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 .
Applicant(s) Response to Official Action
The response filed on 06/29/2026 has been entered and made of record.
Response to Arguments/Amendments
Presented arguments have been fully considered, but some are rendered moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection necessitated by amendment(s) initiated by the applicant(s).
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.
Claims 1, 4-5 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 pre-AIA the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 & 5 recite the limitation: “… wherein the change of the right holder by the changer is executed upon and triggered by the obtaining of the image by the image obtaining processor as an integrated processing sequence … onto a blockchain in the integrated processing sequence of the change of the right holder executed upon and triggered by the obtaining of the image …”. The current claim language relies on the phrase “executed upon and triggered by the obtaining of the image … as an integrated processing sequence”. This specific phrasing and causal relationship are not found in the specification.
Paragraph [0290] of the specification (US Pre-Grant Pub No.: 20250080701) appears to include the rules for changing the right holder, stating: “The right holder of the video may be changed in response to every inquiry or may be changed when the inquiry includes information indicating a request for changing the right holder.”.
For the purposes of examination, the limitation is interpreted as the following:
“… wherein the change of the right holder by the changer is executed when the inquiry includes information indicating a request for changing the right holder; … onto a blockchain using the user identifier”.
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.
Claims 1, 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wei (CN-105095490-A [already of record]) in view of Goldston et al., hereinafter referred to as Goldston (US 2022/0366022 A1 [already of record]) in further view of Yoon et al., hereinafter referred to as Yoon (US 2022/0147961 A1).
As per claim 1, Wei discloses an information processor (Wei: Para. [0055] discloses a server.), comprising:
an inquiry receiver (receiver module) as hardware configured to receive, from a user terminal (mobile terminal) of an inquiring user, an inquiry about environmental information about environments in which a video including an image was captured with one of two or more mobile terminals (user side terminals) of creators, the environmental information being location information, time information, weather information, temperature information, or season information (Wei: Paras. [0010], [0056], [0127] disclose a server with a receiver module for receiving a picture searching request from a mobile terminal. The server provides service for multiple user side terminals that validated users are registered with ([0123], [0131]). The request contains geographical location information and time period information.);
an image obtaining processor (search module) configured to obtain an image captured with one of the two or more mobile terminals, based on the inquiry received by the inquiry receiver (receiver module), the obtained image being associated with the environmental information (Wei: Paras. [0011], [0016], [0057] disclose a search module that searches for and obtains multiple Target Photos that match the received location and time information. These photos are uploaded with characteristic information, including geographical longitude and latitude, shooting time, direction of travel and picture classification information.);
a right holder processor configured to performing processes of making the video including the obtained image associated with (stores), (Wei: Paras. [0015], [0058], [0061] disclose memory module stores [accumulates] the target picture in a picture database along with its associated characteristic [environmental] information.); and
a transmitter (pushing module) as hardware configured to transmit the obtained image to the user terminal of the inquiring user after the processes performed by the right holder processor (Wei: Paras. [0013], [0059], [0157] disclose a pushing module that pushes the processed image data back in response to the searching request. The request originates from a mobile terminal, and the response is transmitted back to that mobile terminal.),
the preservation information includes: access information including a URL, for accessing the accumulated video (Wei: Para. [0167] discloses “storage network page address [claimed and the preservation information includes: access information including a URL, for accessing the accumulated video]”);
However, Wei does not explicitly disclose “… the obtained image being associated with the environmental information associated with a right holder identifier that identifies a right holder as a user of the one of the two or more mobile terminals … making the video including the obtained image associated with the right holder identifier and the environmental information, and associating preservation information with the video including the obtained image … changing the right holder of the video including the obtained image identified by the right holder identifier associated with the video including the obtained image to the user terminal of the inquiring user; wherein the change of the right holder by the changer is executed [[upon and triggered by the obtaining of the image by the image obtaining processor as an integrated processing sequence]] when the inquiry includes information indicating a request for changing the right holder; the changer adds a user identifier identifying the user of the user terminal in a manner associated with the right holder identifier associated with the video including the obtained image transmitted by the transmitter, thereby generating right holder history information indicating a history of right holder changes; the right holder processor is configured to accumulate preservation information onto a blockchain; and the preservation information includes: … and the right holder history information.”.
Further, Goldston is in the same field of endeavor and teaches the obtained image (media content/item) being associated with the environmental information (i.e., timestamp) and associated with a right holder identifier (ownership information) that identifies a right holder (media content owner) as a user of the one of the two or more mobile terminals (Goldston: Table 1 & Paras. [0092], [0105], [0126] disclose managing media content with associated metadata that includes creator identification, timestamp and ownership information.);
making the video including the obtained image (media content/item) associated with the identifier and the environmental information (Goldston: Paras. [0092], [0105], [0126] disclose uploading the media item associated with a timestamp and ownership information.);
and accumulating the video including the obtained image, and associating preservation information with the video including the obtained image (Goldston: Paras. [0009], [0011], [0065], [0126] disclose creating a container file in a digital vault to manage media/image content and its associated metadata, which includes ownership information [right holder identifier]. The content is associated with a non-fungible token (NFT) and recording it on a blockchain or distributed ledger to memorialize and track ownership rights. The NFT and its associated records on the blockchain represent the claimed preservation information.),
wherein:
the right holder processor includes a changer (token transaction module) configured to change the right holder of the video including the obtained image identified by the right holder identifier associated with the video including the obtained image to the user terminal of the inquiring user (Goldston: Paras. [0011], [0070], [0082], [0100] disclose a changer configured to change the right holder of the video to a new user (purchaser/new owner) during a transaction.);
(Goldston: Para. [0136] discloses “offer to purchase rights [claimed information indicating a request for changing the right holder]”);
the changer adds a user identifier identifying the user of the user terminal in a manner associated with the right holder identifier associated with the video including the obtained image transmitted by the transmitter, thereby generating right holder history information indicating a history of right holder changes (Goldston: Paras. [0080]-[0082], [0216], [0237] disclose adding the new owner's identifier while maintaining existing rights/identifiers, and logging these updates to generate right holder history information indicating a history of right holder changes (transaction log ledger tracking activity, ownership transfers, and changes).);
the right holder processor is configured to accumulate preservation information onto a blockchain using the user identifier (Goldston: Paras. [0009], [0217], [0232], [0238] disclose accumulating this smart contracts, transaction metadata, and ownership records [preservation information] against a distributed ledger such as a blockchain [claimed onto a blockchain using the user identifier added by the changer].); and
the preservation information includes: access information including a URL, for accessing the accumulated video; and the right holder history information (Goldston: Para. [0238] discloses that the preservation information stored on the blockchain/NFT includes access information (a URL, pointer, or reference to the digital asset) and transaction history [right holder history information].).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, and having the teachings of Wei and Goldston before him or her, to modify the searching computer network system of Wei to include the right holder identifier associated image/video, history and preservation information features as described in Goldston. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve media authenticity during retrieval by providing a configuration that enables an advanced media search request tracking network.
However, Wei-Goldston do not explicitly disclose “wherein the change of the right holder by the changer is executed when the inquiry includes information indicating a request for changing the right holder”.
Furthermore, Yoon is in the same field of endeavor and teaches wherein the change of the right holder by the changer is executed when the inquiry includes information indicating a request for changing the right holder (Yoon: Para. [0016] discloses “according to an ownership distribution participation request … requesting each of a first administrator to an m-th administrator, wherein m is an integer equal to or larger than 1, to sign at least one of the ownership token contract ID and ownership transferal information corresponding to the ownership distribution participation information [claimed wherein the change of the right holder by the changer is executed when the inquiry includes information indicating a request for changing the right holder]”.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, and having the teachings of Wei-Goldston, and Yoon before him or her, to modify the searching request process of Wei-Goldston to include the inquiry includes information indicating a request feature as described in Yoon. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve user experience by providing a configuration that facilitates the user’s intention between client and server communication.
As per claim 4, Wei-Goldston disclose the information processor according to claim 1, wherein the right holder processor (Goldston: [0014] “digital vault”) is configured to reward the user of the one of the two or more mobile terminals of the creators (Goldston: Paras. [0014], [0079], [0231] disclose initiating, via the digital vault, one or more payment transactions [reward] to accounts associated with one or more user devices associated with the media content or the NFT in accordance with royalty percentages of the media content; and transmitting an alert to the NFT creator and rights holder associated with the one or more payment transactions to the accounts.).
As per claim 5, Wei discloses an information processing method implementable with an inquiry receiver as hardware, an image obtaining processor, a transmitter as hardware, and a right holder processor (Wei: Abstract; Para. [0055] discloses a server.), the method comprising:
by the inquiry receiver, receiving, from a user terminal of an inquiring user, an inquiry about environmental information about environments in which a video including an image was captured with one of two or more mobile terminals (user side terminals) of the creators, the environmental information being location information, time information, weather information, temperature information, or season information (Wei: Paras. [0010], [0056], [0127] disclose a server with a receiver module for receiving a picture searching request from a mobile terminal. The server provides service for multiple user side terminals that validated users are registered with ([0123], [0131]). The request contains geographical location information and time period information.);
by the image obtaining processor (search module), obtaining an image captured with one of the two or more mobile terminals, based on the inquiry received by the inquiry receiver, the obtained image being associated with the environmental information (Wei: Paras. [0011], [0016], [0057] disclose a search module that searches for and obtains multiple Target Photos that match the received location and time information. These photos are uploaded with characteristic information, including geographical longitude and latitude, shooting time, direction of travel and picture classification information.);
by the right holder processor, performing processes of making the image associated with
by the transmitter, transmitting the obtained image to the user terminal of the inquiring user after the processes performed by the right holder processor (Wei: Paras. [0013], [0059], [0157] disclose a pushing module that pushes the processed image data back in response to the searching request. The request originates from a mobile terminal, and the response is transmitted back to that mobile terminal.);
However, Wei does not explicitly disclose “… the obtained image being associated with the environmental information and associated with a right holder identifier that identifies a right holder as a user of the one of the two or more mobile terminals … making the video including the obtained image associated with the identifier and the environmental information … the video including the obtained image associated with the identifier, and associating preservation information with the video including the obtained image … by the right holder processor, changing the right holder of the video identified by the right holder identifier associated with the video including the obtained image to a user of the user terminal; by the right holder processor, adding a user identifier identifying the user of the user terminal in a manner associated with the right holder identifier associated with the video including the obtained image transmitted by the transmitter, thereby generating right holder history information indicating a history of right holder changes; and by the right holder processor, accumulating preservation information onto a blockchain, wherein the preservation information includes: access information, including a URL, for accessing the accumulated video; and the right holder history information.”.
Further, Goldston is in the same field of endeavor and teaches the obtained image (media content/item) being associated with the environmental information (i.e., timestamp) and associated with a right holder identifier (ownership information) that identifies a right holder (media content owner) as a user of the one of the two or more mobile terminals (Goldston: Table 1 & Paras. [0092], [0105], [0126] disclose managing media content with associated metadata that includes creator identification, timestamp and ownership information.);
making the video including the obtained image (media content/item) associated with the identifier and the environmental information (Goldston: Paras. [0092], [0105], [0126] disclose uploading the media item associated with a timestamp and ownership information.);
and accumulating the video including the obtained image, and associating preservation information with the video including the obtained image (Goldston: Paras. [0009], [0011], [0065], [0126] disclose creating a container file in a digital vault to manage media/image content and its associated metadata, which includes ownership information [right holder identifier]. The content is associated with a non-fungible token (NFT) and recording it on a blockchain or distributed ledger to memorialize and track ownership rights. The NFT and its associated records on the blockchain represent the claimed preservation information.),
changing the right holder of the video including the obtained image identified by the right holder identifier associated with the video including the obtained image to the user terminal of the inquiring user (Goldston: Para. [0011] discloses “updating [claimed by the right holder processor, changing the right holder] the NFT container file to reflect a new owner [claimed of the video including the obtained image identified by the right holder identifier associated with the video including the obtained image to the user terminal of the inquiring user]”);
(Goldston: Para. [0136] discloses “offer to purchase rights [claimed information indicating a request for changing the right holder]”);
adding a user identifier identifying the user of the user terminal of the inquiring user in a manner associated with the right holder identifier associated with the video including the obtained image transmitted by the transmitter, thereby generating right holder history information indicating a history of right holder changes (Goldston: Paras. [0080]-[0082], [0216], [0237] disclose adding the new owner's identifier while maintaining existing rights/identifiers, and logging these updates to generate right holder history information indicating a history of right holder changes (transaction log ledger tracking activity, ownership transfers, and changes).);
the right holder processor, accumulating the preservation information onto a blockchain using the user identifier (Goldston: Paras. [0009], [0217], [0232], [0238] disclose accumulating this smart contracts, transaction metadata, and ownership records [preservation information] against a distributed ledger such as a blockchain [claimed onto a blockchain using the user identifier].); and
the preservation information includes: access information including a URL, for accessing the accumulated video; and the right holder history information (Goldston: Para. [0238] discloses that the preservation information stored on the blockchain/NFT includes access information (a URL, pointer, or reference to the digital asset) and transaction history [right holder history information].).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, and having the teachings of Wei and Goldston before him or her, to modify the searching computer network system of Wei to include the right holder identifier associated image/video, history and preservation information features as described in Goldston. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve media authenticity during retrieval by providing a configuration that enables an advanced media search request tracking network.
However, Wei-Goldston do not explicitly disclose “wherein the change of the right holder by the changer is executed when the inquiry includes information indicating a request for changing the right holder”.
Furthermore, Yoon is in the same field of endeavor and teaches wherein the change of the right holder by the changer is executed when the inquiry includes information indicating a request for changing the right holder (Yoon: Para. [0016] discloses “according to an ownership distribution participation request … requesting each of a first administrator to an m-th administrator, wherein m is an integer equal to or larger than 1, to sign at least one of the ownership token contract ID and ownership transferal information corresponding to the ownership distribution participation information [claimed wherein the change of the right holder by the changer is executed when the inquiry includes information indicating a request for changing the right holder]”.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, and having the teachings of Wei-Goldston, and Yoon before him or her, to modify the searching request process of Wei-Goldston to include the inquiry includes information indicating a request feature as described in Yoon. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve user experience by providing a configuration that facilitates the user’s intention between client and server communication.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and can be viewed in the list of references.
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PEET DHILLON whose telephone number is (571)270-5647. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 5am-1:30pm. 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, Sath V. Perungavoor can be reached at 571-272-7455. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PEET DHILLON/Primary Examiner
Art Unit: 2488
Date: 08-11-2026
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