DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to communication on May 26th, 2026.
Claims 1-10 and 12-21 are currently pending. Claims 1, 3, 5-10, and 12-19 are currently amended. Claim 11 is currently canceled. And claims 20-21 are newly presented.
The present application is a continuation of U.S. Patent Application no. 18/201,718, filed on May 24th, 203, which claims priority to provisional application no. 63/345,580, filed on May 25th, 2022.
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 1-10 and 12-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over B M S et al (U.S. Application Publication no. 2021/0390144, hereinafter BMS) in view of Younes et al (U.S. Patent no. 11,676,623, hereinafter Younes) and Adlersberg et al (U.S. Patent Application Publication no. 2020/0279567, hereinafter Adlersberg).
With respect to claim 1, BMS discloses a system for recording and documenting meetings (paragraph [0088], lines 1-5), the system comprising:
One or more processors (paragraph [0088], lines 1-5);
A memory storing instructions (paragraph [0088], lines 1-5) that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to:
Stream a bot into an on-line meeting (paragraph [0020], lines 1-10; paragraph [0051]), wherein the bot provides at least an image representative of the bot within the on-line meeting (paragraph [0084], lines 6-21, the AI-bot 240 may be represented by a still image, moving image, or avatar in the video conference display area 308);
app server providing a control panel for the bot rendered on a user device (paragraph [0030], conferencing server), the control panel configured to record the on-line meeting (paragraph [0088], lines 1-5).
But BMS does not disclose receiving an invitation to an on-line meeting while the on-line is active.
However, Younes discloses receiving an invitation to an on-line meeting while the on-line is active (column 6, lines 35-39, request for the virtual assistant to join the meeting); and
stream a bot into the active on-line meeting based on the invitation (column 6, lines 9-15).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to combine the AI-based in-meeting instant query assistant for conference meetings of BMS with the method for automatic joining as a virtual meeting participant for transcription of Younes. The motivation to combine being to improve the automation of joining a virtual meeting by a virtual participant. The automation of joining the meeting being improved by launching the virtual assistant in response to receiving a user request after a meeting has begun (Younes: column 6, lines 19-54).
But the combination of BMS and Young does not disclose a control panel configured to collaboratively control operations of the bot by multiple participants of the on-line meeting in real time and record and document the on-line meeting.
However, Adlersberg discloses a control panel configured to collaboratively control operations of the bot by multiple participants of the on-line meeting in real time (paragraph [0128], lines 1-11, enable a user to command the Moderator Bot unit, which participates in the meeting, to perform real time actions; paragraph [0117], lines 10-18, dynamically-updated list of decisions) and record and document the on-line meeting (paragraph [0083], transcript of said meeting).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to combine the AI-based in-meeting instant query assistant for conference meetings of BMS and the method for automatic joining as a virtual meeting participant for transcription of Younes with the method for multimodal recording, processing, and moderations of meetings of Adlersberg. The motivation to combine being to improve the automation of moderating a meeting. The automation of moderating a meeting being improved by deploying a meeting moderator bot (Adlersber: abstract).
With respect to claim 2, the combination of BMS, Younes, and Adlersberg discloses the system as claimed in claim 1, BMS further discloses wherein if a new user clicks on a link to access the control panel, the app server enables creation of a new account in the system (paragraph [0030], participants join the conference meeting).
With respect to claim 3, the combination of BMS, Younes, and Adlersberg discloses the system as claimed in claim 2, BMS further discloses wherein the new user is provided with a page for the on-line meeting with the control panel (paragraph [0030], participants join the conference meeting).
With respect to claim 4, the combination of BMS, Younes, and Adlersberg discloses the system as claimed in claim 3, BMS further discloses wherein the new user gets access to a meeting page and any related recordings and is designated as a meeting participant (paragraph [0030], participants join the conference meeting).
With respect to claim 5, the combination of BMS, Younes, and Adlersberg discloses the system of claim 1, BMS further discloses providing meeting chat messages from the bot to other participants in the on-line meeting (paragraph [0030]).
With respect to claim 6, the combination of BMS, Younes, and Adlersberg discloses the system of claim 1, BMS further discloses wherein the system further provides bot video streams or images that represent the bot that change based on status of a meeting documentation system (paragraph [0088], lines 17-47, shows that the AI-bot 240 presented a response to the first chat).
With respect to claim 7, the combination of BMS, Younes, and Adlersberg discloses the system of claim 6, BMS further discloses wherein the bot video streams or images change to indicate whether the system is recording the on-line meeting or recording is paused (paragraph [0088], lines 1-17, until an end).
With respect to claim 8, the combination of BMS, Younes, and Adlersberg discloses the system of claim 1, BMS further discloses wherein system further changes bot video streams or images based on a number of participants in the on-line meeting (paragraph [0059]).
With respect to claim 9, BMS discloses a method for recording and documenting meetings (paragraph [0088], lines 1-5), the method comprising:
Streaming a bot into an on-line meetings (paragraph [0020], lines 1-10; paragraph [0051]);
displaying at least an image representative of the bot within the on-line meeting based on an invitation (paragraph [0084], lines 6-21, the AI-bot 240 may be represented by a still image, moving image, or avatar in the video conference display area 308); and
providing a control panel for the bot (paragraph [0030], conferencing server) for controlling recording and documenting the meeting (paragraph [0088], lines 1-5).
But BMS does not disclose receiving an invitation to an on-line meeting while the on-line is active.
However, Younes discloses receiving an invitation to an on-line meeting while the on-line is active (column 6, lines 35-39, request for the virtual assistant to join the meeting); and
streaming a bot into the active on-line meeting based on the invitation (column 6, lines 9-15).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to combine the AI-based in-meeting instant query assistant for conference meetings of BMS with the method for automatic joining as a virtual meeting participant for transcription of Younes. The motivation to combine being to improve the automation of joining a virtual meeting by a virtual participant. The automation of joining the meeting being improved by launching the virtual assistant in response to receiving a user request after a meeting has begun (Younes: column 6, lines 19-54).
But the combination of BMS and Young does not disclose a control panel for the bot for collaboratively controlling operations of the bot by multiple participants of the on-line meeting in real time and record and document the on-line meeting.
However, Adlersberg discloses a control panel for the bot for collaboratively controlling operations of the bot by multiple participants of the on-line meeting in real time (paragraph [0128], lines 1-11, enable a user to command the Moderator Bot unit, which participates in the meeting, to perform real time actions; paragraph [0117], lines 10-18, dynamically-updated list of decisions) and record and document the on-line meeting (paragraph [0083], transcript of said meeting).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to combine the AI-based in-meeting instant query assistant for conference meetings of BMS and the method for automatic joining as a virtual meeting participant for transcription of Younes with the method for multimodal recording, processing, and moderations of meetings of Adlersberg. The motivation to combine being to improve the automation of moderating a meeting. The automation of moderating a meeting being improved by deploying a meeting moderator bot (Adlersber: abstract).
With respect to claim 10, the combination of BMS, Younes, and Adlersberg discloses the method of claim 9, BMS further discloses wherein new users are provided with a link to access the control panel for the bot (paragraph [0025]).
With respect to claim 12, the combination of BMS, Younes, and Adlersberg discloses the method of claim 9, BMS further discloses wherein new users create new accounts and are dropped into an ongoing meeting page with the control panel (paragraph [0025]).
With respect to claim 13, the combination of BMS, Younes, and Adlersberg discloses the method of claim 9, BMS further discloses wherein the new users get a copy of a meeting page and any related recordings and are designated as meeting participants (paragraph [0025]).
With respect to claim 14, the combination of BMS, Younes, and Adlersberg discloses the method of claim 9, BMS further discloses providing meeting chat messages from the bot to other participants in the on-line meeting (paragraph [0030]).
With respect to claim 15, the combination of BMS, Younes, and Adlersberg s discloses the method of claim 9, BMS further discloses providing bot video streams or images that represent the bot that change based on status of a meeting documentation system executing the method (paragraph [0088], lines 17-47, shows that the AI-bot 240 presented a response to the first chat).
With respect to claim 16, the combination of BMS, Younes, and Adlersberg discloses the method of claim 15, BMS further discloses wherein the bot video streams or images change to indicate whether the meeting documentation system is recording the on-line meeting or recording is paused (paragraph [0088], lines 1-17, until an end).
With respect to claim 17, the combination of BMS, Younes, and Adlersberg discloses the method of claim 9, BMS further discloses providing bot video streams or images that change based on a number of participants in the on-line meeting (paragraph [0059]).
With respect to claim 18, the combination of BMS, Younes, and Adlersberg discloses the method of claim 1, BMS further discloses providing bot video streams or images that include machine readable symbols that provide links to pages for documenting the on-line meeting (paragraph [0089]).
With respect to claim 19, BMS discloses a method for documenting meetings (paragraph [0088], lines 1-5), the method comprising:
straming a bot of a meeting documentation system into an on-line meeting based on an invitation (paragraph [0020], lines 1-10; paragraph [0051]);
displaying at least an image representative of the bot within the on-line meeting (paragraph [0084], lines 6-21, the AI-bot 240 may be represented by a still image, moving image, or avatar in the video conference display area 308)
providing a documentation system configured to record and/or provide access to time indexed content from the meeting attended by the bot (paragraph [0088]); and
providing a control panel (paragraph [0030], conferencing server) to control operation of the bot (paragraph [0088], lines 1-5).
But BMS does not disclose receiving an invitation to an on-line meeting while the on-line is active.
However, Younes discloses receiving an invitation to an on-line meeting while the on-line is active (column 6, lines 35-39, request for the virtual assistant to join the meeting); and
streaming a bot into the active on-line meeting based on the invitation (column 6, lines 9-15).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to combine the AI-based in-meeting instant query assistant for conference meetings of BMS with the method for automatic joining as a virtual meeting participant for transcription of Younes. The motivation to combine being to improve the automation of joining a virtual meeting by a virtual participant. The automation of joining the meeting being improved by launching the virtual assistant in response to receiving a user request after a meeting has begun (Younes: column 6, lines 19-54).
But the combination of BMS and Young does not disclose a control panel for the bot for collaboratively controlling operations of the bot by multiple participants of the on-line meeting in real time and record and document the on-line meeting.
However, Adlersberg discloses a control panel for the bot for collaboratively controlling operations of the bot by multiple participants of the on-line meeting in real time (paragraph [0128], lines 1-11, enable a user to command the Moderator Bot unit, which participates in the meeting, to perform real time actions; paragraph [0117], lines 10-18, dynamically-updated list of decisions) and record and document the on-line meeting (paragraph [0083], transcript of said meeting).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to combine the AI-based in-meeting instant query assistant for conference meetings of BMS and the method for automatic joining as a virtual meeting participant for transcription of Younes with the method for multimodal recording, processing, and moderations of meetings of Adlersberg. The motivation to combine being to improve the automation of moderating a meeting. The automation of moderating a meeting being improved by deploying a meeting moderator bot (Adlersber: abstract).
With respect to claim 20, the combination of BMS, Younes, and Adlersberg discloses the method of claim 1, Adlersberg further discloses a documentation system configured to record and/or provide access to time-indexed content from the on-line meeting (paragraph [0025], lines 1-6, particular time slots).
With respect to claim 21, the combination of BMS, Younes, and Adlersberg discloses the method of claim 9, BMS further discloses wherein if a new user clicks on a link to access the control pane, the method further comprises enabling creation of a new account in the system (paragraph [0030], participants join the conference meeting).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-10 and 12-21 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Vieyra Pat. Pub. 2022/0366459
Giacomelli Pat. Pub. 2022/0351152
Brown Patent no. 10,742,695
Shaffer Pat. Pub. 2015/0215365
Vallani Pat. Pub. 2019/0392395
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 BLAKE J RUBIN whose telephone number is (571)270-3802. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ario Etienne can be reached on 571-272-4001. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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6/27/26
/BLAKE J RUBIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2457
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