DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
2. Claim 1 recites a virtual event at line 1 and at line 3. The a virtual event at line 3 should be amended to “the virtual event”.
3. Claims 20-23 are objected to because claim 23 is similar to claim 15 and claims 20-22 while depending from claim 15, a system claim, are all method claims. Moreover, claim 20 is similar to claim 12, 21 is similar to claim 13, and claim 22 is similar to claim 14. It appears claims 20 and 23 should be dependent upon claim 16 (instead of claim 15) and purposes of this examination shall be treated as such. Moreover, claim 23 recites The system as in claim 15 but later recites the method further comprises. Claim 23 should be amended to pertain to a system not to a method.
4. Claim 18, line 1 recites of the lease one which lacks antecedent basis. Should be amended to “of the least one”.
Double Patenting
5. The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
6. Claims 1-12, 14, and 16-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-7, 9-13,and 15-18 of U.S. Patent No. 12,073,514 (patent 514). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they are similar and the current claims are broader.
7. The following table shows correspondence between claims of present application and claims of patent 514.
Claims of present application
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Claims of patent 514
1
2
3
4
5
6
9
10
11
12
11
12
14
16
17
18
19
20
13
1
7
15
16
17
18
15
8. The following table shows correspondence between the limitations of claim 1 of present application and claim 1 of patent 514.
Claim 1 of present application
Claim 1 of patent 514
1. A system for a virtual event comprising:
a computer system comprising at least one processor and memory
1. A system for a virtual event comprising:
a computer system comprising one or more computing devices having at least one processor and memory
storing registration data of a plurality of participants of a virtual event hosted in a virtual environment, the registration data comprising one or more matching criteria, the computer system being programmed to perform steps comprising:
storing registration data of participants of a virtual event hosted in a virtual environment, the registration data comprising one or more matching criteria, the computer system being programmed to perform steps comprising:
matching at least one participant with at least one matched group based on the matching criteria;
generating data for the at least one matched group based on the matching criteria;
matching the participants into different matched groups based on the matching criteria;
generating a location in the virtual event and metadata for each of the matched groups based on the matching criteria;
assigning an instance of the virtual event to a first matched group;
sending invitations to join the at least one matched group, wherein the invitations comprise a portion of the data generated for the at least one matched group;
sending invitations to join the first matched group, wherein the invitations comprise a portion of the metadata of the first matched group; and
and in response to participants accepting the invitations to join the at least one matched group, granting the participants joining the at least one matched group membership and access to the at least one matched group to enable the joined participants to communicate with other members in the at least one matched group.
in response to participants accepting the invitations to join the first matched group, granting the participants joining the first matched group membership and access to the first matched group to enable the joined participants to communicate with other members in the first matched group.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
9. 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.
10. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.11. Claims 1-5, 8, 12-13, 16-18, and 20-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0321369 A1) in view of Dominici et al. (US Patent No. 11,694,279 B1).
12 Regarding Claim 1, Lin discloses A system for a virtual event comprising: (paragraph [0017] reciting “FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example virtual conferencing system 100 for exchanging data over a network. The virtual conferencing system 100 includes multiple instances of a client device 102, each of which hosts a number of applications, including a virtual conference client 104 and other application(s) 106. …” Virtual conferencing system 100 corresponds to a system for a virtual event.) a computer system comprising at least one processor (see FIG. 1; paragraph [0093] reciting “… In some examples, the machine 900 may also comprise both client and server systems, with certain operations of a particular method or algorithm being performed on the server-side and with certain operations of the particular method or algorithm being performed on the client-side.”; paragraph [0094] reciting “The machine 900 may include processors 904,
memory 906, and input/output I/0 components 902, which may be configured to communicate with each other via a bus 940. …” Computer system corresponds to virtual conference server system 108 which includes processors and memories.) and memory storing registration data of a plurality of participants of a virtual event (paragraph [0039] reciting “The database
126 includes profile data 302, a user graph 304 and a user table 306 relating to the users (participants) of the virtual conferencing system 100. The user table 306 stores user data, and is linked (e.g., referentially) to the user graph 304 and the profile data 302. Each user of the virtual conferencing system 100 is associated with a unique identifier (email address, telephone number, social network identifier, etc.).“) hosted in a virtual environment, (paragraph [0015] reciting “A virtual conferencing system provides for the reception and transmission of audio and video data between devices, for communication between device users in real-time. The virtual conferencing system as described herein allows a user to design or select a virtual space with multiple rooms for real-time communication. Multiple participants may join the virtual space at various times, with different participants being assigned to different rooms.” The multiple rooms in the virtual space correspond to a virtual environment.) the registration data comprising one or more matching criteria, (paragraph [0088] reciting “… The virtual conference server system 108 accesses metadata associated with one or more participants of the plural participants (block 804).”;
paragraph [0089] reciting “The metadata may correspond to tags assigned to the one or more participants by an administrator, in association with designing the virtual space. Alternatively or in addition, the metadata may correspond to personal profile information of the one or more participants. The metadata may be accessed from a data store configured to associate the metadata with the one or more participants.”;
paragraph [0090] reciting “The room occupancy preferences may include a preference for one or more of: a number of participants per room; grouping participants by a demographic, where the metadata for the one or more participants relates to the demographic; grouping participants by a topic of conversation, where the metadata for the one or more participants relates to the topic of conversation; grouping participants by a user interest, where the metadata for the one or more participants relates to the user interest; and/or assigning participants to rooms with higher audio levels which correspond to higher participant conversation.“ The metadata (matching criteria) of each participant in the virtual conference system corresponds to data within the profile (matching criteria) which can be used to matchup with room occupancy preference, or criteria that matches the room with its users.)
the computer system being programmed to perform steps comprising: (paragraph [0093] reciting “… The instructions 910 transform the general, non-programmed machine 900 into a particular machine 900 programmed to carry out the described and illustrated functions in the manner described. …”)
matching at least one participant with at least one matched group based on the matching criteria; (paragraph [0065] reciting “As described herein, the virtual conferencing system 100 provides for automatically assigning participants within a virtual space to respective rooms. Moreover, the assigning is based on room occupancy preferences and/or metadata associated with the participants, for a logical distribution of participants among the rooms.”;
paragraph [0066] reciting “… During the virtual conferencing phase, the virtual conference server system 108 provides for automatically assigning participants to rooms based on the room occupancy preferences and/or the participant metadata. …”)
and access to the at least one matched group to enable the joined participants to communicate with other members in the at least one matched group. (see FIG. 5; paragraph [0018] reciting “… Thus, multiple client devices 102 may participate in virtual conferencing, for example, with the client devices 102 participating in a group conversation in which audio-video content streams and/or message content (e.g., text, images) are transmitted between the participant devices. …”;
paragraph [0092] reciting “The virtual conference server system 108 provides, based on the assigning, for virtual conferencing between the plural participants within the one or more rooms (block 808). The virtual conference server system 108 may provide, for each of plural participants, display of a participant video element which corresponds to the participant and which includes a video feed for the participant.”
Participants in the same room have the ability to have video feed as shown in
FIG 5.)
While not explicitly disclosed by Lin, Dominici discloses generating data for the at least one matched group based on the matching criteria; (col 11, lines 13-34 reciting “The Registration GUIs shown in 5(b) and (c) illustrate that users can also be provided the option to import contacts from personal contact data stored to the user computing device or an IdM service so that users can send connection invites, as described in more detail below. The personal contact data is transmitted to the provider server, and the provider server searches the profile data database for platform users that match the personal contact data. The provider server returns an add friends message to the user computing device that includes a list of platform user identifiers and corresponding profile data that correspond to the user's personal contact data. The User Interface Module renders an Add Friends GUI such as the interface shown in FIG. 4(c) that allows the graphical selection of platform users to receive a connect invitation message. This feature enables new users to immediately engage with existing platform users and streamlines the registration and setup process. In some embodiments, the Add Friends GUI can also include a function that sends messages to non-platform users via email or text message that includes a link or invitation to join the RIPPL software platform by creating a new account.”
The generated data for the matched group corresponds to email or text messages which are generated based on matched users from a contact list. Likewise, in Lin, the virtual conference server system can be modified so that instead of automatically assigning people to groups based on matching metadata, an text or email with invitation link inside it are sent to those user devices initially.) sending invitations to join the at least one matched group, wherein the invitations comprise a portion of the data generated for the at least one matched group; (col 11, lines 13-34 reciting “The Registration GUIs shown in 5(b) and (c) illustrate that users can also be provided the option to import contacts from personal contact data stored to the user computing device or an IdM service so that users can send connection invites, as described in more detail below. The personal contact data is transmitted to the provider server, and the provider server searches the profile data database for platform users that match the personal contact data. The provider server returns an add friends message to the user computing device that includes a list of platform user identifiers and corresponding profile data that correspond to the user's personal contact data. The User Interface Module renders an Add Friends GUI such as the interface shown in FIG. 4(c) that allows the graphical selection of platform users to receive a connect invitation message. This feature enables new users to immediately engage with existing platform users and streamlines the registration and setup process. In some embodiments, the Add Friends GUI can also include a function that sends messages to non-platform users via email or text message that includes a link or invitation to join the RIPPL software platform by creating a new account.”
The invitation corresponds to a link embedded within the generated text or email data.)
and in response to participants accepting the invitations to join the at least one matched group, granting the participants joining the at least one matched group membership (col 11, lines 13-34 reciting “The Registration GUIs shown in 5(b) and (c) illustrate that users can also be provided the option to import contacts from personal contact data stored to the user computing device or an IdM service so that users can send connection invites, as described in more detail below. The personal contact data is transmitted to the provider server, and the provider server searches the profile data database for platform users that match the personal contact data. The provider server returns an add friends message to the user computing device that includes a list of platform user identifiers and corresponding profile data that correspond to the user's personal contact data. The User Interface Module renders an Add Friends GUI such as the interface shown in FIG. 4(c) that allows the graphical selection of platform users to receive a connect invitation message. This feature enables new users to immediately engage with existing platform users and streamlines the registration and setup process. In some embodiments, the Add Friends GUI can also include a function that sends messages to non-platform users via email or text message that includes a link or invitation to join the RIPPL software platform by creating a new account.”
The new account (virtual) in a software platform corresponds to granting joining participants one matched group membership.)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Lin with Dominici so that text or email invitations are send to member devices of participants who match the groups. It would be beneficial to modify the automatic assignment of participants into rooms/groups so that invitation link is sent instead and allows the participants the freedom to join the room. This is beneficial because this allows the user to recognize or comprehend which rooms he/she can choose to be a part of. This is an obvious modification since Lin already discloses sending invite link to participate to visit the virtual space so that concept can be applied to conference rooms as well.
13. Regarding Claim 2, Lin further discloses The system as in claim 1, wherein the access that is granted to the participant joining the at least one matched group comprises enabling audio and video access. (paragraph [0078] reciting “Room occupancy preferences may also refer to a preference to group participants (e.g., assign participants to the same room) based on user demographic(s), topic(s) of conversation and/or user interest(s). …”;
paragraph [0018] reciting “… Thus, multiple client devices 102 may participate in virtual conferencing, for example, with the client devices 102 participating in a group conversation in which audio-video content streams and/or message content (e.g., text, images) are transmitted between the participant devices.”
Therefore, participants of the same room can participate in group communication through audio-video.)
14. Regarding Claim 3, Lin further discloses The system as in claim 1, wherein the at least one matched group can contact at least one other matched group. (paragraph [0058] reciting “In one or more embodiments, the room list interface 504
displays the list of rooms for the virtual space. Each listed room is user selectable to switch to the selected room (e.g., for virtual conferencing). The selected room is presented as a current room within the current room interface 506. In this manner, a participant may navigate among the multiple rooms available within the virtual space. …”)
15. Regarding Claim 4, Dominici further discloses The system as in claim 1, wherein the data generated for the at least one matched group comprises the matching criteria for the at least one matched group. (col 11, lines 13-34 reciting “The Registration GUIs shown in 5(b) and (c) illustrate that users can also be provided the option to import contacts from personal contact data stored to the user computing device or an IdM service so that users can send connection invites, as described in more detail below. The personal contact data is transmitted to the provider server, and the provider server searches the profile data database for platform users that match the personal contact data. The provider server returns an add friends message to the user computing device that includes a list of platform user identifiers and corresponding profile data that correspond to the user's personal contact data. The User Interface Module renders an Add Friends GUI such as the interface shown in FIG. 4(c) that allows the graphical selection of platform users to receive a connect invitation message. This feature enables new users to immediately engage with existing platform users and streamlines the registration and setup process. In some embodiments, the Add Friends GUI can also include a function that sends messages to non-platform users via email or text message that includes a link or invitation to join the RIPPL software platform by creating a new account.”
It would have been obvious to modify the text or email to include more information besides invitation link. It is common knowledge that emails or text can contain more than just an invitation link. For example, it is commonly known that description for invitation link can be included in the email/text message and such description can include matched metadata between the room and user profile to show user which criteria was matched between the user and the room. While this is not explicitly disclosed, this is an obvious modification.)
16. Regarding Claim 5, Lin further discloses The system as in claim 1, wherein the matching criteria of the at least one matched group comprises at least one of a topic criterion, a betting criterion, a game choice, a media interest, a social relationship, a brand interest, or an age group. (paragraph [0090] reciting “The room occupancy preferences may include a preference for one or more of: a number of participants per room; grouping participants by a demographic, where the metadata for the one or more participants relates to the demographic; grouping participants by a topic of conversation, where the metadata for the one or more participants relates to the topic of conversation; grouping participants by a user interest, where the metadata for the one or more participants relates to the user interest; and/or assigning participants to rooms with higher audio levels which correspond to higher participant conversation.”;
paragraph [0069] reciting “By way of non-limiting example, example tags correspond to: demographics of participants (e.g., age, occupation); …”)
17. Regarding Claim 8, Lin further discloses The system as in claim 1, wherein the virtual environment is a 3D virtual environment, and wherein the participants are represented within the 3D virtual environment as camera-generated user graphical representations of themselves. (see FIG. 5 wherein the generated room is a 3D room and the other participants 508 and 512 are camera generated user graphical representations of themselves.)
18. Regarding Claim 12, Lin further discloses The system as in claim 1, wherein the computer system is further programmed to generate a location in the virtual environment for the at least one matched group. (paragraph [0031] reciting “As described below with respect to FIG. 2, the virtual conference may correspond to a virtual space which includes one or more rooms (e.g., virtual rooms). The virtual space and its corresponding rooms may have been created at least in part by the inviting user and/or by other users. In this manner, an end user may act as an administrator, who creates their own virtual spaces with rooms, and/or designs a virtual space based on preset available rooms.” The rooms correspond to virtual locations in the virtual conference for the at least one matched group.)
19. Regarding Claim 13, Lin further discloses The system as in claim 12, wherein the computer system is further programmed to look for a location in the virtual event that is related to the matching criteria. (paragraph [0031] reciting “As described below with respect to FIG. 2, the virtual conference may correspond to a virtual space which includes one or more rooms (e.g., virtual rooms). The virtual space and its corresponding rooms may have been created at least in part by the inviting user and/or by other users. In this manner, an end user may act as an administrator, who creates their own virtual spaces with rooms, and/or designs a virtual space based on preset available rooms.” The rooms correspond to virtual locations in the virtual conference for the at least one matched group.)
20. Regarding Claim 16, Lin discloses A method (Abstract reciting “Aspects of the present disclosure involve a system comprising a computer-readable storage medium storing a program and method for assigning participants to rooms within a virtual conferencing system. …”) comprising, by a computer system comprising at least one processor and memory: (see FIG. 1; paragraph [0093] reciting “… In some examples, the machine 900 may also comprise both client and server systems, with certain operations of a particular method or algorithm being performed on the server-side and with certain operations of the particular method or algorithm being performed on the client-side.”; paragraph [0094] reciting “The machine 900 may include processors 904,
memory 906, and input/output I/0 components 902, which may be configured to communicate with each other via a bus 940. …” Computer system corresponds to virtual conference server system 108 which includes processors and memories.)
registering registration data of a plurality of participants of a virtual event in a registration module linked (paragraph [0039] reciting “The database
126 includes profile data 302, a user graph 304 and a user table 306 relating to the users (participants) of the virtual conferencing system 100. The user table 306 stores user data, and is linked (e.g., referentially) to the user graph 304 and the profile data 302. Each user of the virtual conferencing system 100 is associated with a unique identifier (email address, telephone number, social network identifier, etc.).“) to a virtual environment, (paragraph [0015] reciting “A virtual conferencing system provides for the reception and transmission of audio and video data between devices, for communication between device users in real-time. The virtual conferencing system as described herein allows a user to design or select a virtual space with multiple rooms for real-time communication. Multiple participants may join the virtual space at various times, with different participants being assigned to different rooms.” The multiple rooms in the virtual space correspond to a virtual environment.) the registration data of participants of the virtual event comprising one or more matching criteria; (paragraph [0088] reciting “… The virtual conference server system 108 accesses metadata associated with one or more participants of the plural participants (block 804).”;
paragraph [0089] reciting “The metadata may correspond to tags assigned to the one or more participants by an administrator, in association with designing the virtual space. Alternatively or in addition, the metadata may correspond to personal profile information of the one or more participants. The metadata may be accessed from a data store configured to associate the metadata with the one or more participants.”;
paragraph [0090] reciting “The room occupancy preferences may include a preference for one or more of: a number of participants per room; grouping participants by a demographic, where the metadata for the one or more participants relates to the demographic; grouping participants by a topic of conversation, where the metadata for the one or more participants relates to the topic of conversation; grouping participants by a user interest, where the metadata for the one or more participants relates to the user interest; and/or assigning participants to rooms with higher audio levels which correspond to higher participant conversation.“ The metadata (matching criteria) of each participant in the virtual conference system corresponds to data within the profile (matching criteria) which can be used to matchup with room occupancy preference, or criteria that matches the room with its users.)
matching at least one participant into at least one matched group based on the matching criteria; (paragraph [0065] reciting “As described herein, the virtual conferencing system 100 provides for automatically assigning participants within a virtual space to respective rooms. Moreover, the assigning is based on room occupancy preferences and/or metadata associated with the participants, for a logical distribution of participants among the rooms.”;
paragraph [0066] reciting “… During the virtual conferencing phase, the virtual conference server system 108 provides for automatically assigning participants to rooms based on the room occupancy preferences and/or the participant metadata. …”)
and access to the at least one matched group to enable the joined participants to communicate with other members in the at least one matched group. (see FIG. 5; paragraph [0018] reciting “… Thus, multiple client devices 102 may participate in virtual conferencing, for example, with the client devices 102 participating in a group conversation in which audio-video content streams and/or message content (e.g., text, images) are transmitted between the participant devices. …”;
paragraph [0092] reciting “The virtual conference server system 108 provides, based on the assigning, for virtual conferencing between the plural participants within the one or more rooms (block 808). The virtual conference server system 108 may provide, for each of plural participants, display of a participant video element which corresponds to the participant and which includes a video feed for the participant.”
Participants in the same room have the ability to have video feed as shown in
FIG 5.)
While not explicitly disclosed by Lin, Dominici discloses generating data for the at least one matched group based on the matching criteria; (col 11, lines 13-34 reciting “The Registration GUIs shown in 5(b) and (c) illustrate that users can also be provided the option to import contacts from personal contact data stored to the user computing device or an IdM service so that users can send connection invites, as described in more detail below. The personal contact data is transmitted to the provider server, and the provider server searches the profile data database for platform users that match the personal contact data. The provider server returns an add friends message to the user computing device that includes a list of platform user identifiers and corresponding profile data that correspond to the user's personal contact data. The User Interface Module renders an Add Friends GUI such as the interface shown in FIG. 4(c) that allows the graphical selection of platform users to receive a connect invitation message. This feature enables new users to immediately engage with existing platform users and streamlines the registration and setup process. In some embodiments, the Add Friends GUI can also include a function that sends messages to non-platform users via email or text message that includes a link or invitation to join the RIPPL software platform by creating a new account.”
The generated data for the matched group corresponds to email or text messages which are generated based on matched users from a contact list. Likewise, in Lin, the virtual conference server system can be modified so that instead of automatically assigning people to groups based on matching metadata, an text or email with invitation link inside it are sent to those user devices initially.)
sending invitations to join the at least one matched group; (col 11, lines 13-34 reciting “The Registration GUIs shown in 5(b) and (c) illustrate that users can also be provided the option to import contacts from personal contact data stored to the user computing device or an IdM service so that users can send connection invites, as described in more detail below. The personal contact data is transmitted to the provider server, and the provider server searches the profile data database for platform users that match the personal contact data. The provider server returns an add friends message to the user computing device that includes a list of platform user identifiers and corresponding profile data that correspond to the user's personal contact data. The User Interface Module renders an Add Friends GUI such as the interface shown in FIG. 4(c) that allows the graphical selection of platform users to receive a connect invitation message. This feature enables new users to immediately engage with existing platform users and streamlines the registration and setup process. In some embodiments, the Add Friends GUI can also include a function that sends messages to non-platform users via email or text message that includes a link or invitation to join the RIPPL software platform by creating a new account.”
The invitation corresponds to a link embedded within the generated text or email data.)
in response to participants accepting the invitations to join the at least one matched group, granting the participants joining the at least one matched group membership (col 11, lines 13-34 reciting “The Registration GUIs shown in 5(b) and (c) illustrate that users can also be provided the option to import contacts from personal contact data stored to the user computing device or an IdM service so that users can send connection invites, as described in more detail below. The personal contact data is transmitted to the provider server, and the provider server searches the profile data database for platform users that match the personal contact data. The provider server returns an add friends message to the user computing device that includes a list of platform user identifiers and corresponding profile data that correspond to the user's personal contact data. The User Interface Module renders an Add Friends GUI such as the interface shown in FIG. 4(c) that allows the graphical selection of platform users to receive a connect invitation message. This feature enables new users to immediately engage with existing platform users and streamlines the registration and setup process. In some embodiments, the Add Friends GUI can also include a function that sends messages to non-platform users via email or text message that includes a link or invitation to join the RIPPL software platform by creating a new account.”
The new account (virtual) in a software platform corresponds to granting joining participants one matched group membership.)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Lin with Dominici so that text or email invitations are send to member devices of participants who match the groups. It would be beneficial to modify the automatic assignment of participants into rooms/groups so that invitation link is sent instead and allows the participants the freedom to join the room. This is beneficial because this allows the user to recognize or comprehend which rooms he/she can choose to be a part of. This is an obvious modification since Lin already discloses sending invite link to participate to visit the virtual space so that concept can be applied to conference rooms as well.
21. Regarding Claim 17, Lin further discloses The method as in claim 16, wherein the metadata of the at least one matched group comprises at least the matching criteria for the at least one matched group. (paragraph [0065] reciting “As described herein, the virtual conferencing system 100 provides for automatically assigning participants within a virtual space to respective rooms. Moreover, the assigning is based on room occupancy preferences and/or metadata associated with the participants, for a logical distribution of participants among the rooms.” Room occupancy preference of the rooms and metadata of participants are both metadata used to match participant to room.)
22. Regarding Claim 18, Lin further discloses The method as in claim 16, wherein the matching criteria of the lease one matched group comprises at least one of a topic criterion, a betting criterion, a game choice, a media interest, a social relationship, a brand interest, and an age group. (paragraph [0090] reciting “The room occupancy preferences may include a preference for one or more of: a number of participants per room; grouping participants by a demographic, where the metadata for the one or more participants relates to the demographic; grouping participants by a topic of conversation, where the metadata for the one or more participants relates to the topic of conversation; grouping participants by a user interest, where the metadata for the one or more participants relates to the user interest; and/or assigning participants to rooms with higher audio levels which correspond to higher participant conversation.”;
paragraph [0069] reciting “By way of non-limiting example, example tags correspond to: demographics of participants (e.g., age, occupation); …”)
23. Regarding Claim 20, Lin further discloses The method as in claim 15, wherein the method further comprises generating a location in the virtual environment for the at least one matched group. (paragraph [0031] reciting “As described below with respect to FIG. 2, the virtual conference may correspond to a virtual space which includes one or more rooms (e.g., virtual rooms). The virtual space and its corresponding rooms may have been created at least in part by the inviting user and/or by other users. In this manner, an end user may act as an administrator, who creates their own virtual spaces with rooms, and/or designs a virtual space based on preset available rooms.” The rooms correspond to virtual locations in the virtual conference for the at least one matched group.)
24. Regarding Claim 21, Lin further discloses The method as in claim 20, wherein the method further comprises looking for a location in the virtual event that is related to the matching criteria. (paragraph [0031] reciting “As described below with respect to FIG. 2, the virtual conference may correspond to a virtual space which includes one or more rooms (e.g., virtual rooms). The virtual space and its corresponding rooms may have been created at least in part by the inviting user and/or by other users. In this manner, an end user may act as an administrator, who creates their own virtual spaces with rooms, and/or designs a virtual space based on preset available rooms.” The rooms correspond to virtual locations in the virtual conference for the at least one matched group.)
25. Claims 6 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Dominici and further in view of Pasternack et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0004825 A1).
00. Regarding Claim 6, while the combination of Lin and Dominici does not explicitly disclose, Pasternack discloses The system as in claim 1, wherein the matching criteria for the at least one matched group comprises a geolocation and distance in the real world between participants in the first matched group. (paragraph [0067] reciting “… For example, the reply module 620 may analyze the profile information of the user and the other users to determine groups of users who have the same or similar location, have the same or similar age, have the same gender, have the same or similar culture, have the same or similar industry, have profile information embeddings that are within some distance K from the user's profile information embedding, etc.” Thus location and distance from information in user profiles can be used to group users together.)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Lin and Dominici with Pasternack so that the assignment of users to groups can also be based on distance and location of each user from other users. This allows for users who are closer together to be in the same group. This is an obviously combination since Lin allows for any information in user profile to be used as matching criteria, and this beneficial in that users within proximity to each other can be formed into a group within the virtual conference.
26. Regarding Claim 19, while the combination of Lin and Dominici does not explicitly disclose, Pasternack discloses The method as in claim 16, wherein the matching criteria for the lease one matched group comprises distance in the real world between participants in the first matched group. (paragraph [0067] reciting “… For example, the reply module 620 may analyze the profile information of the user and the other users to determine groups of users who have the same or similar location, have the same or similar age, have the same gender, have the same or similar culture, have the same or similar industry, have profile information embeddings that are within some distance K from the user's profile information embedding, etc.” Thus location and distance from information in user profiles can be used to group users together.)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Lin and Dominici with Pasternack so that the assignment of users to groups can also be based on distance and location of each user from other users. This allows for users who are closer together to be in the same group. This is an obviously combination since Lin allows for any information in user profile to be used as matching criteria, and this beneficial in that users within proximity to each other can be formed into a group within the virtual conference.
27. Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Dominici and further in view of Ito et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0272652 A1).
28. Regarding Claim 7, while the combination of Lin and Dominici does not explicitly disclose, Ito discloses The system as in claim 1, wherein the remote computer system is further programmed to enable users to search for other groups based on the matching criteria. (paragraph [0023] reciting “As stated above, in a case where the images are searched for by the keyword of “soccer” from the image group, the online photo service of the related art has a function of displaying the images of the imaging day on which the images corresponding to “soccer” are present for each imaging day.”)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Lin and Dominici with Ito so that the room/groups can be further searched using keywords by the user and such keywords can include matching metadata words in the user profile. This is an obviously beneficial modification since it allows the user to search for similar group that the user might want to be in but was assigned/matched into.
29. Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Dominici and further in view of Ed Park (US Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0236838 A1).
30. Regarding Claim 9, while the combination of Lin and Dominici does not explicitly disclose, Park discloses The system as in claim 1, wherein the virtual event is a 2D virtual event, and wherein the participants are represented within a 2D virtual environment as avatars that, (see FIG. 2A-2G; paragraph [0026] reciting “In another example, a controller in the example computing devices 102 is configured, via instructions from the network communication application 106 and the network communication application extension 108 to share a screen for viewing by other participants in a network-based video meeting that provides a participant-specific graphical element (e.g., an avatar for a participant, data from a video feed from a computing device operated by the participant associated with the participant-specific graphical element, or data from a picture from a computing device operated by the participant associated with the participant-specific graphical element) associated with each of the plurality of participants; …”) when selected, spawn a video conference enabling communication with other participants. (see FIG. 4A-4C; paragraph [0038] reciting “FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C are diagrams of portions of a gallery view screen from an example computing device when a participant-specific graphical element has been selected. FIG. 4A is a diagram depicting a participant-specific graphical element 402 that has been identified via a final graphical indicator element that comprises a colored box 404 that surrounds the participant-specific graphical element 402 and an icon 406 that is displayed within the participant-specific graphical element 402 to highlight the final selection of the participant associated with the participant-specific graphical element 402. The icon 406 includes a microphone for indicating that the selected participant has been selected to speak.”)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Lin and Dominici with Park so that the virtual conference of participants can be seen as avatars in a 2D environment and can be selected for communication. This is an obviously beneficial modification since it allows user to view all participants and communicate with them regardless of group separation.
31. Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Dominici and further in view of William Sarris (US Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0255126 A1).
32. Regarding Claim 10, while the combination of Lin and Dominici does not explicitly disclose, Sarris discloses The system as in claim 1 wherein the virtual event comprises a speaker queue. (see FIG. 5 wherein the speaker queue is shown as element 2004.)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Lin and Dominici with Sarris so that the speakers at the virtual event can be displayed. This is an obviously beneficial/helpful modification since it allows people at the virtual events to view who is speaking and other information regarding the speakers.
33. Claims 14 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Dominici and further in view of Polavarapu et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0383027 A1).
34. Regarding 14, while the combination of Lin and Dominici does not explicitly disclose, Polavarapu discloses The system as in claim 12, wherein the computer system is further programmed to customize the location in the virtual environment based on the matching criteria. (paragraph [0039] reciting “As shown, augmented reality provider system 304 may be a server-side system communicatively coupled to device 302 by way of a network 308 while device 302 presents an augmented reality experience to a user 310 at an experience site 312. Augmented reality provider system 304 may provide data used by device 302 to present an augmented reality experience. For instance, augmented reality provider system 304 may provide graphical data representative of augmentations or other virtual elements that are to be displayed as part of the augmented reality experience and/or other metadata associated with these virtual elements (e.g., indications of which objects the augmentations are to be associated with, where the augmentations are to be displayed, how the augmentations are to be customized to particular objects or particular rooms, etc.). In some examples, augmented reality provider system 304 may be implemented by a cloud-based multi-access server that provides service not only for device 302 but also for other augmented reality presentation devices providing augmented reality experiences to other users.” Metadata such as the data in a user’s profile can be used to generated virtual objects to be placed in the virtual space.)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Lin and Dominici with Polavarapu so that the virtual room that the participant enter into can be customized by the system based on the matching keywords between room and user. This allows the room to feel more intuitive based on the matching common metadata between the room and the participant.
35. Regarding Claim 22, while the combination of Lin and Dominici does not explicitly disclose, Polavarapu discloses The method as in claim 20, wherein the method further comprises customizing the location in the virtual environment based on the matching criteria. (paragraph [0039] reciting “As shown, augmented reality provider system 304 may be a server-side system communicatively coupled to device 302 by way of a network 308 while device 302 presents an augmented reality experience to a user 310 at an experience site 312. Augmented reality provider system 304 may provide data used by device 302 to present an augmented reality experience. For instance, augmented reality provider system 304 may provide graphical data representative of augmentations or other virtual elements that are to be displayed as part of the augmented reality experience and/or other metadata associated with these virtual elements (e.g., indications of which objects the augmentations are to be associated with, where the augmentations are to be displayed, how the augmentations are to be customized to particular objects or particular rooms, etc.). In some examples, augmented reality provider system 304 may be implemented by a cloud-based multi-access server that provides service not only for device 302 but also for other augmented reality presentation devices providing augmented reality experiences to other users.” Metadata such as the data in a user’s profile can be used to generated virtual objects to be placed in the virtual space.)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Lin and Dominici with Polavarapu so that the virtual room that the participant enter into can be customized by the system based on the matching keywords between room and user. This allows the room to feel more intuitive based on the matching common metadata between the room and the participant.
36. Claims 15 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Dominici and further in view of Avida et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0014568 A1).
37. Regarding 15, while the combination of Lin and Dominici does not explicitly disclose, Avida discloses The system as in claim 1, wherein the computer system further comprises machine learning algorithms that collect information comprising duration of interactions between participants in the at least one matched group, frequency of interactions between participants in the at least one matched group, or levels of participant satisfaction associated with scoring metrics. (paragraph [0014] reciting “In particular embodiments, an online content delivery session provides capabilities to measure student participant engagement. Student participant engagement may include any actions performed by a student participant, such as providing a comment, raising their hand, posting a question, sharing reactions with an emoji, providing an answer, entering text into a text field, or any other measurable interaction of a student participant with, for example, the user interface elements of a participant computing device. In particular embodiments, measurements of student participant engagement may be utilized as input signals to machine learning algorithms and/or processes which, over time, are modified to bring about increased levels of participant or student engagement during content delivery sessions. Thus, for example, if particular activities, such as displaying certain video segments, and/or if particular timing constraints between or among activities are observed (such as when student tests, quizzes, and so forth are administered) as being instrumental in enhancing student participant retention, or enhancing student participant grades, machine learning may be utilized to ensure that such activities and/or timing constraints are repeated and/or emphasized so as to continue to maximize student participant learning outcome.”)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Lin and Dominici with Avida so that a machine learning algorithm can be used to measure participant engagement/satisfaction in the room. This is an obviously beneficial modification as the generated information allows the creator of the room to know how the group is performing among its participants.
38. Regarding Claim 23, while the combination of Lin and Dominici does not explicitly disclose, Avida discloses The system as in claim 15, wherein the method further comprises using machine learning algorithms to collect information comprising duration of interactions between participants in the at least one matched group, frequency of interactions between participants in the at least one matched group, or levels of participant satisfaction associated with scoring metrics. (paragraph [0014] reciting “In particular embodiments, an online content delivery session provides capabilities to measure student participant engagement. Student participant engagement may include any actions performed by a student participant, such as providing a comment, raising their hand, posting a question, sharing reactions with an emoji, providing an answer, entering text into a text field, or any other measurable interaction of a student participant with, for example, the user interface elements of a participant computing device. In particular embodiments, measurements of student participant engagement may be utilized as input signals to machine learning algorithms and/or processes which, over time, are modified to bring about increased levels of participant or student engagement during content delivery sessions. Thus, for example, if particular activities, such as displaying certain video segments, and/or if particular timing constraints between or among activities are observed (such as when student tests, quizzes, and so forth are administered) as being instrumental in enhancing student participant retention, or enhancing student participant grades, machine learning may be utilized to ensure that such activities and/or timing constraints are repeated and/or emphasized so as to continue to maximize student participant learning outcome.”)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Lin and Dominici with Avida so that a machine learning algorithm can be used to measure participant engagement/satisfaction in the room. This is an obviously beneficial modification as the generated information allows the creator of the room to know how the group is performing among its participants.
Allowable Subject Matter
39. Claim 11 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.
40. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Claim 11 recites the limitation wherein the computer system is further programmed to position matched participants of the at least one matched group closer to each other based on a higher matching relevance score, and to position matched participants of the at least one matched group farther to each other based on a lower matching relevance score which is neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited references, either singly or in combination.
CONTACT
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FRANK S CHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7993. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 8-11:30 and 1:30-6.
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/FRANK S CHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2611