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
Claims Status
Claims 1, 2, 9, 10, 13, 17 and 18 filed 07/24/2026 have been amended. Claims 1-7 and 9-20 are pending and have been rejected.Claim 8 has been canceled.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/24/2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 07/24/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to independent claims, limitations of “displaying in a conversation interface between the second user and the first digital assistant, information relating to the interaction between the second user and the first digital assistant; and displaying in a conversation interface between the first user and the first digital assistant, information associated with the interaction” 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
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.
Claim 1-11 & 13-20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gershony et al. (U.S. Publication 2017/0180276), hereinafter “Gershony” in view of Sedouram (U.S. Publication 2025/0068258), hereinafter “Sedouram”.
As to claims 1 & 17, Gershony discloses a method and an electronic device for conversation interaction, comprising: at least one processing unit (Gershony, see fig. 2, processor); and at least one memory coupled to the at least one processing unit and storing instructions for execution by the at least one processing unit, the instructions (Gershony, see fig. 2, memory coupled to processor), when executed by the at least one processing unit, cause the electronic device to perform acts comprising: receiving a configuration operation from a first user, the configuration operation being configured to configure a first digital assistant to replace the first user to interact with a second user (Gershony, see [0111], user can press option to switch to a bot mode, which changes the user’s avatar to a bot that will reply to conversations); in response to the configuration operation taking effect, displaying an interaction portal of the first digital assistant in an interface associated with the first user, so that the second user interact with the first digital assistant (Gershony, see [0073], graphical data from messaging application is displayed. See [0111-0112], second user interacts with the bot, as bot replies to second user messages through a messaging application); Gershony is silent to displaying in a conversation interface between the second user and the first digital assistant, information relating to interaction between the second user and the first digital assistant, wherein the interaction between the second user and the first digital assistant is executed in the conversation interface between the second user and the first digital assistant; and displaying in a conversation interface between the first user and the first digital assistant, information associated with the interaction. Sedouram discloses displaying in a conversation interface between the second user and the first digital assistant, information relating to interaction between the second user and the first digital assistant, wherein the interaction between the second user and the first digital assistant is executed in the conversation interface between the second user and the first digital assistant (Sedouram, see [0023], user interface generator displays the entries and the corresponding responses in a user interface for a chat session between the user and the chatbot, wherein the a chat session can also be a multi-party chat session including interactions amongst multiple users and the chatbot); and displaying in a conversation interface between the first user and the first digital assistant, information associated with the interaction (Sedouram, see [0023], user interface generator displays the entries and the corresponding responses in a user interface for a chat session between the user and the chatbot). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Gershony in view of Sedouram in order to further modify the method of analyzing content of one or more messages and/or user information to automatically provide suggestions to a user within a messaging application from the teachings of Gershony with the method of conversational user interfaces with multimodal inputs and mind map like interactions from the teachings of Sedouram. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would allow conversational user interfaces and chatbots (Sedouram — Paragraph 0001). As to claims 2 & 18, Gershony in view of Sedouram discloses everything disclosed in claims 1 & 17. Gershony further discloses wherein receiving the configuration operation from the first user comprises receiving the configuration operation via at least one of: the conversation interface between the first user and the first digital assistant, a user personal homepage of the first user, or an assistant personal homepage of the first digital assistant (Gershony, see [0075] and fig. 3, user interface shows the messages can be communicated between a user and a bot).
As to claims 3 & 19, Gershony in view of Sedouram discloses everything disclosed in claims 2 & 18. Gershony further discloses wherein receiving the configuration operation via the conversation interface between the first user and the first digital assistant comprises: displaying a first message from the first digital assistant in the conversation interface between the first user and the first digital assistant, the first message being provided with a configuration control (Gershony, see [0075] and fig. 3, conversation between users and bot shown in a user interface. See [0099-0100], system provides a message with information, wherein a suggestion is generated for the user to take action); and receiving the configuration operation via the configuration control (Gershony, see fig. 4A, a suggestion can be generated for users to take an action by using a button).
As to claim 4, Gershony in view of Sedouram discloses everything disclosed in claim 3. Gershony further discloses wherein displaying the first message from the first digital assistant comprises: displaying a second message from the first digital assistant in the conversation interface between the first user and the first digital assistant, the second message being provided with a preset shortcut instruction (Gershony, see [0075] and fig. 3, conversation between users and bot shown in a user interface. See [0106] & fig. 4G, the user can select one of the options first suggested to the user, which triggers a second suggestion to be generated); and in response to the preset shortcut instruction being triggered, displaying the first message (Gershony, see [0106] & fig. 4G, conversation interface generated responsive to receiving the user selection, wherein the messaging application generates and displays certain restaurants open for lunch).
As to claim 5, Gershony in view of Sedouram discloses everything disclosed in claim 2. Gershony further discloses wherein receiving the configuration operation via the user personal homepage or the assistant personal homepage comprises: displaying, in the user personal homepage or the assistant personal homepage, a configuration portal for configuring the first digital assistant to replace the first user to interact with the second user (Gershony, see [0111], the messaging application can provide an option to a user to switch to a bot mode, which changes the user's avatar to a bot); displaying, in response to the configuration portal being triggered, a configuration interface for configuring the first digital assistant to replace the first user to interact with the second user (Gershony, see [0111], the messaging application can provide an option to a user to switch to a bot mode); and receiving the configuration operation in the configuration interface (Gershony, see [0111], providing an option to the user that switches to a bot).
As to claim 6, Gershony in view of Sedouram discloses everything disclosed in claim 5. Gershony further discloses wherein an example in which the first user is replaced by the first digital assistant for interaction is further presented in the configuration interface (Gershony, see [0111], the messaging application provide an option to a user to switch to a bot mode, which changes the user's avatar to a bot and automatically replies to conversations).
As to claims 7 & 20, Gershony in view of Sedouram discloses everything disclosed in claims 1 & 17. Gershony further discloses wherein displaying the interaction portal of the first digital assistant in the interface associated with the first user comprises displaying the interaction portal in at least one of: a conversation interface between the second user and the first user, or a personal homepage of the first user (Gershony, see [0104] and fig. 4E, conversation interface showing a conversation between multiple users).
As to claim 9, Gershony in view of Sedouram discloses everything disclosed in claim 1. Gershony further discloses wherein displaying the information relating to the interaction between the first digital assistant and the second user comprises at least one of: displaying, in a conversation interface between the first user and the first digital assistant, a message from the first digital assistant, the message comprising a record of the interaction, displaying, in a conversation interface between the first user and the first digital assistant, a plurality of messages generated in the interaction in an aggregate form, or displaying, in a conversation interface between the first user and the second user, the plurality of messages generated in the interaction (Gershony, see [0104] and fig. 4E, conversation interface showing a conversation between multiple users).
As to claim 10, Gershony in view of Sedouram discloses everything disclosed in claim 1. Gershony further discloses further comprising: in response to the configuration operation taking effect, displaying, in the conversation interface between the first user and the first digital assistant, at least one of the following: text describing interaction of the first digital assistant in place of the first user, or an icon representing the interaction of the first digital assistant in place of the first user (Gershony, see [0104], the report can start with a summary on when the user discussed the topic and the other participants in the conversations).
As to claim 11, Gershony in view of Sedouram discloses everything disclosed in claim 1. Gershony further discloses wherein the configuration operation comprises: selecting a data source for use by the first digital assistant in interaction with the second user, or setting a guide phrase for displaying to the second user (Gershony, see [0110], machine learning is used in order to determine responses to users. See [0113-0114], suggested responses are based on sensor data, one or more preferences, a conversation history, or one or more recent activities performed by each of the other participants). As to claim 13, Gershony discloses a method for conversation interaction, comprising: displaying an interaction portal of a first digital assistant in an interface associated with a first user (Gershony, see [0075] and fig. 3, conversation between users and bot shown in an user interface); in response to receiving a triggering operation for the interaction portal from a second user, displaying a conversation interface between the second user and the first digital assistant (Gershony, see [0073], graphical data from messaging application is displayed. See [0111-0112], second user interacts with the bot, as bot replies to second user messages through a messaging application); and executing interaction between the first digital assistant and the second user in the conversation interface (Gershony, see [0111] and 4D, the conversational rules help create a format that is easily understood by the chat bots for ease of communication, wherein the messaging application provide an option to a user to switch to a bot mode, which changes the user's avatar to a bot and automatically replies to conversations); Gershony is silent to displaying in a conversation interface between the second user and the first digital assistant, information relating to the interaction between the second user and the first digital assistant; and displaying in a conversation interface between the first user and the first digital assistant, information associated with the interaction. However, Sedouram discloses displaying in a conversation interface between the second user and the first digital assistant, information relating to the interaction between the second user and the first digital assistant (Sedouram, see [0023], user interface generator displays the entries and the corresponding responses in a user interface for a chat session between the user and the chatbot, wherein the a chat session can also be a multi-party chat session including interactions amongst multiple users and the chatbot); and displaying in a conversation interface between the first user and the first digital assistant, information associated with the interaction (Sedouram, see [0023], user interface generator displays the entries and the corresponding responses in a user interface for a chat session between the user and the chatbot). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Gershony in view of Sedouram in order to further modify the method of analyzing content of one or more messages and/or user information to automatically provide suggestions to a user within a messaging application from the teachings of Gershony with the method of conversational user interfaces with multimodal inputs and mind map like interactions from the teachings of Sedouram. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would allow conversational user interfaces and chatbots (Sedouram — Paragraph 0001).
As to claim 14, Gershony in view of Sedouram discloses everything disclosed in claim 13. Gershony further discloses wherein the interface associated with the first user comprises at least one of: a conversation interface between the second user and the first user, or a user personal homepage of the first user (Gershony, see [0075] and fig. 3, user interface shows the messages can be communicated between a user and a bot).
As to claim 15, Gershony in view of Sedouram discloses everything disclosed in claim 13. Gershony further discloses further comprising: displaying, to the first user, information relating to the interaction between the first digital assistant and the second user (Gershony, see [0111] and 4D, the conversational rules help create a format that is easily understood by the chat bots for ease of communication, wherein the messaging application provide an option to a user to switch to a bot mode, which changes the user's avatar to a bot and automatically replies to conversations).
As to claim 16, Gershony in view of Sedouram discloses everything disclosed in claim 15. Gershony further discloses wherein displaying the information relating to the interaction between the first digital assistant and the second user comprises at least one of: displaying, in a conversation interface between the first user and the first digital assistant, a message from the first digital assistant, the message comprising a record of the interaction, displaying, in a conversation interface between the first user and the first digital assistant, a plurality of messages generated in the interaction in an aggregate form, or displaying, in a conversation interface between the first user and the second user, the plurality of messages generated in the interaction (Gershony, see [0104] and fig. 4E, conversation interface showing a conversation between multiple users).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gershony et al. (U.S. Publication 2017/0180276), hereinafter “Gershony” in view of Sedouram (U.S. Publication 2025/0068258), hereinafter “Sedouram” and Bradley (U.S. Publication 2021/0044547), hereinafter “Bradley”.
As to claim 12, Gershony in view of Sedouram discloses everything disclosed in claim 1, but is silent to in response to the configuration operation taking effect, displaying a deactivation control in a user personal homepage of the first user or an assistant personal homepage of the first digital assistant; and in response to the deactivation control being triggered, disabling the first digital assistant from replacing the first user in interacting with the second user. However, Bradley discloses in response to the configuration operation taking effect, displaying a deactivation control in a user personal homepage of the first user or an assistant personal homepage of the first digital assistant (Bradley, see [0146] and fig. 10E, agent rescues the conversation between a user and the bot, wherein the agent takes over the conversation); and in response to the deactivation control being triggered, disabling the first digital assistant from replacing the first user in interacting with the second user (Bradley, see [0146] and fig. 10E, if the confidence rating or score for the bot falls below a particular threshold value, the communication server can automatically transfer the conversation to the agent). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Gershony in view of Sedouram and Bradley in order to further modify the method of analyzing content of one or more messages and/or user information to automatically provide suggestions to a user within a messaging application from the teachings of Gershony with the method of conversational user interfaces with multimodal inputs and mind map like interactions from the teachings of Sedouram and the method of transferring messaging to automation from the teachings of Bradley. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would allow to indicate to the agent that the bot's performance is degrading with regard to the particular conversation (Bradley — Paragraph 0146).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TANIA M PENA-SANTANA whose telephone number is (571)270-0627. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8am to 4pm EST.
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/TANIA M PENA-SANTANA/Examiner, Art Unit 2443
/NICHOLAS R TAYLOR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2443
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