim 5 in that it does not disclose: wherein the first content data and the second content data are loop materials having a predetermined number of bars and a playback time, and a content of playback control is defined by the content generation parameter.
Koretzky teaches the use of a loop-able music clip having a predetermined number of bars of music (para. 0060) in generating compatible music mixes (Abstract). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Brockwell with the above teaching of Koretzky in order produce quality music mixes using available music clips, as taught by Koretzky (para. 0002, 0015-0016).
Claim(s) 20-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brockwell in view of Lee et al. (US 2011/0054917 A1, “Lee”).
Brockwell differs from claim 20 in that it does not disclose: a music acquisition unit that acquires the existing music to be subjected to sound source separation on a basis of separation information including information indicating whether or not the existing music is sound source separable music.
Lee teaches the use of sound source separation technology to extract audio objects such as vocal, drum, piano, etc. in order to easily obtain a content for an object-based audio service (para. 0006) from a bitstream which includes a file header with reproduction level information associated with each audio object (para. 0028-0034). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Brockwell with the above teaching of Lee in order to more effective extract and reproduce an object-based audio.
As to claim 21, Brockwell in view of Lee teaches: wherein the separation information includes at least any one of information indicating a type of a sound source or information indicating whether or not sound source separation has been performed together with information indicating whether or not the music is sound source separable music (Lee: type of sound object such as vocal, drum, piano, etc., para. 0006).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
You (US 2022/0366882 A1) teach generating a sound suitable for a landscape while driving.
Lin et al. (US 10,068,620 B1) teach modulating the sound playback from a vehicle’s sound system as part of a coherent soundscape.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Stella L Woo whose telephone number is (571)272-7512. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ahmad Matar can be reached at 571-272-7488. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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STELLA L. WOO
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2693
/Stella L. Woo/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2693