DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to the amendments filed on 04/01/2026.
Claims 7 and 14 are cancelled.
Claims 21-22 have been added.
Claims 1-6, 8-13, and 15-22 are presented for examination.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/29/2026 and 02/27/2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks pg. 7, filed 04/01/2026, with respect to 35 USC 101 abstract idea rejections have been fully considered and are persuasive. The 35 USC 101 abstract idea rejections have been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-6, 8-13, 15-22 in view of 35 USC 103 rejections in Remarks pg. 7-10 filed 04/01/2026 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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 8-10, 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (hereinafter Lin, US 2022/0321376 A1) in view of Hirasawa et al. (hereinafter Hirasawa, US 2025/0118105 A1) further in view of Johari (US 2020/0257432 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Lin discloses A method implemented by a communications monitoring software (Lin: Fig. 6 the software, i.e. instructions 1010, of Fig. 10 by the virtual conference server system 108, para.0103 “For example, the instructions 1010 may cause the machine 1000 to execute any one or more of the methods described herein….The machine 1000, for example, may comprise…any one of a number of server devices forming part of the virtual conference server system 108.”), comprising:
receiving reaction data representing user interactions with user interface reaction controls (Lin: para.0071, Fig. 5 514 reactions interface 514) during video meetings (Lin: para.0071 “ In addition, the virtual space navigation interface 208 provides one or more user-selectable reaction buttons (e.g., via the reactions interface 514) for indicating different reactions to a virtual conference. “ para.0073 “The second client device(s) 604 sends an indication of the selections to the virtual conference server system 108 (operation 612).” The client devices are displayed buttons, and are able to select reactions from these options in reactions interface 514. The reaction data from these selections are sent to the Virtual Conference Server System 108 based on these selections.);
associating each reaction with a respective session of a video meeting (Lin: para.0082 “As noted above, a room may be designed via the virtual space design interface 204 for recording of a virtual conference. An administrator (e.g., presenter, teacher, etc.) may start/manage recordings (e.g., a classroom session) for a room via the virtual space design interface 204.” para.0083 “ The virtual conference server system 108 stores these reaction button-timestamp pairs within the rooms table 310 in association with the recording for the room.” System 108 associated the reaction button-timestamp pairs with a particular recording, i.e. session, for a room.) and
a respective timestamp corresponding to when the each reaction occurred during the respective video meeting (Lin: para.0083 “With respect to block 624, the virtual conference server system 108 is configured to store an indication of each reaction button press together with a timestamp. ” the reactions are stored with a timestamp.);
a conferencing application (Lin: para.0071 “ In addition, the virtual space navigation interface 208 provides one or more user-selectable reaction buttons (e.g., via the reactions interface 514) for indicating different reactions to a virtual conference. “ para.0073 “The second client device(s) 604 sends an indication of the selections to the virtual conference server system 108 (operation 612).” Virtual conference, Fig. 5.)
However while Lin discloses session identifiers in Lin pra.0034 “The session information for each client device 102 may include …together with respective identifiers for the content stream(s)”, and reaction data is stored in association with a particular meeting, i.e. stored with the meeting in para.0083, it does not explicitly disclose associating each reaction with a respective session identifier of a video meeting; and Lin does not explicitly disclose modifying, in a configuration of a conferencing application, at least one of a placement or a size of at least one of the user interface reaction controls based on the reaction data indicating that the at least one of the user interface reaction controls is underused.
Hirasawa discloses associating each reaction with a respective session identifier of a video meeting (Hirasawa: para.0098 “As shown in FIG. 9(B), the reaction DB contains, for each registered presentation, information on a registered online meeting (presentation), including the document ID (presentation ID) and the number of each page of a presentation material. The reaction DB also contains, for each registered participant in an online meeting, information about reaction sensing operations, including the acceptance ID for the each participant, times at which the reaction sensing operations were performed, and reaction sensing operation results (types of reactions).” For each participant, each reaction is stored with the presentation ID, and the reaction that was detected).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Lin with that of Hirasawa in order to incorporate associating each reaction with a respective session identifier of a video meeting.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine because of the expected benefit of improved organization and retrieval of reactions during a presentation (Hirasawa: para.0098, Fig. 12, para.0116).
However Lin-Hirasara does not explicitly disclose modifying, in a configuration of a conferencing application, at least one of a placement or a size of at least one of the user interface reaction controls based on the reaction data indicating that the at least one of the user interface reaction controls is underused.
Johari discloses modifying, in a configuration of a user interface, at least one of a placement or a size of at least one of the application controls based on the usage data indicating that the at least one of the application controls is underused (Johari: para.0032 “This can be accomplished by modifying the icon size of the application icon on the display. For example, icons for more frequently used application are enlarged relative to a standard icon size while icons for less frequently used applications are reduced relative to the standard icon size.” Para.0038 “The layout engine 212 can also change the relative location on the display 206 that the icons for applications are displayed. For example, an icon for the more frequently used Application D appears in a more prominent position than the icons for the less frequently used Application E and Application F.” less frequently used applications are identified, and the icon size is reduced or moved to a less prominent location).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Lin-Hirasara with that of Johari in order to incorporate modifying, in a configuration of a user interface, at least one of a placement or a size of at least one of the application controls based on the usage data indicating that the at least one of the application controls is underused, and apply this concept to the conferencing application, user interface reaction controls, and reaction data that tracks usage as in para.0083-0084 as disclosed in Lin, such that the reaction controls in Lin in Fig. 5 are modified based on usage.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine because of the expected benefit of improved user experience by prioritizing attention to frequently used functions over that of less frequently used ones in an interface (Johari: para.0031-0032).
Regarding Claim 2, Lin-Hirasawa-Johari discloses claim 1 as set forth above.
However While Lin discloses the system categorizing the each reactions to represent particular emotions in para.0072, such as happiness, boredom, applause etc, Lin does not explicitly disclose further comprising: categorizing the each reaction based on predefined types, including positive, neutral, and negative reactions.
Hirasawa discloses further comprising: categorizing the each reaction based on predefined types, including positive, neutral, and negative reactions (Hirasawa: para.0028 “A third aspect of the present disclosure is the system of the second aspect, wherein the server device generates, as the reaction information, level information indicating a percentage of positive or negative reactions exhibited by all the participants.” Para.0052 “The types of reactions consist of reactions indicating a focused state of mind (FC type reaction), a tired state of mind (TR type reaction), a satisfied state of mind (ST type reaction), a dissatisfied state of mind (DSF type reaction), and a questioning state of mind (QN type reaction)” Para.0056 “However, a type of reaction that cannot be classified to any of positive and negative reactions may be defined as a “neutral reaction” and the presentation screen 111 may indicate the respective percentages of the positive, negative, and neutral reactions.” Particular types of reactions are categorized in to positive neutral and negative reactions to the content.).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Lin with Hirasawa in order to incorporate categorizing the each reaction based on predefined types, including positive, neutral, and negative reactions.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine because of the expected benefit of generating post meeting analysis of audience reception to the content to the user which would allow the user to improve future meeting based on this feedback (Hirasawa: para.0115).
Regarding Claim 3, Lin-Hirasawa-Johari discloses claim 1 as set forth above.
However Lin does not explicitly disclose wherein the reaction data includes a user identifier associated with the each reaction.
Hirasawa discloses wherein the reaction data includes a user identifier associated with the each reaction (Hirasawa: para.0098 “As shown in FIG. 9(B), the reaction DB contains, for each registered presentation, information on a registered online meeting (presentation), including the document ID (presentation ID) and the number of each page of a presentation material. The reaction DB also contains, for each registered participant in an online meeting, information about reaction sensing operations, including the acceptance ID for the each participant, times at which the reaction sensing operations were performed, and reaction sensing operation results (types of reactions).” For each participant, each reaction is stored with the presentation ID, the reaction that was detected, and the acceptance ID for that user).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Lin with that of Hirasawa in order to incorporate wherein the reaction data includes a user identifier associated with the each reaction.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine because of the expected benefit of improved organization and retrieval of reactions during a presentation (Hirasawa: para.0098, Fig. 12, para.0116).
Regarding Claims 8-10, they teach all of the same elements as claims 1-3 but in A system, comprising: a memory module; and a processing circuitry, the processing circuitry configured to execute instructions stored in the memory module to (Lin: Fig. 6 the software, i.e. instructions 1010, of Fig. 10 by the virtual conference server system 108, para.0103 “For example, the instructions 1010 may cause the machine 1000 to execute any one or more of the methods described herein….The machine 1000, for example, may comprise…any one of a number of server devices forming part of the virtual conference server system 108.” Para.0104 “The machine 1000 may include processors 1004, memory 1006,”). Therefore the rejections to claims 1-3 apply equally as well to that of claims 8-10.
Regarding Claim 15, it teaches all of the same elements as claim 1 but in One or more non-transitory computer readable media storing instructions operable to cause one or more processors to perform operations comprising: (Lin: para.0103-0104, para.0126). Therefore the rejections to claims 1 apply equally as well to that of claim 15.
Claim(s) 4, 6, 11, 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (hereinafter Lin, US 2022/0321376 A1) in view of Hirasawa et al. (hereinafter Hirasawa, US 2025/0118105 A1) in view of Johari (US 2020/0257432 A1) in view of McBeth et al. (hereinafter McBeth, US 2022/0210514 A1).
Regarding Claim 4, Lin-Hirasawa-Johari discloses claim 1 as set forth above.
Lin further discloses participants who interacted with the user interface reaction controls (Lin: para.0071 “ In addition, the virtual space navigation interface 208 provides one or more user-selectable reaction buttons (e.g., via the reactions interface 514) for indicating different reactions to a virtual conference. “ para.0073 “The second client device(s) 604 sends an indication of the selections to the virtual conference server system 108 (operation 612).” The client devices are displayed buttons, and are able to select reactions from these options in reactions interface 514. The reaction data from these selections are sent to the Virtual Conference Server System 108 based on these selections.)
However Lin-Hirasawa does not explicitly disclose providing a summary notification indicating a first number of the video meetings in which reactions were used and a second number of participants who interacted with the user interface reaction controls during the video meetings.
McBeth discloses providing a summary notification indicating a first number of the video meetings in which reactions were used and a second number of participants who reacted during the video meetings (McBeth: Fig. 7A, para.0037 “ An audience may ask questions to speakers and react with emojis and/or messages in the communication session.” para.0097-0106 “In some embodiments, the insight summary (e.g., 702) includes a list of metrics 704…. Engaged: a number of total reactions by unique/active users; [0099] Least Engaged: a number of users that either left the communication session or did not react at all while listening/viewing the communication session;… Sentiment: a percentage of positive emojis used in the communication session; Broadcasts: a number of broadcasts during the communication session” a total number of broadcasts, i.e. video meetings seen Fig. 5A-B show usage of reaction interface, during the session as well as total number of engaged user, i.e. users that react such as via emoji reactions, are provided in the insight summary.).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine Lin-Hirasawa-Johari with McBeth in order to incorporate providing a summary notification indicating a first number of the video meetings in which reactions were used and a second number of participants who reacted during the video meetings, and apply this to the metric of participants who interacted with the user interface reaction controls in Lin.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine because of the expected benefit of improving engagement by use of audience feedback (McBeth: para.0039).
Regarding Claim 6, Lin-Hirasawa-Johari discloses claim 1 as set forth above.
However Lin-Hirasawa-Johari does not explicitly disclose providing recommendations for improving participant engagement based on trends in the reaction data.
McBeth discloses providing recommendations for improving participant engagement based on trends in the reaction data (McBeth: para.0086 “Analytics engine 306 may identify an emoji sentiment trend based on analyzing the emojis or Animojis from the audience and present this trend to producers and creators in real time to enhance content quality on the fly. Analytics engine 306 may also analyze the audience sentiments to determine one or more segments of the communication session that have the most or greatest audience engagement. Therefore, analytics engine 306 may timely provide a creator with feedback on the content.” Para.0087 “This score may be presented graphically to creators over time such that the creators can review live or historical sentiment when driving decisions about future content generation.” A trend in sentiment based on reaction such as emojis are analyzed and used to recommend to the presenter the sections that have the greatest audience engagement. This would allow the presenter to improve participant engagement by doing more segments similar to what had the largest engagement.).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine Lin-Hirasawa with McBeth in order to incorporate providing recommendations for improving participant engagement based on trends in the reaction data.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine because of the expected benefit of improving engagement by use of audience feedback (McBeth: para.0039).
Regarding Claim 11, Lin-Hirasawa-Johari discloses claim 8 as set forth above.
Lin further discloses provide a notification based on the reaction data (Lin: para.0084 “Based the stored reaction button-timestamp pairs, the virtual conference server system 108 generates a graphical overview of the reactions to the virtual conference (block 626). In one or more embodiments, the graphical overview is generated as a timeline which indicates different reactions to the virtual conference over time.” Para.0085 “In response to user selection by the first participant (e.g., administrator) to view the graphical overview (e.g., timeline), the virtual conference server system 108 provides for display of the timeline on the first client device 602 (operation 628).” Based on the stored reaction information, a notification is displayed for the administrator regarding a timeline of reaction data.),
participants who interacted with the user interface reaction controls (Lin: para.0071 “ In addition, the virtual space navigation interface 208 provides one or more user-selectable reaction buttons (e.g., via the reactions interface 514) for indicating different reactions to a virtual conference. “ para.0073 “The second client device(s) 604 sends an indication of the selections to the virtual conference server system 108 (operation 612).” The client devices are displayed buttons, and are able to select reactions from these options in reactions interface 514. The reaction data from these selections are sent to the Virtual Conference Server System 108 based on these selections.)
However Lin-Hirasawa does not explicitly disclose wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory module to: provide a notification based on the reaction data, wherein the notification includes a summary notification indicating a first number of the video meetings in which reactions were used and a second number of participants who interacted with the user interface reaction controls during the video meetings.
McBeth discloses wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory module (McBeth: para.0173) to: provide a notification based on the reaction data, wherein the notification includes a summary notification indicating a first number of the video meetings in which reactions were used and a second number of participants who reacted during the video meetings (McBeth: Fig. 7A, para.0037 “ An audience may ask questions to speakers and react with emojis and/or messages in the communication session.” para.0097-0106 “In some embodiments, the insight summary (e.g., 702) includes a list of metrics 704…. Engaged: a number of total reactions by unique/active users; [0099] Least Engaged: a number of users that either left the communication session or did not react at all while listening/viewing the communication session;… Sentiment: a percentage of positive emojis used in the communication session; Broadcasts: a number of broadcasts during the communication session” a total number of broadcasts, i.e. video meetings seen Fig. 5A-B show usage of reaction interface, during the session as well as total number of engaged user, i.e. users that react such as via emoji reactions, are provided in the insight summary.).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine Lin-Hirasawa-Johari with McBeth in order to incorporate wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory module to: provide a notification based on the reaction data, wherein the notification includes a summary notification indicating a first number of the video meetings in which reactions were used and a second number of participants who reacted during the video meetings, and apply this to the metric of participants who interacted with the user interface reaction controls in Lin.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine because of the expected benefit of improving engagement by use of audience feedback (McBeth: para.0039).
Regarding Claim 13, Lin-Hirasawa-Johari discloses claim 8 as set forth above.
However Lin-Hirasawa-Johari does not explicitly disclose wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory module to: provide recommendations for improving participant engagement based on trends in the reaction data.
McBeth discloses wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory module (McBeth: para.0173) to: provide recommendations for improving participant engagement based on trends in the reaction data (McBeth: para.0086 “Analytics engine 306 may identify an emoji sentiment trend based on analyzing the emojis or Animojis from the audience and present this trend to producers and creators in real time to enhance content quality on the fly. Analytics engine 306 may also analyze the audience sentiments to determine one or more segments of the communication session that have the most or greatest audience engagement. Therefore, analytics engine 306 may timely provide a creator with feedback on the content.” Para.0087 “This score may be presented graphically to creators over time such that the creators can review live or historical sentiment when driving decisions about future content generation.” A trend in sentiment based on reaction such as emojis are analyzed and used to recommend to the presenter the sections that have the greatest audience engagement. This would allow the presenter to improve participant engagement by doing more segments similar to what had the largest engagement.).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine Lin-Hirasawa with McBeth in order to incorporate wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory module to: provide recommendations for improving participant engagement based on trends in the reaction data.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine because of the expected benefit of improving engagement by use of audience feedback (McBeth: para.0039).
Claim(s) 5, 12, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (hereinafter Lin, US 2022/0321376 A1) in view of Hirasawa et al. (hereinafter Hirasawa, US 2025/0118105 A1) in view of Johari (US 2020/0257432 A1) in view of Cundall et al. (hereinafter Cundall, US 2023/0156069 A1).
Regarding Claim 5, Lin-Hirasawa-Johari discloses claim 1 as set forth above.
While Lin keeps track of a number of times each reaction was used and displayed in graph form, in para.0084, However Lin-Hirasawa-Johari does not explicitly disclose providing a count of a number of times that each type of reaction was used during the video meetings.
Cundall discloses providing a count of a number of times that each type of reaction was used during the video meetings (Cundall: Fig. 2, para.0030 “Also shown in the chat bubble 230 are the emojis of reactions that users have already left for the file and the number of each reaction.” Fig. 4 445, 450 para.0047 “In some examples, the reaction bubble 440 may be shown as in FIG. 4 for a large number of reactions. For smaller amounts of reactions, or when all icons can fit into the space available, reaction bubbles such as 445 and 450 may be shown which shows all the reaction icons and the number of each.” Para.0048 “ Reactions, as shown in FIG. 4, may be aggregated across all sharing locations (such as groups, channels, threads, and the like) where the media (e.g., the file) was shared and that the user viewing the GUI 400 is authorized to view.” Para.0020 “voice and video calling” Reactions to the content during each meeting, including video meetings, are aggregated and displayed in Fig. 4. Fig. 4 shows the number of times each reaction, in this case emoji, were used.).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine Lin-Hirasawa-Johari with Cundall in order to incorporate providing a count of a number of times that each type of reaction was used during the video meetings.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine because of the expected benefit of analyzing user reaction to content which would assist in improving future content (Cundall: para.0016-0018).
Regarding Claim 12, Lin-Hirasawa-Johari discloses claim 8 as set forth above.
Lin further discloses wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory module (Lin: Fig. 6 the software, i.e. instructions 1010, of Fig. 10 by the virtual conference server system 108, para.0103 “For example, the instructions 1010 may cause the machine 1000 to execute any one or more of the methods described herein….The machine 1000, for example, may comprise…any one of a number of server devices forming part of the virtual conference server system 108.” Para.0104 “The machine 1000 may include processors 1004, memory 1006,”) to:
provide a notification based on the reaction data (Lin: para.0084 “Based the stored reaction button-timestamp pairs, the virtual conference server system 108 generates a graphical overview of the reactions to the virtual conference (block 626). In one or more embodiments, the graphical overview is generated as a timeline which indicates different reactions to the virtual conference over time.” Para.0085 “In response to user selection by the first participant (e.g., administrator) to view the graphical overview (e.g., timeline), the virtual conference server system 108 provides for display of the timeline on the first client device 602 (operation 628).” Based on the stored reaction information, a notification is displayed for the administrator regarding a timeline of reaction data.).
However, While Lin keeps track of a number of times each reaction was used and displayed in graph form, in para.0084, However Lin-Hirasawa does not explicitly disclose wherein the notification includes a count of a number of times that each type of reaction was used during the video meetings.
Cundall discloses wherein the notification includes a count of a number of times that each type of reaction was used during the video meetings (Cundall: Fig. 2, para.0030 “Also shown in the chat bubble 230 are the emojis of reactions that users have already left for the file and the number of each reaction.” Fig. 4 445, 450 para.0047 “In some examples, the reaction bubble 440 may be shown as in FIG. 4 for a large number of reactions. For smaller amounts of reactions, or when all icons can fit into the space available, reaction bubbles such as 445 and 450 may be shown which shows all the reaction icons and the number of each.” Para.0048 “ Reactions, as shown in FIG. 4, may be aggregated across all sharing locations (such as groups, channels, threads, and the like) where the media (e.g., the file) was shared and that the user viewing the GUI 400 is authorized to view.” Para.0020 “voice and video calling” Reactions to the content during each meeting, including video meetings, are aggregated and displayed in Fig. 4. Fig. 4 shows the number of times each reaction, in this case emoji, were used.).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine Lin-Hirasawa-Johari with Cundall in order to incorporate wherein the notification includes a count of a number of times that each type of reaction was used during the video meetings.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine because of the expected benefit of analyzing user reaction to content which would assist in improving future content (Cundall: para.0016-0018).
Regarding Claim 20 Lin-Hirasawa-Johari discloses claim 15 as set forth above.
However Lin-Hirasawa-Johari does not explicitly disclose wherein the operations further comprise: including, in a notification, a count of a number of times that a type of reaction was used during the video meetings.
Cundall discloses including, in a notification, a count of a number of times that a type of reaction was used during the video meetings (Cundall: Fig. 2, para.0030 “Also shown in the chat bubble 230 are the emojis of reactions that users have already left for the file and the number of each reaction.” Fig. 4 445, 450 para.0047 “In some examples, the reaction bubble 440 may be shown as in FIG. 4 for a large number of reactions. For smaller amounts of reactions, or when all icons can fit into the space available, reaction bubbles such as 445 and 450 may be shown which shows all the reaction icons and the number of each.” Para.0048 “ Reactions, as shown in FIG. 4, may be aggregated across all sharing locations (such as groups, channels, threads, and the like) where the media (e.g., the file) was shared and that the user viewing the GUI 400 is authorized to view.” Para.0020 “voice and video calling” Reactions to the content during each meeting, including video meetings, are aggregated and displayed in Fig. 4. Fig. 4 shows the number of times each reaction, in this case emoji, were used.).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine Lin-Hirasawa-Johari with Cundall in order to incorporate including, in a notification, a count of a number of times that a type of reaction was used during the video meetings.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine because of the expected benefit of analyzing user reaction to content which would assist in improving future content (Cundall: para.0016-0018).
Claim(s) 16-17, 21-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (hereinafter Lin, US 2022/0321376 A1) in view of Hirasawa et al. (hereinafter Hirasawa, US 2025/0118105 A1) in view of Johari (US 2020/0257432 A1) in view of Chen et al. (hereinafter Chen, US 2013/0325948 A1).
Regarding Claim 16, Lin-Hirasawa-Johari discloses claim 15 as set forth above.
Lin further disclose trends in the reaction data (Lin: para.0084-0086 “Based the stored reaction button-timestamp pairs, the virtual conference server system 108 generates a graphical overview of the reactions to the virtual conference (block 626). In one or more embodiments, the graphical overview is generated as a timeline which indicates different reactions to the virtual conference over time. For example, each type of reaction (e.g., applause, laughter, etc.) is plotted as a respective line based on the number of corresponding reactions over the duration of the virtual conference. … Thus, the virtual conferencing system 100 as described herein provides for increased user engagement with respect to participating in a virtual conference, from either the role of a presenter or the role of an attendee.” Trends in reaction data is tracked to increase engagement for presenters and attendees.)
However Lin-Hirasawa-Johari does not explicitly disclose the operations further comprising: providing recommendations based on trends in the reaction data.
Chen discloses the operations further comprising: providing recommendations based on trends in the reaction data (Chen: para.0006 “In an embodiment of the invention, the threshold may correspond to types of low engagement user types. The threshold may be based on various predetermined values including, but not limited to, … an amount of feedback received by the user in response to content shared by the user over time,” para.0058 “In one embodiment, the low engagement ID module 224 may identify users who have posted little content to the social networking system 130 as low feedback users, one type of low engagement users. Content can include, but is not limited to … "likes",” para.0064 “As a generalization, a user who has any type of low engagement in connection with social networking system 130 can be characterized as a low engagement user, so that the low engagement module 150 can take action to encourage increased activity on the site.” Para.0080 “As shown, the recent notifications 312 may include, for example, invitations provided to a user to "like" the webpage of a friend within the social network of the user of the social networking system 130.” Para.0129 “In block 856, it is determined whether the engagement level of the user is greater than or equal to the threshold value. … If the answer is "No" for block 856, the notifications are provided for the user in block 860.” A user with low engage, such as based on a trend of number of likes/reactions to content being low, they can be presented with a notification to user interface reaction controls, such as “like”ing content.).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine Lin-Hirasawa with Chen in order to incorporate the operations further comprising: providing recommendations based on trends in the reaction data and apply the engagement increasing steps of Chen based on reactions, to Lin that strives to increase engagement based on reaction in para.0086.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine because of the expected benefit of increasing engagement of a user (Chen: para.0005)
Regarding Claim 17, Lin-Hirasawa-Johari discloses claim 15 as set forth above.
Lin further discloses the reaction data (Lin: para.0084-0086 “Based the stored reaction button-timestamp pairs, the virtual conference server system 108 generates a graphical overview of the reactions to the virtual conference (block 626). In one or more embodiments, the graphical overview is generated as a timeline which indicates different reactions to the virtual conference over time. For example, each type of reaction (e.g., applause, laughter, etc.) is plotted as a respective line based on the number of corresponding reactions over the duration of the virtual conference. … Thus, the virtual conferencing system 100 as described herein provides for increased user engagement with respect to participating in a virtual conference, from either the role of a presenter or the role of an attendee.” Trends in reaction data is tracked to increase engagement for presenters and attendees.)
However Lin-Hirasawa-Johari does not explicitly disclose wherein the operations further comprise: identifying at least one user based on the reaction data; and providing an encouragement to the at least one user to use at least one of the user interface reaction controls.
Chen discloses wherein the operations further comprise: identifying at least one user based on the reaction data (Chen: para.0006 “In an embodiment of the invention, the threshold may correspond to types of low engagement user types. The threshold may be based on various predetermined values including, but not limited to, … an amount of feedback received by the user in response to content shared by the user over time,” para.0058 “In one embodiment, the low engagement ID module 224 may identify users who have posted little content to the social networking system 130 as low feedback users, one type of low engagement users. Content can include, but is not limited to … "likes",” low engagement users can be identified based on reaction to content such as likes.); and
providing an encouragement to the at least one user to use at least one of the user interface reaction controls (Chen: para.0064 “As a generalization, a user who has any type of low engagement in connection with social networking system 130 can be characterized as a low engagement user, so that the low engagement module 150 can take action to encourage increased activity on the site.” Para.0080 “As shown, the recent notifications 312 may include, for example, invitations provided to a user to "like" the webpage of a friend within the social network of the user of the social networking system 130.” Para.0129 “In block 856, it is determined whether the engagement level of the user is greater than or equal to the threshold value. … If the answer is "No" for block 856, the notifications are provided for the user in block 860.” A user with low engage, such as based on number of likes/reactions to content, they can be presented with a notification to user interface reaction controls, such as “like”ing content.).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine Lin-Hirasawa-Johari with Chen in order to incorporate wherein the operations further comprise: identifying at least one user based on the reaction data; and providing an encouragement to the at least one user to use at least one of the user interface reaction controls and apply the engagement increasing steps of Chen based on reactions, to Lin that strives to increase engagement based on reaction in para.0086.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine because of the expected benefit of increasing engagement of a user (Chen: para.0005).
Regarding Claim 21, Lin-Hirasawa-Johari discloses claim 1 as set forth above.
However Lin-Hirasawa-Johari does not explicitly disclose comparing usage of the user interface reaction controls against at least one of a predefined benchmark or a configured target usage level to determine that the at least one of the user interface reaction controls is underused.
Chen discloses comparing usage of the user interface reaction controls against at least one of a predefined benchmark or a configured target usage level to determine that the at least one of the user interface reaction controls is underused (Chen: para.0006 “In an embodiment of the invention, the threshold may correspond to types of low engagement user types. The threshold may be based on various predetermined values including, but not limited to, … an amount of feedback received by the user in response to content shared by the user over time,” para.0058 “In one embodiment, the low engagement ID module 224 may identify users who have posted little content to the social networking system 130 as low feedback users, one type of low engagement users. Content can include, but is not limited to … "likes",” para.0065 “ For example, a threshold to identify a user as a low engagement user may be based on a value associated with the number of “likes” provided by, or directed to, a user divided by the number of “likes” provided by, or directed to, an average user in a predetermined group of users, such as a group including friends of the user.” low engagement users can be identified based underusage of a reaction control, such as a “like” compared to the average user, i.e. a benchmark or target usage.).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine Lin-Hirasawa-Johari with Chen in order to incorporate comparing usage of the user interface reaction controls against at least one of a predefined benchmark or a configured target usage level to determine that the at least one of the user interface reaction controls is underused.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine because of the expected benefit of increasing engagement of a user (Chen: para.0005).
Regarding Claim 22, Lin-Hirasawa-Johari disclose claim 1 as set forth above.
However Lin-Hirasawa-Johari does not explicitly disclose identifying at least one target user based on the reaction data indicating that the at least one target user underutilizes the user interface reaction controls; and transmitting an encouragement configuration to a client associated with the at least one target user, the encouragement configuration causing the client to encourage the at least one target user to engage with the user interface reaction controls.
Chen discloses identifying at least one target user based on the reaction data indicating that the at least one target user underutilizes the user interface reaction controls (Chen: para.0065 “For example, a threshold to identify a user as a low engagement user may be based on a value associated with the number of “likes” provided by, or directed to, a user divided by the number of “likes” provided by, or directed to, an average user in a predetermined group of users, such as a group including friends of the user. As another example, a threshold to identify a user as a low engagement user may be based on a value associated with the number of “comments” provided by, or directed to, a user divided by the number of “comments” provided by, or directed to, an average user having the same or similar age, geographic location, educational level, ethnicity, gender, or any other demographic feature.” A user that underutilizes features can be identified, such as “like” reaction control.); and
transmitting an encouragement configuration to a client associated with the at least one target user, the encouragement configuration causing the client to encourage the at least one target user to engage with the user interface reaction controls (Chen: para.0064 “As a generalization, a user who has any type of low engagement in connection with social networking system 130 can be characterized as a low engagement user, so that the low engagement module 150 can take action to encourage increased activity on the site.” Para.0080 “As shown, the recent notifications 312 may include, for example, invitations provided to a user to "like" the webpage of a friend within the social network of the user of the social networking system 130.” Para.0129 “In block 856, it is determined whether the engagement level of the user is greater than or equal to the threshold value. … If the answer is "No" for block 856, the notifications are provided for the user in block 860.” A user with low engage, such as based on number of likes/reactions to content, they can be presented with a notification to user interface reaction controls, such as “like”ing content. As the user views the notification on the interface on his/her device, the notification is sent to that client.).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine Lin-Hirasawa-Johari with Chen in order to incorporate identifying at least one target user based on the reaction data indicating that the at least one target user underutilizes the user interface reaction controls; and transmitting an encouragement configuration to a client associated with the at least one target user, the encouragement configuration causing the client to encourage the at least one target user to engage with the user interface reaction controls and apply the engagement increasing steps of Chen based on reactions, to Lin that strives to increase engagement based on reaction in para.0086.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine because of the expected benefit of increasing engagement of a user (Chen: para.0005).
Claim(s) 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (hereinafter Lin, US 2022/0321376 A1) in view of Hirasawa et al. (hereinafter Hirasawa, US 2025/0118105 A1) in view of Johari (US 2020/0257432 A1) in view of Chen et al. (hereinafter Chen, US 2013/0325948 A1) in view of Pandit et al. (hereinafter Pandit, US 2023/0082635 A1).
Regarding Claim 18, Lin-Hirasawa-Johari-Chen disclose claim 17 as set forth above.
However Lin-Hirasawa-Johari does not explicitly disclose wherein the encouragement comprises a message displayed to the user in a communication application that includes the at least one of the user interface reaction controls.
Chen discloses wherein the encouragement comprises a message displayed to the user in a communication application (Chen: Para.0129 “In block 856, it is determined whether the engagement level of the user is greater than or equal to the threshold value. … If the answer is "No" for block 856, the notifications are provided for the user in block 860.” A user with low engage, such as based on number of likes/reactions to content, they can be presented with a notification to user interface reaction controls, such as “like”ing content. Fig. 4A communication application interface)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine Lin-Hirasawa with Chen in order to incorporate wherein the encouragement comprises a message displayed to the user.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine because of the expected benefit of increasing engagement of a user (Chen: para.0005).
However Lin-Hirasawa-Johari-Chen does not explicitly disclose wherein the encouragement comprises a message displayed to the user in a communication application that includes the at least one of the user interface reaction controls.
Pandit discloses wherein the encouragement comprises a message displayed to the user in a communication application that includes the at least one of the user interface reaction controls (Pandit: para.0019 “At operation 210, the context component 110 detects an emotion of a user within a communication stream. The emotion of the user may be detected as an emotional context of the user.” para.0027 “At operation 240, the presentation component 140 presents the set of emoticons to the user in a user interface on a computing device associated with the user. The presentation component 140 may present the set of emoticons within a text window associated with input of text for a text portion of the communication stream. The presentation component 140 may present the set of emoticons within a user interface window for a video portion of the communication stream. The presentation component 140 may present the set of emoticons in a pop-up or external are of a user interface to enable full use and view of a user interface associated with the communication stream.” Para.0028 “ At operation 250, the stream component 150 incorporates a selected emoticon of the set of emoticons into the communication stream.” A pop up message can be presented to the user with a selection of emoticons, user interface reaction controls, the user may use to react to the stream based on the state of the user, in this case emotional.).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Lin-Hirasawa-Johari-Chen with Pandit in order to incorporate wherein the encouragement comprises a message displayed to the user in a communication application that includes the at least one of the user interface reaction controls, and apply the emotion notification to the notification in Lin-Hirasawa-Johari-Chen for engagement.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine because of the expected benefit of easier implementation of the prompted action by providing the selections within the notification (Pandit: para.0027-0028).
Regarding Claim 19, Lin-Hirasawa-Johari-Chen discloses claim 17 as set forth above.
However Lin-Hirasawa-Johari-Chen does not explicitly disclose wherein the encouragement comprises a prominent display of the at least one of the user interface reaction controls.
Pandit discloses wherein the encouragement comprises a prominent display of the at least one of the user interface reaction controls (Pandit: para.0019 “At operation 210, the context component 110 detects an emotion of a user within a communication stream. The emotion of the user may be detected as an emotional context of the user.” para.0027 “At operation 240, the presentation component 140 presents the set of emoticons to the user in a user interface on a computing device associated with the user. The presentation component 140 may present the set of emoticons within a text window associated with input of text for a text portion of the communication stream. The presentation component 140 may present the set of emoticons within a user interface window for a video portion of the communication stream. The presentation component 140 may present the set of emoticons in a pop-up or external are of a user interface to enable full use and view of a user interface associated with the communication stream.” Para.0028 “ At operation 250, the stream component 150 incorporates a selected emoticon of the set of emoticons into the communication stream.” A pop up message can be presented to the user with a selection of emoticons, user interface reaction controls, the user may use to react to the stream based on the state of the user, in this case emotional. A pop up window is a prominent display of these reaction controls.).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Lin-Hirasawa-Johari-Chen with Pandit in order to incorporate wherein the encouragement comprises a prominent display of the at least one of the user interface reaction controls.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine because of the expected benefit of easier implementation of the prompted action by providing the selections within the notification (Pandit: para.0027-0028).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Yaari et al. US 2018/0046957 A1 see para.0043 and Fig. 5 that recommends participants based on engagement data and metrics collected during a live online meeting.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) 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 EUI H KIM whose telephone number is (571)272-8133. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30-5 M-R, M-F alternating.
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, Kamal B Divecha can be reached at 5712725863. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/EUI H KIM/ Examiner, Art Unit 2453
/KAMAL B DIVECHA/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2453
Prosecution Insights