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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(B) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 7-9, 11-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 7 recites the limitation “the second computing system” in line 2 and the limitation “the first computing system” in line 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claims 16 and 17 is rejected for the same reasons as discussed above with respect to claim 16.
Claim 11 recites the limitation “the first computing system” in line 8. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Since claims 8, 9, 12-15 and 18-20 are dependent claims, these claims are also rejected.
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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 6-11 and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MAHAJAN et al. (US 2022/0159047) in view of SUN (Chinese Pub. No. CN116206592A).
Regarding claim 1, with respect to Figures 1-6, MAHAJAN teaches a method for voice continuation over a network with audio quality degradation, the method comprising:
receiving, by a first computing device, a user’s audio [i.e., voice audio] captured by a media generating client/server [i.e., second computing device] (fig.3, 6, steps 330, 430, 520; paragraphs 0085, 0090, 0100); and
receiving, by the first computing device, text corresponding with the user’s voice audio, wherein the user’s voice audio is transformed into the text (fig.6, steps 522, 460; paragraphs 0093, 0095, 0100);
determining, by the first computing device, a quality of the user’s voice audio (fig.6; paragraphs 0092, 00963) (Note; MAHAJAN teaches that due to connectivity issues/problems, the correct missing terms are not received in a full/proper format at part of the encoded audio (see paragraph 0093). In order to find out the missing terms in the encoded audio the system of MAHAJAN must determine a quality of the encoded audio [i.e., user’s voice audio].); and
performing, by the first computing device, voice restitution to generate an audio converted from the text corresponding with the user’s voice audio based on one or more codec(s) [i.e., voice model parameters] of the user’s voice in response to determining that the quality of the user’s voice audio is degraded (fig.6; paragraphs 0093, 0095, 0096). and
However, MAHAJAN does not specifically teach generating a cloned user voice audio speaking the text corresponding with the user’s voice audio. SUN teaches generating a cloned user voice audio speaking the text corresponding with the user’s voice audio (page 5, last paragraph (paragraph 8 of page 5)). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify MAHAJAN to incorporate the feature of generating a cloned user voice audio speaking the text corresponding with the user’s voice audio in MAHAJAN’s invention as taught by SUN. The motivation for the modification is to do so in order to greatly reduce the model training time of the voice clone, so as to improve the efficiency of the voice clone as well as improving the experience feeling of the user without affecting the audio quality of the voice clone.
Regarding claims 6 and 16, MAHAJAN teaches receiving, by the second computing device, the user’s voice audio (fig.3, 6, steps 330, 430, 520; paragraphs 0085, 0090, 0100);
transforming, by the second computing device, the user’s voice audio into the text corresponding with the user’s voice audio using STT (fig.6, steps 522, 460; paragraphs 0092, 0093, 0095, 0100); and
transmitting, by the second computing device, the user’s voice audio and the text corresponding with the user’s voice audio to the first computing device (fig.6, steps 522, 524; paragraphs 0092, 0093, 0095, 0100).
However, MAHAJAN does not specifically teach transforming the user’s voice audio into the text corresponding with the user’s voice audio using automatic speech recognition. SUN teaches transforming the user’s voice audio into the text corresponding with the user’s voice audio using automatic speech recognition (paragraph 3 of page 6). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify MAHAJAN to incorporate the feature of transforming the user’s voice audio into the text corresponding with the user’s voice audio using automatic speech recognition in MAHAJAN’s invention as taught by SUN. The motivation for the modification is to do so in order to conveniently convert the user’s voice into text using automatic speech recognition.
Regarding claims 7 and 17, MAHAJAN teaches generating, by the second computing system, the one or more codecs [i.e., voice model parameters] of the user’s voice based on an initial user’s voice audio captured by the second computing system (fig.3, 6, steps 450,480,540; paragraphs 0092- 0094, 0097, 0097, 0104); and
transmitting, by the second computing system, the one or more voice model parameters to the first computing system (fig.6, steps 450,480,540; paragraphs 0092-0094, 0096, 0104).
Regarding claims 8 and 18, MAHAJAN teaches wherein the user’s voice audio captured by the second computing device and received by the first computing device and the initial user’s voice audio captured by the second computing system occur in a same conversation between a user of the first computing device and a user of the second computing device (fig.3, 6, steps 330, 430, 520; paragraphs 0085, 0090, 0100).
Regarding claims 9 and 19, MAHAJAN teaches configuring, by the first computing device, a voice restitution system based on the one or more codecs [i.e., voice model parameters] (fig.6, steps 450, 480,540; paragraphs 0092-0094, 0097, 0097, 0104).
Regarding claims 10 and 20, MAHAJAN teaches playing the user’s voice audio on the first computing device in response to determining that the quality of the user’s voice audio is not degraded (fig.6; paragraphs 0090, 0096).
Claim 11 is rejected for the same reasons as discussed above with respect to claim 1. Furthermore, MAHAJAN teaches a system for voice continuation over a network with audio quality degradation, the system comprising:
a first computing device comprising at least one first processor and at least one first memory comprising a first plurality of instructions stored thereon (fig.1; paragraphs 0038-0039); and
a second computing device comprising at least one second processor and at least one second memory comprising a second plurality of instructions stored thereon (fig.1; paragraphs 0038-0039).
Claims 2, 3, 12 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MAHAJAN et al. (US 2022/0159047) in view of SUN (Chinese Pub. No. CN116206592A) further in view of Mahajan et al. (US 2025/0391421).
Regarding claims 2 and 12, MAHAJAN teaches determining a connectivity issues/problems of a network connection between the first computing device and the second computing device (paragraphs 0092, 00963).
However, MAHAJAN in view of SUN does not specifically teach determining a bandwidth of a network connection. Mahajan’421 teaches determining a bandwidth of a network connection (paragraphs 0008, 0030). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify MAHAJAN in view of SUN to incorporate the feature of determining a bandwidth of a network connection in MAHAJAN’s invention in view of SUN’s invention as taught by Mahajan’421. The motivation for the modification is to do so in order to provide proper diagnosis for the network connectivity issues such that a better quality can be achieved.
Regarding claims 3 and 13, MAHAJAN in view of SUN does not specifically teach determining the bandwidth of the network connection between the first computing device and the second computing device is below a predefined threshold. Mahajan’421 teaches determining the bandwidth of the network connection between the first computing device and the second computing device is below a predefined threshold (fig.2; paragraphs 0012, 0070). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify MAHAJAN in view of SUN to incorporate the feature determining the bandwidth of the network connection between the first computing device and the second computing device is below a predefined threshold in MAHAJAN’s invention in view of SUN’s invention as taught by Mahajan’421. The motivation for the modification is to do so in order to provide properly determine the noise for the network connectivity issues such that a better quality can be achieved.
Claims 4, 5, 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MAHAJAN et al. (US 2022/0159047) in view of SUN (Chinese Pub. No. CN116206592A) further in view of Obaidi (US 2022/0130372).
Regarding claims 4 and 14, MAHAJAN in view of SUN does not specifically teach wherein determining the quality of the user’s voice audio comprises determining a latency of a network connection between the first computing device and the second computing device. Obaidi teaches wherein determining the quality of the user’s voice audio comprises determining a latency of a network connection between the first computing device and the second computing device (paragraphs 0024, 0053). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify MAHAJAN in view of SUN to incorporate the feature of wherein determining the quality of the user’s voice audio comprises determining a latency of a network connection between the first computing device and the second computing device in MAHAJAN’s invention in view of SUN’s invention as taught by Obaidi. The motivation for the modification is to do so in order to indicate an acceptable delay for achieving a better quality.
Regarding claims 5 and 15, MAHAJAN in view of SUN does not specifically teach wherein determining that the quality of the user’s voice audio is degraded comprises determining the latency of the network connection between the first computing device and the second computing device is above a predefined threshold. Obaidi teaches wherein determining that the quality of the user’s voice audio is degraded comprises determining the latency of the network connection between the first computing device and the second computing device is above a predefined threshold (paragraphs 0024, 0053). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify MAHAJAN in view of SUN to incorporate the feature of wherein determining that the quality of the user’s voice audio is degraded comprises determining the latency of the network connection between the first computing device and the second computing device is above a predefined threshold in MAHAJAN’s invention in view of SUN’s invention as taught by Obaidi. The motivation for the modification is to do so in order to conveniently indicate that an added delay by changing the voice of the user will decrease the quality of the voice call below an acceptable level.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MD S ELAHEE whose telephone number is (571)272-7536. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday thru Friday; 8:30AM to 5:00PM EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, FAN TSANG can be reached on 571-272-7547. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/MD S ELAHEE/
MD SHAFIUL ALAM ELAHEE
Primary Examiner,
Art Unit 2694
January 14, 2026