DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to the communication filed on 06/03/2026.
Claims 1, 8 and 15 have been amended.
No claims have been added and/or canceled.
Claims 1-20 are pending.
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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mulligan et al (US Pub. No. 20240267344 herein after “Mulligan”) and further in view of Catalano et al (US Pub. No. 2024/0291779 herein after “Catalano”).
As per claim 1 and similarly claims 6 and 15, Mulligan discloses a method comprising:
receiving a first media input in a messaging thread (Mulligan, para[0073,0148] prompts received from a user; bring the chatbot system into a group chat or messaging thread),
wherein the messaging thread comprises participants associated with multiple user profiles, wherein the multiple user profiles comprise a first user profile and a second user profile (Mulligan, para[0074,0108] A user management system is operationally responsible for the management of user data and profiles), generating a first media output, in the messaging thread (Mulligan, para[0033,00158-0160] creating dynamic visualizations such as charts, maps, graphs, and the like on-the-fly to visualize data requested by the user), wherein the first media input is associated with the first user profile (Mulligan, para[0073,0246] a user prompt from a user);
receiving a second media input in the messaging thread (Mulligan, para[0073,0148] prompts received from a user; bring the chatbot system into a group chat or messaging thread; the user can send textual prompts to the chatbot system and receive conversational responses), the second media input associated with a change of a second portion of the first media output, the second media input associated with the second user profile (Mulligan, para[0033,0073,0158-0160, 0246] creating dynamic visualizations such as charts, maps, graphs, and the like on-the-fly to visualize data requested by the user); determining, by a machine learning model, context associated with the first media input and the second media input (Mulligan, para[0086,0149,0154,0165] the whole conversation may be used after the chatbot is added into the user intent extraction; chatbot system…may employ natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML)/artificial intelligence techniques to understand and interpret the user’s intent; This provides the LLM 338 with the full context of the interactive dialog); and
generating a second media output, in the messaging thread, based on the context (Mulligan, para[0073,0086] the chatbot is responsible for generating responses to prompts…and generate a response).
Mulligan does not explicitly disclose, however, in an analogous art, Catalano discloses generating a first media output, in the messaging thread, comprising a change of a first portion of the first media input (Catalano, para[0110] the chatbot system receives the prompt 616 and the prompt media…and uses the intent to generate a response); receiving a second media input in the messaging thread, the second media input associated with a change of a second portion of the first media output (Catalano, para[0030,0165-0175,0189] a chatbot is able to participate in a group chat; once activated, the chatbot system 300 joins the conversation, contributing responses and interacting with the users as per its configured persona and capabilities, see FIG. 10A subsequent mention).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Catalano’s teaching of a group chatbot into Mulligan’s teaching of a chatbot because one of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to provide user’s with control over the involvement of the chatbot system in the chat.
As per claim 2 and similarly claims 9 and 16, Mulligan discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the second media output comprises an animation associated with the first media output (Mulligan, para[0033,0218]).
As per claim 3 and similarly claims 10 and 17, Mulligan discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the change of the first portion of the first media output comprises adding audio to the first media output (Mulligan, para[0033,0218]).
As per claim 4 and similarly claims 11 and 18, Mulligan discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the first media input comprises text (Mulligan, para[0092]).
As per claim 5 and similarly claims 12 and 19, Mulligan discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising: determining that there is an indication of permission to combine an image associated with the first user profile with the first media output; determining, based on the indication of the permission to combine, that the context indicates combining the image associated with the first user profile with the first media output; determining a second context associated with the combining the image associated with the first user profile with the first media output using the machine learning model; and generating a third media output based on the second context (Mulligan, para[0033,0154,0246]).
As per claim 6 and similarly claim 13, Mulligan discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the second media output comprises an image, a video, or audio (Mulligan, para[0218]).
As per claim 7, and similarly claims 14 and 20, Mulligan discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the second media output is displayed by a head-mounted display (Mulligan, para[0050]).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Natisha Cox whose telephone number is (571) 270-7167. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday, 10am - 6:00pm EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Umar Cheema can be reached on (571)270-3037. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8000.
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/NATISHA D COX/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2458
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