Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
DETAILED ACTION
1. This action is responsive to application communication filed on 5/29/2025.
2. Claims 21-31 are pending in the case.
3. Claims 1-20 are cancelled.
4. Claim 21 is independent claim.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the further tracking respective conditions corresponding to the tracked one or more activities or lack thereof, as inputs to a learning model associated with the messaging system (emphasis added) (see claim 21) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 21-31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 21 :
Claim 21 recites: “further tracking respective conditions corresponding to the tracked one or more activities or lack thereof, as inputs to a learning model associated with the messaging system ”. (emphasis added)
Par. 269 describes The Organization may be able to run a query on servers to view analytic & usage data associated with messages Organization has sent. The Organization may also set one or more action-based, machine-learning, and/or Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based actions based on this data.
Examiner submits that par. 269 fails to provide any details related to tracked conditions as “inputs to a learning model”.
Therefore, there is no mention of the newly amended limitation in the original Specification. Thus, the limitations include subject matter that was not described in the original Specification.
If the examiner has overlooked the portion of the original Specification that describes this feature of the present invention, then Applicant should point it out (by page number and line number) in the response to this Office Action.
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 21-31 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 dependent claims included in the statement of rejection but not specifically addressed in the body of the rejection have inherited the deficiencies of their parent claim and have not resolved the deficiencies. Therefore, they are rejected based on the same rationale as applied to their parent claims above.
Independent Claim 21:
The term “desired” recipient activities in claim 21 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “desired” 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.
Independent Claims 21, 27, 28, 29 and 31:
Claims 21, 27, 28, 29 and 31 recite the phrase "or lack thereof". Under Broadest Reasonable Interpretation (BRI), “or lack thereof” means “nothing or zero”, which contradicts the recited “one or more” mentioned prior and would indicate that the tracking and predicting steps of the claim would not be performed as recited. Therefore, the scopes of the claim limitations are unclear and fail to distinctly claim the subject matter. For examination purpose, the limitation “ ” is omitted from consideration.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 21-31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Linner et al. (hereinafter “Linner”), U.S. Published Application No. 20120239761 A1, in view of Chavan, Viraj, U.S. Published Application No. 20130159433 A1.
Independent Claim 21:
Linner teaches A computer-implemented method for providing conditional message content in a messaging system, the method comprising:
generating an electronic message comprising a conditional-based content link, and delivering the message to one or more recipients, wherein activities associated with the message comprising viewing of the message and selection of the content link are enabled for each user via a user interface of a respective client device; (e.g., providing conditional selectable content links to be viewed by a user based on analyzing weather data associated with the locations of users in a conversation of a messaging system par. 60; The weather analysis module 262 receives and analyzes weather data associated with the locations of users in a conversation to help generate links and refine the linked content that is selected. For example, if a group of users is planning an activity and the weather data indicates that a rainstorm is coming, then the weather analysis module 262 may instruct the linked content module 270 to give more weight to indoor activities (e.g., an arcade). The weather analysis module 262 may also provide weather information to the linked content module 270 if the phrasing analysis module 252 or the conversation analysis module 254 detects a message in which a user expresses a desire to see a weather forecast. For example, if a user sends a message to ask another user, "Have you checked the weather yet?" then the weather analysis module 262 may provide a local weather forecast for the linked content module 270 to add to the message.)
tracking one or more activities, or lack thereof, by the one or more recipients in association with the respective message, (e.g., tracking previous exchange messages activities between sender and recipient par. 94; As the two users exchange messages, the conversation analysis module 254 detects that the two users are planning a social activity and works with the temporal analysis module 256 to predict a timeframe for the proposed activity. Based on the timestamps 404 of the messages and the word "morning" 402 in the first message, the modules 254, 256 may predict that the two users plan to make their trip sometime between 8:20 AM and noon.)
upon selection by a recipient of the content link within the message, directing the respective client device to predefined content associated with the content link; (e.g., upon selecting “café” link, directing a client user to a list of cafes par. 96; FIG. 4B is a screenshot 420 of the list of cafes that is displayed to the user after the user selects the "cafe" link 410 in the previous screenshot 400.)
predicting recipient activities, or lack thereof, with respect to one or more alternative content links based at least in part on one or more conditions; (e.g., based on previous messages, predicting and proposing activities to the recipient par. 94; As the two users exchange messages, the conversation analysis module 254 detects that the two users are planning a social activity and works with the temporal analysis module 256 to predict a timeframe for the proposed activity. Based on the timestamps 404 of the messages and the word "morning" 402 in the first message, the modules 254, 256 may predict that the two users plan to make their trip sometime between 8:20 AM and noon. As a result, the modules 254, 256 instruct the linked content module 270 to filter out results for establishments that will be not open during those hours.)
and dynamically adjusting one or more messages with at least one of the one or more alternative content links based on the predicted recipient activities further in view of one or more desired recipient activities. (e.g., dynamically adjust content links within messages based on location and time of users par. 95; After the fourth message, the analysis and targeting module 214 has received enough information to determine that the two users wish to visit a cafe with outdoor seating later in the morning. As a result, the link generation module 268 turns the word "cafe" 410 in the fourth message into a second link. Meanwhile, the location analysis module 258 receives geographical location data from the two users' client devices 102 and generates a common region that is accessible to both users. The linked content module 270 subsequently generates a list of cafes that satisfy the conditions determined by the analysis and targeting module 214 and are located inside the common region.)
Linner fails to expressly teach a learning model associated with the messaging system.
However, Chavan teaches further tracking respective conditions corresponding to the tracked one or more activities or lack thereof, as inputs to a learning model associated with the messaging system; (e.g., modeling user behavior (i.e., conditions corresponding to the tracked one or more activities) par. 40; Another approach includes profile-type ad targeting. In this approach, user profiles specific to a user may be generated to model user behavior, for example, by tracking a user's path through a web site or network of sites, and compiling a profile based at least in part on pages or advertisements ultimately delivered.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective file date of the claimed invention to modify the tracked activity and condition as taught by Linner to incorporating a learning model as taught by Chavan with a reasonable expectation of success, to provide the benefit of better targeting of a user to improve delivering of relevant desired content (see Chavan; par. 40).
Claim 22 dependent on claim 21:
Linner teaches wherein the content link comprises an image embedded within the message. (see par. 70; The selected linked content may be any content that is relevant to the conversation and the linked word. Linked content may include, for example, search engine results, news articles, listings for local restaurants, shopping malls, or movie theaters, reviews of movies, weather conditions or forecasts, images, or maps. The linked content module 270 may also include paid advertisements as part of the selected linked content.)
Linner fails to expressly teach an emoji image.
However, Chavan teaches an emoji image embedded within the message. (e.g., sending emoticons or embedded scripts during message exchange par. 105; The aspect of the dialog message upon which is based the text to pre-populate the search box can be textual or can be graphical. For example, if a dialog message contains a particular emoticon (e.g., a happy face, a social network emoticon, etc.), a sentiment can be inferred, and a separate server can perform selection of additional content to be served to the mobile terminal user. Par. 108; ] Given the capability to insert HTML, and/or to insert a script, it is possible to interact with the user via the formatting of, and/or embedded code within, the additional content (e.g., formatting comprising HTML-5, formatting comprising scripts, etc.). In some embodiments, when a user decides to interact with the additional content, embedded code that was inserted along with the formatting of the additional content might launch a browser on the user's device, which in turn might prompt the user to select display aspects (e.g., full-screen, split screen, etc.) of the additional content. )
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective file date of the claimed invention to modify the images embedded within the message as taught by Linner to include emoji images known to be sent within messages as taught by Chavan with a reasonable expectation of success, to provide the benefit of expanding the ability to better convey communications in an efficient manner (see Chavan; par. 40).
Claim 23 dependent on claim 21:
Linner teaches wherein the dynamically adjusting one or more messages comprises dynamically adjusting the respective content link for at least one of the one or more delivered messages, a persistent link having been maintained between the respective client device and the messaging system. (e.g., dynamically adjust content links within delivered messages based on location and time of users par. 95; After the fourth message, the analysis and targeting module 214 has received enough information to determine that the two users wish to visit a cafe with outdoor seating later in the morning. As a result, the link generation module 268 turns the word "cafe" 410 in the fourth message into a second link. Meanwhile, the location analysis module 258 receives geographical location data from the two users' client devices 102 and generates a common region that is accessible to both users. The linked content module 270 subsequently generates a list of cafes that satisfy the conditions determined by the analysis and targeting module 214 and are located inside the common region.)
Claim 24 dependent on claim 23:
Linner teaches wherein the respective content link is adjusted based at least in part on observed changes in conditions associated with the recipient. (e.g., observed changes based on location and time of users par. 51; For example, if the conversation analysis module 254 encounters a message such as "let's go to lunch later today," then the phrase "later today" may be combined with the timestamp data for the message to filter out results for dining establishments that will not be open during lunch hours on the day the message was sent. par. 95; After the fourth message, the analysis and targeting module 214 has received enough information to determine that the two users wish to visit a cafe with outdoor seating later in the morning. As a result, the link generation module 268 turns the word "cafe" 410 in the fourth message into a second link. Meanwhile, the location analysis module 258 receives geographical location data from the two users' client devices 102 and generates a common region that is accessible to both users. The linked content module 270 subsequently generates a list of cafes that satisfy the conditions determined by the analysis and targeting module 214 and are located inside the common region.)
Claim 25 dependent on claim 21:
Linner teaches wherein the delivered message is a previous message, wherein the dynamically adjusting one or more messages comprises generating a new electronic message different from the previous message, and delivering the new message to one or more further recipients. (e.g., using temporal analysis on previous messages and dynamically adjust content links within delivered messages based on location and time of users par. 52; The temporal analysis module 256 may also use timestamps to evaluate the relevance of older messages. par. 95; After the fourth message, the analysis and targeting module 214 has received enough information to determine that the two users wish to visit a cafe with outdoor seating later in the morning. As a result, the link generation module 268 turns the word "cafe" 410 in the fourth message into a second link. Meanwhile, the location analysis module 258 receives geographical location data from the two users' client devices 102 and generates a common region that is accessible to both users. The linked content module 270 subsequently generates a list of cafes that satisfy the conditions determined by the analysis and targeting module 214 and are located inside the common region.)
Claim 26 dependent on claim 21:
Linner fails to expressly teach wherein the tracked activities comprise user engagement with respect to the predefined content associated with the content link.
However, Chavan teaches wherein the tracked activities comprise user engagement with respect to the predefined content associated with the content link. (e.g., tracking responses to previous ads selected to determine relevance to a user’s interest par. 99; Thus, relevance can be estimated or determined on the basis of observations stored in the historical dataset. More specifically, a user's clicks (e.g., the likelihood of a click on an ad, or the likelihood of a user action based on an ad) or other responses to an internet advertisement might also be known in quite some detail, not only for a particular user, but also for a group of users)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective file date of the claimed invention to modify the tracked activities as taught by Linner to activities related to previous selections as taught by Chavan with a reasonable expectation of success, to provide the benefit of better targeting of a user to improve delivering of relevant desired content (see Chavan; par. 40).
Claim 27 dependent on claim 21:
Linner teaches wherein the predicted recipient activities, or lack thereof, are based at least in part on one or more detected current conditions associated with a respective recipient. (e.g., proposing predicted activity based on content links within messages using current location and time of users par. 51; The temporal analysis module 256 may also work in conjunction with the conversation analysis module 254 to determine a timeframe for a proposed activity. par. 56; In addition to using geographical data, the location analysis module 258 may also operate in conjunction with the conversation analysis module 254 to infer the location of a user or the desired location of a proposed social event. Par. 94; As the two users exchange messages, the conversation analysis module 254 detects that the two users are planning a social activity and works with the temporal analysis module 256 to predict a timeframe for the proposed activity. par. 95; After the fourth message, the analysis and targeting module 214 has received enough information to determine that the two users wish to visit a cafe with outdoor seating later in the morning. As a result, the link generation module 268 turns the word "cafe" 410 in the fourth message into a second link. Meanwhile, the location analysis module 258 receives geographical location data from the two users' client devices 102 and generates a common region that is accessible to both users. The linked content module 270 subsequently generates a list of cafes that satisfy the conditions determined by the analysis and targeting module 214 and are located inside the common region.)
Claim 28 dependent on claim 27:
Linner teaches wherein the predicted activities or lack thereof are further based at least in part on determined activities of the respective recipient with respect to one or more monitored social media accounts and/or third party websites. (e.g., monitoring social media accounts or third part websites to determine user profile (i.e., determined activities of the respective recipient) par. 38; The third-party server 130 is any server that operates independently of the processing server 120. For example, the third-party server 130 may be a social networking system (e.g., Facebook, Foursquare, Meetup, etc.) that provides additional user profile information that the linked content management module 128 may use to customize the linked content provided to a user. The third party server 130 may also be a website that provides some of the linked content that the linked content management module 128 adds to messages.)
Claim 29 dependent on claim 27:
Linner teaches wherein the predicted activities or lack thereof are further based at least in part on determined activities of nearby or correlated users with respect to the respective recipient on one or more monitored social media accounts and/or third party websites. (e.g., monitoring social media accounts or third part websites to determine user profiles of the group of users exchanging messages (i.e., determined activities of nearby or correlated users) par. 24; A conversation, as used herein, is a series of related text messages that are exchanged between a group of users. When one of the users adds a new text message to a conversation, the new message is sent to the other users in the group. par. 38; The third-party server 130 is any server that operates independently of the processing server 120. For example, the third-party server 130 may be a social networking system (e.g., Facebook, Foursquare, Meetup, etc.) that provides additional user profile information that the linked content management module 128 may use to customize the linked content provided to a user. The third party server 130 may also be a website that provides some of the linked content that the linked content management module 128 adds to messages.)
Claim 30 dependent on claim 27:
Linner teaches wherein the one or more current conditions are time-based and/or location-based and/or action-based. (e.g., proposing predicted activity based on content links within messages using current location and time of users par. 51; The temporal analysis module 256 may also work in conjunction with the conversation analysis module 254 to determine a timeframe for a proposed activity. par. 56; In addition to using geographical data, the location analysis module 258 may also operate in conjunction with the conversation analysis module 254 to infer the location of a user or the desired location of a proposed social event. Par. 94; As the two users exchange messages, the conversation analysis module 254 detects that the two users are planning a social activity and works with the temporal analysis module 256 to predict a timeframe for the proposed activity. par. 95; After the fourth message, the analysis and targeting module 214 has received enough information to determine that the two users wish to visit a cafe with outdoor seating later in the morning. As a result, the link generation module 268 turns the word "cafe" 410 in the fourth message into a second link. Meanwhile, the location analysis module 258 receives geographical location data from the two users' client devices 102 and generates a common region that is accessible to both users. The linked content module 270 subsequently generates a list of cafes that satisfy the conditions determined by the analysis and targeting module 214 and are located inside the common region.)
Claim 31 dependent on claim 21:
Linner teaches wherein the predicted recipient activities, or lack thereof, are based at least in part on changes to and/or expiration of the linked content, wherein the dynamically adjusting one or more messages comprises dynamically adjusting the respective content link for at least one of the one or more delivered messages based on the changes to and/or expiration of the linked content, a persistent link having been maintained between the respective client device and the messaging system. (e.g., proposing predicted activity based on content links within messages using current location and time of users Examiner notes that the content link is adjusted based on the changes and/or expiration of a determined timeframe for the proposed activity. par. 51; The temporal analysis module 256 may also work in conjunction with the conversation analysis module 254 to determine a timeframe for a proposed activity. For example, if the conversation analysis module 254 encounters a message such as "let's go to lunch later today," then the phrase "later today" may be combined with the timestamp data for the message to filter out results for dining establishments that will not be open during lunch hours on the day the message was sent. par. 56; In addition to using geographical data, the location analysis module 258 may also operate in conjunction with the conversation analysis module 254 to infer the location of a user or the desired location of a proposed social event. Par. 94; As the two users exchange messages, the conversation analysis module 254 detects that the two users are planning a social activity and works with the temporal analysis module 256 to predict a timeframe for the proposed activity. )
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Gordon; George A. et al. US 20180032997 A1
[1665] In many cases, a user may perform an action, or a series of actions, in a predictable manner. Identifying said patterns may allow a device or plurality of devices to anticipate a user's intentions and assist them. The integration of a phone and a tablet, and the consolidation of their user observations, may facilitate the identification of behavior patterns. In various embodiments, method 48-36-00 may be utilized to modify the user experience according to observed user behavior.
[1671] As shown, user behavior patterns are identified. See operation 48-36-04. In various embodiments, patterns within the observed user behavior may be identified automatically. The methods which may be employed to identify user behavior patterns may include, but are not limited to, machine learning, decision tree learning, cluster analysis, an artificial neural network, data mining, sequence mining, a Bayesian network, and/or any other method of identifying a pattern.
[1672] In some embodiments, user behavior patterns may be identified by considering all contextual data at the same time (e.g. a form of clustering analysis, etc.). In other embodiments, user behavior patterns may be identified sequentially. For example, in one embodiment, user behavior data may be searched for a pattern while organized with respect to time, or some other contextual dimension (e.g. location, device identity, etc.). Discovered patterns may then be further refined until a threshold confidence has been met. In the context of the present description, a confidence refers to a numerical value which may be assigned to a prediction, which is associated, at least in part, with the probability that the prediction is correct. Furthermore, a threshold confidence refers to a confidence value beyond which a prediction may be used to modify the user experience.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HENRY ORR whose telephone number is (571)270-1308. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM EST M-F.
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, Adam Queler can be reached at (571)272-4140. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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HENRY ORR
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2172
/HENRY ORR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2172
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