DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to the communication filed on 07/25/2024.
Claims 1-28 are pending.
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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1, 3-10, 12, 13, 15, 16, and 19-28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ariav et al (US Pub. No. 20160014176 herein after “Ariav”) and further in view of Green et al (US Pub. No. 20170366498 herein after “Green”).
As per claim 1, Ariav discloses A method for a social networking platform to solicit candid content from a post author to share among one or more other users, comprising:
executing instructions on one or more network-connected processing devices that, when executed by the one or more processing devices, cause the one or more processing devices to perform the following operations (Ariav, para[0016] each communication device may include a processor and a non-volatile computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of instructions executable by the processor to perform the steps described):
selecting, by the social networking platform, one or more users from amongst a plurality of users of the social networking platform for receipt of a request to submit a qualified post of a qualified post type upon which one or more editorial constraints are specified and imposed by the platform (Ariav, para[0014-0016,0028,0042-0043] solicitation of content; allow a content publisher to…request one or more users to record, capture, and transmit or upload content; content publisher such as…social network; broadcast targets of interest and parameters to one or more users; the server can filter through users and select devices);
requesting, at specific times of day determined by the social networking platform and not by any user of the social networking platform, that each of the selected one or more users author and submit a qualified post of the qualified post type (Ariav, para[0014,0034] allow a content publisher to proactively approach or request one or more users (or their devices directly) to record, capture, and transmit or upload content substantially in real-time when a newsworthy event occurs; may automatically trigger one or more events of interest or targets of interest);
sharing, via said social networking platform having performed the step of selecting one or more users, one or more of said qualified posts with one or more users of the social networking platform other than a user having authored the qualified post (Ariav, para[0014-0015,0025] the content publisher may then use or edit the received media content for later or instant publishing or broadcasting (for..status updates to Facebook or Twitter)); and
wherein said one or more editorial constraints imposed upon the qualified post type comprise: that the qualified post must include photo and/or video content newly captured by a post author subsequent to the step of requesting via operation of a social networking application operating on a network-connected computing device (Ariav, para[0015-0016] solicitation of content, record media content and transmit the recorded or live media content to the central server; media content submitted by users may include video, photos, sound recordings, metadata, and/or live status updates).
Ariav does not explicitly disclose a request to submit a qualified post of a qualified post type upon which one or more editorial constraints are specified and imposed and wherein said one or more editorial constraints imposed upon the qualified post type comprise: that the qualified post can only be made in response to a request from a third party and must include photo and/or video content newly captured by a post author subsequent to the step of requesting via operation of a social networking application operating on a network-connected computing device.
However, Green disclose a request to submit a qualified post of a qualified post type upon which one or more editorial constraints are specified and imposed; and wherein said one or more editorial constraints imposed upon the qualified post type comprise: that the qualified post can only be made in response to a request from a third party and must include photo and/or video content newly captured by a post author subsequent to the step of requesting via operation of a social networking application operating on a network-connected computing device (Green, para[0014,0062] a request from a first requester for content comprising content criteria is received; the request to be selectively submitted to a specific target group; content may be newly created; requester may specify…media type (e.g. video)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Green’s teaching of content criteria for requested content into Ariav’s teaching because one of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to reduce the need to edit or discard irrelevant content.
As per claim 3, Ariav disclose the method of claim 1, wherein the specific times of day determined by the social networking platform for requesting that the selected one or more users submit a qualified post of the qualified post type are contemporaneous (Ariav, para[0023]).
As per claim 4, Ariav discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the step of requesting comprises, for each of the one or more users: transmitting a notification from the social networking platform to a device associated with the user (Ariav, para[0028]).
As per claim 5, Ariav discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the step of requesting comprises, for each of the one or more users: displaying a notification within or outside of the social networking application by a device associated with the user (Ariav, para[0023]).
As per claim 6, Ariav discloses the method of claim 1, in which the step of selecting one or more users comprises selecting a group of two or more users of the social networking platform for contemporaneous receipt of a system-initiated request for a qualified post; and the step of requesting that the selected one or more users submit a qualified post comprises contemporaneously delivering user-facing notifications to the one or more users (Ariav, para[0023])(Green, para[0026,0184]).
As per claim 7, Ariav discloses the method of claim 6, further comprising: receiving, in response to the requesting step, one or more qualified posts from amongst the selected one or more users; and publishing said one or more qualified posts to a viewing group comprising at least one of the selected one or more users (Ariav, para[0015])(Green, para[0015]).
As per claim 8, Ariav discloses the method of claim 7, in which the step of publishing said one or more qualified posts to the viewing group only occurs, for each user within the viewing group, after the user within the viewing group has submitted a qualifying post in response to said request (Ariav, para[0015] status updates (where the status updates can only be published after the user submits the content)).
As per claim 9, Ariav discloses the method of claim 1, in which the step of requesting, at specific times of day determined by the social networking platform and not by any user of the social networking platform, that each of the selected one or more users author and submit a qualified post of the qualified post type comprises: determining the specific times of day for requesting based at least in part upon geographic locations of the one or more users (Ariav, para[0001,0020,0042]).
As per claim 10, Ariav discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the step of selecting, by the social networking platform, one or more users of the social networking platform for receipt of a request to submit a qualified post comprises: determining the specific times of day for requesting prior to specifying the one or more users; and subsequently specifying the one or more users of the social networking platform selected for receipt of a request, based at least in part upon each user's likelihood of posting at the determined times (Ariav, para[0034]).
As per claim 12, Ariav discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the step of selecting, by the social networking platform, one or more users of the social networking platform for receipt of a request to submit a qualified post comprises: selecting the one or more users based on one or more factors comprising: the recency with which users have communicated with one another via the social networking platform (Ariav, para[0034]).
As per claim 13, Ariav discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the step of selecting, by the social networking platform, one or more users of the social networking platform for receipt of a request to submit a qualified post comprises: selecting the one or more users based on one or more factors comprising: information within user profiles maintained by the social networking platform and associated with each of the one or more users (Ariav, para[0034]).
As per claim 15, Ariav discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the step of selecting, by the social networking platform, one or more users of the social networking platform for receipt of a request to submit a qualified post comprises: selecting the one or more users based on one or more factors comprising: the users having been previously matched for communications within the social networking platform (Ariav, para[0034]).
As per claim 16, Ariav does not disclose, however, Green discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising: publishing qualified posts received from the one or more users in response to the requesting step, to each of the one or more users, only after each of the one or more users has submitted a qualified post in response to the requesting step (Ariav, para[0015])(Green, para[0015]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Green’s teaching of content criteria for requested content into Ariav’s teaching because one of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated sharing approved content.
As per claim 19, Ariav does not disclose, however, Green disclose the method of claim 1, wherein said one or more editorial constraints imposed upon the qualified post type comprise: that the qualified post must include photo and/or video content newly captured by a post author within a limited time period from the time of request (Green, para[0026-0028,0036,0179-0180]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Green’s teaching of content criteria for requested content into Ariav’s teaching because one of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated receive content within the specified time.
As per claim 20, Ariav does not disclose, however, Green discloses the method of claim 19, wherein the limited time period from the time of request is a duration not exceeding one day (Green, para[0026-0028]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Green’s teaching of content criteria for requested content into Ariav’s teaching because one of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated receive content within the specified time.
As per claim 21, Ariav does not disclose, however, Green discloses the method of claim 19, wherein the limited time period from the time of request is a duration not exceeding two days (Green, para[0026-0028]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Green’s teaching of content criteria for requested content into Ariav’s teaching because one of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated receive content within the specified time.
As per claim 22, Ariav does not disclose, however, Green discloses the method of claim 19, wherein the limited time period from the time of request is a duration not exceeding one week (Green, para[0026-0028]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Green’s teaching of content criteria for requested content into Ariav’s teaching because one of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated receive content within the specified time.
As per claim 23, Ariav does not disclose, however, Green discloses the method of claim 1, wherein said one or more editorial constraints imposed upon the qualified post type comprise: that the qualified post must include photo and/or video content newly captured by a post author using a front camera of a mobile computing device subsequent to the step of requesting (Green, para[0068,0175]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Green’s teaching of content criteria for requested content into Ariav’s teaching because one of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated receive content within the specified time.
As pr claim 24, Ariav does not disclose, however, Green discloses the method of claim 23, wherein said one or more editorial constraints imposed upon the qualified post type further comprise: that the qualified post must include photo and/or video content newly captured by a post author using a back camera of a mobile computing device subsequent to the step of requesting (Green, para[0130,0136]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Green’s teaching of content criteria for requested content into Ariav’s teaching because one of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated receive content within the specified time.
As per claim 25, Ariav does not disclose, however, Green discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the step of sharing comprises: displaying the qualified posts in a manner that indicates the qualified posts have met said one or more editorial constraints for authenticity (Green, para[0071,0076]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Green’s teaching of content criteria for requested content into Ariav’s teaching because one of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to approve submitted content.
As per claim 26, Ariav does not disclose, however, Green discloses the method of claim 25, in which the step of displaying the qualified posts in a manner that indicates the qualified posts have met said one or more editorial constraints for authenticity comprises displaying the qualified posts in a feed consisting of qualified posts (Green, para[0040,0056]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Green’s teaching of content criteria for requested content into Ariav’s teaching because one of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to approve submitted content.
As per claim 27, Ariav does not discloses, however, Green discloses the method of claim 1, wherein said one or more editorial constraints imposed upon the qualified post type comprises: that the qualified post can only be made in response to a request initiated by another user or by the social networking platform (Green, para[0027,0046]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Green’s teaching of content criteria for requested content into Ariav’s teaching because one of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to enable publishers to request content.
As per claim 28, Ariav does not disclose, however, Green discloses the method of claim 1, wherein said one or more editorial constraints imposed upon the qualified post type comprises: that the qualified post can only be made in response to a request initiated by the social networking platform (Green, para[0027,0046]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Green’s teaching of content criteria for requested content into Ariav’s teaching because one of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to enable publishers to request content.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ariav and Green and further in view of Frankel et al (US Pub. No. 20200219140 herein after “Frankel).
As per claim 2, neither Ariav nor Green discloses, however, Frankel discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the specific times of day determined by the social networking platform for requesting that the selected one or more users submit a qualified post of the qualified post type are determined on a per-user basis (Frankel, para[0207]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Frankel’s teaching of timing information into Ariav’s teaching because one of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to identify a specific time of day for delivering messages.
Claim(s) 11 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ariav and Green and further in view of Gurbuxani et al (US Pub. No. 20210150541 herein after “G2”).
As per claim 11, neither Ariav nor Green discloses, however, G2 discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the step of selecting, by the social networking platform, one or more users of the social networking platform for receipt of a request to submit a qualified post comprises: selecting the one or more users based on one or more factors comprising: the frequency with which users interact with one another via the social networking platform (G2, para[0322, 0335,0340]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate G2’s teaching of users total reach and engagement into Ariav’s teaching because one of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to identify rank creators in order select the best creator for the job.
As per claim 17, neither Ariav nor Green discloses, however, G2 discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the step of selecting one or more users for receipt of a request comprises implementing, by a network-connection social networking platform server, a machine learning algorithm for identification of said one or more users from amongst a superset of users (G2, para[0534]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate G2’s teaching of users total reach and engagement into Ariav’s teaching because one of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to identify rank creators in order select the best creator for the job.
Claim(s) 14 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ariav and Green and further in view of Asman et al (US Patent No. 10609109 herein after “Asman”).
As per claim 14, neither Ariav nor Green discloses, however, Asman discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the step of selecting, by the social networking platform, one or more users of the social networking platform for receipt of a request to submit a qualified post comprises: selecting the one or more users based on one or more factors comprising: a time period since each user's last receipt of a request for a qualified post (Asman, col 11 line 64- col. 12 line 6).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Asman’s teaching a machine learning module for determining whether a user should receive a request into Ariav’s teaching because one of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to not overload any of the users.
As per claim 18, Ariav nor Green discloses, however, Asman discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the step of requesting, at specific times of day determined by the social networking platform and not by any user of the social networking platform, that each of the selected one or more users submit a qualified post of the qualified post type, comprises: implementing, by a network-connected social networking platform server, a machine learning algorithm for selection of said times (Asman, col. 7 line 52).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Asman’s teaching a machine learning module for determining whether a user should receive a request into Ariav’s teaching because one of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to not overload any of the users.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. See form 892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Natisha Cox whose telephone number is (571)270-7167. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday, 10:00 am - 6:00pm EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Umar Cheema can be reached on (571)270-3037. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8000.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pairdirect.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/NATISHA D COX/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2458