Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to all pending claims have been fully considered, but they moot because of the new ground of rejection. Claim 9 was cancelled. Applicant argues that cited references failed to disclose determining, by the receiving device, to insert an advertisement (ad) break and play on a presentation device connected to the receiving device one or more ads in the ad break based on the notification; wherein the notification is a maintenance notification from one or more corresponding smart devices connected to the receiving device via a network.
However, regarding “determining, by the receiving device, to insert an advertisement (ad) break and play on a presentation device connected to the receiving device one or more ads in the ad break based on the notification “, Holloway et al disclose a system being able to use the advertisement monitor 330 to determine when commercial needs to be inserted and notification can be sent user devices accordingly as disclosed in para. 0070;0097;0139;0142; 0085;0106;0052-0053;0085; 0061.
And Xiao et al disclose a system being able to provide notification for maintenance services as disclosed in para.0022; 0051;0074. This office action is made non-final.
Claims rejections-35 U.S.C. 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-8; 10; 12-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Holloway(US.Pub.No.20210174715) in view of DiTullio(US.Pub.No.20240370903) and Xiao(US.Pub.No.20150339634).
Regarding claim 1, Holloway et al disclose a method in a media presentation system, the method comprising: electronically receiving, by one or more processors of a receiving device, a notification(the system is able to display message or pop up or notification on the screen of the display device; 0145;0099;0054) ;
determining, by the receiving device, to insert an advertisement (ad) break and play on a presentation device connected to the receiving device one or more ads in the ad break based on the notification(see fig.3 being able to detect connection status of the device 310; 0070;0097;0139;0142; 0085;0106;0053);
in response to the determination to insert an ad break, electronically transmitting a request for one or more ads that have a total duration equal to a total duration of the ad break(the system is able to send request to the remote server for ads; 0143);
initiating playing the one or more ads on the presentation device(the system is able to display a list of commercials; 0045;0094).
But did not explicitly disclose electronically generating an ad playlist that consists of one or more ads that have a total duration equal to a total duration of the ad break; initiating downloading of the one or more ads in the ad playlist; wherein the notification is a maintenance notification from one or more corresponding smart devices connected to the receiving device via a network.
However, DiTullio et al disclose electronically generating an ad playlist that consists of one or more ads that have a total duration equal to a total duration of the ad break(the system is capable of generating list of commercials;0019; 0027; 0046-0047) ; initiating downloading of the one or more ads in the ad playlist(the system is able to download ads from ad server 104; 0019; 0036; 0049).
It would have been obvious before effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of DiTullio to modify Holloway by providing options to download commercials for the purpose of increasing the capability of the network accordingly.
And Xiao et al disclose wherein the notification is a maintenance notification from one or more corresponding smart devices connected to the receiving device via a network(the system is able to provide notification for maintenance service; 0022; 0051;0074).
It would have been obvious before effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Xiao to modify Holloway and DiTullio by providing options to send message or notification for maintenance service resulting in “ wherein the notification is a maintenance notification from one or more corresponding smart devices connected to the receiving device via a network” for the purpose of improving the capability of the network accordingly
Regarding claim 2, Holloway et al disclose wherein: receiving the notification includes electronically receiving, by one or more processors of a receiving device, an HDMI CEC signal(the system is able to use HDMI CEC signal; 0142); and determining to insert the ad break and play on the presentation device one or more ads in the ad break includes: determining, by the receiving device that a presentation device connected to the receiving is about to power up or power down based on the HDMI CEC signal(the system is capable of determining connection status of the display device by using the HDMI CEC signal; 0142; 0070;0097;0139;0142; 0085;0106;0053); and determining, by the receiving device, to immediately insert an advertisement (ad) break and play on the presentation device one or more advertisements in the ad break based on the determination that the presentation device connected to the receiving is about to power up or power down(the system is able to display a list of commercials; 0045;0094; 0070; 0141-0142).
Regarding claim 3, Holloway et al disclose wherein the receiving device determines that the presentation device is about power down based on the HDMI CEC signal(the system can use HDMI CEC signal to control its operation,0142) and the initiating playing of the one or more ads on the presentation device occurs immediately before the presentation device powers down(the advertisement monitor 330 is able to detect any change related to the power status; 0137; 0097; 0139; 0142).
Regarding claim 4, Holloway et al disclose wherein the receiving device determines that the presentation device is about power up based on the HDMI CEC signal and the initiating playing of the one or more ads on the presentation device occurs immediately after the presentation device powers up(the system has the capability of rebooting its operation according to HDMI CEC signal in order to display supplemental content; 0136-0138; 0142; 0145-0147).
Regarding claim 5, it is rejected using the same ground of rejection for claim 4.
Regarding claim 6, Holloway et al disclose wherein the electronically generating an ad playlist includes replacing one or more addressable ads that were initially in the ad playlist with programmatically delivered replacement ads that have a total duration equal to the replaced one or more addressable ads(the system is capable of replacing portions of the video contents; 0107).
Regarding claim 7, Holloway and Xiao et al did not explicitly disclose wherein the programmatically delivered replacement ads are Internet Protocol (IP) based ads (IP ads) that target audiences based on IP address or location indicated by IP address.
However, DiTullio et al disclose wherein the programmatically delivered replacement ads are Internet Protocol (IP) based ads (IP ads) that target audiences based on IP address or location indicated by IP address(the system is able to provide commercials to users based on their geographic location; 0023;0035; 0016;0025;0032-0033).
It would have been obvious before effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of DiTullio to modify Holloway and Xiao by providing options to select commercials based on geographic location or network address for the purpose of increasing the satisfaction of the users accordingly
Regarding claim 8, Holloway et al disclose wherein the initiating playing the one or more ads on the presentation device includes delaying powering down of the presentation device to download and play all of the one or more ads in the ad playlist(the system can force a reboot to avoid affecting the display of commercial; 0145-0147;0139).
Regarding claim 10, Holloway and DiTullio et al did not explicitly disclose wherein the maintenance notification is a maintenance notification from a smart refrigerator that a new filter is needed; and based on the maintenance notification from a smart refrigerator that a new filter is needed, the receiving device including in the request a request for a programmatically delivered IP ad for filters that replaces a previously selected addressable ad for the playlist.
However, Xiao et al disclose wherein the maintenance notification is a maintenance notification from a smart refrigerator that a new filter is needed; and based on the maintenance notification from a smart refrigerator that a new filter is needed, the receiving device including in the request a request for a programmatically delivered IP ad for filters that replaces a previously selected addressable ad for the playlist(see fig.9a for providing notification to change filter of the refrigerator; 0057; 0059; time replace filter;0052).
It would have been obvious before effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Xiao to modify Holloway and DiTullio by providing options to send message to replace specific part in home automation system resulting in “wherein the maintenance notification is a maintenance notification from a smart refrigerator that a new filter is needed; and based on the maintenance notification from a smart refrigerator that a new filter is needed, the receiving device including in the request a request for a programmatically delivered IP ad for filters that replaces a previously selected addressable ad for the playlist” for the purpose of improving the capability of the network accordingly.
Regarding claim 12, it is rejected using the same ground of rejection for claim 1
Regarding claim 13, it is rejected using the same ground of rejection for claim 2.
Regarding claim 14, it is rejected using the same ground of rejection for claim 3.
Regarding claim 15, it is rejected using the same ground of rejection for claim 4.
Regarding claim 16, it is rejected using the same ground of rejection for claim 5.
Regarding claim 17, it is rejected using the same ground of rejection for claim 1.
Regarding claim 18, it is rejected using the same ground of rejection for claim 2.
Regarding claim 19, it is rejected using the same ground of rejection for claim 3.
Regarding claim 20, it is rejected using the same ground of rejection for claim 4.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Holloway(US.Pub.No.20210174715) in view of DiTullio(US.Pub.No.20240370903) and Xiao(US.Pub.No.20150339634) and Hensgen (US.Pub.No.20150339722).
Regarding claim 11 Holloway and DiTullio and Xiao et al did not explicitly disclose wherein the maintenance notification is a maintenance notification from a smart washing machine that a load of laundry is finished; and based on the maintenance notification from the smart washing machine that a load of laundry is finished, the receiving device including in the request a request for a programmatically delivered IP ad for laundry detergent that replaces a previously selected addressable ad for the playlist.
However, Hensgen et al disclose wherein the maintenance notification is a maintenance notification from a smart washing machine( clothes washers, 0016) that a load of laundry is finished; and based on the maintenance notification from the smart washing machine that a load of laundry is finished, the receiving device including in the request a request for a programmatically delivered IP ad for laundry detergent(detergent or fabric softener,0023) that replaces a previously selected addressable ad for the playlist(the system is able to select an advertisement to replace another advertisement based on user product information as models and the geographic location of the users; 0023-0025; 0022;0026-0027;0031; 0043).
It would have been obvious before effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Hensgen to modify Holloway and DiTullio and Xiao by providing options to select advertisement based on user product information as models and geographic location resulting in “ wherein the maintenance notification is a maintenance notification from a smart washing machine that a load of laundry is finished; and based on the maintenance notification from the smart washing machine that a load of laundry is finished, the receiving device including in the request a request for a programmatically delivered IP ad for laundry detergent that replaces a previously selected addressable ad for the playlist” for the purpose of improving viewing experiences accordingly.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEAN D SAINT CYR whose telephone number is (571)270-3224. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5.
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, Brian Pendleton can be reached at 5712727527. 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.
/JEAN D SAINT CYR/Examiner, Art Unit 2425
/Brian T Pendleton/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2425