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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Funk et al. (US Pub. No. 2006/0085816).
Consider claim 1. Funk et al. discloses a method comprising: storing, via a computing device, an attribute and a content item that comprises primary content and a plurality of advertisements, wherein the attribute is associated with a media device (paras. 0044 and 0047 describe a client device storing a program and rules data); receiving, from the media device, a request for the content item (para. 0045 describes a request to view specific multimedia titles); and causing, based on the attribute, the media device to skip each of the plurality of advertisements during output the content item (para. 0040 describes enabling attributes to skip advertisements as shown in fig. 3B).
Consider claim 2. Funk et al. discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from a second media device, a second request for a second content item, wherein the second content item comprises second primary content and a second plurality of advertisements and is stored with a second attribute; and causing, based on the second attribute, the media device to skip a subset of the second plurality of advertisements during output the second content item (para. 0040 describes enabling attributes to fast forward during playback, allowing skipping a subset of the second plurality of advertisements during output the second content item).
Consider claim 3. Funk et al. discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from a second media device, a second request for a second content item, wherein the second content item comprises second primary content and a second plurality of advertisements and is stored with a second attribute; and causing, based on the second attribute, the media device to play each of the second plurality of advertisements during output the second content item (para. 0040 describes enabling attributes to fast forward during playback, allowing the playback of each of the second plurality of advertisements during output the second content item).
Consider claim 4. Funk et al. discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the content item comprises one or more of: a live broadcast or on-demand content (para. 0022 describes on-demand delivery of audio, video, graphical icons, software, computer games, etc.).
Consider claim 5. Funk et al. discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the attribute comprises an indication of one or more of: a request for playback of each of the plurality of advertisements, a request for playback of a subset of the plurality of advertisements, or a request to skip playback of each of the plurality of advertisements (para. 0040 describes enabling attributes to skip advertisements as shown in fig. 3B).
Consider claim 6. Funk et al. discloses the method of claim 1, wherein storing, via the computing device, the content item that comprises the primary content and the plurality of advertisements is based on receipt of a second request from the media device to store the primary content and the plurality of advertisements (paras. 0044 and 0047 describe a client device storing a program and rules data).
Consider claim 7. Funk et al. discloses the method of claim 6, wherein the attribute is included with the second request from the media device to store the primary content and the plurality of advertisements (paras. 0044 and 0047 describe a client device storing a program and rules data).
Consider claim 8. Funk et al. discloses all claimed limitations as stated above. Funk et al. further discloses a non-transitory computer readable medium storing processor executable instructions that are executed by at least one processor (para. 0013 describes a computer readable medium storing processor executable instructions that are executed by at least one processor).
Claims 9-21 are rejected using similar reasoning as corresponding claims above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Mishawn N Hunter whose telephone number is (571)272-7635. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7am-4pm.
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, Thai Tran can be reached at 571-272-7382. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MISHAWN N. HUNTER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2484