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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 7/1/2024 is being considered by the examiner.
Allowable Subject Matter
In the interest of compact prosecution, the Examiner has the following suggestions in regards to possible allowable subject matter.
Paragraph [0061] of the specification:
For example, the trigger may be that the visitor who is moving to the event venue performs a predetermined operation on a terminal device such as a smartphone. In one example, the control unit 33 of the server 30 stores in the storage unit 32 in advance, for example, account information of a purchaser of a ticket for the event held at the event venue. The ticket purchaser logs into the system 1 from his or her own terminal device using the account information, and then operates route guidance with the event venue as the destination. When the ticket purchaser performs the operation for the route guidance to the event venue, the purchaser can be regarded as the visitor who is moving to the event venue. In response to the operation, the terminal device notifies the server 30 of the time when the ticket purchaser performs the operation (operation time).
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are:
“control unit is configured to obtain, as a target time…, the control unit is configured to, when the target time is later than a start time of an event held at the event venue…, and the control unit is configured to, after a playback of the first shortened moving image ends, by controlling the communication unit...” in claim 1. As disclosed in paragraph [0006] of the specification.
“the control unit is configured to, by controlling the communication unit such that the communication unit transmits the first shortened moving image” in claim 3.
“the control unit is configured to, by controlling the communication unit such that the communication unit transmits the first shortened moving image” in claim 5.
“the control unit is configured to obtain a specific position selected by the visitor from a plurality of mutually different shooting positions” in claim 6.
“the control unit is configured to, when a playback of the first shortened moving image ends, by controlling the communication unit” and “the control unit is configured to, after the playback of the second shortened moving image ends” in claim 7.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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.
Claims 1, 4-9, 12-15 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brown US Patent No. 11,691,727 in view of Quennesson US Patent Publication No. 2018/0025078.
Regarding Claim 1, Brown discloses a server comprising:
a communication unit [Figure 1A];
and a control unit [Figure 1A drone controller unit (PCU) 110], wherein the control unit is configured to obtain, At event observation 150 the officer may have observed events that include erratic or aggressive operation of a vehicle on the roadway, suspicious driving and maneuvering, vehicle suspiciously parked, or a vehicle attempting to elude. At event 152 an enforcement decision is made resulting in executing a traffic stop, or a physical investigation of a parked vehicle at 153. At event 151 the officer may notice unusual activity, come upon a disturbance, or respond to a situation or dispatch that can present unknown hazards. At event 152 an enforcement decision is made resulting in an approach to the area to define a scene at 154. Both events 150 and 151 determines the need for an enforcement activity 152 and triggers events 153 and 154 respectively which will kick-off actual use of the L-SID capability], by controlling the communication unit such that the communication unit transmits a live moving image of the event, present the live moving image to the moving visitor [Col. 6 lines 45-50; using the flight mode selector switch on the PCU 110 resulting in the drone/UAS 105 flying a preprogrammed flight routine while continuing to live stream scene video to officer worn HDG 120].
Brown fails to disclose obtaining, as a target time, a time when a predetermined trigger is detected and wherein the control unit is configured to, when the target time is later than a start time of an event held at the event venue, by controlling the communication unit such that the communication unit transmits a first shortened moving image obtained by shortening a first moving image of the event shot from the start time to the target time, present the first shortened moving image to the moving visitor, and the control unit is configured to, after a playback of the first shortened moving image ends.
In an analogous art, Quennesson discloses obtaining, as a target time, a time when a predetermined trigger is detected [0096 trigger the display of the icons (e.g., representations of signals of appreciation) for a predetermined period of time. For example, each icon may appear on the display 718 of the computing device 702 for three or five seconds and then disappear or fade out. The engagement may be associated with a specific time]
and wherein the control unit is configured to, when the target time is later than a start time of an event held at the event venue [0037],
by controlling the communication unit such that the communication unit transmits a first shortened moving image obtained by shortening a first moving image of the event shot from the start time to the target time, present the first shortened moving image to the moving visitor [0009 & 0017 “a broadcast of a live concert” “These spikes of social media metrics may be used to provide further inside which video segments to select for inclusion within the video highlights”],
and the control unit is configured to, after a playback of the first shortened moving image ends [0006; the user may select the highlights button, which causes the interactive streaming application to play highlights of those video broadcast streams].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Brown and Quennesson, before the effective filing date of the invention, in order to get a convenient overview of any topic [Quennesson 0003].
Regarding Claim 9, Brown discloses a method that is executed by a server, the method comprising:
obtaining, At event observation 150 the officer may have observed events that include erratic or aggressive operation of a vehicle on the roadway, suspicious driving and maneuvering, vehicle suspiciously parked, or a vehicle attempting to elude. At event 152 an enforcement decision is made resulting in executing a traffic stop, or a physical investigation of a parked vehicle at 153. At event 151 the officer may notice unusual activity, come upon a disturbance, or respond to a situation or dispatch that can present unknown hazards. At event 152 an enforcement decision is made resulting in an approach to the area to define a scene at 154. Both events 150 and 151 determines the need for an enforcement activity 152 and triggers events 153 and 154 respectively which will kick-off actual use of the L-SID capability];
transmitting a live moving image of the event, presenting the live moving image to the moving visitor [Col. 6 lines 45-50; using the flight mode selector switch on the PCU 110 resulting in the drone/UAS 105 flying a preprogrammed flight routine while continuing to live stream scene video to officer worn HDG 120].
Brown fails to disclose when the target time is later than a start time of an event held at the event venue, by transmitting a first shortened moving image obtained by shortening a first moving image of the event shot from the start time to the target time, presenting the first shortened moving image to the moving visitor; and after a playback of the first shortened moving image ends transmitting a live moving image of the event.
In an analogous art, Quennesson discloses obtaining, as a target time, a time when a predetermined trigger is detected [0096; trigger the display of the icons (e.g., representations of signals of appreciation) for a predetermined period of time. For example, each icon may appear on the display 718 of the computing device 702 for three or five seconds and then disappear or fade out. The engagement may be associated with a specific time];
when the target time is later than a start time of an event held at the event venue [0037], by transmitting a first shortened moving image obtained by shortening a first moving image of the event shot from the start time to the target time, presenting the first shortened moving image to the moving visitor [0009 & 0017 “a broadcast of a live concert” “These spikes of social media metrics may be used to provide further inside which video segments to select for inclusion within the video highlights”];
and after a playback of the first shortened moving image ends, by transmitting a live moving image of the event, presenting the live moving image to the moving visitor [0006; the user may select the highlights button, which causes the interactive streaming application to play highlights of those video broadcast streams].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Brown and Quennesson, before the effective filing date of the invention, in order to get a convenient overview of any topic [Quennesson 0003].
Regarding Claim 15, Brown discloses a non-transitory storage medium storing instructions that are executable by one or more servers and that cause the one or more servers to perform functions comprising:
obtaining, At event observation 150 the officer may have observed events that include erratic or aggressive operation of a vehicle on the roadway, suspicious driving and maneuvering, vehicle suspiciously parked, or a vehicle attempting to elude. At event 152 an enforcement decision is made resulting in executing a traffic stop, or a physical investigation of a parked vehicle at 153. At event 151 the officer may notice unusual activity, come upon a disturbance, or respond to a situation or dispatch that can present unknown hazards. At event 152 an enforcement decision is made resulting in an approach to the area to define a scene at 154. Both events 150 and 151 determines the need for an enforcement activity 152 and triggers events 153 and 154 respectively which will kick-off actual use of the L-SID capability];
transmitting a live moving image of the event, presenting the live moving image to the moving visitor [Col. 6 lines 45-50; using the flight mode selector switch on the PCU 110 resulting in the drone/UAS 105 flying a preprogrammed flight routine while continuing to live stream scene video to officer worn HDG 120].
Brown fails to disclose when the target time is later than a start time of an event held at the event venue, by transmitting a first shortened moving image obtained by shortening a first moving image of the event shot from the start time to the target time, presenting the first shortened moving image to the moving visitor; and after a playback of the first shortened moving image ends transmitting a live moving image of the event.
In an analogous art, Quennesson discloses obtaining, as a target time, a time when a predetermined trigger is detected [0096; trigger the display of the icons (e.g., representations of signals of appreciation) for a predetermined period of time. For example, each icon may appear on the display 718 of the computing device 702 for three or five seconds and then disappear or fade out. The engagement may be associated with a specific time];
when the target time is later than a start time of an event held at the event venue [0037], by transmitting a first shortened moving image obtained by shortening a first moving image of the event shot from the start time to the target time, presenting the first shortened moving image to the moving visitor [0009 & 0017 “a broadcast of a live concert” “These spikes of social media metrics may be used to provide further inside which video segments to select for inclusion within the video highlights”];
and after a playback of the first shortened moving image ends, by transmitting a live moving image of the event, presenting the live moving image to the moving visitor [0006; the user may select the highlights button, which causes the interactive streaming application to play highlights of those video broadcast streams].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Brown and Quennesson, before the effective filing date of the invention, in order to get a convenient overview of any topic [Quennesson 0003].
Regarding Claims 4, 12, and 18 the combination of Brown and Quennesson discloses a server, wherein the trigger is that the moving visitor performs a predetermined operation on a mobile terminal [Brown Col. 9 lines 30-40].
Regarding Claims 5, 13, and 19, the combination of Brown and Quennesson discloses a server, wherein the control unit is configured to, by controlling the communication unit such that the communication unit [Quennesson Figure 8] transmits the first shortened moving image and the live moving image to the mobile terminal and causing the first shortened moving image and the live moving image to be played back on a display provided on the mobile terminal, present the first shortened moving image and the live moving image to the moving visitor [Quennesson Figure 6A].
Regarding Claims 6, 14, and 20, the combination of Brown and Quennesson discloses a server wherein: the control unit is configured to obtain a specific position selected by the visitor from a plurality of mutually different shooting positions; and the first shortened moving image is a moving image obtained by shortening the first moving image shot from the specific position among a plurality of the first moving images shot from the respective shooting positions [Brown Col. 5 lines 10-30].
Regarding Claim 7, the combination of Brown and Quennesson discloses a server, wherein:
the control unit is configured to, when a playback of the first shortened moving image ends, by controlling the communication unit such that the communication unit transmits a second shortened moving image obtained by shortening a second moving image of the event shot from the target time to a playback end time of the first shortened moving image, present the second shortened moving image to the moving visitor [Quennesson 0052];
and the control unit is configured to, after the playback of the second shortened moving image ends, present the live moving image to the moving visitor [Quennesson 0060].
Regarding Claim 8, the combination of Brown and Quennesson discloses a server wherein a ratio of a length of the first shortened moving image to a length of the first moving image is different from a ratio of a length of the second shortened moving image to a length of the second moving image [Quennesson 0009].
Claims 2-3, 10-11, and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brown US Patent No. 11,691,727 in view of Quennesson US Patent Publication No. 2018/0025078 in further view of Aich et al. US Patent Publication No. 2019/0383622.
Regarding Claims 2, 10, and 16, the combination of Brown and Quennesson fails to disclose that the trigger is that the visitor boards on a vehicle with the event venue as a destination.
In an analogous art, Aich discloses a server, wherein the trigger is that the visitor boards on a vehicle with the event venue as a destination [0031].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Brown, Quennesson, and Aich, before the effective filing date of the invention, for utilization of the vehicles with the convenience and experience offered to the riders [Aich 0001].
Regarding Claims 3, 11, and 17, the combination of Brown, Quennesson, and Aich discloses a server wherein the control unit is configured to, by controlling the communication unit such that the communication unit transmits the first shortened moving image and the live moving image to the vehicle [Quennesson 0006]
and causing the first shortened moving image and the live moving image to be played back on a display provided in the vehicle, present the first shortened moving image and the live moving image to the visitor who is moving by the vehicle [Brown Col. 6 lines 8-50].
Relevant Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Slater US Patent Publication No. 2023/0275944 - Methods, systems, and devices are described for providing media content items within a content delivery network including an edge tier of servers located on mobile platforms served by wireless communication links of a communication system and at least one terrestrial tier of servers. An example method may include receiving a request for an item from a device within a mobile platform served via a wireless communication link of the communication system and identifying a mobile edge server located on the mobile platform. The method may include redirecting the request to the mobile edge server if the item is stored on the mobile edge server. If not, the method may include determining whether the item is stored on a first terrestrial server of a first tier of servers. When the item is stored on the first terrestrial server, the method may redirect the request to the first terrestrial server.
Sarkar et al. US Patent Publication No. 2020/0349192 - one or more embodiments described herein enable video highlight selection during or after a live video broadcast. For example, systems and methods described herein enable a broadcaster to indicate the occurrence something funny, important, or otherwise interesting during the broadcast of the live video. Once the live video broadcast has ended, the broadcaster may select to share only highlighted portions of the live video broadcast, or may share a full recording of the video broadcast that includes indications of the highlighted portions. In some embodiments, systems and methods described herein can also automatically select one or more highlighted portions within a recording of a video broadcast based on networking system activity associated with portions of the video broadcast.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAHAR A RIAZ whose telephone number is (571)270-3005. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9 am to 5 pm.
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, Benjamin Bruckart can be reached at 571-272-3982. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SAHAR AQIL RIAZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2424