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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-11 are pending in this application and have been examined in response to application filed on 08/13/2024.
FOREIGN APPLICATIONS: JAPAN 2023-148489 09/13/2023.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because as to claim 1, an “apparatus” is being recited; however, it appears that the apparatus would reasonable be interpreted by one of ordinary skill in the art as software per se. After the word apparatus, different controlling “units” are disclosed, however the disclosed “units” do not provide any hardware information that regards the apparatus. It appears that such would reasonable be interpreted the “units” as representative of the software which causes the functions to occur.
Claims 2-9 are rejected similarly because they do not include any hardware devices associated with the apparatus.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5, and 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being unpatentable by Park, (US 2023/0086055 A1).
As to INDEPENDENT claim 1, Park discloses an information processing apparatus comprising: a display control unit configured to display, in an online meeting in which a plurality of users participate by using a plurality of user terminals connected through a network, an icon display area in each of the user terminals, the icon display area displaying a list of an icon of each of the users ([0064]; an interface for a video conference between participants are displayed in video tiles); and
a virtual image generation unit configured to display a virtual image on an icon of at least one of the plurality of users, the virtual image being in common in each of the user terminals (fig.5A; [0065]; a virtual image overlay is displayed over the video tiles).
As to claim 2, Park discloses wherein the virtual image is a virtual object image, and the information processing apparatus further comprises a virtual image control unit configured to move the virtual object image from above an icon in which the virtual object image is displayed onto a different icon, in each of the user terminals (fig.5A; [0065]; the virtual object image moves between users).
As to claim 3, Park discloses, wherein the virtual image control unit is configured to move the virtual object image in accordance with an operation of at least one of the plurality of users (fig.5A; [0065]; the movement of the virtual object image is based on user gestures).
As to claim 4, Park discloses wherein the virtual object image is an object which is recognized from a content of utterances of a user participating in the online meeting ([0060], [0062]; the virtual object can be generated verbally).
As to claim 5, Park discloses a voice control unit configured to reproduce, in a user terminal of a user having an icon in which the virtual object image is displayed, a voice associated with the virtual object image ([0060], [0062]; the virtual object can be generated verbally.
As to INDEPENDENT claim 10 is rejected under the same rationale addressed in the rejection of claim 1 above.
As to INDEPENDENT claim 11 is rejected under the same rationale addressed in the rejection of claim 1 above.
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 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park in view of Libin (US 11,539,918 B1).
As to claim 8, Park discloses wherein the virtual image generation unit is configured to display the virtual image on an icon of at least one of the plurality of users based on a situation of …of the users participating in the online meeting ([0062]; the virtual object displays on different user icons based on user inputs). Park does not expressly disclose …utterances…
In the same field of endeavor, Libin discloses voice gesturing (col.7, l50-55; voice commands for controlling virtual objects are disclosed).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teaching of Park and Libin before him prior to the effective filling date, to modify the collaborative user interface taught by Park to include voice commands taught by Libin with the motivation being to provide users with multiple ways to perform human-machine interfacing.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-7 and 9 is 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HAOSHIAN SHIH whose telephone number is (571)270-1257. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, FRED EHICHIOYA can be reached at (571) 272-4034. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HAOSHIAN SHIH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2179
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