DETAILED ACTION
1. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
2. 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.
3. Claims 1, 7-10, 13, 14 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over REDMOND, TONY. Dynamic View and Other Improvements Coming for Teams Meetings. March 5, 2021, pp. 1-4 [online],[retrieved on 2026-02-04]. Retrieved from the Internet in view of Chang et al, U.S. Patent No. 12,449,961 (hereinafter Chang).
Regarding claim 1, Redmond discloses a method for presenting information of video conference participants (from page 4, see Figure 3: Teams Dynamic View (image credit: Microsoft), characterized in that the method comprises:
S1: receiving a media stream pushed by a terminal and determining a camera state of the terminal, if the camera state of the terminal is ON, then proceeding to S2; if the camera state of the terminal is OFF, then proceeding to S3 (from page 3, see Microsoft says that dynamic view “intelligently arranges the elements of your meeting for an optimal viewing experience. As people join, turn on video, start to speak, or begin to present in a meeting, Teams auto-adjusts and personalizes your layout);
S2: displaying the media stream of the terminal in a predetermined size in a first predetermined area (from page 4, see larger cards for people with video enabled); and
S3: displaying the media stream of the terminal in a reduced size in a second predetermined area (from page 3, see Audio participants appear in smaller tiles (a reasonable call because a set of initials or a static photo in a circle isn’t very visually compelling).
Still on the issue of claim 1, Redmon does not show the first predetermined area and the second predetermined area are separate display areas. All the same, Chang discloses the first predetermined area and the second predetermined area are separate display areas (from lines 55 through 60 of column 37, see In FIG. 6A, device 600 displays video conference interface 605, which includes at least two regions for displaying tiles corresponding to the participants of the video conference: main region 604 and roster 606). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Redmon wherein the first predetermined area and the second predetermined area are separate display areas as taught by Chang. This modification would have improved efficiency by reducing the cognitive burden on a user as suggested by Chang.
Regarding claim 7, Redmon discloses detecting whether there is a voice signal sent by the terminal; and if there is a voice signal, playing the voice signal (from page 3, see As people join, turn on video, start to speak).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Redmon and Chang discloses adjusting the first area and the second area to the corresponding display scale with the change of the display scale of the display interface (from lines 20 through 35 of column 41, see In FIG. 6I, device 600 is rotated, changing video conference interface 605 from a landscape orientation to a portrait orientation. As a result of the rotated orientation and, in some embodiments, due to the aspect ratio of the tiles, device 600 accommodates a greater number of tiles in main region 604, than when video conference interface 605 is in the landscape orientation. Accordingly, device 600 moves some of the tiles (e.g., tiles having the highest priority of the tiles in the roster) from roster 606 to main region 604. Specifically, tiles 610-19 and 610-20 are moved from roster 606 to main region 604, and the tiles in roster 606 slide over to fill the void created by moving tiles 610-19 and 610-20 to main region 604, thereby revealing tiles 610-24 and 610-25 corresponding to participants 24 and 25, respectively).
Regarding claim 9, Redmond discloses an apparatus for presenting information of video conference participants (from page 3, see Figure 3: Teams Dynamic View (image credit: Microsoft), characterized in that the apparatus comprises:
a processor configured to receive a media stream pushed by a terminal and determine a camera state of the terminal (from page 3, see Microsoft says that dynamic view “intelligently arranges the elements of your meeting for an optimal viewing experience. As people join, turn on video, start to speak, or begin to present in a meeting, Teams auto-adjusts and personalizes your layout);
wherein the processor is further configured to display the media stream of the terminal in a predetermined size in a first predetermined area when the camera of the terminal is ON (from page 4, see larger cards for people with video enabled);
wherein the processor is further configured to display the media stream of the terminal in a reduced size in a second predetermined area when the camera state of the terminal is OFF (from page 3, see Audio participants appear in smaller tiles (a reasonable call because a set of initials or a static photo in a circle isn’t very visually compelling).
Still on the issue of claim 9, Redmon does not show the first predetermined area and the second predetermined area are separate display areas. All the same, Chang discloses the first predetermined area and the second predetermined area are separate display areas (from lines 55 through 60 of column 37, see In FIG. 6A, device 600 displays video conference interface 605, which includes at least two regions for displaying tiles corresponding to the participants of the video conference: main region 604 and roster 606). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Redmon wherein the first predetermined area and the second predetermined area are separate display areas as taught by Chang. This modification would have improved efficiency by reducing the cognitive burden on a user as suggested by Chang.
Regarding claim 10, Redmond discloses a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, characterized in that, having stored thereon a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to carry out the method for presenting information of video conference participants was defined in claim 1 (from page 3, see Microsoft says that dynamic view “intelligently arranges the elements of your meeting for an optimal viewing experience. As people join, turn on video, start to speak, or begin to present in a meeting, Teams auto-adjusts and personalizes your layout).
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Redmon and Chang discloses receiving a shared file sent by the terminal; and causing the media stream and the shared file to be displayed in a predetermined order in the first predetermined area (from lines 10 through 25 of column 42, see In FIG. 6J, notification 614 is displayed, indicating that one of the participants (e.g., participant 2) has selected content (e.g., a TV show) for viewing in the video conference session (e.g., via a shared-content session). Because participant 2 has selected content for sharing with the Mountaineers group, tile 610-2 is now emphasized, indicating participant 2 is the most active participant. Notification 614 includes option 614-1, which can be selected to initiate playback of the content at device 600, where playback is synchronized with other participants of the Mountaineers group who are also playing the content using their respective devices. In response to input 615-1 selecting option 614-1, device 600 launches the TV app to begin playing the TV show that participant 2 selected for the Mountaineers group, as shown in FIG. 6K).
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Redmon and Chang discloses that the first predetermined area comprises a first sub-area and a second sub-area, where the first sub-area is used for displaying a shared file, and the second sub-area is used for displaying the media stream corresponding to at least one presenter; wherein the second sub-area is located on a left side and/or a right side of the first sub-area (from lines 10 through 25 of column 42, see In FIG. 6J, notification 614 is displayed, indicating that one of the participants (e.g., participant 2) has selected content (e.g., a TV show) for viewing in the video conference session (e.g., via a shared-content session). Because participant 2 has selected content for sharing with the Mountaineers group, tile 610-2 is now emphasized, indicating participant 2 is the most active participant. Notification 614 includes option 614-1, which can be selected to initiate playback of the content at device 600, where playback is synchronized with other participants of the Mountaineers group who are also playing the content using their respective devices. In response to input 615-1 selecting option 614-1, device 600 launches the TV app to begin playing the TV show that participant 2 selected for the Mountaineers group, as shown in FIG. 6K).
Regarding claim 16, the combination of Redmon and Chang discloses that the shared file comprises at least one of: a document, a PPT presentation, a chart, a video (from Figure 6K of Chang, see 620), or a remote desktop.
4. Claims 17 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Redmon combined with Chang in further view of Tao et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0011925 (hereinafter Tao).
Regarding claim 17, the combination of references does not teach the first predetermined area is further set as a recording zone first predetermined area located in a recording zone of the video conference and/or a non-recording zone first predetermined area located in a non-recording zone of the video conference. All the same Tao discloses first predetermined area is further set as a recording zone first predetermined area located in a recording zone of the interface and/or a non-recording zone first predetermined area located in a non-recording zone of the interface (from paragraph 0079, see According to the screen recording method and the screen recording device according to the embodiment of the disclosure, when one or more split screen areas are selected to be recorded in the presence of a plurality of split screen areas, only the audio data of the application (APP) to which the selected split screen areas belong may be recorded, so that the picture and the sound in the screen recording file correspond to each other without interference from other APPs, and the user experience is improved). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to further modify the combination of Redmon and Chang wherein the first predetermined area is further set as a recording zone first predetermined area located in a recording zone of the interface and/or a non-recording zone first predetermined area located in a non-recording zone of the interface as taught by Tao. This modification would have improved the user experience by reducing interference as suggested by Tao.
Regarding claim 18, the combination of references does not teach that the second predetermined area is further set as a recording zone second predetermined area located in the recording zone of the video conference and/or a non-recording zone second predetermined area located in the non-recording zone of the video conference. All the same, Tao discloses the second predetermined area is further set as a recording zone second predetermined area located in the recording zone of the interface and/or a non-recording zone second predetermined area located in the non-recording zone of the interface (from paragraph 0079, see According to the screen recording method and the screen recording device according to the embodiment of the disclosure, when one or more split screen areas are selected to be recorded in the presence of a plurality of split screen areas, only the audio data of the application (APP) to which the selected split screen areas belong may be recorded, so that the picture and the sound in the screen recording file correspond to each other without interference from other APPs, and the user experience is improved). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to furter modify the combination of references wherein the second predetermined area is further set as a recording zone second predetermined area located in the recording zone of the interface and/or a non-recording zone second predetermined area located in the non-recording zone of the interface as taught by Tao. This modification would have improved the user experience by reducing interference as suggested by Tao.
Response to Arguments
5. Applicant’s arguments have been considered but are deemed to be moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Allowable Subject Matter
6. Claim 20 is allowed while claims 2-6, 11, 12, 15 and 19 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
7. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OLISA ANWAH whose telephone number is 571-272-7533. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday from 8.30 AM to 6 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Carolyn Edwards can be reached on 571-270-7136. The fax phone numbers for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned are 571-273-8300 for regular communications and 571-273-8300 for After Final communications.
Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application or proceeding should be directed to the receptionist whose telephone number is 571-272-2600.
Olisa Anwah
Patent Examiner
April 5, 2026
/OLISA ANWAH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2692