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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The claim 1 recitation of “member terminals, as terminals of the members of the group, configured to create the content and share the created content” is unclear, as it is unknown whether the member terminals themselves should create and share the content, or alternative, the members of the group use the member terminals to create and share the content. Exactly what structure/configuration is sought? Please review/revise/clarify.
The claim 1 recitation of “store and manage, for the group, information on the members of the group and use rights of the members of the group” is unclear, as it is unknown: i) exactly what type of “management” is intended; ii) exact what type of “information” is intended; and iii) exactly what type of “use rights” are intended. Exactly what structure/configuration is sought? Please review/revise/clarify.
The claim 1 recitation of “…that the members are the members of the group” is unclear, as the claim presents no alternative entity to which the members may belong. Does Applicant actually intend to recite, “configured to authenticate members of the group”? Exactly what structure/configuration is sought? Please review/revise/clarify.
The term “a number of” in claim 1 is a relative phrase which renders the claim indefinite. The phrase “a number of” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Claims 2-4 and 6 are rejected as depending from rejected independent claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1-4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0233572 to Healy (“Healy”).
Regarding claim 1, Healy discloses a service system (e.g. interactive display system 100, as shown in fig. 1 and discussed at para. 29) for content (e.g. video data and image data, as discussed at para. 29) sharing (i.e. displaying, as discussed at para. 29) between members (e.g. teachers, students and administrators discussed at para. 37-38) of a group (e.g. a school community- comprising aforementioned teachers, students and administrators) by using a group-only signage device (e.g. interactive display device 110, as shown in fig. 1 and discussed at para. 29), the service system (100) comprising: i) a service server (e.g. remote servers 130 and third party servers 160, together, as shown in fig. 1 and discussed at para. 52) configured to provide (fig. 1 and para. 52) a content sharing service (aforementioned display of video data and image data) between (fig. 1 and para. 52) the members (aforementioned teachers, students and administrators) of the group (aforementioned school community); ii) the group-only signage device (110) having a display panel (e.g. display 310, as shown in fig. 3 and discussed at para. 62) on a front surface (e.g. forward-facing surface shown in figs. 3 and 1) thereof (figs. 3 and 1), being installed in (fig. 33 and para. 26) a place (e.g. school building 3300, as shown fig. 33 and discussed at para. 26 and para. 187) accessible to (note that teachers, students and administrators work and learn inside of schools) the members (aforementioned teachers, students and administrators) of the group (aforementioned school community), and being configured to output (i.e. display, as discussed at para. 29) content (aforementioned video data and image data; note that the student-completed worksheet discussed at para. 164 is such a form of image data) created by (para. 164) the members (aforementioned teachers, students and administrators) of the group (aforementioned school community) to the display panel (310); and iii) member terminals (e.g. connected computing devices 112 and remote computing devices 150, together, as shown in fig. 1 and discussed at para. 51 and 164), as terminals (e.g. tablets, as discussed at para. 51 and 164) of the members (aforementioned teachers, students and administrators) of the group (aforementioned school community), configured to create (para. 164) the content (aforementioned video data and image data, including aforementioned student-completed worksheet) and share (i.e. display, as discussed at para. 29) the created (para. 164) content (aforementioned video data and image data, including aforementioned student-completed worksheet)through (para. 164) the group-only signage device (110), iv) wherein the service server (130 and 160, together) comprises: 1) a group management part (e.g. portion of remote servers accessing user profile data, as discussed at para. 37 and 52) configured to store and manage (para. 37, 52 and 159; also, note that the instant claim is drawn to a service system- not a method of operation of such), for the group (aforementioned school community), information (e.g. profile data discussed at para. 52) on the members (aforementioned teachers, students and administrators) of the group (aforementioned school community) and use rights (e.g. logging in to connected computing devices using said user profile data per para. 37) of the members (aforementioned teachers, students and administrators) of the group (aforementioned school community); 2) an authentication part (e.g. user login interface 2410, as discussed at para. 154) configured to authenticate (para. 37 and 159; also, note that the instant claim is drawn to a service system- not a method of operation of such) that the members (aforementioned teachers, students and administrators) are the members (aforementioned teachers, students and administrators) of the group (aforementioned school community); 3) a right management part (input menu 1110, as shown in fig. 11 and discussed at para. 115) configured to give use rights (per para. 115, input menu 1110 is utilized to select or give a desired connected device the right to display its content on the aforementioned interactive display device 110; also, note that the instant claim is drawn to a service system- not a method of operation of such) to share (i.e. display, as discussed supra) the content (aforementioned video data and image data, including aforementioned student-completed worksheet) through the group-only signage device (110) to the members (aforementioned teachers, students and administrators) authenticated by (para. 37 and 159) the authentication part (2410); and 4) a signage device management part (e.g. one or more networks 115, as shown in fig. 1 and discussed at para. 52) configured to receive (fig. 1 and para. 52; also, note that the instant claim is drawn to a service system- not a method of operation of such) the content (aforementioned video data and image data, including aforementioned student-completed worksheet) created by (para. 164) the member terminals (112 and 150, together), and perform transmission (fig. 1 and para. 52) so that, according to the use rights (aforementioned selection or award of right to display) of the members (aforementioned teachers, students and administrators) of the group (aforementioned school community), the received (fig. 1 and para. 52) content (aforementioned video data and image data, including aforementioned student-completed worksheet) is output to (fig. 1 and para. 52) the group-only signage device (110) of the group (aforementioned school community) to which the members (aforementioned teachers, students and administrators) belong, 5) wherein the authentication part (2410) is configured to process an authentication procedure (note that the instant claim is drawn to a service system- not a method of operation of such) to authenticate the members through at least one authentication method (note that the instant claim is drawn to a service system- not a method of operation of such) selected from the group consisting of scanning a QR code (fig. 24 and para. 154) issued to the group (aforementioned school community), an acceptance signal of a group master, matching to a group member list stored by the group master, inputting authentication information set by the group master, and using the information on the members stored in the group management part, 6) the right management part (1110) is configured to give a right (aforementioned selection or award of right to display; also note that the instant claim is drawn to a service system- not a method of operation of such) to upload (i.e. display, as discussed at para. 29) the content (aforementioned video data and image data, including aforementioned student-completed worksheet) to the group-only signage device (110) of the group (aforementioned school community) only to the members (aforementioned teachers, students and administrators) authenticated by (para. 37 and 159) the authentication part (2410) so that users outside the group (aforementioned school community) are unable to use (per fig. 33, the interactive display devices 110 are all disposed within a school building 3300; note that as such, individuals outside of said school building 3300 will not have access to the interactive display devices 110; also note that the instant claim is drawn to a service system- not a method of operation of such) the group-only signage device (110), 7) wherein the members (aforementioned teachers, students and administrators) of the group (aforementioned school community) consist of the group master (e.g. aforementioned teachers and administrators) and a general member (e.g. aforementioned students), 8) wherein the signage device management part (115) is configured to set or change (para. 52 and 159; also note that the instant claim is drawn to a service system- not a method of operation of such), according to a control signal of the group master, at least one piece of setting information selected from a number of content outputs, an output time, a layout (per para. 52, the one or more networks 115 may facilitate communication between the interactive display device 110 and remote servers 130 to access user profile data and thereby customize the user’s experience while using the interactive display device 110; per para. 159, this user profile data can be used to adjust settings of the interactive display device 110), and background music of the group-only signage device (110), and 9) the group-only signage device (110) is configured to output (i.e. display, as discussed at para. 29) the content (aforementioned video data and image data, including aforementioned student-completed worksheet) created by (para. 164) the members (aforementioned teachers, students and administrators) of the group (aforementioned school community) to enable the members (aforementioned teachers, students and administrators) within the group (aforementioned school community to communicate (e.g. share information) via the content (aforementioned video data and image data, including aforementioned student-completed worksheet) shared (aforementioned displaying) on the group-only signage device (110).
Healy does not disclose each of the aforementioned elements existing within one singular embodiment of the overall service system (100).
However, Healy para. 27 provides that the invention may be embodied in many different forms, and should not be construed as limited to any of the individual embodiments set forth in the reference. Additionally, para.188 provides that features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment.
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine all of the cited elements into one broad embodiment of the invention, in order to provide the benefit of yielding a resultant optimally functional Healy interactive display system 100.
Regarding claim 2, Healy discloses the service system of claim 1, wherein the content (aforementioned video data and image data, including aforementioned student-completed worksheet) output from (i.e. displayed on, as discussed at para. 29) the group-only signage device (110) includes at least one selected from the group consisting of an image (e.g. aforementioned image data), text (e.g. aforementioned student-completed worksheet), and a video (e.g. aforementioned video data).
Healy does not disclose when the content (aforementioned video data and image data, including aforementioned student-completed worksheet) includes text (aforementioned student-completed worksheet), the text (aforementioned student-completed worksheet) is limited to three sentences or less.
However, it has been held that “where the printed matter is not functionally related to the substrate, the printed matter will not distinguish the invention from the prior art in terms of patentability.” See In re Gulack, 703 F.2d 1381, 1385-86, 217 USPQ 401,404 (Fed. Cir. 1983).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide text as desired, in order to provide the benefit of presenting information as desired. Additionally, with regard to the “limited” limitation, note that the instant claim is drawn to a service system- not a method of operation of such.
Regarding claim 3, Healy discloses the service system of claim 1, wherein the group-only signage device (110) is configured to output (i.e. display, as discussed at para. 29) the content (aforementioned video data and image data, including aforementioned student-completed worksheet) created by (para. 164) the members (aforementioned teachers, students and administrators) of the group (aforementioned school community) in order of creation or in order of popularity (note that the Healy interactive displays 110 are physically capable of presenting content when it is selected for display; also note that the instant claim is drawn to a service system- not a method of operation of such), or to operate a display screen of the group-only signage device divided into an area in which the content is output in order of creation and an area in which the content is output in order of popularity.
Regarding claim 4, Healy discloses the service system of claim 1, wherein the service server (130 and 160, together) further comprises a database part (e.g. one or more databases 140, as shown in fig. 1 and discussed at para. 52) configured to store (para. 53) content (aforementioned video data and image data, including aforementioned student-completed worksheet) created by (para. 164) the members (aforementioned teachers, students and administrators) of the group (aforementioned school community), and wherein the signage device management part (115) is configured to receive (fig. 1 and para. 52; also, note that the instant claim is drawn to a service system- not a method of operation of such) the content (aforementioned video data and image data, including aforementioned student-completed worksheet) created by (para. 164) the member terminals (112 and 150, together) and store (para. 53) the content (aforementioned video data and image data, including aforementioned student-completed worksheet) in the database part (140) as content (aforementioned video data and image data, including aforementioned student-completed worksheet) of the group (aforementioned school community) to which the members (aforementioned teachers, students and administrators) belong.
Regarding claim 6, Healy discloses the service system of claim 1, wherein the service server (130 and 160, together) further comprises an editing part (e.g. annotation software discussed at para. 50) configured to provide an editing tool (e.g. annotation overlay 720, as shown in fig. 7 and discussed at para. 90) to the member terminals (112 and 150, together) for creating (para. 164) the content (aforementioned video data and image data, including aforementioned student-completed worksheet), the editing tool (720) including at least one of photograph editing, text editing, and video editing (para. 93), and a preview function for previewing how the created content will look when output to the group-only signage device (note that the instant claim is drawn to a service system- not a software element associated therewith or method of operating such).
Response to Arguments
In view of Applicant’s material amendments to the claims, a further search of the pertinent areas of prior art was executed. Within said search, the aforementioned Healy reference was identified. Accordingly, Applicant’s arguments have been considered, but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new grounds of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN V LEWIS whose telephone number is (571)270-5052. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30AM-5:00PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Daniel J. Troy can be reached at (571) 270-3742. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JUSTIN V LEWIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3637
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