DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d) to PCT Patent Application No. CN202211300114.9, filed on 10/24/2022. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) filed on 10/28/2024, 3/24/2025 and 12/3/2025 have been considered.
Status of Claims
Applicant’s communications filed on 10/28/2024 have been considered.
Claims 1-15 and 17 have been amended.
Claims 16 and 18 have been canceled herein.
Claims 19-22 are newly added.
Claims 1-15, 17 and 19-22 are currently pending and have been examined.
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.
Claims 1-15, 17 and 19-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claims recite an abstract idea. The judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception.
Under Step 1 of the Subject Matter Eligibility Test for Products and Processes, the claims must be directed to one of the four statutory categories. See MPEP 2106.03. Claims 1-15 are directed towards a process. Claims 17 and 20-21 are directed towards a machine. Claim 22 is directed towards a manufacture. Therefore, claims 1-15, 17 and 19-22 are directed to one of the four statutory categories (Step 1: YES, regarding claims 1-15, 17 and 19-22).
Under Step 2A of the MPEP, it is determined whether the claims are directed to a judicially recognized exception. See MPEP 2106.04. Step 2A is a two-prong inquiry.
Under Prong 1, it is determined whether the claim recites a judicial exception. In determining whether the claims are directed to a judicial exception, the claims are analyzed to evaluate whether the claims recite a judicial exception.
Taking Claim 17 as representative, claim 17 recites limitations that fall within the certain methods of organizing human activity groupings of abstract ideas, including:
obtaining a product introduction audio of at least one product associated with a target book, the product being associated with book content of the target book, and the product comprising a physical product and/or a service item;
during playing of audio content of the target book, interluding a product introduction audio of a target product associated with book content that is played;
in response to a target trigger operation, presenting product information of the target product.
Claims 1 and 22 recite the same limitations believed to be abstract as recited in claim 17. Claim 1 further recites a method for presenting information.
Claim 17, as exemplary, recites the abstract idea of presenting product information. These recited limitations fall within the "Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activities" Grouping of abstract ideas as it relates to commercial interactions of sales activities or behaviors. Accordingly, the claim recites an abstract idea. See MPEP 2106.04.
Accordingly, under Prong One of Step 2A of the Alice/Mayo test, claims 1, 17 and 22 recite an abstract idea (Step 2A, Prong One: YES).
Under Prong 2, it is determined whether the claim recites additional elements that integrate the exception into a practical application of the exception.
Claim 17 recites additional elements beyond the judicial exception(s), including a computer device, comprising: a processor and a memory storing machine-readable instructions executable by the processor, the processor being configured to execute the machine-readable instructions stored in the memory, and when the machine-readable instructions are executed by the processor, the processor performs a method. Claim 1 does not recite any additional elements beyond the judicial exception. Claim 22 additionally recites a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, wherein a computer program is stored on the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program is run by a computer device, the computer device performs a method.
These additional elements are described at a high level in Applicant’s specification without any meaningful detail about their structure or configuration. As such, these computer-related limitations are not found to be sufficient to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. Claims 1, 17 and 22 specifying that the abstract idea of presenting product information is executed in a computer environment merely indicates a field of use in which to apply the abstract idea because this requirement merely limits the claims to the computer field, i.e., to execution on a generic computer. As such, under Prong Two of Step 2A of the Alice/Mayo test, when considered both individually and as a whole, the limitations of claims 1, 17 and 22 are not indicative of integration into a practical application (Step 2A, Prong Two: NO).
Since claims 1, 17 and 22 recite an abstract idea and fail to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application, claims 1, 17 and 22 are “directed to” an abstract idea (Step 2A: YES). Accordingly, the judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application.
Next, under Step 2B, the instant claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because, as discussed above, the additional elements of a computer device, comprising: a processor and a memory storing machine-readable instructions executable by the processor, the processor being configured to execute the machine-readable instructions stored in the memory, and when the machine-readable instructions are executed by the processor, the processor performs a method; and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, wherein a computer program is stored on the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program is run by a computer device, the computer device performs a method amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. For the same reason these elements are not sufficient to provide an inventive concept. Therefore when considering the additional elements alone, and in combination, there is no inventive concept in the claim, and thus the claim is not patent eligible (Step 2B: NO).
Dependent claims 2-5, 13-14 and 19-20, when analyzed as a whole, are held to be patent ineligible under 35 U.S.C. 101 because they do not add “significantly more” to the abstract idea. As for dependent claims 2-5, 13-14 and 19-20, these claims recite limitations that further define the same abstract idea noted in independent claims 1, 17 and 22, and do not recite any additional elements other than what is disclosed in independent claims 1, 17 and 22. Therefore, claims 2-5, 13-14 and 19-20, and 17-18 are considered patent ineligible for the reasons given above.
As for dependent claims 6-12, 15 and 21, these claims recite limitations that further define the abstract idea noted in independent claims 1, 17 and 22. Additionally, they recite the following additional limitations:
wherein the consumption conversion rate corresponding to the product is related to at least one of reading popularity corresponding to book content associated with the product, an intrinsic consumption attribute of the product, and a playback environment in which audio content of a target book associated with the product is played;
performing speech synthesis processing on the product information corresponding to each of the at least one product;
wherein the product information of the product comprises… multimedia content information associated with the product, wherein the multimedia content information is determined based on a multimedia resource;
performing audio recording on the filled product information template by using the target character audio;
updating the product introduction audio with audio content… to obtain an updated product introduction audio;
presenting the product information of the target product in a first region of an audio playback page; and
wherein the supplementary presenting information corresponding to the associated presenting information includes: multimedia explanation content…; or multimedia evaluation content.
The additional elements of a playback environment; performing speech synthesis processing; multimedia content information… based on a multimedia resource; performing audio recording; updating the product introduction with audio content… to obtain an updated product introduction audio; an audio playback page; and multimedia explanation content… or multimedia evaluation content are all recited at a high level of generality such that they amount to no more than instructions to apply the judicial exception in a generic technological environment. Even in combination, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application and do not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea itself. Accordingly, under the Alice/Mayo test, claims 1-15, 17 and 19-22 are ineligible.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5, 12, 17, 19-20 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by U.S Patent Application No. 2012/0151351 A1 to Kilroy et al., hereinafter Kilroy.
Regarding Claim 1, Kilroy discloses A method for presenting information, comprising ([0068] targeted advertising based on ebook content):
obtaining a product introduction audio of at least one product associated with a target book, the product being associated with book content of the target book, and the product comprising a physical product and/or a service item ([0044] depicted advertisements 510, 512, 514 could be targeted, among other ways, according to ebook content, which could include content evidenced as being accessed by an online ebook reader a time of serving of the advertisement; [0083] if, through a single chapter or subject, keywords and tags suggest showing an advertisement relating to a particular keyword, then the system may detect this and one or more advertisements may be triggered that tail into this keyword… see [0043] the advertisement may be an audio advertisement… see [0077] if content being accessed includes a character enjoying a relaxing cup of hot tea, advertisements could be provided relating to that item, or relaxing drinks or other comfort food products, etc);
during playing of audio content of the target book, interluding a product introduction audio of a target product associated with book content that is played ([0058] advertisements may be inserted into the ebook in a dynamic fashion, such as online and based on real-time targeting based on ebook reading, including a chapter or page being accessed by the user; [0098-0100] providing advertisements based on a portion of an ebook having just been read by a user; [0117] some readers a user a read-along feature of a book to have the book read out-loud to them, such as through an audio speaker or headphones. This can be used in targeting advertisements such as audio advertisements… see [0043] the advertisements can be audio advertisements);
in response to a target trigger operation, presenting product information of the target product ([0071] advertisements allow readers to visit a site or blog associated with accessed content and also associated with or including advertising associated with the advertiser; [0107] As one reads an ebook, for example, he or she will be reading a word in a sentence, in a paragraph, in a chapter, in a book of a certain genre. So, as the user moves through the reader media, and may us zoom, font enlarge, scroll, select certain pages, etc. the system can use this to help determine the mindset the reader, such as by considering the likely emotional impact of the sentence the user is reading. This, in turn, can be used in advertisement (or other content) targeting).
Regarding Claim 2, Kilroy teaches the limitations of claim 1.
Kilroy further discloses wherein the during playing of audio content of the target book, interluding a product introduction audio of a target product associated with book content that is played comprises: during the playing of the audio content of the target book, in response to currently played content being a target chapter or a target paragraph in the target book, interluding a product introduction audio corresponding to a target product associated with the target chapter or the target paragraph ([0044] depicted advertisements 510, 512, 514 could be targeted, among other ways, according to ebook content, which could include content evidenced as being accessed by an online ebook reader a time of serving of the advertisement, including the accessed paragraph or chapter; [0058] advertisements may be inserted into the ebook in a dynamic fashion, such as online and based on real-time targeting based on ebook reading, including a chapter or page being accessed by the user),
wherein the target chapter and the target paragraph comprise keyword information associated with the target product ([0080] keywords (which can be words or terms of ebook content, or associated with the ebook or portions thereof, etc.) and tags are utilized, and categories of such, and detected patterns and can trigger advertising associated with the keywords and tags; [0083] if, through a single chapter or subject, keywords and tags suggest showing an advertisement relating to a particular keyword, then the system may detect this and one or more advertisements may be triggered that tail into this keyword).
Regarding Claim 3, Kilroy teaches the limitations of claim 2.
Kilroy further discloses wherein the in response to currently played content being a target chapter or a target paragraph in the target book, interluding a product introduction audio corresponding to a target product associated with the target chapter or the target paragraph comprises: in response to currently played content being a target chapter in the target book, after the target chapter is played, and before a next chapter of the target chapter is played, interluding the product introduction audio of the target product associated with the target chapter ([0068] advertisements targeted based on ebook content include being targeted based on parameters relating to various levels of organization of the book associated accessed content, including chapters; [0070] targeting could be based on a topic or mood associated with content at a more granular level, such as the particular chapter; [0121] after each chapter read, the system can show the most favored quote of the chapter that was submitted by all readers that read the book, or all readers in a user's social network, or a summary of the chapter. This can be sponsored by an advertiser who has a interest in getting a product or service in front of a reader who has just experienced a section of the ebook… see [0107] advertisements target the different levels of specific content being just read, like a chapter in a book); or
in response to currently played content being the target paragraph in the target book, after the target paragraph is played, and before a next paragraph of the target paragraph is played, interluding the product introduction audio of the target product associated with the target paragraph ([0068] advertisements targeted based on ebook content include being targeted based on parameters relating to various levels of organization of the book associated accessed content, including paragraphs; [0070] targeting could be based on a topic or mood associated with content at a more granular level, such as the particular paragraph… see [0107] advertisements target the different levels of specific content being just read, like a paragraph in a book).
Regarding Claim 4, Kilroy teaches the limitations of claim 2.
Kilroy further discloses wherein the in response to currently played content being a target chapter or a target paragraph in the target book, interluding a product introduction audio corresponding to a target product associated with the target chapter or the target paragraph comprises: in response to currently played content being the target chapter in the target book, interluding the product introduction audio of the target product associated with the target chapter based on paragraph position information of an entity keyword associated with the target product in the target chapter ([0107] advertisements target the different levels of specific content being just read… as one reads an ebook, he or she will be reading word in a paragraph, in a chapter, etc… the reading velocity can be used to determine or help determine reading position in the ebook… many reader devices offer the ability to have an audio read-aloud from the ebook. This can also be used to pin-point the position of user… see [0070] targeting could be based on a topic or mood associated with the title of the book as well as a topic or mood associated with content at a more granular level, such as the particular chapter, or even paragraph or sentence; [0083] if, through a single chapter or subject, keywords and tags suggest showing an advertisement relating to a particular keyword, then the system may detect this and one or more advertisements may be triggered that tail into this keyword); or
in response to currently played content being the target paragraph in the target book, interluding the product introduction audio of the target product associated with the target chapter based on sentence position information of the entity keyword associated with the target product in the target paragraph ([0107] advertisements target the different levels of specific content being just read… as one reads an ebook, he or she will be reading word in a paragraph, in a chapter, etc… the reading velocity can be used to determine or help determine reading position in the ebook… many reader devices offer the ability to have an audio read-aloud from the ebook. This can also be used to pin-point the position of user… see [0070] targeting could be based on a topic or mood associated with the title of the book as well as a topic or mood associated with content at a more granular level, such as the particular chapter, or even paragraph or sentence).
Regarding Claim 5, Kilroy teaches the limitations of claim 1.
Kilroy further discloses wherein the product associated with book content of the target book is determined by: extracting an entity keyword from the book content of the target book, and determining a plurality of products matching the entity keyword from a predetermined product library ([0080] keywords (which can be words or terms of ebook content, or associated with the ebook or portions thereof, etc.) and tags are utilized, and categories of such, and detected patterns and can trigger advertising associated with the keywords and tags; [0083] if, through a single chapter or subject, keywords and tags suggest showing an advertisement relating to a particular keyword, then the system may detect this and one or more advertisements may be triggered that tail into this keyword; [0084] For example, if, through multiple chapters or subjects that follow each other, it is suggested that there is a certain mood and tone that falls under one category, such as vacations, then the system will detect this pattern and match it to a context… see [0052][0099] advertisement info is stored in a database 802);
selecting at least one product from the plurality of products as the product associated with the book content of the target book ([0083] if, through a single chapter or subject, keywords and tags suggest showing an advertisement relating to a particular keyword, then the system may detect this and one or more advertisements may be triggered that tail into this keyword; [0084] Using the ebook's mood and emotions plus the detected context may trigger advertisements that provide relevant subject matter, such as advertisements that show a destination for a vacation).
Regarding Claim 12, Kilroy teaches the limitations of claim 1.
Kilroy further discloses wherein the in response to a target trigger operation, presenting product information of the target product comprises: in response to the target trigger operation, determining the target product indicated by the target trigger operation ([0044] depicted advertisements 510, 512, 514 could be targeted according to ebook content, which could include content evidenced as being accessed by an online ebook reader a time of serving of the advertisement, including the accessed term, as well as specific topical and referenced topics; [0100] the ebook reader 1302 includes functionality for detecting the portion of the ebook being read, which is then further utilized for advertisement targeting), and
presenting the product information of the target product in a first region of an audio playback page ([0071] at the bottom of a page, an advertisement could be presented that suggests or recommends to an ebook reader a previous or the next book in the series; [0117] some readers use a read-along feature of a book to have the book read out-loud to them, such as through an audio speaker or headphones. This can be used in targeting advertisements such as video and audio advertisements).
Claim 17 is directed to a computer device. Claim 17 recites limitations that are substantially parallel in nature to those addressed above for claim 1 which is directed towards a method. The disclosure of Kilroy teaches the limitations of claim 1 as noted above. Kilroy further discloses A computer device, comprising: a processor and a memory storing machine-readable instructions executable by the processor, the processor being configured to execute the machine-readable instructions stored in the memory, and when the machine-readable instructions are executed by the processor, the processor performs a method (Kilroy: [0024-0025]). Claim 17 is therefore rejected for the reasons set forth above in claim 1 and in this paragraph.
Claim 19 recites a computer device comprising substantially similar limitations as claim 2. The claim is rejected under substantially similar grounds as claim 2.
Claim 20 recites a computer device comprising substantially similar limitations as claim 5. The claim is rejected under substantially similar grounds as claim 5.
Claim 22 is directed to a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Claim 22 recites limitations that are substantially parallel in nature to those addressed above for claim 1 which is directed towards a method. The disclosure of Kilroy teaches the limitations of claim 1 as noted above. Kilroy further discloses A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, wherein a computer program is stored on the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program is run by a computer device, the computer device performs a method for presenting information (Kilroy: [0024-0025]). Claim 22 is therefore rejected for the reasons set forth above in claim 1 and in this paragraph.
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 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kilroy in view of U.S Patent Application No. 2007/0078709 A1 to Rajaram, hereinafter Rajaram.
Regarding Claim 6, Kilroy teaches the limitations of claim 5.
Kilroy does not explicitly disclose wherein the selecting at least one product from the plurality of products comprises: determining the at least one product from the plurality of products based on respective consumption conversion rates corresponding to the plurality of products, wherein a consumption conversion rate corresponding to each product represents a ratio of the product being purchased after being presented; wherein the consumption conversion rate corresponding to the product is related to at least one of reading popularity corresponding to book content associated with the product, an intrinsic consumption attribute of the product, and a playback environment in which audio content of a target book associated with the product is played.
Rajaram, on the other hand, teaches wherein the selecting at least one product from the plurality of products comprises: determining the at least one product from the plurality of products based on respective consumption conversion rates corresponding to the plurality of products, wherein a consumption conversion rate corresponding to each product represents a ratio of the product being purchased after being presented ([0064] Ad arbitration operations 470 may use ad information 445 to score the relevant ads 465 and to generate associations 475 of relevant ads to ad spots; [0082] the score may consider a degree of relevancy of the ad to the audio document (or segment thereof); [0097] Ad scoring reflects an expected cost per impression (e.g., conversion rate or probability… see [0033] a “conversion” occurs when a user clicks on an ad, is referred to the advertisers Web page, and consummates a purchase there before leaving that webpage);
wherein the consumption conversion rate corresponding to the product is related to at least one of reading popularity corresponding to book content associated with the product,
an intrinsic consumption attribute of the product ([0033] a “conversion” occurs when a user clicks on an ad, is referred to the advertisers Web page, and consummates a purchase there before leaving that webpage), and
a playback environment in which audio content of a target book associated with the product is played.
Note: According to the limitation reciting “wherein the consumption conversion rate corresponding to the product is related to at least one of…”, only one of reading popularity, an intrinsic consumption attribute, and a playback environment must be present.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the system, as taught by Kilroy, wherein the selecting at least one product from the plurality of products comprises: determining the at least one product from the plurality of products based on respective consumption conversion rates corresponding to the plurality of products, wherein a consumption conversion rate corresponding to each product represents a ratio of the product being purchased after being presented; wherein the consumption conversion rate corresponding to the product is related to at least one of reading popularity corresponding to book content associated with the product, an intrinsic consumption attribute of the product, and a playback environment in which audio content of a target book associated with the product is played, as taught by Rajaram, since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable. It further would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kilroy, to include the teachings of Rajaram, in order to provide ads delivered with audio content in a manner that maximizes revenue (Rajaram, [0008-0009]).
Claims 7-9, 11 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kilroy in view of U.S Patent No. 10,740,064 B1 to Reddy et al., hereinafter Reddy.
Regarding Claim 7, Kilroy teaches the limitations of claim 1.
Kilroy further discloses wherein the product introduction audio is obtained by: determining product information corresponding to the determined at least one product ([0083] if, through a single chapter or subject, keywords and tags suggest showing an advertisement relating to a particular keyword, then the system may detect this and one or more advertisements may be triggered that tail into this keyword. For example, if advertisements showing love and affection are suggested in this way, then advertisements relating to flowers, food or entertainment may be shown; and
processing the product information corresponding to each of the at least one product, to obtain the product introduction audio corresponding to the product ([0043] a graphical or rich media advertisement 514 is inserted in an area of an ebook page… the advertisement may be an audio advertisement; [0048] based at least in part on the multiple ebook advertising targeting parameters, the reader is targeted with at least one advertisement to be presented to the reader at least in part via the ebook; [0084] Using the ebook's mood and emotions plus the detected context may trigger advertisements that provide relevant subject matter; [0117] some readers a user a read-along feature of a book to have the book read out-loud to them, such as through an audio speaker or headphones. This can be used in targeting advertisements such as audio advertisements);
But does not explicitly disclose performing speech synthesis processing on product information to obtain audio.
Reddy, on the other hand, teaches performing speech synthesis processing on information to obtain audio ([Col 3 Ln 16-37] a service provider 106 may populate a selected template 114 with attributes associated with one or more products based, where the selection of a product of interest to the user 102 is made based on a type of content consumed by the user device; [Col 6 Ln 35-58] a dynamic content may first be generated in a text format. In this example, the dynamic content may then be converted into an audio format so that it can be consumed by the user. To do this, the conversion module 214 may use one or more text to speech synthesis applications; [Col 11 Ln 25-41] converting the populated template from a text format to an audio format may involve the use of speech synthesis techniques).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the system, as taught by Kilroy, performing speech synthesis processing on information to obtain audio, as taught by Reddy, since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable. It further would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kilroy, to include the teachings of Reddy, in order to provide targeted advertisements to consumers in the digital audio space (Reddy, [Col 1 Ln 5-20]).
Regarding Claim 8, Kilroy and Reddy teach the limitations of claim 7.
Kilroy does not explicitly disclose wherein the product information of the product comprises at least one of the following: description information of the product in the product library, or multimedia content information associated with the product, wherein the multimedia content information is determined based on a multimedia resource associated with a product source to which the product belongs.
Reddy, on the other hand, teaches wherein the product information of the product comprises at least one of the following: description information of the product in the product library ([Col 3 Ln 16-37] the service provider 106 may maintain a product catalog which includes products (e.g., goods and/or services) available for purchase. When populating the template 114, the service provider 106 may, for each data field in the template to be populated, identify an attribute of a product which corresponds to the data field and populate the data field with a value stored in relation to that attribute), or
multimedia content information associated with the product, wherein the multimedia content information is determined based on a multimedia resource associated with a product source to which the product belongs ([Col 4 Ln 4-25] media content may include any visual or audio content capable of being presented on the user device 104 in order to be consumed by the user 102. Some examples of media content may include movies, games, reading material (e.g., a web page or an ebook), music, an audio book, etc… media content may be hosted and managed by a content provider, where the user device 104 may be used to access streaming media content provided by a streaming media content provider).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the system, as taught by Kilroy, wherein the product information of the product comprises at least one of the following: description information of the product in the product library, or multimedia content information associated with the product, wherein the multimedia content information is determined based on a multimedia resource associated with a product source to which the product belongs, as taught by Reddy, for the same reasons discussed above with respect to claim 7.
Regarding Claim 9, Kilroy and Reddy teach the limitations of claim 7.
Kilroy further discloses wherein the processing on the product information to obtain the product introduction audio comprises: determining a product type corresponding to the product ([0081] a progression over multiple chapters or subjects show that there is a certain mood and tone that falls under a particular category, such as vacations, for example, then the system may detect this pattern and match advertising to the context, such as advertising relating to a vacation offer), and
performing the processing to obtain the product introduction audio ([0117] some readers a user a read-along feature of a book to have the book read out-loud to them, such as through an audio speaker or headphones. This can be used in targeting advertisements such as audio advertisements);
But does not explicitly disclose wherein performing the speech synthesis processing on the product information to obtain the audio comprises: determining a product information template corresponding to the product introduction audio of the product type, wherein the product information template comprises a product introduction text corresponding to the product type and at least one reserved fill-in position in the product introduction text to be filled in with the product information; and filling the at least one fill-in position in the product information template with the product information, to obtain a filled product information template, and performing the speech synthesis processing on the filled product information template to obtain the product introduction audio.
Reddy, on the other hand, teaches wherein performing the speech synthesis processing on the product information to obtain the audio comprises: determining a product information template corresponding to the product introduction audio of the product type ([Col 3 Ln 16-37] a template 114 may be selected by the service provider from the plurality of templates 112 based on the product or type of product for which the template is to be populated; [Col 5 Ln 27-52] the selection of a particular template from the plurality of template may be made based on attributes of a product with respect to which the content is to be generated),
wherein the product information template comprises a product introduction text corresponding to the product type and at least one reserved fill-in position in the product introduction text to be filled in with the product information ([Col 2 Ln 58-Col 3 Ln 15] each template may comprise a number of sections, such as an introduction, a product presentation, and a call to action… the template 114 includes a number of data fields to be populated with specific data; see [Fig. 1] depicting the template 114 with empty “fill-in” positions); and
filling the at least one fill-in position in the product information template with the product information, to obtain a filled product information template ([Col 3 Ln 16-37] the service provider 106 may populate the selected template 114 with attributes associated with one or more products… When populating the template 114, the service provider 106 may, for each data field in the template to be populated, identify an attribute of a product which corresponds to the data field and populate the data field with a value stored in relation to that attribute), and
performing the speech synthesis processing on the filled product information template to obtain the product introduction audio ([Col 3 Ln 16-37] a service provider 106 may populate a selected template 114 with attributes associated with one or more products based, where the selection of a product of interest to the user 102 is made based on a type of content consumed by the user device; [Col 6 Ln 35-58] a dynamic content may first be generated in a text format. In this example, the dynamic content may then be converted into an audio format so that it can be consumed by the user. To do this, the conversion module 214 may use one or more text to speech synthesis applications; [Col 11 Ln 25-41] converting the populated template from a text format to an audio format may involve the use of speech synthesis techniques).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the system, as taught by Kilroy, wherein performing the speech synthesis processing on the product information to obtain the audio comprises: determining a product information template corresponding to the product introduction audio of the product type, wherein the product information template comprises a product introduction text corresponding to the product type and at least one reserved fill-in position in the product introduction text to be filled in with the product information; and filling the at least one fill-in position in the product information template with the product information, to obtain a filled product information template, and performing the speech synthesis processing on the filled product information template to obtain the product introduction audio, as taught by Reddy, for the same reasons discussed above with respect to claim 7.
Regarding Claim 11, Kilroy and Reddy teach the limitations of claim 9.
Kilroy further discloses wherein after performing the processing to obtain the product introduction audio, the method further comprises: determining a paragraph of the target book to which an entity keyword associated with the target product belongs ([0058] advertisements may be inserted in a dynamic fashion, such as online and based on real-time targeting, which can include targeting based on ebook reading; [0080] keywords (which can be words or terms of ebook content, or associated with the ebook or portions thereof, etc.) and tags are utilized, and categories of such, and detected patterns and can trigger advertising associated with the keywords and tags; [0107] advertisements target the different levels of specific content being read or just read, like a paragraph in an ebook; [0109] the location of the reader in an ebook, including the sentence, paragraph, chapter, and book itself, can all provide clues to enhance emotional advertisement targeting), and
obtaining the product introduction audio with audio content corresponding to the paragraph, to obtain product introduction audio ([0058] advertisements may be inserted in a dynamic fashion, such as online and based on real-time targeting, which can include targeting based on ebook reading; [0107] As one reads an ebook, for example, he or she will be reading a word in a sentence, in a paragraph, in a chapter, in a book of a certain genre. So, as the user moves through the reader media, and may us zoom, font enlarge, scroll, select certain pages, etc. the system can use this to help determine the mindset the reader, such as by considering the likely emotional impact of the sentence the user is reading. This, in turn, can be used in advertisement (or other content) targeting);
But does not explicitly disclose wherein after the performing speech synthesis processing on the filled product information template to obtain the product introduction audio, the method further comprises: updating the product introduction audio, to obtain an updated product introduction audio.
Reddy, on the other hand, discloses wherein after the performing speech synthesis processing on the filled product information template to obtain the product introduction audio, the method further comprises: updating the product introduction audio, to obtain an updated product introduction audio ([Col 13 Ln 52-63] a populated template 502 may be subjected to a speech synthesizer application to convert the text in the populated template 502 to a rough speech soundbite 504; [Col 14 Ln 13-34] the service provider identifies gaps in the generated rough speech soundbite 504 and removes periods of silence to generate a cleaned speech soundbite 512… the cleaned speech soundbite 512 is then combined with a background element 514 to generate a final speech soundbite 516).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the system, as taught by Kilroy, wherein after the performing speech synthesis processing on the filled product information template to obtain the product introduction audio, the method further comprises: updating the product introduction audio, to obtain an updated product introduction audio, as taught by Reddy, for the same reasons discussed above with respect to claim 7.
Claim 21 recites a method comprising substantially similar limitations as claim 7. The claim is rejected under substantially similar grounds as claim 7.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kilroy in view of Reddy, and further in view of U.S Patent Application No. 2022/0351714 A1 to Yang et al., hereinafter Yang.
Regarding Claim 10, Kilroy and Reddy teach the limitations of claim 9.
Kilroy does not explicitly disclose wherein the performing speech synthesis processing on the filled product information template to obtain the product introduction audio comprises: in response to the audio content of the target book including audio content recorded based on at least one character audio, determining, from the at least one character audio, target character audio used for recording the product introduction audio; and performing audio recording on the filled product information template by using the target character audio, to obtain the product introduction audio.
Reddy, on the other hand, teaches wherein the performing speech synthesis processing on the filled product information template to obtain the product introduction audio comprises: determining audio used for recording the product introduction audio ([Col 6 Ln 35-58] in the scenario that a user is consuming audio media content, a dynamic content may first be generated in a text format…the dynamic content may then be converted into an audio format so that it can be consumed by the user. To do this, the conversion module 214 may use one or more text to speech synthesis applications); and
performing audio recording on the filled product information template to obtain the product introduction audio ([Col 3 Ln 16-37] a service provider 106 may populate a selected template 114 with attributes associated with one or more products; [Col 13 Ln 53-63] a populated template 502 may be subjected to a speech synthesizer application to convert the text in the populated template 502 to a rough speech soundbite 504).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the system, as taught by Kilroy, wherein the performing speech synthesis processing on the filled product information template to obtain the product introduction audio comprises: determining audio used for recording the product introduction audio; and performing audio recording on the filled product information template to obtain the product introduction audio, as taught by Reddy, for the same reasons discussed above with respect to claim 7.
Yang, on the other hand, discloses in response to the audio content of the target book including audio content recorded based on at least one character audio, determining, from the at least one character audio, target character audio ([0142] a speech synthesis apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may be an audio book, and the audio book may store text, which is a speech synthesis target, in a memory. This text is referred to as a script; [0145] AI processing may be a process of analyzing a script of the TTS device 10 to set the most suitable speakers respectively corresponding to multiple characters present in the script; [0213] A speaker setting unit 177 may set an individual speaker for each character included in a script. The speaker setting unit 177 may be integrated into a TTS module 170 or may be integrated as a part of a pre-processor 171 or a speech synthesis engine 172. The speaker setting unit 177 synthesizes texts corresponding to multiple characters with a voice of a set speaker using metadata corresponding to a speaker profile); and
performing audio recording by using the target character audio ([0222] The speech synthesis unit 105 may perform speech synthesis based on a speaker for each character set by the speaker setting unit 104; [0234] The speech synthesis unit synthesizes a speech of a specific character with a voice of a specific speaker by reflecting speaker information set in the script; [0235] The processor 140 may output the speech synthetic result to the acoustic output unit… see [0152] recording is performed via the AI processor 21).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the system, as taught by Kilroy and Reddy, in response to the audio content of the target book including audio content recorded based on at least one character audio, determining, from the at least one character audio, target character audio, and performing audio recording by using the target character audio, as taught by Yang, since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable. It further would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kilroy and Reddy, to include the teachings of Yang, in order to customize an audiobook having multiple characters to a voice desired by a user, as well as provide TTS that captures the intent or emotion of a user (Yang, [0027-0032]).
Claims 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kilroy in view of U.S Patent Application No. 2011/0066498 A1 to Wojcicki et al., hereinafter Wojcicki.
Regarding Claim 13, Kilroy teaches the limitations of claim 12.
Kilroy further discloses further comprising: determining associated presenting information of the target product ([0071] an advertisement could be presented that suggests or recommends to an ebook reader a previous or the next book in the series… advertisements can encourage further reader engagement, such as by providing the reader with a tool to visit a site associated with accessed content and also including advertising associated with the advertiser),
presenting the associated presenting information of the target product in a second region associated with the first region ([0071] advertisements can encourage further reader engagement, such as by providing the reader with a tool to visit a site associated with accessed content and also including advertising associated with the advertiser);
But does not explicitly disclose the associated presenting information including at least one of an associated product associated with the target product and a sales channel of the target product, the associated product includes a first product other than the target product in a suite product to which the target product belongs or a second product in a same category as the target product.
Wojcicki, on the other hand, teaches the associated presenting information including at least one of an associated product associated with the target product and a sales channel of the target product ([0026] the advertisement 106 may include merchant information such as graphics and text, and one or more merchant page links 109 that provide access to merchant home pages and/or to alternative, merchant-based landing pages; [0054] clicking on the merchant page link 109 for a particular coffee shop may redirect the user to the coffee shop's corresponding alternative landing page 112, where the user may view a map 113a, user reviews 113b, merchant content 113c),
the associated product includes a first product other than the target product in a suite product to which the target product belongs or a second product in a same category as the target product.
Note: Only one of an associated product associated with the target product and a sales channel of the target product must be present, according to the limitation reciting “the associated presenting information including at least one of…”. Wojcicki has been relied upon to teach the associated presenting information including a sales channel of the target product.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the invention, as taught by Kilroy, the associated presenting information including at least one of an associated product associated with the target product and a sales channel of the target product, the associated product includes a first product other than the target product in a suite product to which the target product belongs or a second product in a same category as the target product, as taught by Wojcicki, since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable. It further would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kilroy, to provide multiple avenues in which advertisers can interact with customers, as well as permit advertisers to better pool their customer service resources (Wojcicki, [0005-0007]).
Regarding Claim 14, Kilroy and Wojcicki teach the limitations of claim 13.
Kilroy further discloses further comprising: in response to a trigger operation on the associated presenting information, obtaining supplementary presenting information corresponding to the associated presenting information ([0071] advertisements could user various techniques to encourage further reader engagement, such as providing the reader with tools to visit a site associated with accessed content and also including advertising associated with the advertiser), and
presenting the supplementary presenting information, the supplementary presenting information being configured to supplement for the associated presenting information ([0071] advertisements could user various techniques to encourage further reader engagement, such as providing the reader with tools to visit a site associated with accessed content and also including advertising associated with the advertiser);
But does not explicitly disclose the supplementary presenting information being configured to explain the associated presenting information.
Wojcicki, on the other hand, teaches the supplementary presenting information being configured to explain the associated presenting information ([0054] clicking on the merchant page link 109 for a particular coffee shop may redirect the user to the coffee shop's corresponding alternative landing page 112, where the user may view a map 113a, user reviews 113b, merchant content 113c).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the invention, as taught by Kilroy, the supplementary presenting information being configured to explain the associated presenting information, as taught by Wojcicki, for the same reasons discussed above with respect to claim 13.
Regarding Claim 15, Kilroy and Wojcicki teach the limitations of claim 13.
Kilroy does not explicitly disclose wherein in response to the associated presenting information including the first product, the supplementary presenting information corresponding to the associated presenting information includes: multimedia explanation content corresponding to the suite product to which the target product and the first product belong; or in response to the associated presenting information including the second product, the supplementary presenting information corresponding to the associated presenting information includes: multimedia evaluation content corresponding to the target product and/or the second product; or in response to the associated presenting information including a sales channel of the target product, the supplementary presenting information corresponding to the associated presenting information includes at least one of a selling price of the target product in the sales channel and merchant information of a merchant.
Wojcicki, on the other hand, discloses wherein in response to the associated presenting information including the first product, the supplementary presenting information corresponding to the associated presenting information includes: multimedia explanation content corresponding to the suite product to which the target product and the first product belong; or
in response to the associated presenting information including the second product, the supplementary presenting information corresponding to the associated presenting information includes: multimedia evaluation content corresponding to the target product and/or the second product; or
in response to the associated presenting information including a sales channel of the target product, the supplementary presenting information corresponding to the associated presenting information includes at least one of a selling price of the target product in the sales channel and merchant information of a merchant ([0026] the advertisement 106 may include merchant information such as graphics and text, and one or more merchant page links 109 that provide access to merchant home pages and/or to alternative, merchant-based landing pages; [0054] clicking on the merchant page link 109 for a particular coffee shop may redirect the user to the coffee shop's corresponding alternative landing page 112, where the user may view a map 113a, user reviews 113b, merchant content 113c) (Examiner notes that, while only one of a selling price of the target product and merchant information of a merchant must be present to teach the claimed limitations, Wojcicki [0026][0054] has been cited as teaching both).
Note: Claim 15 depends from claim 13, which requires the presence of only one of: 1) the associated presenting information including an associated product associated with the target product; and 2) the associated presenting information including a sales channel of the target product. Similarly, claim 15 only requires the presence of one of the recited limitations, as they are delimited by “or”. The cited combination of Kilroy/Wojcicki has been relied upon to teach the associated presenting information including a sales channel of the target product in claim 13, and accordingly has been further cited to teach the claimed limitations regarding the sales channel in claim 15.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 2011/0131094 A1 to Chuang et al. – systems and methods for adding and displaying advertisement content in an electronic book under particular display conditions.
US 2015/0073923 A1 to Hafeez – systems and methods for providing interactive content annotations and advertisements regarding eBook content.
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/ZACHARY RYAN DONAHUE/Examiner, Art Unit 3689
/VICTORIA E. FRUNZI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3689 2/6/2026