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 is a first non-final Office Action on the merits for application 18936815. Claims 1-20 are pending examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
2. 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more.
Claim(s) 1 is/are drawn to method (i.e., a process), and claim(s) 17 is/are drawn to a system (i.e., a machine/manufacture). As such, claims 1, and 17 is/are drawn to one of the statutory categories of invention.
Claims 1-20 are directed to tracking user engagements on a feed for a time period and swapping content based on tracked data. Specifically, claim(s) 1, and 17 recite(s) receiving a feed swap request from a first user, the feed swap request including a first feed to be swapped with a second feed provided by a second user; placing the first feed in a second hosting platform associated with the second user; adding a first tracking tool for the first feed to the second hosting platform when placing the first feed in the second hosting platform; collecting, through the first tracking tool, a first set of user engagements with the first feed for a first period of time; and generating a first actionable insight for the first user based on the collected first set of user engagements with the first feed, which is grouped within the Methods Of Organizing Human Activity and is similar to the concept of (commercial or legal interactions including agreements in the form of contracts, legal obligations, advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors business relations) grouping of abstract ideas in prong one of step 2A of the Alice/Mayo test (See 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. 50, 52, 54 (January 7, 2019)). Accordingly, the claims recite an abstract idea (See pages 7, 10, Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank International, et al., US Supreme Court, No. 13-298, June 19, 2014; 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. 50, 53-54 (January 7, 2019)).
The Claim limitations are listed under Methods Of Organizing Human Activity, and grouped as following:
receiving a feed swap request from a first user, the feed swap request including a first feed to be swapped with a second feed provided by a second user; which is similar to the concept of (advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors business relations),
placing the first feed in a second hosting platform associated with the second user; adding a first tracking tool for the first feed to the second hosting platform when placing the first feed in the second hosting platform; which is similar to the concept of (advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors business relations),
collecting, through the first tracking tool, a first set of user engagements with the first feed for a first period of time; and which is similar to the concept of (advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors business relations),
generating a first actionable insight for the first user based on the collected first set of user engagements with the first feed; which is similar to the concept of (advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors business relations).
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because, when analyzed under prong two of step 2A of the Alice/Mayo test (See 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. 50, 54-55 (January 7, 2019)), the additional element(s) of the claim(s) such as system, processor, memory merely use(s) a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea and/or generally link(s) the use of a judicial exception to a particular technological environment. Specifically, the system, processor, memory perform(s) the steps or functions of receiving a feed swap request from a first user, the feed swap request including a first feed to be swapped with a second feed provided by a second user; placing the first feed in a second hosting platform associated with the second user; adding a first tracking tool for the first feed to the second hosting platform when placing the first feed in the second hosting platform; collecting, through the first tracking tool, a first set of user engagements with the first feed for a first period of time; and generating a first actionable insight for the first user based on the collected first set of user engagements with the first feed. The use of a processor/computer as a tool to implement the abstract idea and/or generally linking the use of the abstract idea to a particular technological environment does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it requires no more than a computer performing functions that correspond to acts required to carry out the abstract idea. The additional elements do not involve improvements to the functioning of a computer, or to any other technology or technical field (MPEP 2106.05(a)), the claims do not apply or use the abstract idea to effect a particular treatment or prophylaxis for a disease or medical condition (Vanda Memo), the claims do not apply the abstract idea with, or by use of, a particular machine (MPEP 2106.05(b)), the claims do not effect a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing (MPEP 2106.05(c)), and the claims do not apply or use the abstract idea in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking the use of the abstract idea to a particular technological environment, such that the claim as a whole is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception (MPEP 2106.05(e) and Vanda Memo). Therefore, the claims do not, for example, purport to improve the functioning of a computer. Nor do they effect an improvement in any other technology or technical field. Accordingly, the additional elements do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea, and the claims are directed to an abstract idea.
The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because, when analyzed under step 2B of the Alice/Mayo test (See 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. 50, 52, 56 (January 7, 2019)), the additional element(s) of using a system, processor, memory to perform the steps amounts to no more than using a computer or processor to automate and/or implement the abstract idea of tracking user engagements on a feed for a time period and swapping content based on tracked data. As discussed above, taking the claim elements separately, the system, processor, memory perform(s) the steps or functions of receiving a feed swap request from a first user, the feed swap request including a first feed to be swapped with a second feed provided by a second user; placing the first feed in a second hosting platform associated with the second user; adding a first tracking tool for the first feed to the second hosting platform when placing the first feed in the second hosting platform; collecting, through the first tracking tool, a first set of user engagements with the first feed for a first period of time; and generating a first actionable insight for the first user based on the collected first set of user engagements with the first feed. These functions correspond to the actions required to perform the abstract idea. Viewed as a whole, the combination of elements recited in the claims merely recite the concept of tracking user engagements on a feed for a time period and swapping content based on tracked data. Therefore, the use of these additional elements does no more than employ the computer as a tool to automate and/or implement the abstract idea. The use of a computer or processor to merely automate and/or implement the abstract idea cannot provide significantly more than the abstract idea itself (MPEP 2106.05(I)(A)(f) & (h)). Therefore, the claim is not patent eligible.
As for dependent claims 2-16, and 18-20 further describe the abstract idea of tracking user engagements on a feed for a time period and swapping content based on tracked data. Claim(s) 2-16, and 18-20 does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because, when analyzed under step 2B of the Alice/Mayo test (See 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. 50, 52, 56 (January 7, 2019)), the additional element(s) of using a system to perform the steps amounts to no more than using a computer or processor to automate and/or implement the abstract idea of tracking user engagements on a feed for a time period and swapping content based on tracked data. As discussed above, taking the claim elements separately, the system perform(s) the steps or functions of placing the second feed in a first hosting platform associated with the first user; adding a second tracking tool for the second feed to the first hosting platform after placing the second feed in the first hosting platform; collecting a second set of user engagements with the second feed for a second period of time based on data collected through the second tracking tool; and generating a second action insight for the second user based on the collected second set of user engagements with the second feed; wherein the first tracking tool is a tracking pixel added to a first webpage for broadcasting the first feed hosted by the second hosting platform; where the first feed is a trailer added to a podcast of the second user when placing the first feed in the second hosting platform; wherein the feed swap request further includes a note for the first feed, the note including a link to a podcast of the first user promoted through the first feed; wherein the podcast of the first user promoted through the first feed is hosted by a first hosting platform; wherein the podcast of the first user promoted through the first feed further includes an associated second tracking tool; wherein the second tracking tool is a tracking prefix placed directly in an RSS feed for the podcast of the first user promoted through the first feed; wherein the first feed includes a podcast of the first user played through the second hosting platform; wherein the podcast of the first user played through the second hosting platform further includes an associated second tracking tool; wherein the second tracking tool is a tracking prefix placed directly in an RSS feed for the podcast of the first user played through the second hosting platform; further comprises: collecting additional user information for one or more users associated with the first set of user engagements; and generating the first actionable insight for the first user based also on the additional user information; wherein generating the first actionable insight comprises adding one or more keywords to metadata for one or more podcasts associated with the first user; wherein generating the first actionable insight comprises including one or more keywords in one or more podcasts associated with the first user; wherein the second user is identified by a machine learning model based on an audience of the first user and an audience of the second user; identifying one or more relevant podcasts for the first user based on a genre, reach and network of a podcast of the first user. These functions correspond to the actions required to perform the abstract idea. Viewed as a whole, the combination of elements recited in the claims merely recite the concept of tracking user engagements on a feed for a time period and swapping content based on tracked data. Therefore, the use of these additional elements does no more than employ the computer as a tool to automate and/or implement the abstract idea. The use of a computer or processor to merely automate and/or implement the abstract idea cannot provide significantly more than the abstract idea itself (MPEP 2106.05(I)(A)(f) & (h)). Therefore, the claim is not patent eligible.
Prior Art
3. In reference to independent claims 1 and 17, the Office is unaware of any references that teach, individually or without an unreasonable combination of references, the combination of limitations steps found in the claims especially limitation that says: “placing the first feed in a second hosting platform associated with the second user; adding a first tracking tool for the first feed to the second hosting platform when placing the first feed in the second hosting platform; collecting, through the first tracking tool, a first set of user engagements with the first feed for a first period of time; and generating a first actionable insight for the first user based on the collected first set of user engagements with the first feed.”. No reference found that would teach the above limitation(s).
Examiner notes: tracking user’s engagements for a time period using a tracking tool and swapping data feed requests by a second user based on tracked data and generating a first actionable insight for the first user based on the collected first set of user engagements with the first feed.
The first most relevant prior art identified by the Examiner is 20100050098. It teaches a user watches and/or updates a show, at least by virtue of the fact that there is an awareness that user is still active on a timer correspondent to the page then in view. Consequently, it is known when the user leaves the page of view. As such, desired advertisement responses may correspondingly be tracked, such as knowing when a web page is clicked through to in accordance with a pay-per-click advertisement, the personal RSS feed and/or RSS metadata correspondent to an individual user's channel may, as previously discussed, allow for a user to host his or her channel, which may be subsequently shared with other users, but it does not teach receiving feed swap request from a first user and swapping the feed data by a second user based on the tracked conversions with using a tracking tool that tracks the conversions. Therefore, it lacks the combination of claimed elements as claimed by the independent claims.
The second most relevant prior art identified by the Examiner is/are 20090158317. It teaches update advertising data upon selection of the interactive element, advertising data may track the number of times an item was clicked, the conversion (e.g. sale) rate of a given item and the revenue generated by the interactive element in a data streams, but it is missing the feature of receiving a feed swap request from a first user, the feed swap request including a first feed to be swapped with a second feed provided by a second user, and generating a first actionable insight for the first user based on the collected first set of user engagements with the first feed. Therefore, it lacks the combination of claimed elements as claimed by the independent claims.
The third most relevant prior art found by the Examiner is 20090158317. It teaches data streams with update advertising data upon selection of the interactive element advertising data may track the number of times an item was clicked, the conversion (e.g. sale) rate of a given item and the revenue generated by the interactive element , but its missing the features of swapping feed based on conversion rate by a second user and generating actionable insight for the first user based on the collected first set of user engagements with the first feed. Therefore, it lacks the combination of claimed elements as claimed by the independent claims.
The fourth most relevant prior art found by the Examiner is US9507856B1. It teaches RSS feed provided by a content source 130. Such subscription enables the user at subscriber platform 140 to receive through the client device 141 at least a portion of the content and/or an alert (or notification) that updated content is available for access by the user. In another embodiment, the alert may include some or all of the updated content. Such content may include, but is not limited to, stock feeds, news articles, personal advertisements, shopping list prices, images, search results, blogs, sports, weather reports, or the like. Moreover, the content and/or the alerts may be provided to client devices 141 using any of a variety of delivery mechanisms, including IM, SMS, Twitter, Facebook, MMS, IRC, EMS, audio messages, HTML, email, or another messaging application. In a particular embodiment, the application executable code used for content subscription as described herein can itself be downloaded to the wireless application device 148 via network 120. Content dispatcher 210 can be configured to interface with any of the content sources 130 via wide area data network 120. Because of the variety of content sources 130 providing content feeds to content dispatcher 210, the content dispatcher 210 needs to manage each feed. This feed management process includes retaining information on each feed, including an identifier or address of the corresponding content source, the timing associated with the feed, including the time when the latest feed update was received and the time when the next update is expected, and the like. This feed information can be stored in feed database 108., but its missing some of the features of the limitation of receiving a feed swap request from a first user, the feed swap request including a first feed to be swapped with a second feed provided by a second user; placing the first feed in a second hosting platform associated with the second user; adding a first tracking tool for the first feed to the second hosting platform when placing the first feed in the second hosting platform; and generating a first actionable insight for the first user based on the collected first set of user engagements with the first feed. Therefore, it lacks the combination of claimed elements as claimed by the independent claims.
The fifth most relevant prior art found by the Examiner is 20070233857. It teaches The ad conversion tracking module 242 is configured to identify successful advertising conversions in which a user responds in some way to an advertisement delivered to that user. The ad insertion module 244 is configured to insert advertising into a data flow (either as a supplement to the existing content or to replace existing content). The ad insertion module 244 may refer to predefined rules regarding what action to take based on the observed behavior of the user. These rules will define the advertising content to be provided to the user and the method of inserting that advertising content. These rules may relate to the content of the information being provided to the user, the context in which that information is being provided, and behavioral rules. Given the description of the user profile signature tracking module 241, the ad conversion module 242, the logging module 243, and an ad insertion module 244, those skilled in the art may appreciate that additional modules may be designed and added in. For example, a module configured to receive updated commercial information from another device over the Internet, but its missing the features of swapping feed based on conversion rate by a second user for the fist users request and generating actionable insight for the first user based on the collected first set of user engagements with the first feed. Therefore, it lacks the combination of claimed elements as claimed by the independent claims.
The six most relevant prior art found by the Examiner is US6985079B1. It teaches video feed, but its missing the features of receiving a feed swap request from a first user, the feed swap request including a first feed to be swapped with a second feed provided by a second user; placing the first feed in a second hosting platform associated with the second user; adding a first tracking tool for the first feed to the second hosting platform when placing the first feed in the second hosting platform; collecting, through the first tracking tool, a first set of user engagements with the first feed for a first period of time; and generating a first actionable insight for the first user based on the collected first set of user engagements with the first feed. Therefore, it lacks the combination of claimed elements as claimed by the independent claims.
All these references listed above teaches some of the features in the limitations of the claim but when combining it becomes not obvious and the references would teach the claim as a whole.
Examiner note: none of the references or combined references teach the combination of limitations of claim 1, and 17 or no reference found that would teaches the combination of limitations of claim 1, and 17, especially claim limitations: placing the first feed in a second hosting platform associated with the second user; adding a first tracking tool for the first feed to the second hosting platform when placing the first feed in the second hosting platform; collecting, through the first tracking tool, a first set of user engagements with the first feed for a first period of time; and generating a first actionable insight for the first user based on the collected first set of user engagements with the first feed, and which is an idea of a method for prompting a podcast includes receiving a feed swap request from a first user, the feed swap request including a first feed to be swapped with a second feed provided by a second user, placing the first feed in a second hosting platform associated with the second user, adding a first tracking tool for the first feed to the second hosting platform when placing the first feed in the second hosting platform, collecting, through the first tracking tool, a first set of user engagements with the first feed for a first period of time, and generating a first actionable insight for the first user based on the collected first set of user engagements with the first feed.
When taken as a whole, the claims are not rendered obvious as the available prior art does not suggest or otherwise render obvious the noted features nor does the available prior art suggest or otherwise render obvious further modification of the evidence at hand. Such modifications would require substantial reconstruction relying solely on improper hindsight bias, and thus would not be obvious.
NPL Reference
4. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The NPL “Evaluating the Use of User Content Feed Swapping for Counteracting Filter Bubbles” describes “The term “filter bubble” refers to a phenomenon in which a social media recommendation system fails
to offer diverse or novel content, and instead offers content that reinforces particular belief systems.
Filter bubbles are considered harmful because of their potential polarizing effects in society and their
role in the spread of false information online. In this paper, we propose a solution to counteract the
effects of filter bubbles by providing users with the option to switch content feeds with their least similar
user’s feed. This is achieved by substituting the correlation coefficient used in collaborative filtering
recommendation systems. A social media network simulation and accompanying questionnaire were
used to test the viability of the solution. It was found to be viable in a simulated environment because
it increased the users’ self-reported bias perception, without adversely impacting user engagement
metrics, after switching with their least similar user’s feed. While a viable proof of concept in a simulated
environment, the solution must be tested within a naturalistic setting with more participants in order to
determine its real-world viability.”.
Pertinent Art
5. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Reference#US9032296B1 teaches similar invention which describes A method comprising: displaying a first video from a live feed in a first video display area of a screen display; communicating a plurality of highlight links to a user device, said highlight links corresponding to highlight clips of selected portions of the live feed; displaying the plurality of highlight links in a second display area of the screen display simultaneously with the first video in the first video display area; selecting a first link of the plurality of highlight links to form a selection signal; communicating the selection signal to a remote location located remotely from the user device; communicating a highlight clip of the highlight clips corresponding to the selection signal to the user device from the remote location; displaying the highlight clip in the first video display area by replacing the live feed; and when the highlight clip is complete, redisplaying the live feed in the first video display area. A system comprising: a user device having a screen display with a user interface, said screen display comprising a first video display area displaying a live feed and a second display area; and a content processing system located remotely from the user device communicating a plurality of highlight links to the user device, said highlight links corresponding to highlight clips of selected portions of the live feed; a content delivery network; said user device displaying the plurality of highlight links in the second display area of the display, said user device communicating a selection signal corresponding to a first highlight link of the plurality of highlight links to the content delivery network; said content delivery network communicating a first highlight clip corresponding to the first highlight link of the selection signal to the user device; said user device displaying the first highlight clip in the first video display area in response to communicating the first highlight clip and redisplaying the live feed in the first video display area when the highlight clip is complete.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TAREK ELCHANTI whose telephone number is (571) 272-9638. The examiner can normally be reached on Flex Mon - Thur 7-7:00 and Fri 7-4:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Waseem Ashraf can be reached on (571) 270-3948. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/TAREK ELCHANTI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3621B