DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims:
Claims 1 – 5, 7 – 12, 14 – 19, and 21 – 23 are pending.
Claims 1, 7 – 8, 14 – 15, are amended.
Claims 6, 13, and 20 are canceled.
Claims 21 – 23 are new. This rejection is FINAL.
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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments in the amendments, filed 12/24/2025, have been fully considered and are persuasive. A new ground(s) of rejection is presented based on the amendments.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1 – 5, 7 – 12, 14 – 19, and 21 – 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Deole (US 11593767) and in view of Ayanoglu (12432080).
As per claim 1, Deole discloses a computer-implemented method comprising:
providing, to one or more participants of an online meeting, an invitation to join the online meeting, the invitation including an option to request one or more accommodations for the online meeting (FIG. 4C is an illustration of a user interface 450 for an event invitation which may be presented to an invitee haven chosen to partially, selectively, remotely in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure … For selective mode, the user may also be provided an option to provide only segments of interest, e.g., only (or also) provide recording segments, where the topic of interest is discussed, or the link can be sent to all users depending upon the system configuration, See Col. 9, Line 58 – Col. 10, Line 11);
obtaining, from a participant of the one or more participants, a request for an accommodation, of the one or more accommodations, during the online meeting (At 712, responses may be received from one or more of the invitees. The responses may include selections of keywords, topics, speakers, etc. such as illustrated and described herein in relation to FIGS. 4B and 4C, See Col. 12, Lines 39 - 42); and
performing one or more actions associated with the request for the accommodation (At 718, based on the responses from the invitees, one or more actions may be performed during an event. For example, a live transcription may be automatically generated. When a meeting starts, users who have requested a live transcription or other type of remote attendance may be represented to other participants of the event by an avatar, See Col. 12, line 65 – Col. 13, Line 3),
Deole however does not expressly disclose:
wherein performing the one or more actions comprises: determining, by a server associated with the online meeting, whether adjustments to settings associated with a type of the accommodation requested can be made at a user device associated with the participant to configure the online meeting
and transmitting, by the server and to the participant based on the determining, information associated with the settings to adjust to configure the online meeting.
Ayanoglu discloses:
wherein performing the one or more actions comprises:
determining, by a server associated with the online meeting, whether adjustments to settings associated with a type of the accommodation requested can be made at a user device associated with the participant to configure the online meeting (System can maintain user settings that persist across meetings. This persistence can be achieved by storing user settings that associate prerequisites with one or more user identities for individual users. FIG. 6 shows an example of user settings 400 and a mapping data structure 401. In general, the user settings can define prerequisites for certain users. For instance, User J has a prerequisite that indicates they are in need of hearing assistance, User B has a prerequisite that indicates they are in need of a French translator, and User C has a first prerequisite that indicates they are in need of hearing assistance, e.g., listed that they are hard-of-hearing, See Col. 11, Lines 14 - 28); and
transmitting, by the server and to the participant based on the determining, information associated with the settings to adjust to configure the online meeting (For example, FIG. 5 according to a shared content type and a user setting (such as “needing hearing assistance”, the system adaptively places a specific attendee's video based on the attendee's role (such as “sign language interpreter”); causing a display of a first user interface arrangement (101A) while in the system is in a normal operating mode, the first user interface arrangement (101A) comprising the rendering (151A) of the video stream of the select participant (10A), the rendering (151A) of the video stream of the select participant (10A) located in a predetermined position while the system (100) is in the normal operating mode, See Col. 15, Lines 1 - 51).
It would have been obvious to an artisan of ordinary skill in the art before the Applicant's effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ayanoglu’s teaching of determining adjustments to settings associated with a type of the accommodation, along with providing an invitation including an option to request one or more accommodations for an online meeting to improve Deole’s system. Both Deole and Ayanoglu disclose systems for providing accommodations for online meetings. Ayanoglu’s system includes rendering of a video stream of a select participant based on a user setting requiring assistance to provide accommodation. The combination is an improvement upon the existing system because an invitation including an option to request one or more accommodations for an online meeting can be provided, as taught by Deole, where the accommodations can include determining adjustments to settings associated with a type of the accommodation, as taught by Ayanoglu, to allow adaptive user settings for online meetings where users require different types of adjustments during the meeting to participate.
As per claim 2, the computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting the request for the accommodation to a host of the online meeting (Deole, If a recording or transcription is requested by an invitee, the organizer may in some embodiments be notified and may be given the opportunity to grant approval, See Col. 12, Lines 43 - 56).
As per claim 3, the computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more accommodations for the online meeting include: automated closed captioning for the online meeting (Deole, The user may respond to the invitation by requesting the live transcription, live video stream, live audio-video stream, and/or live audio-only stream of the event, See Col. 14, Line 65 – Col. 15, Line 2), language interpretation for the online meeting, receiving meeting content prior to the online meeting (Deole, A user may desire to watch a pre-scheduled portion of the event … user may receive notification including a link to a live stream or live transcription which may begin at the … a predetermined amount of time prior to the time window, See Col. 15, Lines 28 - 40), or buffering or obscuring of particular video content during the online meeting (A buffer may be used in the editing of the recording or transcription, See Col. 14, Lines 18 - 35).
As per claim 4, the computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein performing the one or more actions includes:
confirming the request for the accommodation with the participant (Deole, If a recording or transcription is requested by an invitee, the organizer may in some embodiments be notified and may be given the opportunity to grant approval, See Col. 12, Lines 43 - 56); and
transmitting, to the participant, a link to join the online meeting, wherein selection of the link causes features associated with the request for the accommodation to be enabled for the participant during the online meeting (Deole, Consider a user requesting to live stream or view a live transcript for an event only during a particular time window … the user may receive notification including a link to a live stream or live transcription which may begin at the beginning of the time window or a predetermined amount of time prior to the time window, See Col. 15, Lines 28 - 40).
As per claim 5, the computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein performing the one or more actions includes: enabling closed captioning for the participant (Deole, At 718, based on the responses from the invitees, one or more actions may be performed during an event. For example, a live transcription may be automatically generated, See Col. 12, line 65 – Col. 13, Line 3), sending the invitation to join the online meeting to an interpreter, sending content associated with the online meeting to the participant prior to the online meeting (Deole, A user may desire to watch a pre-scheduled portion of the event … user may receive notification including a link to a live stream or live transcription which may begin at the … a predetermined amount of time prior to the time window, See Col. 15, Lines 28 - 40), or taking actions to buffer or obscure particular video content during the online meeting (A buffer may be used in the editing of the recording or transcription, See Col. 14, Lines 18 - 35).
As per claim 7, the computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the information includes an option to select default settings associated with the type of the accommodation (Deole, A user can configure the default way they would like to be pulled into a meeting when their specified criteria of keyword or phrase or other condition is met, See Col. 11, Lines 35 - 45).
As per claim 8, Deole discloses an apparatus comprising:
a memory;
a network interface configured to enable network communication; and
a processor, wherein the processor is configured to perform operations comprising:
providing, to one or more participants of an online meeting, an invitation to join the online meeting, the invitation including an option to request one or more accommodations for the online meeting (FIG. 4C is an illustration of a user interface 450 for an event invitation which may be presented to an invitee haven chosen to partially, selectively, remotely in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure … For selective mode, the user may also be provided an option to provide only segments of interest, e.g., only (or also) provide recording segments, where the topic of interest is discussed, or the link can be sent to all users depending upon the system configuration, See Col. 9, Line 58 – Col. 10, Line 11);
obtaining, from a participant of the one or more participants, a request for an accommodation, of the one or more accommodations, during the online meeting (At 712, responses may be received from one or more of the invitees. The responses may include selections of keywords, topics, speakers, etc. such as illustrated and described herein in relation to FIGS. 4B and 4C, See Col. 12, Lines 39 - 42); and
performing one or more actions associated with the request for the accommodation (At 718, based on the responses from the invitees, one or more actions may be performed during an event. For example, a live transcription may be automatically generated. When a meeting starts, users who have requested a live transcription or other type of remote attendance may be represented to other participants of the event by an avatar, See Col. 12, line 65 – Col. 13, Line 3),
Ayanoglu discloses:
wherein, when performing the one or more actions, the processor is further configured to perform operations comprising:
determining whether adjustments to settings associated with a type of the accommodation requested can be made at a user device associated with the participant to configure the online meeting (System can maintain user settings that persist across meetings. This persistence can be achieved by storing user settings that associate prerequisites with one or more user identities for individual users. FIG. 6 shows an example of user settings 400 and a mapping data structure 401. In general, the user settings can define prerequisites for certain users. For instance, User J has a prerequisite that indicates they are in need of hearing assistance, User B has a prerequisite that indicates they are in need of a French translator, and User C has a first prerequisite that indicates they are in need of hearing assistance, e.g., listed that they are hard-of-hearing, See Col. 11, Lines 14 - 28); and
transmitting, to the participant and based on the determining, information associated with the settings associated with the type of the accommodation requested to adjust to configure the online meeting (For example, FIG. 5 according to a shared content type and a user setting (such as “needing hearing assistance”, the system adaptively places a specific attendee's video based on the attendee's role (such as “sign language interpreter”); causing a display of a first user interface arrangement (101A) while in the system is in a normal operating mode, the first user interface arrangement (101A) comprising the rendering (151A) of the video stream of the select participant (10A), the rendering (151A) of the video stream of the select participant (10A) located in a predetermined position while the system (100) is in the normal operating mode, See Col. 15, Lines 1 - 51).
It would have been obvious to an artisan of ordinary skill in the art before the Applicant's effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ayanoglu’s teaching of determining adjustments to settings associated with a type of the accommodation, along with providing an invitation including an option to request one or more accommodations for an online meeting to improve Deole’s system. Both Deole and Ayanoglu disclose systems for providing accommodations for online meetings. Ayanoglu’s system includes rendering of a video stream of a participant based on a user setting requiring assistance to provide accommodation. The combination is an improvement upon the existing system because an invitation including an option to request one or more accommodations for an online meeting can be provided, as taught by Deole, where the accommodations can include determining adjustments to settings associated with a type of the accommodation, as taught by Ayanoglu, to allow adaptive user settings for online meetings where users require different types of adjustments during the meeting to participate.
As per claim 9, the apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to perform operations comprising: transmitting the request for the accommodation to a host of the online meeting (Deole, If a recording or transcription is requested by an invitee, the organizer may in some embodiments be notified and may be given the opportunity to grant approval, See Col. 12, Lines 43 - 56).
As per claim 10, the apparatus of claim 9, wherein the one or more accommodations for the online meeting include: automated closed captioning for the online meeting (Deole, The user may respond to the invitation by requesting the live transcription, live video stream, live audio-video stream, and/or live audio-only stream of the event, See Col. 14, Line 65 – Col. 15, Line 2), language interpretation for the online meeting, receiving meeting content prior to the online meeting (Deole, A user may desire to watch a pre-scheduled portion of the event … user may receive notification including a link to a live stream or live transcription which may begin at the … a predetermined amount of time prior to the time window, See Col. 15, Lines 28 - 40), or buffering or obscuring of particular video content during the online meeting (Deole, A buffer may be used in the editing of the recording or transcription, See Col. 14, Lines 18 - 35).
As per claim 11, the apparatus of claim 10, wherein, when performing the one or more actions, the processor is further configured to perform operations comprising:
confirming the request for the accommodation with the participant (Deole, If a recording or transcription is requested by an invitee, the organizer may in some embodiments be notified and may be given the opportunity to grant approval, See Col. 12, Lines 43 - 56); and
transmitting, to the participant, a link to join the online meeting, wherein selection of the link causes features associated with the request for the accommodation to be enabled for the participant during the online meeting (Deole, Consider a user requesting to live stream or view a live transcript for an event only during a particular time window … the user may receive notification including a link to a live stream or live transcription which may begin at the beginning of the time window or a predetermined amount of time prior to the time window, See Col. 15, Lines 28 - 40).
As per claim 12, the apparatus of claim 8, wherein, when performing the one or more actions, the processor is further configured to perform one or more operations comprising: enabling closed captioning for the participant (Deole, At 718, based on the responses from the invitees, one or more actions may be performed during an event. For example, a live transcription may be automatically generated, See Col. 12, line 65 – Col. 13, Line 3), sending the invitation to join the online meeting to an interpreter, sending content associated with the online meeting to the participant prior to the online meeting (Deole, A user may desire to watch a pre-scheduled portion of the event … user may receive notification including a link to a live stream or live transcription which may begin at the … a predetermined amount of time prior to the time window, See Col. 15, Lines 28 - 40), or taking actions to buffer or obscure particular video content during the online meeting (Deole, A buffer may be used in the editing of the recording or transcription, See Col. 14, Lines 18 - 35).
As per claim 14, the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the information includes an option to select default settings associated with the type of the accommodation (Deole, A user can configure the default way they would like to be pulled into a meeting when their specified criteria of keyword or phrase or other condition is met, See Col. 11, Lines 35 - 45).
As per claim 15, Deole discloses one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media encoded with instructions that, when executed by a processor of a technical support system, cause the processor to execute a method comprising:
providing, to one or more participants of an online meeting, an invitation to join the online meeting, the invitation including an option to request one or more accommodations for the online meeting (FIG. 4C is an illustration of a user interface 450 for an event invitation which may be presented to an invitee haven chosen to partially, selectively, remotely in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure … For selective mode, the user may also be provided an option to provide only segments of interest, e.g., only (or also) provide recording segments, where the topic of interest is discussed, or the link can be sent to all users depending upon the system configuration, See Col. 9, Line 58 – Col. 10, Line 11);
obtaining, from a participant of the one or more participants, a request for an accommodation, of the one or more accommodations, during the online meeting (At 712, responses may be received from one or more of the invitees. The responses may include selections of keywords, topics, speakers, etc. such as illustrated and described herein in relation to FIGS. 4B and 4C, See Col. 12, Lines 39 - 42); and
performing one or more actions associated with the request for the accommodation (At 718, based on the responses from the invitees, one or more actions may be performed during an event. For example, a live transcription may be automatically generated. When a meeting starts, users who have requested a live transcription or other type of remote attendance may be represented to other participants of the event by an avatar, See Col. 12, line 65 – Col. 13, Line 3),
Ayanoglu discloses:
wherein performing the one or more actions comprises:
determining, by a server associated with the online meeting, whether adjustments to settings associated with a type of the accommodation requested can be made at a user device associated with the participant to configure the online meeting (System can maintain user settings that persist across meetings. This persistence can be achieved by storing user settings that associate prerequisites with one or more user identities for individual users. FIG. 6 shows an example of user settings 400 and a mapping data structure 401. In general, the user settings can define prerequisites for certain users. For instance, User J has a prerequisite that indicates they are in need of hearing assistance, User B has a prerequisite that indicates they are in need of a French translator, and User C has a first prerequisite that indicates they are in need of hearing assistance, e.g., listed that they are hard-of-hearing, See Col. 11, Lines 14 - 28); and
transmitting, by the server and to the participant based on the determining, information associated with the settings to adjust to configure the online meeting (For example, FIG. 5 according to a shared content type and a user setting (such as “needing hearing assistance”, the system adaptively places a specific attendee's video based on the attendee's role (such as “sign language interpreter”); causing a display of a first user interface arrangement (101A) while in the system is in a normal operating mode, the first user interface arrangement (101A) comprising the rendering (151A) of the video stream of the select participant (10A), the rendering (151A) of the video stream of the select participant (10A) located in a predetermined position while the system (100) is in the normal operating mode, See Col. 15, Lines 1 - 51).
It would have been obvious to an artisan of ordinary skill in the art before the Applicant's effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ayanoglu’s teaching of determining adjustments to settings associated with a type of the accommodation, along with providing an invitation including an option to request one or more accommodations for an online meeting to improve Deole’s system. Both Deole and Ayanoglu disclose systems for providing accommodations for online meetings. Ayanoglu’s system includes rendering of a video stream of a participant based on a user setting requiring assistance to provide accommodation. The combination is an improvement upon the existing system because an invitation including an option to request one or more accommodations for an online meeting can be provided, as taught by Deole, where the accommodations can include determining adjustments to settings associated with a type of the accommodation, as taught by Ayanoglu, to allow adaptive user settings for online meetings where users require different types of adjustments during the meeting to participate.
As per claim 16, the one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises: transmitting the request for the accommodation to a host of the online meeting (Deole, If a recording or transcription is requested by an invitee, the organizer may in some embodiments be notified and may be given the opportunity to grant approval, See Col. 12, Lines 43 - 56).
As per claim 17, the one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the one or more accommodations for the online meeting include: automated closed captioning for the online meeting (Deole, The user may respond to the invitation by requesting the live transcription, live video stream, live audio-video stream, and/or live audio-only stream of the event, See Col. 14, Line 65 – Col. 15, Line 2), language interpretation for the online meeting, receiving meeting content prior to the online meeting (Deole, A user may desire to watch a pre-scheduled portion of the event … user may receive notification including a link to a live stream or live transcription which may begin at the … a predetermined amount of time prior to the time window, See Col. 15, Lines 28 - 40), or buffering or obscuring of particular video content during the online meeting (Deole, A buffer may be used in the editing of the recording or transcription, See Col. 14, Lines 18 - 35).
As per claim 18, the one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 15, wherein performing the one or more actions includes:
confirming the request for the accommodation with the participant (Deole, If a recording or transcription is requested by an invitee, the organizer may in some embodiments be notified and may be given the opportunity to grant approval, See Col. 12, Lines 43 - 56); and
transmitting, to the participant, a link to join the online meeting, wherein selection of the link causes features associated with the request for the accommodation to be enabled for the participant during the online meeting (Deole, Consider a user requesting to live stream or view a live transcript for an event only during a particular time window … the user may receive notification including a link to a live stream or live transcription which may begin at the beginning of the time window or a predetermined amount of time prior to the time window, See Col. 15, Lines 28 - 40).
As per claim 19, the one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 15, wherein performing the one or more actions includes: enabling closed captioning for the participant (Deole, At 718, based on the responses from the invitees, one or more actions may be performed during an event. For example, a live transcription may be automatically generated, See Col. 12, line 65 – Col. 13, Line 3), sending the invitation to join the online meeting to an interpreter, sending content associated with the online meeting to the participant prior to the online meeting (Deole, A user may desire to watch a pre-scheduled portion of the event … user may receive notification including a link to a live stream or live transcription which may begin at the … a predetermined amount of time prior to the time window, See Col. 15, Lines 28 - 40), or taking actions to buffer or obscure particular video content during the online meeting (Deole, A buffer may be used in the editing of the recording or transcription, See Col. 14, Lines 18 - 35).
As per claim 21, the computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the information includes an option to automatically present an accessibility options menu that includes the settings to select to configure the online meeting (Ayanoglu, The settings 400 can also be referred to herein as “accessibility setting.” The accessibility settings can be any data structure, document, or other form of data that defines a person's needs and associates those needs with their identity. For example, a profile or registration data at the operating system level or application level can indicate that a user has drivers and equipment for a particular accessibility need. That data can be used to indicate a prerequisite that a person is hard-of-hearing, etc. In another example, emails or communication data indicating a person's accessibility needs can also be utilized to indicate a prerequisite of a user and invoke the operations disclosed herein. If a use has specific applications installed on their phone, e.g., a sign language application, such data can also be used to prerequisite of a user and invoke the operations disclosed herein, See Col. 12, Lines 5 - 21).
As per claim 22, the apparatus of claim 8, wherein the information includes an option to automatically present an accessibility options menu that includes the settings to select to configure the online meeting (Ayanoglu, The settings 400 can also be referred to herein as “accessibility setting.” The accessibility settings can be any data structure, document, or other form of data that defines a person's needs and associates those needs with their identity. For example, a profile or registration data at the operating system level or application level can indicate that a user has drivers and equipment for a particular accessibility need. That data can be used to indicate a prerequisite that a person is hard-of-hearing, etc. In another example, emails or communication data indicating a person's accessibility needs can also be utilized to indicate a prerequisite of a user and invoke the operations disclosed herein. If a use has specific applications installed on their phone, e.g., a sign language application, such data can also be used to prerequisite of a user and invoke the operations disclosed herein, See Col. 12, Lines 5 - 21).
As per claim 21, the one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the information includes an option to automatically present an accessibility options menu that includes the settings to select to configure the online meeting (Ayanoglu, The settings 400 can also be referred to herein as “accessibility setting.” The accessibility settings can be any data structure, document, or other form of data that defines a person's needs and associates those needs with their identity. For example, a profile or registration data at the operating system level or application level can indicate that a user has drivers and equipment for a particular accessibility need. That data can be used to indicate a prerequisite that a person is hard-of-hearing, etc. In another example, emails or communication data indicating a person's accessibility needs can also be utilized to indicate a prerequisite of a user and invoke the operations disclosed herein. If a use has specific applications installed on their phone, e.g., a sign language application, such data can also be used to prerequisite of a user and invoke the operations disclosed herein, See Col. 12, Lines 5 - 21).
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 NAZIA NAOREEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7282. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:00 - 6:00.
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, Umar Cheema can be reached at 571-270-3037. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NAZIA NAOREEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2458