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 .
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-2, 6, 8-9, 13, 15-16, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Herberger (US Patent No. 7,512,886), and further in view of Wang (US Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0293136).
Regarding claim 1, Herberger teaches a method comprising:
receiving a video comprising a plurality of segments (col. 5 ll. 61-63 user selected video, col. 6 ll. 25-30, ll. 44-60, col. 8 ll. 18-21 larger video with multiple breaks i.e. video segments);
determining a first length of a first segment of the plurality of segments (Figs. 3-4 items T1, T2, T3, col. 6 ll. 31-43 identifying lengths of each segment, col. 9 ll. 64-col. 10 ll. 9);
receiving a selection of an audio asset (col. 5 ll. 61-63 user selected audio);
determining a plurality of break points in the audio asset based, at least in part, on a characteristic of the audio asset (Fig. 4 items M1-M7, col. 6 ll.61-66, col. 8 ll. 8-17, col. 8 ll. 55-col. 9 ll. 21);
generating a first portion of the audio asset, wherein the first portion of the audio asset ends at a first break point of the plurality of break points; determining a second length of the first portion of the audio asset (Figs. 3-4 length of audio portion up to mark M1, col. 6 ll. 31-43 identifying lengths of each segment);
determining a difference between the first length (video) and the second length (audio); in response to determining the first length exceeds the second length, generating a modified first segment, wherein: the modified first segment has a third length (Abstract, col. 13 ll. 14-17, ll. 34-38, col. 11 ll. 27-46 video segment/clip shortened to align with audio marker, col. 12 ll. 13-col. 14 ll. 7); and
generating a media item comprising the modified first segment and the first portion of the audio asset (col. 7 ll. 26-32, col. 9 ll. 54-56, col. 11 ll. 5-11) (col. 2 ll. 6 -col. 4 ll. 4, col. 4 ll. 32-col. 14 l. 26 for complete details).
Herberger teaches determining that a difference between the first length and the second length exceeds a certain time period; in response to determining the difference between the first length and the second length exceeds the certain time period, generating a modified first segment, wherein: the modified first segment (edited video clip) has a third length; and a difference between the third length and the second length does not exceed the threshold (difference between audio and video markers is in acceptable range) (col. 12 ll. 13-col. 14 ll. 7), but Herberger does not teach it to be a threshold.
However, in the similar field, Wang teaches determining that a difference between the first length and the second length exceeds a certain time period; in response to determining the difference between the first length and the second length exceeds the certain time period, generating a modified first segment, wherein: the modified first segment has a third length; and a difference between the third length and the second length does not exceed the threshold (Paragraphs 0073-0088 “the distance between the position to which the video boundary is dragged and a certain music point is less than a preset threshold, the video boundary of the video clip may be determined as the position of the music point”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to modify Herberger to include threshold as taught by Wang in order enable the user to specify “a preset threshold” (Wang, Paragraph 0088).
Regarding claim 2, Herberger teaches determining a first type associated with the first segment of the plurality of segments (col. 7 ll. 2-25 video marker based on video clip type), wherein the modified first segment is generated based, at least in part, on the second length of the first portion of the audio asset and the first type associated with the first segment (col. 8 ll. 30-39, col. 10 ll. 12-15, col. 13 ll. 14-17, ll. 34-38, col. 11 ll. 27-46).
Regarding claim 6, Herberger teaches wherein the characteristic corresponds to at least one of a decrease in an amplitude of sound of the audio asset (volume), an end of lyric (entry/exit verse), an end of a chord pattern, and an end of a harmonic progression (change in pitch) (col. 2 ll. 33-43, col. 8 ll. 55-col. 9 ll. 3, Note: Herberger teaches many audio/ music characteristics. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to modify Herberger to include any desired characteristic as an implementation choice.).
Regarding claim 8, Herberger teaches an apparatus (Fig. 8), comprising:
control circuitry; and at least one memory including computer program code for one or more programs, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the control circuitry, cause the apparatus to perform (col. 5 ll. 1-27) at least the following:
receive a video comprising a plurality of segments (col. 5 ll. 61-63 user selected video, col. 6 ll. 25-30, ll. 44-60, col. 8 ll. 18-21 larger video with multiple breaks i.e. video segments);
determine a first length of a first segment of the plurality of segments (Figs. 3-4 items T1, T2, T3, col. 6 ll. 31-43 identifying lengths of each segment, col. 9 ll. 64-col. 10 ll. 9);
receive a selection of an audio asset (col. 5 ll. 61-63 user selected audio);
determine a plurality of break points in the audio asset based, at least in part, on a characteristic of the audio asset (Fig. 4 items M1-M7, col. 6 ll.61-66, col. 8 ll. 8-17, col. 8 ll. 55-col. 9 ll. 21);
generate a first portion of the audio asset, wherein the first portion of the audio asset ends at a first break point of the plurality of break points; determine a second length of the first portion of the audio asset (Figs. 3-4 length of audio portion up to mark M1, col. 6 ll. 31-43 identifying lengths of each segment);
determine a difference between the first length (video) and the second length (audio); in response to determining the first length exceeds the second length, generate a modified first segment, wherein: the modified first segment has a third length (Abstract, col. 13 ll. 14-17, ll. 34-38, col. 11 ll. 27-46 video segment/clip shortened to align with audio marker, col. 12 ll. 13-col. 14 ll. 7); and
generate a media item comprising the modified first segment and the first portion of the audio asset (col. 7 ll. 26-32, col. 9 ll. 54-56, col. 11 ll. 5-11) (col. 2 ll. 6 -col. 4 ll. 4, col. 4 ll. 32-col. 14 l. 26 for complete details).
Herberger teaches to determine that a difference between the first length and the second length exceeds a certain time period; in response to determining the difference between the first length and the second length exceeds the certain time period, generate a modified first segment, wherein: the modified first segment (edited video clip) has a third length; and a difference between the third length and the second length does not exceed the threshold (difference between audio and video markers is in acceptable range) (col. 12 ll. 13-col. 14 ll. 7), but Herberger does not teach it to be a threshold.
However, in the similar field, Wang teaches to determine that a difference between the first length and the second length exceeds a certain time period; in response to determining the difference between the first length and the second length exceeds the certain time period, generate a modified first segment, wherein: the modified first segment has a third length; and a difference between the third length and the second length does not exceed the threshold (Paragraphs 0073-0088 “the distance between the position to which the video boundary is dragged and a certain music point is less than a preset threshold, the video boundary of the video clip may be determined as the position of the music point”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to modify Herberger to include threshold as taught by Wang in order enable the user to specify “a preset threshold” (Wang, Paragraph 0088).
Regarding claim 9, Herberger teaches to determine a first type associated with the first segment of the plurality of segments (col. 7 ll. 2-25 video marker based on video clip type), wherein the modified first segment is generated based, at least in part, on the second length of the first portion of the audio asset and the first type associated with the first segment (col. 8 ll. 30-39, col. 10 ll. 12-15, col. 13 ll. 14-17, ll. 34-38, col. 11 ll. 27-46).
Regarding claim 13, Herberger teaches wherein the characteristic corresponds to at least one of a decrease in an amplitude of sound of the audio asset (volume), an end of lyric (entry/exit verse), an end of a chord pattern, and an end of a harmonic progression (change in pitch) (col. 2 ll. 33-43, col. 8 ll. 55-col. 9 ll. 3, Note: Herberger teaches many audio/ music characteristics. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to modify Herberger to include any desired characteristic as an implementation choice.).
Regarding claim 15, Herberger teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions encoded thereon that, when executed by control circuitry, cause the control circuitry to (col. 5 ll. 1-27):
receive a video comprising a plurality of segments (col. 5 ll. 61-63 user selected video, col. 6 ll. 25-30, ll. 44-60, col. 8 ll. 18-21 larger video with multiple breaks i.e. video segments);
determine a first length of a first segment of the plurality of segments (Figs. 3-4 items T1, T2, T3, col. 6 ll. 31-43 identifying lengths of each segment, col. 9 ll. 64-col. 10 ll. 9);
receive a selection of an audio asset (col. 5 ll. 61-63 user selected audio);
determine a plurality of break points in the audio asset based, at least in part, on a characteristic of the audio asset (Fig. 4 items M1-M7, col. 6 ll.61-66, col. 8 ll. 8-17, col. 8 ll. 55-col. 9 ll. 21);
generate a first portion of the audio asset, wherein the first portion of the audio asset ends at a first break point of the plurality of break points; determine a second length of the first portion of the audio asset (Figs. 3-4 length of audio portion up to mark M1, col. 6 ll. 31-43 identifying lengths of each segment);
determine a difference between the first length (video) and the second length (audio); in response to determining the first length exceeds the second length, generate a modified first segment, wherein: the modified first segment has a third length (Abstract, col. 13 ll. 14-17, ll. 34-38, col. 11 ll. 27-46 video segment/clip shortened to align with audio marker, col. 12 ll. 13-col. 14 ll. 7); and
generate a media item comprising the modified first segment and the first portion of the audio asset (col. 7 ll. 26-32, col. 9 ll. 54-56, col. 11 ll. 5-11) (col. 2 ll. 6 -col. 4 ll. 4, col. 4 ll. 32-col. 14 l. 26 for complete details).
Herberger teaches to determine that a difference between the first length and the second length exceeds a certain time period; in response to determining the difference between the first length and the second length exceeds the certain time period, generate a modified first segment, wherein: the modified first segment (edited video clip) has a third length; and a difference between the third length and the second length does not exceed the threshold (difference between audio and video markers is in acceptable range) (col. 12 ll. 13-col. 14 ll. 7), but Herberger does not teach it to be a threshold.
However, in the similar field, Wang teaches to determine that a difference between the first length and the second length exceeds a certain time period; in response to determining the difference between the first length and the second length exceeds the certain time period, generate a modified first segment, wherein: the modified first segment has a third length; and a difference between the third length and the second length does not exceed the threshold (Paragraphs 0073-0088 “the distance between the position to which the video boundary is dragged and a certain music point is less than a preset threshold, the video boundary of the video clip may be determined as the position of the music point”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to modify Herberger to include threshold as taught by Wang in order enable the user to specify “a preset threshold” (Wang, Paragraph 0088).
Regarding claim 16, Herberger teaches to determine a first type associated with the first segment of the plurality of segments (col. 7 ll. 2-25 video marker based on video clip type), wherein the modified first segment is generated based, at least in part, on the second length of the first portion of the audio asset and the first type associated with the first segment (col. 8 ll. 30-39, col. 10 ll. 12-15, col. 13 ll. 14-17, ll. 34-38, col. 11 ll. 27-46).
Regarding claim 20, Herberger teaches wherein the characteristic corresponds to at least one of a decrease in an amplitude of sound of the audio asset (volume), an end of lyric (entry/exit verse), an end of a chord pattern, and an end of a harmonic progression (change in pitch) (col. 2 ll. 33-43, col. 8 ll. 55-col. 9 ll. 3, Note: Herberger teaches many audio/ music characteristics. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to modify Herberger to include any desired characteristic as an implementation choice.).
Claims 7, 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Herberger and Wang as applied to claims 1, 8 above, and further in view of Plom (US Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0062006).
Regarding claim 7, it was well known in the art to use metadata to store selected data, but Herberger and Wang do not teach explicitly such common knowledge of the audio asset comprising metadata corresponding to the characteristic.
However, in the similar field, Plom teaches the audio asset comprising metadata corresponding to the characteristic (Paragraphs 0084-0086).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to modify Herberger and Wang to include the audio asset comprising metadata corresponding to the characteristic as taught by Plom in order to “represent (e.g., fully represent) a waveform and/or musical beat metadata for one of the audio files A in a relatively small amount of space“ (Plom, Paragraph 0085).
Regarding claim 14, it was well known in the art to use metadata to store selected data, but Herberger and Wang do not teach explicitly such common knowledge of the audio asset comprising metadata corresponding to the characteristic.
However, in the similar field, Plom teaches the audio asset comprising metadata corresponding to the characteristic (Paragraphs 0084-0086).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to modify Herberger and Wang to include the audio asset comprising metadata corresponding to the characteristic as taught by Plom in order to “represent (e.g., fully represent) a waveform and/or musical beat metadata for one of the audio files A in a relatively small amount of space“ (Plom, Paragraph 0085).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-5, 10-12, 17-19 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The above objection(s) is (are) based on the claim(s) as presently set forth in its (their) totality. It should not be interpreted as indicating that amended claim(s) broadly reciting certain limitations would be allowable. A more detailed reason(s) for allowance may be set forth in a subsequent Notice of Allowance if and when all claims in the application are put into a condition for allowance.
Conclusion
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HEMANT PATEL
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2694
/HEMANT S PATEL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2694
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