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 .
Miscellaneous
Claims pending: 1-20
Claims amended: 1, 4, 9, 13, 15, 18,
Claims cancelled: n/a
New claims: n/a
Response to Double patenting
Applicant’s filed and approved Terminal Disclaimer 03/12/2026 with regard to patent 12052457 overcome the double patent issue.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 9, 15, have been fully considered.
Regarding applicant’s remarks dated 04/02/2026, pg. 10-13, regarding how all currently cited art fail to teach new amendments to claim(s) 1, 9, 15.
However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Singh, see below for detailed action.
Applicant’s arguments, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 2-8, 10-14, 16-20, have been fully considered and are rejected based on the same reason(s) as independent claim(s) 1, 9, 15, above.
Regarding applicant’s remarks dated 04/02/2026, pg. 14. In response to applicant's argument that one of ordinary skill in the art would not have been motivated to modify Mushkatblat in view of Cardona with Badt in the manner asserted, the test for obviousness is not whether the features of a secondary reference may be bodily incorporated into the structure of the primary reference; nor is it that the claimed invention must be expressly suggested in any one or all of the references. Rather, the test is what the combined teachings of the references would have suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981).
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 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 teachd 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) 1, 5, 9, 15, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US PGPUB: 20120311635) to (Mushkatblat) in view of (US PGPUB: 20160037215) to (Cardona) in view of (20080276267) to (Badt) in view of (US PUB 20110112909) to (Singh).
Regarding claim(s) 1, 15, Mushkatblat teach receiving, by an electronic program guide (EPG) server, a plurality of requests for an EPG from a corresponding plurality of client devices. Identifying, by the EPG server, a first subset of the plurality of client devices as corresponding to a first virtual zone, the first virtual zone associated with a first characteristic, and a second subset of the plurality of client devices as corresponding to a second virtual zone, the second virtual zone associated with a second characteristic, and generating, by the EPG server, a first EPG corresponding to the first virtual zone comprising a first media stream, and generating, by the EPG server, a second EPG corresponding to the second virtual zone, providing, by the EPG server, the first/second EPG to subsets of the plurality of devices, wherein the first subset of the plurality of client devices is distinct from the second subset of the plurality of client devices, the first virtual zone is distinct from the second virtual zone, the first characteristic is distinct from the second characteristic, the first EPG is distinct from the second EPG. (Mushkatblat Fig. 4-5, P. 29, 53-56, 61, 70-71, 85, 97, 123 displaying different EPG guides with different clients in different geographical locations based on their content geography and content availabilities, programming guide is provided to device via user request (P. 61), each user or group that is listed may include an identification of the geographical region associated with the media equipment device of the respective user and/or the service provider associated with the respective media equipment device or user, one or more of the users or groups listed in portion 510 to view interactive media guidance application information associated, guides can be tailored based on user device(s), capabilities, service provider, (Fig. 4-5, P. 53-55, 70-71) )
Cardona further teach an identification of a first substream comprising a plurality of chunks of a first media stream and a first one or more additional chunks of inserted content, and a first multicast address; and an identification of a second substream comprising the plurality of chunks of first media stream and a second one or more additional chunks of inserted content, and a second multicast address, the first substream is distinct from the second substream, the first one or more additional chunks of inserted content are distinct from the second one or more additional chunks of inserted content. (Fig. 5-7, P. 12-13, 43, 116-117 broadcast streams which are national streams (w national ads) edited into multicast streams with localized ads based on localized zip codes to be and multiplexed/multicast to corresponding groups in local zip codes, specifically local stations (RAL, CLT, etc. stations) individual multicast streams are encrypted with localized ads and serve specific zip codes, showing up on local zip code EPG as the same channel (RAL, CLT, etc. stations))
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Mushkatblat by an identification of a first substream comprising a plurality of chunks of a first media stream and a first one or more additional chunks of inserted content, and a first multicast address; and an identification of a second substream comprising the plurality of chunks of first media stream and a second one or more additional chunks of inserted content, and a second multicast address as taught by Cardona in order to effectively provide live stream via an IPTV environment.
Badt teach first multicast address is distinct from second multicast address. (Fig. 3-4, P. 10-12, 33, 41, 45-48, 53-54, Each sink node 130a and 130b transmits a respective subscribe message 140a and 140b towards the merge node 120 to subscribe to the multicast address associated with the TV program X 105, … subscribe message is modified to contain an additional field including the commercial source address. This results in what is, in effect, a two-part address, the program source address (i.e., the multicast group address for Program X) and the commercial source address (i.e., the multicast group address for Commercial Y) for the subscribe message, … one way is to modify the format of the subscribe packet to have a two-part address, which creates a customized multicast address for subscribe message from the sink client to view their broadcast channel with their customized ads inserted, and the different two-part addresses for different sink clients reads on (first and second multicast addresses)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Mushkatblat in view of Cardona by first multicast address is distinct from second multicast address as taught by Badt in order to provide IPTV architecture that dynamically delivers different commercials to different viewers.
Singh further teach first characteristic and second characteristics are associated with one or more of a bandwidth requirement, a device type, or a device capability of each of plurality of client devices. (Singh Fig. 1, P. 41, 44, 70, the multicast group management section may further divide the identified users and assign the users to multiple sub groups based on factors including internet service bandwidth associated with the user, which reads on (characteristics are associated with one or more of a bandwidth requirement, a device type, or a device capability of each of plurality of client devices)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Mushkatblat in view of Cardona in view of Badt by first characteristic and second characteristics are associated with one or more of a bandwidth requirement, a device type, or a device capability of each of plurality of client devices as taught by Singh in order to allows consumers to experience a satisfactory viewing experience of Internet video in high-definition on a large screen TV monitor, without resorting to physical media using less expensive solution(s).
Regarding claim(s) 5, Mushkatblat in view of Cardona in view of Badt in view of Singh teach the method, the first subset, and the second subset.
Mushkatblat further teach a first client device of first subset and a second client device of second subset are within a same geographic region. (Mushkatblat P. 70, different members of a household who have different EPG interfaces (content and/or layout) are part of the same geographical location, but different grouping based on how their EPG are categorized)
Regarding claim(s) 9, Mushkatblat teach receiving, from an electronic program guide (EPG) server by a streaming server, an identification of a first media stream, receiving, by the streaming server, a plurality of chunks of a first media stream; generating, by the streaming server, a first substream, generating, by the streaming server, a second substream, streaming, the first/second substream(s) to a first plurality of client devices corresponding to a first/second virtual zone Identified by the EPG server, the first and second virtual zone associated with a first and second characteristic respectively. (Mushkatblat P. 29, 56, 85, 97, 123 displaying different EPG guides with different clients in different geographical locations (virtual zones) based on their content geography and content availabilities, programming guide is provided to device via user request (P. 61), each user or group that is listed may include an identification of the geographical region associated with the media equipment device of the respective user and/or the service provider associated with the respective media equipment device or user, one or more of the users or groups listed in portion 510 to view interactive media guidance application information associated, guides can be tailored based on user device(s), capabilities, service provider, (Fig. 4-5, P. 53-55, 70-71) )
Mushkatblat teach first and second virtual zones.
Cardona further teach first multicast corresponding to a first zone, single second multicast corresponding to second zone, a subset of plurality of chunks of first media stream and a first one or more additional chunks of inserted content, a second substream comprising subset of plurality of chunks of first media stream and a second one or more additional chunks of inserted content. (Fig. 5-7, P. 12-13, 43, 116-117 broadcast streams which are national streams (w national ads) edited into multicast streams with localized ads based on localized zip codes to be and multiplexed/multicast to corresponding groups in local zip codes, specifically local stations (RAL, CLT, etc. stations) individual multicast streams are encrypted with localized ads and serve specific zip codes, showing up on local zip code EPG as the same channel (RAL, CLT, etc. stations))
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Mushkatblat by first multicast corresponding to a first zone, single second multicast corresponding to second zone, a subset of plurality of chunks of first media stream and a first one or more additional chunks of inserted content, a second substream comprising subset of plurality of chunks of first media stream and a second one or more additional chunks of inserted content as taught by Cardona in order to effectively provide live stream via an IPTV environment.
Badt further teach first and second multicast addresses, first multicast address is distinct from second multicast address. (Fig. 3-4, P. 10-12, 33, 41, 45-48, 53-54, Each sink node 130a and 130b transmits a respective subscribe message 140a and 140b towards the merge node 120 to subscribe to the multicast address associated with the TV program X 105, … subscribe message is modified to contain an additional field including the commercial source address. This results in what is, in effect, a two-part address, the program source address (i.e., the multicast group address for Program X) and the commercial source address (i.e., the multicast group address for Commercial Y) for the subscribe message, … one way is to modify the format of the subscribe packet to have a two-part address, which creates a customized multicast address for subscribe message from the sink client to view their broadcast channel with their customized ads inserted, and the different two-part addresses for different sink clients reads on first and second multicast addresses, first multicast address is distinct from second multicast address)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Mushkatblat in view of Cardona by first and second multicast addresses, first multicast address is distinct from second multicast address as taught by Badt in order to provide IPTV architecture that dynamically delivers different commercials to different viewers.
Singh further teach first characteristic and second characteristics are associated with one or more of a bandwidth requirement, a device type, or a device capability of each of plurality of client devices. (Singh Fig. 1, P. 41, 44, 70, the multicast group management section may further divide the identified users and assign the users to multiple sub groups based on factors including internet service bandwidth associated with the user, which reads on (characteristics are associated with one or more of a bandwidth requirement, a device type, or a device capability of each of plurality of client devices)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Mushkatblat in view of Cardona in view of Badt by first characteristic and second characteristics are associated with one or more of a bandwidth requirement, a device type, or a device capability of each of plurality of client devices as taught by Singh in order to allows consumers to experience a satisfactory viewing experience of Internet video in high-definition on a large screen TV monitor, without resorting to physical media using less expensive solution(s).
Claim(s) 4, 11-13, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US PGPUB: 20120311635) to (Mushkatblat) in view of (US PGPUB: 20160037215) to (Cardona) in view of (20080276267) to (Badt) in view of (US PUB 20110112909) to (Singh) in view of (US PGPUB: 20080310408) to (Thompson)
Regarding claim(s) 4, Mushkatblat in view of Cardona in view of Badt in view of Singh teach the first and second virtual zones, the first and second characteristics, and client devices of the first and second subsets.
Thompson teach subgroup(s) associated with a first policy, the first policy comprising first characteristic, a second policy, the second policy comprising second characteristic. (Thompson P. 44, 54, 61-62 IPTV environment wherein group classification happens based on device ID and characteristic information, and Each master set-top box manager distributes (303) the received program data to other set-top box managers 28 in their respective groups 29. The program data is then segmented, compressed, encrypted and continually multicast (305) by the set-top box managers 28 to clusters 60 of set-top boxes 30 according to a bandwidth and priority schedule established by the SMS 17 and the set-top box manager 28 sending the program data).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Mushkatblat in view of Cardona in view of Badt in view of Singh by associated with a first policy, the first policy comprising first characteristic, a second policy, the second policy comprising second characteristic as taught by Thompson in order to provide a personalized and targeted content system via an IPTV environment.
Regarding claim(s) 11, 12, Mushkatblat in view of Cardona in view of Badt in view of Singh teach the method, generating the first multicast substream, the subset of the plurality of chunks of the first media stream.
Thompson teach replacing a plurality of chunks of first media stream with first, second set of one or more additional chunks of inserted content. (Thompson P.88, 90 IPTV environment wherein parts of the content or ads are replaced by targeted ads or portions of media)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Mushkatblat in view of Cardona in view of Badt in view of Singh by replacing a plurality of chunks of first media stream with first, second set of one or more additional chunks of inserted content as taught by Thompson in order to provide a personalized and targeted content system via an IPTV environment.
Regarding claim(s) 13, Mushkatblat in view of Cardona in view of Badt in view of Singh teach the method, the first multicast substream, the first set of one or more additional chunks of inserted content, the first virtual zone identified by the first multicast address, the first characteristic.
Thompson teach generating first substream by selecting first one or more additional chunks of inserted content according to a first policy corresponding to first virtual zone, the first policy comprising the first characteristic. (Thompson P.88, 90 IPTV environment wherein parts of the content or ads are replaced by targeted ads or portions of media based on criteria set for specific audience, region, or other settings based)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Mushkatblat in view of Cardona in view of Badt in view of Singh by generating first substream by selecting first one or more additional chunks of inserted content according to a first policy corresponding to first virtual zone, the first policy comprising the first characteristic as taught by Thompson in order to provide a personalized and targeted content system via an IPTV environment.
Claim(s) 6-7, 10, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US PGPUB: 20120311635) to (Mushkatblat) in view of (US PGPUB: 20160037215) to (Cardona) in view of (US PUB 20110112909) to (Singh) in view of (US PGPUB: 20120047542) to (Lewis).
Regarding claim(s) 6-7, Mushkatblat in view of Cardona in view of Badt in view of Singh teach the system the first subset of the plurality of devices receives the first multicast substream, generating the first EPG, the first/second substream(s), first/second item of inserted content.
Mushkatblat in view of Cardona in view of Badt in view of Singh fail to specifically teach generating a stream manifest for first/second substream(s) comprising an identification of a first item of inserted content, and identification of a second, different item of inserted content.
Lewis further teach generating a stream manifest for first/second substream(s) comprising an identification of a first item of inserted content, and identification of a second, different item of inserted content. (Lewis Fig. 1-2, P. 15-16, 18-23, 31, 37-39, dynamic manifest file server 110, customize the generation of manifest file 157, such a rule to insert advertising segments to overwrite a particular time block in the live stream, manifest file 157 may comprise a playlist file such as a M3U8 playlist file, manifest file 157 may reference live video segments and ad video segments on servers hosted in content delivery network, accessible over network 130).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Mushkatblat in view of Cardona in view of Badt in view of Singh by generating a stream manifest for first/second substream(s) comprising an identification of a first item of inserted content, and identification of a second, different item of inserted content as taught by Lewis in order to providing flexible dynamic streaming media in a cost effective manner that is convenient and transparent for end users.
Regarding claim(s) 10, Mushkatblat in view of Cardona in view of Badt in view of Singh teach the system the first subset of the plurality of devices receives the first multicast substream, generating the first substream, the first/second substream(s), first/second item of inserted content, the first one or more additional chunks of inserted content.
Lewis further generating a first stream manifest identifying first one or more additional chunks of inserted content. (Lewis Fig. 1-2, P. 15-16, 18-23, 31, 37-39, dynamic manifest file server 110, customize the generation of manifest file 157, such a rule to insert advertising segments to overwrite a particular time block in the live stream, manifest file 157 may comprise a playlist file such as a M3U8 playlist file, manifest file 157 may reference live video segments and ad video segments on servers hosted in content delivery network, accessible over network 130).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Mushkatblat in view of Cardona in view of Badt in view of Singh by generating a first stream manifest identifying first one or more additional chunks of inserted content as taught by Lewis in order to providing flexible dynamic streaming media in a cost effective manner that is convenient and transparent for end users.
Claim(s) 8, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US PGPUB: 20120311635) to (Mushkatblat) in view of (US PGPUB: 20160037215) to (Cardona) in view of (20080276267) to (Badt) in view of (US PUB 20110112909) to (Singh) in view of (US PGPUB: 20110030003) to (Schmidt).
Regarding claim(s) 8, Mushkatblat in view of Cardona in view of Badt in view of Singh teach the system the first subset of the plurality of devices receives the first multicast substream.
Mushkatblat in view of Cardona in view of Badt in view of Singh fail to specifically teach device of first subset of plurality of devices receives first media stream via first multicast address, and wherein a second device of second subset of plurality of devices receives second media stream via second multicast address.
Schmidt further teach device of first subset of plurality of devices receives first media stream via first multicast address, and wherein a second device of second subset of plurality of devices receives second media stream via second multicast address. (Schmidt P. 19-20, 25-28, 34, teach a system for distributing TV content via an IPTV environment, wherein the channels on the personalized EPG have their corresponding multicast addresses, which reads on (first and second multicast addresses))
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Mushkatblat in view of Cardona in view of Badt in view of Singh by teach device of first subset of plurality of devices receives first media stream via first multicast address, and wherein a second device of second subset of plurality of devices receives second media stream via second multicast address as taught by Schmidt in order to effectively provide a large number of users targeted advertisements without having to use unicasting via an IPTV environment.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 2-3, 14, 16-20, are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims, and overcome double patent rejection above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RONG LE whose telephone number is (571)270-7637. The examiner can normally be reached M-F (9 am - 6pm).
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, Nathan Flynn can be reached at 5712721915. 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.
/RONG LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2421
Prosecution Insights