CTFR 18/772,267 CTFR 96826 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 Amendment The Amendment filed April 29, 2026, has been entered. Claims 1 – 20 are pending in the application. Applicant’s amendments to the Specification have overcome each and every objection previously set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed March 18, 2026. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments, filed April 29, 2026, with respect to claims 1 – 20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-01 AIA The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a): (a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112: The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. 07-31-01 Claims 1 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claims contain subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Regarding claim 1, the disclosure does not provide adequate support for the claim limitation "processing, using a command identifier, the transcription of the utterance to determine that the multiple terms of the utterance comprise a command directed toward a user computing device as opposed to terms spoken by the particular user that are not directed toward the user computing device" because the specification does not disclose determining that an utterance comprises terms spoken by a particular user that are not directed toward the user computing device. The specification recites, in paragraph 0033, lines 7-10, “The speech recognizer 222 may generate a transcription that the command identifier 216 analyzes for commands. The command identifier 216 may compare the transcription to the commands 224 to determine whether any of the terms in the transcription match the terms in the commands 224.”, disclosing processing a transcription of an utterance to determine that terms of the utterance comprise a command directed toward a user computing device, but not disclosing determining that an utterance comprises terms spoken by a particular user that are not directed toward the user computing device. The specification further recites, in paragraph 0023, lines 5-10, “The computing device 115 processes the audio data 182 that corresponds to the utterance 140. The computing device 115 determines that a different person spoke utterance 140 and the hotword 172 in utterance 130. The computing device 115 suppresses transmission of the audio data 182 that corresponds to the utterance 140 because a person other than the person who spoke the hotword 172 in utterance 130 spoke utterance 140.”, disclosing determining that an utterance comprises terms that are not directed toward the user computing device when the terms are spoken by a user different from the user who spoke the hotword, but not disclosing determining that an utterance comprises terms that are not directed toward the user computing device when the terms are spoken by the user who spoke the hotword. The introduction of claim changes which involve narrowing the claims by introducing elements or limitations which are not supported by the as-filed disclosure is a violation of the written description requirement of 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph (see MPEP § 2163.05, subsection II). Claims 2 – 10 are also rejected as they depend from claim 1, and thus recite the limitations of claim 1, and therefore contain subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Regarding claim 11, the disclosure does not provide adequate support for the claim limitation "processing, using a command identifier, the transcription of the utterance to determine that the multiple terms of the utterance comprise a command directed toward a user computing device as opposed to terms spoken by the particular user that are not directed toward the user computing device" because the specification does not disclose determining that an utterance comprises terms spoken by a particular user that are not directed toward the user computing device. The specification recites, in paragraph 0033, lines 7-10, “The speech recognizer 222 may generate a transcription that the command identifier 216 analyzes for commands. The command identifier 216 may compare the transcription to the commands 224 to determine whether any of the terms in the transcription match the terms in the commands 224.”, disclosing processing a transcription of an utterance to determine that terms of the utterance comprise a command directed toward a user computing device, but not disclosing determining that an utterance comprises terms spoken by a particular user that are not directed toward the user computing device. The specification further recites, in paragraph 0023, lines 5-10, “The computing device 115 processes the audio data 182 that corresponds to the utterance 140. The computing device 115 determines that a different person spoke utterance 140 and the hotword 172 in utterance 130. The computing device 115 suppresses transmission of the audio data 182 that corresponds to the utterance 140 because a person other than the person who spoke the hotword 172 in utterance 130 spoke utterance 140.”, disclosing determining that an utterance comprises terms that are not directed toward the user computing device when the terms are spoken by a user different from the user who spoke the hotword, but not disclosing determining that an utterance comprises terms that are not directed toward the user computing device when the terms are spoken by the user who spoke the hotword. The introduction of claim changes which involve narrowing the claims by introducing elements or limitations which are not supported by the as-filed disclosure is a violation of the written description requirement of 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph (see MPEP § 2163.05, subsection II). Claims 12 – 20 are also rejected as they depend from claim 11, and thus recite the limitations of claim 11, and therefore contain subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1 – 5, 9 – 15 and 19 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US Patent No. 10,127,911), hereinafter Kim, in view of Perotti (US Patent No. 10,360,916) . Regarding claim 1, Kim discloses a computer-implemented method that when executed on data processing hardware causes the data processing hardware to perform operations (Column 4, line 61 - Column 5, line 3, "In some examples, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of memory 250 can be used to store instructions (e.g., for performing some or all of process 300, 400, 500, 600, or 700, described below) for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, and execute the instructions.") comprising: receiving audio data characterizing an utterance comprising a hotword followed by multiple terms (Column 6, lines 28-48, "In some examples, process 300 can be performed by a system similar or identical to system 100 having a user device similar or identical to user device 102 configured to implement a virtual assistant capable of continuously (or intermittently over an extended period of time) monitoring an audio input for a receipt of a trigger phrase that initiates activation of the virtual assistant. For example, a user device implementing the virtual assistant can continuously or intermittently monitor sounds, speech, and the like detected by a microphone of the user device without performing an action, such as performing a task flow, generating an output response in an audible (e.g., speech) and/or visual form, or the like, in response to the monitored sounds and speech. However, in response to detecting the trigger phrase, the virtual assistant can perform a speaker identification process to ensure that the speaker of the trigger phrase is the intended operator of the virtual assistant. Upon verification of the identity of the speaker, the virtual assistant can be activated, causing the virtual assistant to process a subsequently received word or phrase and to respond accordingly."; Monitoring an audio input for a receipt of a trigger phrase and processing a subsequently received phrase reads on receiving audio data characterizing an utterance comprising a hotword followed by multiple terms.); processing the audio data to: identify, using a hotword model, a presence of the hotword in the audio data (Column 6, lines 58-66, "At block 304, speech-to-text conversion can be performed on the audio input received at block 302 to determine whether the audio input includes user speech containing a predetermined trigger phrase. The trigger phrase can include any desired set of one or more predetermined words, such as “Hey Siri.” The trigger phrase can be used to activate the virtual assistant and signal to the virtual assistant that a user input, such as a request, command, or the like, will be subsequently provided."; Determine whether the audio input includes user speech containing a predetermined trigger phrase reads on identify a presence of the hotword in the audio data.); and determine, using a speaker identification model, that the utterance characterized by the audio data was spoken by a particular person (Column 9, lines 15-20, "At block 502, the user device can perform a speaker identification process on the audio input received at block 302 of process 300 to determine whether the speaker is a predetermined user (e.g., an authorized user of the device). Any desired speaker identification process can be used, such as an i-vector speaker identification process."; Performing a speaker identification process on the received audio input to determine whether the speaker is a predetermined user reads on determining that the utterance characterized by the audio data was spoken by a particular person.); based on identifying the presence of the hotword in the audio data and determining that the utterance characterized by the audio data was spoken by the particular user, performing speech recognition on the audio data to generate a transcription of the utterance (Column 6, lines 58-61, "At block 304, speech-to-text conversion can be performed on the audio input received at block 302 to determine whether the audio input includes user speech containing a predetermined trigger phrase."; Column 8, lines 23-38, "At block 404, the user device can activate the virtual assistant by processing audio input received subsequent to the audio input containing the trigger phrase. For example, block 404 can include receiving the subsequent audio input, performing speech-to-text conversion on the subsequently received audio input to generate a textual representation of user speech contained in the subsequently received audio input, determining a user intent based on the textual representation, an acting on the determined user intent by performing one or more of the following: identifying a task flow with steps and parameters designed to accomplish the determined user intent; inputting specific requirements from the determined user intent into the task flow; executing the task flow by invoking programs, methods, services, APIs, or the like; and generating output responses to the user in an audible (e.g., speech) and/or visual form."; Column 12, lines 1-12, "At block 602, the user device can perform a speaker identification process on the audio input received at block 302 of process 300 in a manner similar or identical to that of block 502 of process 500. If it is determined that the speaker of the audio input is the predetermined user represented by the speaker profile, then process 600 can proceed to block 604 without adding the audio input to a speaker profile in a manner similar or identical to block 402 of process 400 or block 504 of process 500. At block 604, the virtual assistant can be activated and subsequently received audio input can be processed in a manner similar or identical to block 404 of process 400 or block 506 of process 500."; Performing speech-to-text conversion on the subsequently received audio input to generate a textual representation of user speech contained in the subsequently received audio input after determining that the audio input includes user speech containing a predetermined trigger phrase and determining that the speaker of the audio input is the predetermined user represented by the speaker profile reads on performing speech recognition on the audio data to generate a transcription of the utterance based on identifying the presence of the hotword in the audio data and determining that the utterance characterized by the audio data was spoken by the particular user.); processing, using a command identifier, the transcription of the utterance to determine that the multiple terms of the utterance comprise a command directed toward a user computing device (Column 6, lines 63-66, "The trigger phrase can be used to activate the virtual assistant and signal to the virtual assistant that a user input, such as a request, command, or the like, will be subsequently provided."; Column 8, lines 23-38, "At block 404, the user device can activate the virtual assistant by processing audio input received subsequent to the audio input containing the trigger phrase. For example, block 404 can include receiving the subsequent audio input, performing speech-to-text conversion on the subsequently received audio input to generate a textual representation of user speech contained in the subsequently received audio input, determining a user intent based on the textual representation, an acting on the determined user intent by performing one or more of the following: identifying a task flow with steps and parameters designed to accomplish the determined user intent; inputting specific requirements from the determined user intent into the task flow; executing the task flow by invoking programs, methods, services, APIs, or the like; and generating output responses to the user in an audible (e.g., speech) and/or visual form."; Determining a user intent based on the textual representation, where the user intent is a command, reads on processing the transcription of the utterance to determine that the multiple terms of the utterance comprise a command directed toward a user computing device.); and based on determining that the multiple terms of the utterance comprise the command, initiating performance of the command using the user computing device (Column 8, lines 23-38, "At block 404, the user device can activate the virtual assistant by processing audio input received subsequent to the audio input containing the trigger phrase. For example, block 404 can include receiving the subsequent audio input, performing speech-to-text conversion on the subsequently received audio input to generate a textual representation of user speech contained in the subsequently received audio input, determining a user intent based on the textual representation, an acting on the determined user intent by performing one or more of the following: identifying a task flow with steps and parameters designed to accomplish the determined user intent; inputting specific requirements from the determined user intent into the task flow; executing the task flow by invoking programs, methods, services, APIs, or the like; and generating output responses to the user in an audible (e.g., speech) and/or visual form."; Acting on the determined user intent by executing the task flow reads on initiating performance of the command using the user computing device based on determining that the multiple terms of the utterance comprise the command.). Kim does not specifically disclose: processing, using a command identifier, the transcription of the utterance to determine that the multiple terms of the utterance comprise a command directed toward a user computing device as opposed to terms spoken by the particular user that are not directed toward the user computing device. Perotti teaches: processing, using a command identifier, the transcription of the utterance to determine that the multiple terms of the utterance comprise a command directed toward a user computing device as opposed to terms spoken by the particular user that are not directed toward the user computing device (Column 4, lines 53-64, "As shown in FIG. 1A, the user 102 has spoken out loud an utterance 105, which is picked up by a microphone of the headset 104. The utterance 105 may include a command, such as a wakeup word or challenge passphrase. In some prior art headsets, a wakeup word is used to activate the headsets. Prior to detecting the wakeup word, such prior art headsets are not actively analyzing a content of the utterances of the user 102 in order to validate the identity of the user 102. Such headsets may, in response to identifying the occurrence of a wakeup word in the speech of the user 102, begin monitoring for another keyword or key phrase, also known as a voice command."; Column 8, line 16-23, "The voiceprint comparator 118 includes any voice recognition application that is operable to receive as input all or a portion of an utterance spoken by a user, and utilize that input to authenticate, or otherwise confirm the identity of, the user. In one or more embodiments, the voiceprint comparator 118 may rely on one or more previously stored voiceprints. Each of the voiceprints may be associated with a different keyword, as described below."; Column 9, lines 34-45, "As described herein, each keyword 222 includes a word or phrase used to access an associated resource 226. In one or more embodiments, the utterances of a user, as picked up by a microphone, may be continuously compared to the keywords 222 of the command library 219. In other words, each keyword 222 may comprise a portion of a vocabulary that is recognized by a speech recognition application, such as the utterance analyzer 117, described in reference to FIG. 1C, above. A keyword 222 may include a fixed trigger. Examples of keywords include “play,” “pause,” “stop,” “next track,” “redial,” “call home,” “unlock my phone,” “answer,” “ignore,” “yes,” “no,” etc."; Column 13, line 58 - Column 14, line 5, "At step 304, it is determined that at least a portion of the utterance matches a pre-determined keyword. In one or more embodiments, the pre-determined keyword may be one of a list of predefined words or phrases, such as fixed triggers, each of which is included in a respective command. In one or more embodiments, the pre-determined keyword may be identified by performing speech-to-text processing or waveform matching on the utterance of the user. However, in various embodiments, the pre-determined keyword may be identified in any suitable manner. As an example, if the user speaks the word “play,” then a command that includes the keyword “play” may be identified. As another example, if the user speaks the phrase “unlock my phone,” then a command that includes the keyword “unlock” may be identified."; Performing speech-to-text processing on an utterance of a user to determine that at least a portion of the utterance matches a pre-determined keyword, where the pre-determined keyword is from a list of predefined words or phrases which are included in respective commands, and where the utterance spoken by the user is used to authenticate the identity of the user using a voiceprint, reads on processing the transcription of the utterance to determine that the multiple terms of the utterance comprise a command directed toward a user computing device as opposed to terms spoken by the particular user that are not directed toward the user computing device.). Perotti is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of automatic speech recognition. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kim to incorporate the teachings of Perotti to perform speech-to-text processing on an utterance of a user to determine that at least a portion of the utterance matches a pre-determined keyword, where the pre-determined keyword is from a list of predefined words or phrases which are included in respective commands, and where the utterance spoken by the user is used to authenticate the identity of the user using a voiceprint. Doing so would allow for confirming a user's identity in addition to causing the performance of the specific functionality that the user has requested (Perotti; Column 3, line 57 - Column 4, line 5). Regarding claim 2, Kim in view of Perotti discloses the computer-implemented method as claimed in claim 1. Kim further discloses: wherein the audio data is captured by a microphone residing on the user computing device (Column 6, lines 50-53, "At block 302 of process 300, an audio input including user speech can be received at a user device. In some examples, a user device (e.g., user device 102) can receive the audio input including user speech via a microphone (e.g., microphone 230)."). Regarding claim 3, Kim in view of Perotti discloses the computer-implemented method as claimed in claim 1. Kim further discloses: wherein the speaker identification model is trained to recognize speech spoken by the particular person (Column 7, lines 21-30, "At block 305, the user device can generate a speaker profile, selectively perform speaker recognition using the speaker profile, and selectively activate the virtual assistant in response to positively identifying the speaker using speaker recognition. In some examples, the speaker profile can generally include one or more voice prints generated from an audio recording of a speaker's voice. The voice prints can be generated using any desired speech recognition technique, such as by generating i-vectors to represent speaker utterances."; Column 7, lines 37-48, "Specifically, at block 306, the user device can select one of multiple modes in which to operate. In some examples, the multiple modes can include a speaker profile building mode (represented by block 308) in which a speaker's voice can be modeled to generate a speaker profile, a speaker profile modifying mode (represented by block 310) in which a speaker profile can be used to verify the identity of a user and in which the speaker profile can be updated based on newly received user speech, and a static speaker profile mode in which an existing speaker profile can be used to verify the identity of a user and in which the speaker profile may not be changed based on newly received user speech."; Modeling a speaker's voice to generate a speaker profile to selectively perform speaker recognition reads on training the speaker identification model to recognize speech spoken by the particular person.). Regarding claim 4, Kim in view of Perotti discloses the computer-implemented method as claimed in claim 3. Kim further discloses: wherein the speaker identification model is trained on previously collected speech data for the particular person (Column 7, lines 21-30, "At block 305, the user device can generate a speaker profile, selectively perform speaker recognition using the speaker profile, and selectively activate the virtual assistant in response to positively identifying the speaker using speaker recognition. In some examples, the speaker profile can generally include one or more voice prints generated from an audio recording of a speaker's voice. The voice prints can be generated using any desired speech recognition technique, such as by generating i-vectors to represent speaker utterances."; Generating voice prints from an audio recording of a speaker's voice reads on the speaker identification model being trained on previously collected speech data for the particular person.). Regarding claim 5, Kim in view of Perotti discloses the computer-implemented method as claimed in claim 4. Kim further discloses: wherein the previously collected speech data characterizes utterances of various phrases the particular person is requested to repeat (Column 1, lines 33-38, "Some natural language processing systems can perform speaker identification to verify the identity of a user. These systems typically require the user to perform an enrollment process during which the user speaks a series of predetermined words or phrases to allow the natural language processing system to model the user's voice."; Performing an enrollment process during which the user speaks a series of predetermined words or phrases reads on the previously collected speech data characterizing utterances of various phrases the particular person is requested to repeat.). Regarding claim 9, Kim in view of Perotti discloses the computer-implemented method as claimed in claim 1. Kim further discloses: wherein the data processing hardware resides on the user computing device (Column 3, lines 62-66, "Although the functionality of the virtual assistant is shown in FIG. 1 as including both a client-side portion and a server-side portion, in some examples, the functions of the assistant can be implemented as a standalone application installed on a user device."; Column 4, lines 7-10, "FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a user-device 102 according to various examples. As shown, user device 102 can include a memory interface 202, one or more processors 204, and a peripherals interface 206."). Regarding claim 10, Kim in view of Perotti discloses the computer-implemented method as claimed in claim 1. Kim further discloses: wherein the user computing device comprises a smart phone, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a smart speaker, or a smart watch (Column 3, lines 22-33, "As shown in FIG. 1, in some examples, a virtual assistant can be implemented according to a client-server model. The virtual assistant can include a client-side portion executed on a user device 102, and a server-side portion executed on a server system 110. User device 102 can include any electronic device, such as a mobile phone, tablet computer, portable media player, desktop computer, laptop computer, PDA, television, television set-top box, wearable electronic device, or the like, and can communicate with server system 110 through one or more networks 108, which can include the Internet, an intranet, or any other wired or wireless public or private network."). Regarding claim 11, arguments analogous to claim 1 are applicable. In addition, Kim discloses a system comprising: data processing hardware; and memory hardware in communication with the data processing hardware and storing instructions that when executed on the data processing hardware cause the data processing hardware to perform operations (Column 4, line 61 - Column 5, line 3, "In some examples, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of memory 250 can be used to store instructions (e.g., for performing some or all of process 300, 400, 500, 600, or 700, described below) for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, and execute the instructions.") comprising the steps of claim 1. Regarding claim 12, arguments analogous to claim 2 are applicable. Regarding claim 13, arguments analogous to claim 3 are applicable. Regarding claim 14, arguments analogous to claim 4 are applicable. Regarding claim 15, arguments analogous to claim 5 are applicable. Regarding claim 19, arguments analogous to claim 9 are applicable. Regarding claim 20, arguments analogous to claim 10 are applicable . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 6 – 8 and 16 – 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of Perotti, and further in view of Foerster et al. (US Patent No. 9,418,656), hereinafter Foerster . Regarding claim 6, Kim in view of Perotti discloses the computer-implemented method as claimed in claim 1, but does not specifically disclose: wherein processing the audio data to identify the presence of the hotword in the audio data comprises: processing, using the hotword model, the audio data to compute a hotword confidence score reflecting a likelihood that the audio data includes the hotword; and identifying, using the hotword model, the presence of the hotword based on the hotword confidence score. Foerster teaches: wherein processing the audio data to identify the presence of the hotword in the audio data comprises: processing, using the hotword model, the audio data to compute a hotword confidence score reflecting a likelihood that the audio data includes the hotword (Column 4, lines 25-31, "The audio subsystem of the computing device 115 provides the processed audio data 120 to a first stage of the hotworder. The first stage hotworder 125 may be a “coarse” hotworder. The first stage hotworder 125 performs a classification process that may be informed or trained using known utterances of the hotword, and computes a likelihood that the utterance 110 includes a hotword."; Column 5, lines 15-17, "Based on the classification process performed by the first stage hotworder 125, the first stage hotworder 125 computes a hotword confidence score."); and identifying, using the hotword model, the presence of the hotword based on the hotword confidence score (Column 6, lines 51-60, "In some implementations, the speaker identification module 150 transmits a signal to the second stage hotworder 145 or to the first stage hotworder 125 indicating that the speaker identity confidence score satisfies a threshold and to cease storing or forwarding of the audio data 120. For example, the second stage hotworder 145 determines that the utterance 110 likely includes the hotword “OK computer,” and the second stage hotworder 145 transmits a signal to the first stage hotworder 125 instructing the first stage hotworder 125 to cease storing the audio data 125 into memory 140."; Indicating that the speaker identity confidence score satisfies a threshold reads on identifying the presence of the hotword based on the hotword confidence score.). Foerster is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of speech recognition. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kim in view of Perotti to incorporate the teachings of Foerster to compute a hotword confidence score indicating the likelihood that an utterance includes a hotword and indicate that the speaker identity confidence score satisfies a threshold. Doing so would allow for discerning when an utterance is directed at the system as opposed to being directed at an individual present in the environment (Foerster; Column 1, lines 44-67). Regarding claim 7, Kim in view of Perotti, and further in view of Foerster, discloses the computer-implemented method as claimed in claim 6. Foerster further teaches: wherein identifying the presence of the hotword based on the hotword confidence score comprises identifying the presence of the hotword based on determining that the hotword confidence score satisfies a hotword confidence score threshold (Column 6, lines 51-60, "In some implementations, the speaker identification module 150 transmits a signal to the second stage hotworder 145 or to the first stage hotworder 125 indicating that the speaker identity confidence score satisfies a threshold and to cease storing or forwarding of the audio data 120. For example, the second stage hotworder 145 determines that the utterance 110 likely includes the hotword “OK computer,” and the second stage hotworder 145 transmits a signal to the first stage hotworder 125 instructing the first stage hotworder 125 to cease storing the audio data 125 into memory 140."; Indicating that the speaker identity confidence score satisfies a threshold reads on identifying the presence of the hotword based on determining that the hotword confidence score satisfies a hotword confidence score threshold.). Foerster is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of speech recognition. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kim in view of Perotti and further in view of Foerster to further incorporate the teachings of Foerster to indicate that the speaker identity confidence score satisfies a threshold. Doing so would allow for discerning when an utterance is directed at the system as opposed to being directed at an individual present in the environment (Foerster; Column 1, lines 44-67). Regarding claim 8, Kim in view of Perotti, and further in view of Foerster, discloses the computer-implemented method as claimed in claim 6. Foerster further teaches: wherein the hotword confidence score is computed without the hotword model performing speech recognition on the audio data (Column 4, lines 25-31, "The audio subsystem of the computing device 115 provides the processed audio data 120 to a first stage of the hotworder. The first stage hotworder 125 may be a “coarse” hotworder. The first stage hotworder 125 performs a classification process that may be informed or trained using known utterances of the hotword, and computes a likelihood that the utterance 110 includes a hotword."; Computing the likelihood that an utterance includes a hotword by performing a classification process trained using known utterances of the hotword reads on computing the hotword confidence score without the hotword model performing speech recognition on the audio data.). Foerster is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of speech recognition. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kim in view of Perotti and further in view of Foerster to further incorporate the teachings of Foerster to compute the likelihood that an utterance includes a hotword by performing a classification process trained using known utterances of the hotword. Doing so would allow for discerning when an utterance is directed at the system as opposed to being directed at an individual present in the environment (Foerster; Column 1, lines 44-67). Regarding claim 16, arguments analogous to claim 6 are applicable. Regarding claim 17, arguments analogous to claim 7 are applicable. Regarding claim 18, arguments analogous to claim 8 are applicable. Conclusion 07-40 AIA 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 James Boggs whose telephone number is (571)272-2968. 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If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /JAMES BOGGS/Examiner, Art Unit 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/772,267 Page 2 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/772,267 Page 4 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/772,267 Page 5 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/772,267 Page 6 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/772,267 Page 7 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/772,267 Page 8 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/772,267 Page 9 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/772,267 Page 10 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/772,267 Page 11 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/772,267 Page 12 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/772,267 Page 13 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/772,267 Page 14 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/772,267 Page 15 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/772,267 Page 16 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/772,267 Page 17 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/772,267 Page 18 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/772,267 Page 19 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/772,267 Page 20 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/772,267 Page 21 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/772,267 Page 22 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/772,267 Page 23 Art Unit: 2657
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