DETAILED ACTION
The current office action is in response to the communication filed on 8/9/24.
The applicant cancelled claims 1-20 and added claims 21-40 in the Preliminary Amendment received on 1/7/25.
Claims 21-40 are pending.
The Examiner recommends filing a written authorization for Internet communication in response to the present action. Doing so permits the USPTO to communicate with Applicant using Internet email to schedule interviews or discuss other aspects of the application. Without a written authorization in place, the USPTO cannot respond to Internet correspondence received from Applicant. The preferred method of providing authorization is by filing form PTO/SB/439, available at: https://www.uspto.gov/patent/forms/forms. See MPEP § 502.03 for other methods of providing written authorization.
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 .
Paper Submitted
It is hereby acknowledged that the following papers have been received and placed of record in the file:
Information Disclosure Statement(s) as received on 12/9/24 are considered by the Examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 23 is objected to because of the following informalities:
The limitation “…the calendar information of the sender…” in claim 23, line 2, should be “…the first calendar information of the sender… (emphasis added) in order to resolve the lack of antecedent basis in the limitations. Appropriate correction is required.
Note: For examination purposes, the claims will be interpreted based on the claim language suggested by the Examiner.
Double Patenting
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 claims at issue 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); and 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 a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO internet Web site contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit http://www.uspto.gov/forms/. The filing date of the application will determine what form 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 http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
Claims 21-40 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 3-8, 11, 14 and 16-20 of U.S. Patent No. 11,694,166 (hereinafter ‘166 Patent). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other. Please see further explanation below. Differences are bolded and omissions are underlined in following comparison tables.
Current Application claims 21-30
‘166 Patent claims 1 and 3-8
21. A system, comprising:
one or more processors, coupled with memory, to:
retrieve, responsive to a request associated with an electronic message, first calendar information of a sender of the electronic message and second calendar information of a recipient of the electronic message;
automatically generate a plurality of images that depict the first calendar information and the second calendar information; and
send data to a client device to cause display of at least one of the plurality of images within the electronic message.
22. The system of claim 21, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: retrieve the first calendar information and the second calendar information in response to receipt of the request from the client device.
23. The system of claim 22, wherein the request comprises information about the recipient of the electronic message and an identifier indicative of the calendar information of the sender, wherein the client device extracts the information about the recipient and the identifier from the electronic message.
1. A data processing system, comprising:
at least one processor; and
at least one memory storing computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions when executed by the at least one processor cause the data processing system to:
receive, from a client device separate from the data processing system, a request for calendar information for display in an electronic message responsive to the client device accessing the electronic message, the request (i) automatically sent by the client device to the data processing system responsive to the client device accessing the electronic message and (ii) including information about a recipient of the electronic message and an identifier indicative of calendar information of a sender of the electronic message, the identifier and the information about the recipient extracted by the client device from the electronic message;
identify, using the identifier, the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message;
identify, using the identifier and the information about the recipient of the electronic message, calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message;
retrieve, responsive to receiving the request, the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message and the calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message;
automatically generate an image depicting the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message and the calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message; and
send instructions to the client device to cause display of the image within the electronic message accessed at the client device.
24. The system of claim 21, wherein the first calendar information comprises at least one of a calendar of the sender, a time duration, or a plurality of time slots within the time duration.
3. The data processing system of claim 1, wherein in identifying the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message, the computer-executable instructions when executed by the at least one processor cause the data processing system to identify at least one of:
one or more calendars of the sender of the electronic message;
a time duration; or
a plurality of designated time slots within the time duration.
25. The system of claim 21, wherein the first calendar information comprises a plurality of time slots within a time duration, and wherein the plurality of time slots comprise at least one of: one or more time slots indicating availability of the sender, one or more time slots proposed by the sender, or one or more time slots during which the sender is unavailable.
4. The data processing system of claim 3, wherein the plurality of designated time slots include at least one of time slots indicating availability of the sender of the electronic message, time slots proposed by the sender of the electronic message or time slots during which the sender of the electronic message is busy.
26. The system of claim 21, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: identify, based on the request and in a database, the second calendar information using one or more calendars of the recipient, wherein the second calendar information is retrieved from the database.
27. The system of claim 26, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: identify the second calendar information using at least one of: one or more calendars of the sender, a time duration, or a plurality of time slots within the time duration.
5. The data processing system of claim 3, wherein the computer-executable instructions when executed by the at least one processor cause the data processing system to identify the calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message using one or more calendars of the recipient and the at least one of the one or more calendars of the sender of the electronic message, the time duration or the plurality of designated time slots within the time duration.
28. The system of claim 21, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: provide a user interface for the sender to enter at least one of: one or more calendars of the sender, a time duration, or a plurality of time slots within the time duration.
29. The system of claim 28, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receive, via the user interface, a selection of the at least one of: the one or more calendars of the sender, the time duration, or the plurality of time slots within the time duration.
6. The data processing system of claim 3, wherein the computer-executable instructions when executed by the at least one processor cause the data processing system to:
provide a user interface to a client device of the sender of the electronic message for entering the at least one of the one or more calendars of the sender of the electronic message, the time duration or the plurality of designated time slots within the time duration; and
receive, from the client device of the sender of the electronic message, the at least one of the one or more calendars of the sender of the electronic message, the time duration or the plurality of designated time slots within the time duration.
30. The system of claim 21, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: determine that the request comprises a flag that indicates that at least one of the plurality of images are to include one or more first images associated with the first calendar information and one or more second images associated with the second calendar information; and provide an image map configured for display over the plurality of images, wherein the image map comprises a plurality of map slices each associated with a corresponding time slot of a plurality of time slots depicted by the plurality of images and including resource identifiers indicative of the corresponding time slot.
7. The data processing system of claim 1, wherein the request further includes a flag indicating that the image is to include both the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message and the calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message.
8. The data processing system of claim 1, wherein the computer-executable instructions when executed by the at least one processor further cause the data processing system to provide an image map to the client device for display over the image at the electronic message, the image map including a plurality of map slices, each map slice of the plurality of map slices associated with a corresponding time slot of a plurality of time slots depicted by the image and including a corresponding uniform resource locator (URL) indicative of the corresponding time slot.
Table 1
Current Application claims 31-39
‘166 Patent claims 11, 14 and 16-19
31. A method comprising:
receiving, by one or more processors coupled with memory, from a client device, a request associated with an electronic message;
retrieving, by the one or more processors, based on the request, first calendar information of a sender of the electronic message and second calendar information of a recipient of the electronic message;
generating, by the one or more processors, images depicting the first calendar information and the second calendar information; and
sending, by the one or more processors, to the client device, instructions to cause the images to be displayed within the electronic message.
32. The method of claim 31, comprising: determining, by the one or more processors, that the client device is accessing the electronic message; and receiving, by the one or more processors, the request in response to the electronic message being accessed by the client device.
33. The method of claim 31, comprising: extracting, by the one or more processors, from the request, information about the recipient and an identifier indicative of the first calendar information; retrieving, by the one or more processors, the first calendar information based on the identifier indicative of the first calendar information; and identifying, by the one or more processors, the second calendar information using the information about the recipient.
11. A method, comprising:
receiving, by a data processing system from a client device, a request for calendar information for display in an electronic message responsive to the client device accessing the electronic message, the request (i) automatically sent by the client device to the data processing system responsive to the client device accessing the electronic message and (ii) including information about a recipient of the electronic message and an identifier indicative of calendar information of a sender of the electronic message, the identifier and the information about the recipient extracted by the client device from the electronic message and the data processing system different from the client device;
identifying, by the data processing system using the identifier, the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message;
identifying by the data processing system, using the identifier and the information about the recipient of the electronic message, calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message;
retrieving, by the data processing system, responsive to receiving the request, the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message and the calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message;
automatically generating, by the data processing system, an image depicting the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message and the calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message; and
sending, by the data processing system, instructions to the client device to cause display of the image within the electronic message accessed by the client device.
34. The method of claim 31, wherein retrieving the first calendar information comprises: retrieving, by the one or more processors, a plurality of time slots within a time duration, wherein the plurality of time slots comprise at least one of: one or more time slots indicating availability of the sender, one or more time slots proposed by the sender, or one or more time slots during which the sender is unavailable.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the plurality of designated time slots include at least one of time slots indicating availability of the sender of the electronic message, time slots proposed by the sender of the electronic message or time slots during which the sender of the electronic message is busy.
35. The method of claim 31, comprising: providing, by the one or more processors, a user interface for the sender to enter at least one of: one or more calendars of the sender, a time duration, or a plurality of time slots within the time duration; and receiving, by the one or more processors, via the user interface, a selection of the at least one of: the one or more calendars of the sender, the time duration, or the plurality of time slots within the time duration.
16. The method of claim 13, further comprising:
providing, by the data processing system, a user interface to a client device of the sender of the electronic message for entering the at least one of the one or more calendars of the sender of the electronic message, the time duration or the plurality of designated time slots within the time duration; and
receiving, by the data processing system from the client device of the sender of the electronic message, the at least one of the one or more calendars of the sender of the electronic message, the time duration or the plurality of designated time slots within the time duration.
36. The method of claim 31, comprising: determining that the request comprises a flag indicating that the images are to include one or more first images associated with the first calendar information of and one or more second images associated with the second calendar information.
17. The method of claim 11, wherein the request further includes a flag indicating that the image is to include both the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message and the calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message.
37. The method of claim 31, comprising: providing, by the one or more processors, an image map to the client device to display over the images, wherein the image map comprises a plurality of map slices each associated with a corresponding time slot of a plurality of time slots depicted by the images and including resource identifiers indicative of the corresponding time slot; detecting, by the one or more processors, a selection of a time slot of the plurality of time slots; receiving, by the one or more processors, a resource identifier associated with a first image of the images associated with the time slot; and sending, based on the time slot indicated by the resource identifier, a response message to the client device.
38. The method of claim 37, comprising: generating, by the one or more processors, the response message comprising a calendar invite message to be sent to the sender based on the time slot being an available time slot for the sender and the recipient.
39. The method of claim 37, comprising: generating, by the one or more processors, the response message comprising a message indicating that the time slot is unavailable for at least one of the sender or the recipient.
18. The method of claim 11, further comprising:
providing, by the data processing system, an image map to the client device for display over the image at the electronic message, the image map including a plurality of map slices, each map slice of the plurality of map slices associated with a corresponding time slot of a plurality of time slots depicted by the image and including a corresponding uniform resource locator (URL).
19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:
receiving, by the data processing system from the client device responsive to the client device selecting a time slot of the plurality of time slots, a URL of a map slice associated with the time slot selected by the client device;
determining, by the data processing system based on the URL, the time slot selected by the client device; and
sending, by the data processing system, a response message to the client device responsive to the determining the time slot selected by the client device, the response message including:
a response message instructing the client device to generate a calendar invite message for sending to the sender of the electronic message when the time slot selected by the client device is a time slot where both the sender and recipient of the electronic message are available, or
a response message instructing the client device to generate an error message when the time slot selected by the client device is a time slot where at least one of the sender or the recipient of the electronic message is unavailable.
Table 2
Current Application claim 40
‘166 Patent claim 20
40. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer program instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, effectuate operations comprising:
responsive to receiving, from a client device, a request associated with an electronic message, retrieving, based on the request, first calendar information of a sender of the electronic message and second calendar information of a recipient of the electronic message;
generating images depicting the first calendar information and the second calendar information; and
sending, to the client device, instructions to cause the images to be displayed within the electronic message.
20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions when executed by at least one processor cause the at least one processor to:
receive, from a client device, a request for calendar information for display in an electronic message responsive to the client device accessing the electronic message, the request (i) automatically sent by the client device to the at least one processor responsive to the client device accessing the electronic message and (ii) including information about a recipient of the electronic message and an identifier indicative of calendar information of a sender of the electronic message, the identifier and the information about the recipient extracted by the client device from the electronic message and the at least one processor separate from the client device;
identify, using the identifier, the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message;
identify, using the identifier and the information about the recipient of the electronic message, calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message;
retrieve, responsive to receiving the request, the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message and the calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message;
automatically generate an image depicting the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message and the calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message; and
send instructions to the client device to cause display of the image within the electronic message accessed by the client device.
Table 3
Claims 21-25, 30-34 and 36-40 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 3-6, 11, 14-17 and 20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,062,020 (hereinafter ‘020 Patent). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other. Please see further explanation below. Differences are bolded and omissions are underlined in following comparison tables.
Current Application claims 21-25 and 30
‘020 Patent claims 1 and 3-6
21. A system, comprising:
one or more processors, coupled with memory, to:
retrieve, responsive to a request associated with an electronic message, first calendar information of a sender of the electronic message and second calendar information of a recipient of the electronic message;
automatically generate a plurality of images that depict the first calendar information and the second calendar information; and
send data to a client device to cause display of at least one of the plurality of images within the electronic message.
22. The system of claim 21, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: retrieve the first calendar information and the second calendar information in response to receipt of the request from the client device.
23. The system of claim 22, wherein the request comprises information about the recipient of the electronic message and an identifier indicative of the calendar information of the sender, wherein the client device extracts the information about the recipient and the identifier from the electronic message.
1. A data processing system, comprising:
at least one processor; and
at least one memory storing computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions when executed by the at least one processor cause the data processing system to:
receive, from a client device, a request for calendar information for display in an electronic message responsive to the client device accessing the electronic message, the request including information about a recipient of the electronic message and an identifier indicative of calendar information of a sender of the electronic message, the identifier and the information about the recipient extracted by the client device from the electronic message;
identify, using the identifier, the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message;
identify, using the identifier and the information about the recipient of the electronic message, calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message;
retrieve the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message and the calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message;
automatically generate a plurality of images depicting the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message and the calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message; and
send instructions to the client device to cause display of the plurality of images within the electronic message accessed at the client device.
24. The system of claim 21, wherein the first calendar information comprises at least one of a calendar of the sender, a time duration, or a plurality of time slots within the time duration.
3. The data processing system of claim 1, wherein in identifying the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message, the computer-executable instructions when executed by the at least one processor cause the data processing system to identify at least one of:
one or more calendars of the sender of the electronic message;
a time duration; or
a plurality of designated time slots within the time duration.
25. The system of claim 21, wherein the first calendar information comprises a plurality of time slots within a time duration, and wherein the plurality of time slots comprise at least one of: one or more time slots indicating availability of the sender, one or more time slots proposed by the sender, or one or more time slots during which the sender is unavailable.
4. The data processing system of claim 3, wherein the plurality of designated time slots include at least one of time slots indicating availability of the sender of the electronic message, time slots proposed by the sender of the electronic message or time slots during which the sender of the electronic message is busy.
30. The system of claim 21, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: determine that the request comprises a flag that indicates that at least one of the plurality of images are to include one or more first images associated with the first calendar information and one or more second images associated with the second calendar information; and provide an image map configured for display over the plurality of images, wherein the image map comprises a plurality of map slices each associated with a corresponding time slot of a plurality of time slots depicted by the plurality of images and including resource identifiers indicative of the corresponding time slot.
5. The data processing system of claim 1, wherein the request further includes a flag indicating that the plurality of images are to include one or more images associated with the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message and one or more images associated with the calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message.
6. The data processing system of claim 1, wherein each image of the plurality of images is associated with a corresponding time slot of a plurality of time slots depicted by the image and including a corresponding uniform resource locator (URL) indicative of the corresponding time slot.
Table 4
Current Application claims 31-34 and 36-39
‘020 Patent claims 11 and 14-17
31. A method comprising:
receiving, by one or more processors coupled with memory, from a client device, a request associated with an electronic message;
retrieving, by the one or more processors, based on the request, first calendar information of a sender of the electronic message and second calendar information of a recipient of the electronic message;
generating, by the one or more processors, images depicting the first calendar information and the second calendar information; and
sending, by the one or more processors, to the client device, instructions to cause the images to be displayed within the electronic message.
32. The method of claim 31, comprising: determining, by the one or more processors, that the client device is accessing the electronic message; and receiving, by the one or more processors, the request in response to the electronic message being accessed by the client device.
33. The method of claim 31, comprising: extracting, by the one or more processors, from the request, information about the recipient and an identifier indicative of the first calendar information; retrieving, by the one or more processors, the first calendar information based on the identifier indicative of the first calendar information; and identifying, by the one or more processors, the second calendar information using the information about the recipient.
11. A method, comprising:
receiving, by a data processing system comprising one or more processors coupled with memory, from a client device, a request for calendar information for display in an electronic message responsive to the client device accessing the electronic message, the request including information about a recipient of the electronic message and an identifier indicative of calendar information of a sender of the electronic message, the identifier and the information about the recipient extracted by the client device from the electronic message;
identifying, by the data processing system using the identifier, the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message;
identifying by the data processing system, using the identifier and the information about the recipient of the electronic message, calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message;
retrieving, by the data processing system, the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message and the calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message;
automatically generating, by the data processing system, a plurality of images depicting the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message and the calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message; and
sending, by the data processing system, instructions to the client device to cause display of the plurality of images within the electronic message accessed by the client device.
34. The method of claim 31, wherein retrieving the first calendar information comprises: retrieving, by the one or more processors, a plurality of time slots within a time duration, wherein the plurality of time slots comprise at least one of: one or more time slots indicating availability of the sender, one or more time slots proposed by the sender, or one or more time slots during which the sender is unavailable.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the plurality of designated time slots include at least one of time slots indicating availability of the sender of the electronic message, time slots proposed by the sender of the electronic message or time slots during which the sender of the electronic message is busy.
36. The method of claim 31, comprising: determining that the request comprises a flag indicating that the images are to include one or more first images associated with the first calendar information of and one or more second images associated with the second calendar information.
15. The method of claim 11, wherein the request further includes a flag indicating that the plurality of images are to include one or more images associated with the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message and one or more images associated with the calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message.
37. The method of claim 31, comprising: providing, by the one or more processors, an image map to the client device to display over the images, wherein the image map comprises a plurality of map slices each associated with a corresponding time slot of a plurality of time slots depicted by the images and including resource identifiers indicative of the corresponding time slot; detecting, by the one or more processors, a selection of a time slot of the plurality of time slots; receiving, by the one or more processors, a resource identifier associated with a first image of the images associated with the time slot; and sending, based on the time slot indicated by the resource identifier, a response message to the client device.
38. The method of claim 37, comprising: generating, by the one or more processors, the response message comprising a calendar invite message to be sent to the sender based on the time slot being an available time slot for the sender and the recipient.
39. The method of claim 37, comprising: generating, by the one or more processors, the response message comprising a message indicating that the time slot is unavailable for at least one of the sender or the recipient.
16. The method of claim 11,
wherein each image of the plurality of images is associated with a corresponding time slot of a plurality of time slots depicted by the image and including a corresponding uniform resource locator (URL).
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:
receiving, by the data processing system from the client device responsive to the client device selecting a time slot of the plurality of time slots, a URL of an image of the plurality of images associated with the time slot selected by the client device;
determining, by the data processing system based on the URL, the time slot selected by the client device; and
sending, by the data processing system, a response message to the client device responsive to the determining the time slot selected by the client device, the response message including:
a response message instructing the client device to generate a calendar invite message for sending to the sender of the electronic message, if the time slot selected by the client device is a time slot where both the sender and recipient of the electronic message are available, or
a response message instructing the client device to generate an error message otherwise.
Table 5
Current Application claim 40
‘020 Patent claim 20
40. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer program instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, effectuate operations comprising:
responsive to receiving, from a client device, a request associated with an electronic message, retrieving, based on the request, first calendar information of a sender of the electronic message and second calendar information of a recipient of the electronic message;
generating images depicting the first calendar information and the second calendar information; and
sending, to the client device, instructions to cause the images to be displayed within the electronic message.
20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions when executed by at least one processor cause the at least one processor to:
receive, from a client device, a request for calendar information for display in an electronic message responsive to the client device accessing the electronic message, the request including information about a recipient of the electronic message and an identifier indicative of calendar information of a sender of the electronic message, the identifier and the information about the recipient extracted by the client device from the electronic message;
identify, using the identifier, the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message;
identify, using the identifier and the information about the recipient of the electronic message, calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message;
retrieve the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message and the calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message;
automatically generate an image depicting the calendar information of the sender of the electronic message and the calendar information of the recipient of the electronic message; and
send instructions to the client device to cause display of the image within the electronic message accessed by the client device.
Table 6
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 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 of this title, 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.
Claims 21-38 and 40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over “Zhong et al.” (US PGPUB 2021/0081098) (Hereinafter Zhong) in view of “Oh et al.” (US 8,887,064) (Hereinafter Oh), and further in view of “Moore et al.” (US PGPUB 2014/0288990) (Hereinafter Moore).
With respect to claim 21, Zhong teaches a system (system of Fig. 11; [0102]), comprising:
one or more processors (processing unit 820; Fig. 11, [0102]), coupled with memory (system memory 830; Fig. 11, [0102], [0104]), to:
retrieve, responsive to a request associated with an electronic message, first calendar information of a sender of the electronic message and second calendar information of a recipient of the electronic message (timeslot recipient system 184 allows a user to receive a timeslot email message, sent by another user, and to interact (request) with it. Timeslot option display logic 208 illustratively displays the timeslot options (first calendar information) that were populated into the timeslot email message by the sender. Calendar display logic 210 illustratively accesses the scheduling or calendar system 136 for the recipient and displays the selectable timeslot options in the received email, relative to the user’s calendar (second calendar information), so that the user can see where those timeslot options fit in his or her calendar; Figs. 1-2 and 4, [0031], [0050]-[0052]);
automatically generate the first calendar information and the second calendar information (a displayed timeslot email message can have a number of displayed items including the selectable timeslot options displayed in-line with the email message content; Figs. 1-2, 4, 4A and 4B, [0031], [0050]-[0052], [0054], [0057]).
Zhong does not teach automatically generate a plurality of images that depict the first calendar information and the second calendar information.
However, Oh teaches automatically generate a plurality of images that depict the first calendar information and the second calendar information (a first calendar entry is received from a first user and a second calendar entry is received from a second user. A request is received from the second user for a display of calendar information and a display of the second user’s calendar information is provided to the second user, including the first and second calendar entries. Calendar entries can be displayed graphically through a user interface; Fig. 4, col. 4, lines 41-54, col. 10, line 60 – col. 11, line 10. The generation of the images depicting multiple calendar information is made when the request for a display of calendar information is received and a display of a requesting user’s calendar information including multiple calendar information from different users is provided to the requesting user).
It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate generating and displaying calendar information of multiple users to Zhong because Zhong discloses displaying calendar information in an email message ([0052]) and Oh suggests generating and displaying calendar information of multiple users (col. 10, line 60 – col. 11, line 10).
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Oh in the Zhong system in order to provide a more efficient display of calendar information.
Furthermore, Zhong does not teach send data to a client device to cause display of at least one of the plurality of images within the electronic message.
However, Moore teaches send data to a client device to cause display of at least one of the plurality of images within the electronic message (once the graphical representation of the organizer’s selected tentative time periods and/or calendar availability have been included in the electronic message, it is sent to one or more recipients. A recipient opens the electronic message and the graphical representation of the organizer’s selection of tentative time periods for a new meeting or event and/or the organizer’s calendar availability is displayed; Fig. 15, [0084]-[0085], [0170]).
It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate displaying images depicting calendar information in an e-mail to Zhong because Zhong discloses displaying calendar information in an email message ([0052]) and Moore suggests displaying images depicting calendar information in an e-mail ([0170]).
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Moore in the Zhong system in order to provide a more efficient display of calendar information.
With respect to claim 22, Zhong as modified teaches the system of claim 21. Zhong further teaches wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: retrieve the first calendar information and the second calendar information in response to receipt of the request from the client device (timeslot recipient system 184 allows a user to receive a timeslot email message, sent by another user, and to interact (request) with it. Timeslot option display logic 208 illustratively displays the timeslot options (first calendar information) that were populated into the timeslot email message by the sender. Calendar display logic 210 illustratively accesses the scheduling or calendar system 136 for the recipient and displays the selectable timeslot options in the received email, relative to the user’s calendar (second calendar information), so that the user can see where those timeslot options fit in his or her calendar; Figs. 1-2 and 4, [0031], [0050]-[0052]).
With respect to claim 23, Zhong as modified teaches the system of claim 22. Zhong further teaches wherein the request comprises information about the recipient of the electronic message and an identifier indicative of the calendar information of the sender, wherein the client device extracts the information about the recipient and the identifier from the electronic message (timeslot recipient system 184 allows a user to receive a timeslot email message, sent by another user, and to interact (request) with it. Timeslot option display logic 208 illustratively displays the timeslot options (first calendar information) that were populated into the timeslot email message by the sender. Calendar display logic 210 illustratively accesses the scheduling or calendar system 136 for the recipient and displays the selectable timeslot options in the received email, relative to the user’s calendar (second calendar information), so that the user can see where those timeslot options fit in his or her calendar. A timeslot email message has a particular identifier associated with it. When the email system that sent the message receives a response, it knows, from the identifier, that this is a response to a timeslot email message and triggers a response processing. The response is parsed to identify which, if any, of the timeslot options has been selected by the recipient in the timeslot email message response; Figs. 1-2 and 4, [0031], [0050]-[0052], [0063]-[0065]).
With respect to claim 24, Zhong as modified teaches the system of claim 21. Zhong further teaches wherein the first calendar information comprises at least one of a calendar of the sender, a time duration, or a plurality of time slots within the time duration (free timeslot display generator logic 200 generates a display indicative of free timeslots so they can be selected by the user for inclusion in an email message being composed, and free timeslot detector logic 202 detects when the user selects any of the free timeslots to be included in the email message. Email population logic 204 then populates those selected timeslots into the message content of the email message, as selectable timeslot options that can be selected by a recipient of the email message; Figs. 1-3, 3A, 3B, 4, 4A and 4B, [0030]-[0031], [0042], [0044]-[0045], [0050]-[0052], [0054], [0057]).
With respect to claim 25, Zhong as modified teaches the system of claim 21. Zhong further teaches wherein the first calendar information comprises a plurality of time slots within a time duration, and wherein the plurality of time slots comprise at least one of: one or more time slots indicating availability of the sender, one or more time slots proposed by the sender, or one or more time slots during which the sender is unavailable (free timeslot display generator logic 200 generates a display indicative of free timeslots so they can be selected by the user for inclusion in an email message being composed, and free timeslot detector logic 202 detects when the user selects any of the free timeslots to be included in the email message. Email population logic 204 then populates those selected timeslots into the message content of the email message, as selectable timeslot options that can be selected by a recipient of the email message; Figs. 1-3, 3A, 3B, 4, 4A and 4B, [0030]-[0031], [0042], [0044]-[0045], [0050]-[0052], [0054], [0057]).
With respect to claim 26, Zhong as modified teaches the system of claim 21. Zhong further teaches wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: identify, based on the request and in a database, the second calendar information using one or more calendars of the recipient, wherein the second calendar information is retrieved from the database (timeslot recipient system 184 allows a user to receive a timeslot email message, sent by another user, and to interact (request) with it. Timeslot option display logic 208 illustratively displays the timeslot options (first calendar information) that were populated into the timeslot email message by the sender. Calendar display logic 210 illustratively accesses the scheduling or calendar system 136 (database) for the recipient and displays the selectable timeslot options in the received email, relative to the user’s calendar (second calendar information), so that the user can see where those timeslot options fit in his or her calendar.; Figs. 1-2 and 4, [0031], [0050]-[0052]).
With respect to claim 27, Zhong as modified teaches the system of claim 26. Zhong further teaches wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: identify the second calendar information using at least one of: one or more calendars of the sender, a time duration, or a plurality of time slots within the time duration (timeslot recipient system 184 allows a user to receive a timeslot email message, sent by another user, and to interact (request) with it. Timeslot option display logic 208 illustratively displays the timeslot options (first calendar information) that were populated into the timeslot email message by the sender. Calendar display logic 210 illustratively accesses the scheduling or calendar system 136 (database) for the recipient and displays the selectable timeslot options in the received email, relative to the user’s calendar (second calendar information), so that the user can see where those timeslot options fit in his or her calendar.; Figs. 1-2 and 4, [0031], [0050]-[0052]).
With respect to claim 28, Zhong as modified teaches the system of claim 21. Zhong further teaches wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: provide a user interface for the sender to enter at least one of: one or more calendars of the sender, a time duration, or a plurality of time slots within the time duration (free timeslot display generator logic 200 generates a display indicative of free timeslots so they can be selected by the user for inclusion in an email message being composed, and free timeslot detector logic 202 detects when the user selects any of the free timeslots to be included in the email message. Email population logic 204 then populates those selected timeslots into the message content of the email message, as selectable timeslot options that can be selected by a recipient of the email message; Figs. 1-3, 3A, 3B, 4, 4A and 4B, [0030]-[0031], [0042], [0044]-[0045], [0050]-[0052], [0054], [0057]).
With respect to claim 29, Zhong as modified teaches the system of claim 28. Zhong further teaches wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receive, via the user interface, a selection of the at least one of: the one or more calendars of the sender, the time duration, or the plurality of time slots within the time duration (free timeslot display generator logic 200 generates a display indicative of free timeslots so they can be selected by the user for inclusion in an email message being composed, and free timeslot detector logic 202 detects when the user selects any of the free timeslots to be included in the email message. Email population logic 204 then populates those selected timeslots into the message content of the email message, as selectable timeslot options that can be selected by a recipient of the email message; Figs. 1-3, 3A, 3B, 4, 4A and 4B, [0030]-[0031], [0042], [0044]-[0045], [0050]-[0052], [0054], [0057]).
With respect to claim 30, Zhong as modified teaches the system of claim 21. Oh further teaches wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: determine that the request comprises a flag that indicates that at least one of the plurality of images are to include one or more first images associated with the first calendar information and one or more second images associated with the second calendar information (a first calendar entry is received from a first user and a second calendar entry is received from a second user. A request is received from the second user for a display of calendar information and a display of the second user’s calendar information is provided to the second user, including the first and second calendar entries. Calendar entries can be displayed graphically through a user interface; Fig. 4, col. 4, lines 41-54, col. 10, line 60 – col. 11, line 10).
It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate generating and displaying calendar information of multiple users to Zhong because Zhong discloses displaying calendar information in an email message ([0052]) and Oh suggests generating and displaying calendar information of multiple users (col. 10, line 60 – col. 11, line 10).
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Oh in the Zhong system in order to provide a more efficient display of calendar information.
Furthermore, Moore further teaches provide an image map configured for display over the plurality of images, wherein the image map comprises a plurality of map slices each associated with a corresponding time slot of a plurality of time slots depicted by the plurality of images and including resource identifiers indicative of the corresponding time slot (graphical representation of the user’s selection of tentative time periods and/or availability may include HTML (resource identifiers) that references remotely stored content. The graphical representation of the user’s availability includes an image map overlay. The image map overlay may allow the recipient to interact with the graphical representation when certain portions of the graphical representation are clicked. For example, a recipient may be able to click on a time period tentatively selected by the organizer in order to confirm a meeting at that particular time period; Figs. 14-15, [0162]).
It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate displaying an image map depicting calendar information in an e-mail to Zhong because Zhong discloses displaying calendar information in an email message ([0052]) and Moore suggests displaying an image map depicting calendar information in an e-mail ([0162]).
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Moore in the Zhong system in order to provide a more efficient display and selection of calendar information.
With respect to claim 31, Zhong teaches a method (Abstract) comprising:
receiving, by one or more processors (processing unit 820; Fig. 11, [0102]) coupled with memory (system memory 830; Fig. 11, [0102], [0104]), from a client device (computing system 104; Fig. 1, [0024]), a request associated with an electronic message (timeslot recipient system 184 allows a user to receive a timeslot email message, sent by another user, and to interact (request) with it. Timeslot option display logic 208 illustratively displays the timeslot options that were populated into the timeslot email message by the sender. Calendar display logic 210 illustratively accesses the scheduling or calendar system 136 for the recipient and displays the selectable timeslot options in the received email, relative to the user’s calendar, so that the user can see where those timeslot options fit in his or her calendar; Figs. 1-2 and 4, [0031], [0050]-[0052]);
retrieving, by the one or more processors, based on the request, first calendar information of a sender of the electronic message and second calendar information of a recipient of the electronic message (timeslot recipient system 184 allows a user to receive a timeslot email message, sent by another user, and to interact (request) with it. Timeslot option display logic 208 illustratively displays the timeslot options (first calendar information) that were populated into the timeslot email message by the sender. Calendar display logic 210 illustratively accesses the scheduling or calendar system 136 for the recipient and displays the selectable timeslot options in the received email, relative to the user’s calendar (second calendar information), so that the user can see where those timeslot options fit in his or her calendar; Figs. 1-2 and 4, [0031], [0050]-[0052]); and
generating, by the one or more processors, the first calendar information and the second calendar information (a displayed timeslot email message can have a number of displayed items including the selectable timeslot options displayed in-line with the email message content; Figs. 1-2, 4, 4A and 4B, [0031], [0050]-[0052], [0054], [0057]).
Zhong does not teach generating, by the one or more processors, images depicting the first calendar information and the second calendar information.
However, Oh teaches generating, by the one or more processors, images depicting the first calendar information and the second calendar information (a first calendar entry is received from a first user and a second calendar entry is received from a second user. A request is received from the second user for a display of calendar information and a display of the second user’s calendar information is provided to the second user, including the first and second calendar entries. Calendar entries can be displayed graphically through a user interface; Fig. 4, col. 4, lines 41-54, col. 10, line 60 – col. 11, line 10. The generation of the images depicting multiple calendar information is made when the request for a display of calendar information is received and a display of a requesting user’s calendar information including multiple calendar information from different users is provided to the requesting user).
It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate generating and displaying calendar information of multiple users to Zhong because Zhong discloses displaying calendar information in an email message ([0052]) and Oh suggests generating and displaying calendar information of multiple users (col. 10, line 60 – col. 11, line 10).
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Oh in the Zhong system in order to provide a more efficient display of calendar information.
Furthermore, Zhong does not teach sending, by the one or more processors, to the client device, instructions to cause the images to be displayed within the electronic message.
However, Moore teaches sending, by the one or more processors, to the client device, instructions to cause the images to be displayed within the electronic message (once the graphical representation of the organizer’s selected tentative time periods and/or calendar availability have been included in the electronic message, it is sent to one or more recipients. A recipient opens the electronic message and the graphical representation of the organizer’s selection of tentative time periods for a new meeting or event and/or the organizer’s calendar availability is displayed; Fig. 15, [0084]-[0085], [0170]).
It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate displaying images depicting calendar information in an e-mail to Zhong because Zhong discloses displaying calendar information in an email message ([0052]) and Moore suggests displaying images depicting calendar information in an e-mail ([0170]).
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Moore in the Zhong system in order to provide a more efficient display of calendar information.
With respect to claim 32, Zhong as modified teaches the method of claim 31. Zhong further teaches comprising: determining, by the one or more processors, that the client device is accessing the electronic message; and receiving, by the one or more processors, the request in response to the electronic message being accessed by the client device (timeslot recipient system 184 allows a user to receive a timeslot email message, sent by another user, and to interact (request) with it. Timeslot option display logic 208 illustratively displays the timeslot options (first calendar information) that were populated into the timeslot email message by the sender. Calendar display logic 210 illustratively accesses the scheduling or calendar system 136 for the recipient and displays the selectable timeslot options in the received email, relative to the user’s calendar (second calendar information), so that the user can see where those timeslot options fit in his or her calendar; Figs. 1-2 and 4, [0031], [0050]-[0052]).
With respect to claim 33, Zhong as modified teaches the method of claim 31. Zhong further teaches comprising: extracting, by the one or more processors, from the request, information about the recipient and an identifier indicative of the first calendar information; retrieving, by the one or more processors, the first calendar information based on the identifier indicative of the first calendar information; and identifying, by the one or more processors, the second calendar information using the information about the recipient (timeslot recipient system 184 allows a user to receive a timeslot email message, sent by another user, and to interact (request) with it. Timeslot option display logic 208 illustratively displays the timeslot options (first calendar information) that were populated into the timeslot email message by the sender. Calendar display logic 210 illustratively accesses the scheduling or calendar system 136 for the recipient and displays the selectable timeslot options in the received email, relative to the user’s calendar (second calendar information), so that the user can see where those timeslot options fit in his or her calendar. A timeslot email message has a particular identifier associated with it. When the email system that sent the message receives a response, it knows, from the identifier, that this is a response to a timeslot email message and triggers a response processing. The response is parsed to identify which, if any, of the timeslot options has been selected by the recipient in the timeslot email message response; Figs. 1-2 and 4, [0031], [0050]-[0052], [0063]-[0065]).
With respect to claim 34, Zhong as modified teaches the method of claim 31. Zhong further teaches wherein retrieving the first calendar information comprises: retrieving, by the one or more processors, a plurality of time slots within a time duration, wherein the plurality of time slots comprise at least one of: one or more time slots indicating availability of the sender, one or more time slots proposed by the sender, or one or more time slots during which the sender is unavailable (free timeslot display generator logic 200 generates a display indicative of free timeslots so they can be selected by the user for inclusion in an email message being composed, and free timeslot detector logic 202 detects when the user selects any of the free timeslots to be included in the email message. Email population logic 204 then populates those selected timeslots into the message content of the email message, as selectable timeslot options that can be selected by a recipient of the email message; Figs. 1-3, 3A, 3B, 4, 4A and 4B, [0030]-[0031], [0042], [0044]-[0045], [0050]-[0052], [0054], [0057]).
With respect to claim 35, Zhong as modified teaches the method of claim 31. Zhong further teaches comprising: providing, by the one or more processors, a user interface for the sender to enter at least one of: one or more calendars of the sender, a time duration, or a plurality of time slots within the time duration; and receiving, by the one or more processors, via the user interface, a selection of the at least one of: the one or more calendars of the sender, the time duration, or the plurality of time slots within the time duration (free timeslot display generator logic 200 generates a display indicative of free timeslots so they can be selected by the user for inclusion in an email message being composed, and free timeslot detector logic 202 detects when the user selects any of the free timeslots to be included in the email message. Email population logic 204 then populates those selected timeslots into the message content of the email message, as selectable timeslot options that can be selected by a recipient of the email message; Figs. 1-3, 3A, 3B, 4, 4A and 4B, [0030]-[0031], [0042], [0044]-[0045], [0050]-[0052], [0054], [0057]).
With respect to claim 36, Zhong as modified teaches the method of claim 31. Oh further teaches comprising: determining that the request comprises a flag indicating that the images are to include one or more first images associated with the first calendar information of and one or more second images associated with the second calendar information (a first calendar entry is received from a first user and a second calendar entry is received from a second user. A request is received from the second user for a display of calendar information and a display of the second user’s calendar information is provided to the second user, including the first and second calendar entries. Calendar entries can be displayed graphically through a user interface; Fig. 4, col. 4, lines 41-54, col. 10, line 60 – col. 11, line 10).
It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate generating and displaying calendar information of multiple users to Zhong because Zhong discloses displaying calendar information in an email message ([0052]) and Oh suggests generating and displaying calendar information of multiple users (col. 10, line 60 – col. 11, line 10).
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Oh in the Zhong system in order to provide a more efficient display of calendar information.
With respect to claim 37, Zhong as modified teaches the method of claim 31. Moore further teaches comprising: providing, by the one or more processors, an image map to the client device to display over the images, wherein the image map comprises a plurality of map slices each associated with a corresponding time slot of a plurality of time slots depicted by the images and including resource identifiers indicative of the corresponding time slot (graphical representation of the user’s selection of tentative time periods and/or availability may include HTML (resource identifiers) that references remotely stored content. The graphical representation of the user’s availability includes an image map overlay. The image map overlay may allow the recipient to interact with the graphical representation when certain portions of the graphical representation are clicked. For example, a recipient may be able to click on a time period tentatively selected by the organizer in order to confirm a meeting at that particular time period; Figs. 14-15, [0162]); detecting, by the one or more processors, a selection of a time slot of the plurality of time slots; receiving, by the one or more processors, a resource identifier associated with a first image of the images associated with the time slot; and sending, based on the time slot indicated by the resource identifier, a response message to the client device (the graphical representation may provide the recipient with the ability to click on one of the tentative time periods in order to select and confirm one of the time periods for the meeting or event suggested by the organizer. When the recipient confirms a particular time period, a message or other confirmation may be sent back to the organizer or the organizer's electronic communication and/or calendar system indicating that one of the tentative time periods has been confirmed. A new calendar entry can then be created in the organizer's calendar and any previously selected tentative time periods cleared. At the same time, a calendar invite may be sent to the recipient who confirmed said time period. A confirmation message may be sent to the organizer confirming the selection of a time period for the creation of a new calendar entry when the recipient clicks on the area of the graphical representation representing one of the tentative time periods selected by the user; Figs. 14-18, [0085], [0162], [0175]).
It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate displaying an image map depicting calendar information in an e-mail to Zhong because Zhong discloses displaying calendar information in an email message ([0052]) and Moore suggests displaying an image map depicting calendar information in an e-mail ([0162]).
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Moore in the Zhong system in order to provide a more efficient display and selection of calendar information.
With respect to claim 38, Zhong as modified teaches the method of claim 37. Moore further teaches comprising: generating, by the one or more processors, the response message comprising a calendar invite message to be sent to the sender based on the time slot being an available time slot for the sender and the recipient (the graphical representation may provide the recipient with the ability to click on one of the tentative time periods in order to select and confirm one of the time periods for the meeting or event suggested by the organizer. When the recipient confirms a particular time period, a message or other confirmation may be sent back to the organizer or the organizer's electronic communication and/or calendar system indicating that one of the tentative time periods has been confirmed. A new calendar entry can then be created in the organizer's calendar and any previously selected tentative time periods cleared. At the same time, a calendar invite may be sent to the recipient who confirmed said time period. A confirmation message may be sent to the organizer confirming the selection of a time period for the creation of a new calendar entry when the recipient clicks on the area of the graphical representation representing one of the tentative time periods selected by the user; Figs. 14-18, [0085], [0162], [0175]).
It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate generating response messages based on calendar information to Zhong because Zhong discloses displaying calendar information in an email message ([0052]) and Moore suggests generating response messages based on calendar information ([0162]).
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Moore in the Zhong system in order to provide a more efficient event scheduling.
The limitations of claim 40 are rejected in the analysis of claim 31 above and this claim is rejected on that basis. Furthermore, Zhong discloses one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer program instructions (Fig. 8, [0096]) as recited in claim 40.
Claim 39 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhong in view of Oh and Moore, and further in view of “Wang et al.” (US PGPUB 2016/0350719) (Hereinafter Wang).
With respect to claim 39, Zhong as modified teaches the method of claim 37. Zhong does not teach comprising: generating, by the one or more processors, the response message comprising a message indicating that the time slot is unavailable for at least one of the sender or the recipient.
However, Wang teaches comprising: generating, by the one or more processors, the response message comprising a message indicating that the time slot is unavailable for at least one of the sender or the recipient (when a recipient selects an outdated time slot, a live query is performed to a calendar to determine if the underlying time is still available. If the time is not available, a message indicating that the time slot is no longer available is provided; Fig. 13, [0065]).
It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate generating response messages based on calendar information to Zhong because Zhong discloses displaying dynamic calendar information in an email message ([0065]) and Wang suggests generating response messages based on calendar information ([0065]).
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Wang in the Zhong system in order to provide a more efficient a more efficient event management and scheduling.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure:
Bank et al. US 2009/0157466. Discloses scheduling appointments using email messages.
Rosenberg et al. US 2008/0034047. Discloses embedding a timeline bar within an email application.
Razavian et al. US 2016/0366079. Discloses scheduling events using email messages.
Gray. US 2014/0229560. Discloses arranging meetings using messages.
Loring et al. US 2010/0191566. Discloses scheduling appointments among multiple users.
Bryant et al. US 2018/0032968. Discloses incorporating calendar functionality into electronic messages.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Johnny B Aguiar whose telephone number is (571)272-3563. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday 7:30 am - 5:30 pm EST.
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/JOHNNY B AGUIAR/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2447
December 17, 2025