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 Status
Claims 1-25 are pending in this Office Action.
Claim Objections
Claims 2, 7, 9, 14, 16, 20, and 22 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claims 2, 9, 16, and 22, line 7, the examiner recommends to add “to” after “respond” to improve grammar.
In claims 7, 14, and 20, lines 2-3, “one of more” should be replaced with “one or more” to improve grammar.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3, 6-10, 13-17, and 19-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ma et al. (US 2014/0150019).
Regarding claim 1, Ma teaches: A method comprising:
receiving, by a client device, a media presentation description (MPD) [the client 110 retrieves manifest files, which may be a DASH MPD (par. 41, Fig. 1)],
wherein the MPD comprises at least one first element associated with at least one portion of a content item, wherein the at least one first element comprises a uniform resource identifier (URI), and wherein the URI comprises data associated with responding to a request for a second element associated with a supplemental content item [the MPD contains segment retrieval locations (par. 33) and advertisement metadata including advertisement boundaries (i.e., breaks in a program where advertisements are inserted) (par. 30 and 39), comprising URLs of advertisement segments (i.e., segments within advertisement boundaries) (par. 8). The URL may be a URI structure including data, such as the advertisement segment being requested (par. 57). The request may be augmented with other information (par. 42-43)]
sending, to at least one processing device, the request for the second element, wherein the request comprises the URI [sending the advertisement request to the network proxy 106 or ADS 108 using the URL (par. 32, 42-43, 53, and 57, Fig. 1)],
receiving, from the at least one processing device and based on the data associated with responding to the request for the second element, the second element [selecting a targeted replacement advertisement based on the data (par. 42). Receiving a URL pointing to replacement advertisement segments (par. 53 and 59)] and
causing, based on replacing the at least one first element with the second element, output of the supplemental content item during output of the at least one portion of the content item [modify the manifest by replacing the in-stream advertisement segment URLs with the replacement advertisement segment URLs (par. 53-54). Download the alternate advertisement segments and send them to the media player for playback during the advertisement break (par. 59)].
Regarding claim 2, Ma teaches the method of claim 1; Ma further teaches: the data associated with responding to the request for the second element comprises one or more of: an identification (ID) associated with the second element; a time window during which to send the second element; a time window during which to store the second element; an instruction to use replacement content contained in the at least one first element if a failure to respond the request for the second element occurs; and a current time [the advertisement metadata includes program identifiers, original program broadcast time. The current wall clock time is correlated to the program timestamp and stored as the original broadcast time in the metadata (par. 40, 65, 67, and 71)].
Regarding claim 3, Ma teaches the method of claim 2; Ma further teaches: the at least one processing device is configured to: determine, based on the ID associated with the second element, that the second element is not in a storage associated with the at least one processing device; and request, based on determining that the second element is not in the storage associated with the at least one processing device, the second element from at least one server device [a check is performed to see if the desired segment is cached locally. If the segment is cached locally, processing proceeds to step 712 where the segment is retrieved from the local cache 406 and delivered to the client 110. If the segment is not cached locally, processing proceeds from step 710 directly to step 714 where a check is performed to see if redirection is allowed. If redirection is allowed, processing proceeds to step 716 where the network proxy 106 issues an HTTP 302 redirect to the client 110, directing it to the location of the selected advertisement segment in the CDN 104 (par. 84, Fig. 1)].
Regarding claim 6, Ma teaches the method of claim 1; Ma further teaches: the URI further comprises additional data, the additional data comprising one or more of: an identification (ID) associated with the at least one portion of the content item; a start time associated with the at least one portion of the content item; and a duration associated with the at least one portion of the content item [subscriber and/or user identity, location, and/or demographic information (par. 42-43). advertisement segment sequence numbers, spot identifiers, program identifiers, original program broadcast time, advertisement restrictions, program demographic information, subscriber information, and/or user identity, location, and/or demographic information (par. 53 and 65)].
Regarding claim 7, Ma teaches the method of claim 6; Ma further teaches: the at least one processing device is further configured to: modify the second element based on inserting, into the second element, one of more of the ID associated with the at least one portion of the content item, the start time associated with the at least one portion of the content item, or the duration associated with the at least one portion of the content item; and send the modified second element to the client device, wherein replacing the at least one first element with the second element comprises replacing the at least one first element with the modified second element [inserting additional metadata, such as program identifiers, original program broadcast time, and replacing the URLs with the replacement advertisement URLs (par. 49 and 54)].
Regarding claim 8, Ma teaches: A method comprising:
receiving, by at least one processing device and from a client device, a request for a second element associated with a supplemental content item [receiving an advertisement request by the network proxy 106 or ADS 108 (par. 32, 42-43, 53, and 57, Fig. 1)],
wherein the request for the second element comprises a uniform resource identifier (URI), the URI comprising data associated with responding to the request for the second element [The request is using a URL and may be augmented with other information (par. 42-43). The URL may be a URI structure including data, such as the advertisement segment being requested (par. 57)]
determining, based on the data associated with responding to the request for the second element, the second element [selecting a targeted replacement advertisement based on the data (par. 42). Determining a URL pointing to replacement advertisement segments (par. 53 and 59)] and
sending, to the client device and based on the data associated with responding to the request for the second element, the second element [Sending to the client, the URL pointing to replacement advertisement segments (par. 53-54 and 59)],
wherein the client device is configured to cause output of the supplemental content item during output of at least one portion of a content item based on replacing at least one first element in a media presentation description (MPD) with the second element, wherein the at least one first element is associated with the at least one portion of the content item [the client modifies the manifest by replacing the in-stream advertisement segment URLs with the replacement advertisement segment URLs (par. 53-54). Download the alternate advertisement segments and send them to the media player for playback during the advertisement break (par. 59)].
Claim 9 is rejected for the same reasons given in the above rejection of claim 2.
Claim 10 is rejected for the same reasons given in the above rejection of claim 3.
Claim 13 is rejected for the same reasons given in the above rejection of claim 6.
Claim 14 is rejected for the same reasons given in the above rejection of claim 7.
Regarding claim 15, Ma teaches: A method comprising:
receiving, by at least one computing device, a media presentation description (MPD) comprising at least one first element associated with at least one portion of a content item [the client 110 retrieves manifest files, which may be a DASH MPD (par. 41, Fig. 1). The MPD contains segment retrieval locations (par. 33) and advertisement metadata including advertisement boundaries (i.e., breaks in a program where advertisements are inserted) (par. 30 and 39)]
determining a uniform resource identifier (URI) comprising data associated with responding to a request for a second element associated with a supplemental content item [determine URLs of advertisement segments including data such as unique advertisement sequence numbers and program identifiers to enable content-based advertisement targeting (par. 8). The URL may be a URI structure including data, such as the advertisement segment being requested (par. 57)]
inserting the URI into the at least one first element [inserting URLs of advertisement segments into the metadata of the manifest (par. 49)] and
sending, to a client device, the MPD [sending to the client 110 the manifest file (par. 41, Fig. 1)],
wherein the client device is configured to cause output of the supplemental content item during output of the at least one portion of the content item based on sending the URI to at least one processing device and replacing the at least one first element with the second element [sending the advertisement request to the network proxy 106 or ADS 108 using the URL (par. 32, 42-43, 53, and 57, Fig. 1). Modify the manifest by replacing the in-stream advertisement segment URLs with the replacement advertisement segment URLs (par. 53-54). Download the alternate advertisement segments and send them to the media player for playback during the advertisement break (par. 59)],
the at least one processing device configured to send the second element to the client device based on the data associated with responding to the request for the second element [selecting a targeted replacement advertisement based on the data (par. 42). Determining a URL pointing to replacement advertisement segments and sending to the client (par. 53-54 and 59)].
Claim 16 is rejected for the same reasons given in the above rejection of claim 2.
Claim 17 is rejected for the same reasons given in the above rejection of claim 3.
Claim 19 is rejected for the same reasons given in the above rejection of claim 6.
Claim 20 is rejected for the same reasons given in the above rejection of claim 7.
Regarding claim 21, Ma teaches: A method comprising:
receiving, by a client device, a manifest file associated with a content item [the client 110 retrieves manifest files, which are associated with content (par. 20, 33, and 41, Fig. 1)],
wherein the manifest file comprises data indicating instructions for responding to a request for a supplemental content item [the manifest file includes advertisement metadata including program identifiers, original program broadcast time, advertising restrictions, and program demographic information to be used in targeted advertisement decision making. This information may be included in a request for advertisement segments (par. 39-43)]
sending, to at least one processing device, the request for the supplemental content item, wherein the request comprises the data indicating the instructions for responding to the request [sending the advertisement request to the network proxy 106 or ADS 108 including the data (par. 32, 42-43, 53, and 57, Fig. 1)]
receiving, from the at least one processing device and based on the data indicating the instructions for responding to the request, the supplemental content item [selecting a targeted replacement advertisement based on the data (par. 42). Receiving a URL pointing to replacement advertisement segments and downloading the advertisement segments (par. 53-54 and 59)] and
causing output of the supplemental content item during output of at least one portion of the content item [Download the alternate advertisement segments and send them to the media player for playback during the advertisement break (par. 51 and 59, Fig. 3)].
Regarding claim 22, Ma teaches the method of claim 21; Ma further teaches: the data associated with responding to the request for the supplemental content item comprises one or more of: an identification (ID) associated with the supplemental content item; a time window associated with sending the supplemental content item; a time window associated with storing the supplemental content item; an instruction to use replacement content contained in the manifest file if a failure to respond the request for the supplemental content item occurs; and a current time [the advertisement metadata includes program identifiers, original program broadcast time. The current wall clock time is correlated to the program timestamp and stored as the original broadcast time in the metadata (par. 40, 67, and 71)].
Regarding claim 23, Ma teaches the method of claim 22; Ma further teaches: the at least one processing device is configured to: determine, based on the ID associated with the supplemental content item, that the supplemental content item is not in a storage associated with the at least one processing device; and request, based on determining that the supplemental content item is not in the storage associated with the at least one processing device, the supplemental content item from at least one server device [a check is performed to see if the desired segment is cached locally. If the segment is cached locally, processing proceeds to step 712 where the segment is retrieved from the local cache 406 and delivered to the client 110. If the segment is not cached locally, processing proceeds from step 710 directly to step 714 where a check is performed to see if redirection is allowed. If redirection is allowed, processing proceeds to step 716 where the network proxy 106 issues an HTTP 302 redirect to the client 110, directing it to the location of the selected advertisement segment in the CDN 104 (par. 84, Fig. 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 4, 11, 18, and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ma et al. (US 2014/0150019) in view of Wu (CN 107403337).
Regarding claim 4, Ma teaches the method of claim 2; Ma further teaches: the at least one processing device is further configured to: receive the second element; and send the second element to the client device [receiving and storing the advertisement segment in cache 406 and delivering the advertisement segment to client 110 (par. 65 and 84, Fig. 4)].
Ma does not explicitly disclose: the sending the second element is based on determining that the current time is within the time window during which to send the second element.
Wu teaches: the sending the second element is based on determining that the current time is within the time window during which to send the second element [receiving an advertisement request, evaluating a time period associated with the advertisement, and determining the sending time is within the advertisement broadcast time period (page 5-6)].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Ma and Wu before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Ma by incorporating the teaching of Wu such that the sending the second element is based on determining that the current time is within the time window during which to send the second element. The motivation for doing so would have been to ensure the advertisement is sent according to an advertising strategy and the advertisement is sent accurately, at the right time (Wu – page 2). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Ma and Wu to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim.
Claims 11, 18, and 24 are rejected for the same reasons given in the above rejection of claim 4.
Claims 5, 12, and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ma et al. (US 2014/0150019) in view of Tushinskiy (US 11,164,215).
Regarding claim 5, Ma teaches the method of claim 2; Ma further teaches: the at least one processing device is further configured to: receive the second element; and cause storage of the second element [receiving and storing the advertisement segment in cache 406 (par. 65 and 84, Fig. 4)].
Ma does not explicitly disclose: the causing storage of the second element is based on determining that the current time is within the time window during which to store the second element.
Tushinskiy teaches: the causing storage of the second element is based on determining that the current time is within the time window during which to store the second element [The advertisement offers can be stored by the remote advertisement platform 170 for a pre-determined period, for example a time specified by an advertisement provider or a service provider (col. 5, lines 20-24 and col. 8, lines 34-40)].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Ma and Tushinskiy before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Ma by incorporating the teaching of Tushinskiy such that the causing storage of the second element is based on determining that the current time is within the time window during which to store the second element. The motivation for doing so would have been to allow an advertisement provider or a service provider to set a time period during which the advertisement can be offered to the user (Tushinskiy – col. 8, lines 34-40). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Ma and Tushinskiy to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim.
Claims 12 and 25 are rejected for the same reasons given in the above rejection of claim 5.
Conclusion
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/ALEXANDER BOYD/ Examiner, Art Unit 2424
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