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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP §§ 706.02(l)(1) - 706.02(l)(3) for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
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Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 3, 5, and 10-11 of US Patent 11,616,998. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the instant application is an obvious variation, recited similarly to the patented subject matter. The table below shows the claim sets similarities.
Instant Application # 18/967,803
US Patent # 11,616,998
1. A system for authorizing content viewing,
the system comprising: a content provider system, configured to:
receive, from an electronic sportsbook provider system, data corresponding to a sports wager placed by a user;
determine authorized content based on the data received from the electronic sportsbook provider system;
in response to the received data from the electronic sportsbook provider system, authorize a user account using a rights scheme for access to content via a streaming media application; after authorizing the user account, stream the content via the streaming media application linked with the authorized user account; and
after authorizing the user account and streaming the content, deauthorize the user account for access to the content via the streaming media application by removing the rights scheme such that access to the content is blocked.
1. A system for authorizing content viewing,
the system comprising:…the television service provider system…configured to:
receive, from the electronic sportsbook provider system, sports wager data indicating that a sports wager has been placed by a user…;
perform a lookup to determine a content event based on the sports wager data,
…
in response to the received sports wager data, authorize a user account mapped to the user for viewing the television channel for the content event based on the date and the scheduled start time; … and
10. The system for authorizing content viewing of claim 1, further comprising: a computerized streaming device, wherein the television service provider system is further configured to: stream the television channel to an application being executed by the computerized streaming device via the Internet, wherein the user account is active within the application.
after the content event ends, deauthorize the user account mapped to the user for viewing the television channel such that access to the television channel on which the content event was broadcast is blocked.
2. The system for authorizing the content viewing of claim 1, wherein a minimum bet amount is required to be met in order for access to the content to be authorized
3. The system for authorizing content viewing of claim 2, further comprising the electronic sportsbook provider system configured to set a minimum bet amount partially based on the authorized channel data for the user account.
3. The system for authorizing the content viewing of claim 1, wherein the content provider system is further configured to deauthorize the user account for access to the content via the streaming media application based at least in part on the received data from the electronic sportsbook provider system.
11. The system for authorizing content viewing of claim 1, wherein the television service provider system being configured to deauthorize the user account for access to the television channel is based on the content event having concluded.
4. The system for authorizing the content viewing of claim 3, further comprising the electronic sportsbook provider system.
3. The system for authorizing content viewing of claim 2, further comprising the electronic sportsbook provider system…
5. The system for authorizing the content viewing of claim 4, wherein the electronic sportsbook provider system is configured to receive an indication from the user indicating that viewing access to the content is desired.
5. The system for authorizing content viewing of claim 1, further comprising the electronic sportsbook provider system configured to: receive an indication from the user indicating that viewing access to the content event is desired…
6. The system for authorizing the content viewing of claim 1, further comprising: a computerized streaming device, wherein the content provider system is further configured to: stream the content to the streaming media application being executed by the computerized streaming device via the Internet, wherein the user account is active within the streaming media application.
10. The system for authorizing content viewing of claim 1, further comprising: a computerized streaming device, wherein the television service provider system is further configured to: stream the television channel to an application being executed by the computerized streaming device via the Internet, wherein the user account is active within the application.
7. The system for authorizing the content viewing of claim 6, further comprising: a smartphone, wherein the smartphone functions as the computerized streaming device and is used to access the electronic sportsbook provider system to place the sports wager.
10. The system for authorizing content viewing of claim 1, further comprising: a computerized streaming device, wherein the television service provider system is further configured to: stream the television channel to an application being executed by the computerized streaming device via the Internet, wherein the user account is active within the application.
8. The system for authorizing the content viewing of claim 1, wherein the content is a sporting event.
1. A system for authorizing content viewing, the system comprising: an electronic sportsbook provider system, configured to: provide wager information to a television service provider system; and host wagers on sporting events.
Claims 9-20 comprise similar language as claims 1-8 above.
See claims 1, 3, 5, and 10-11 for similar claim language as above claims.
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US PG Pub 2008/0064490 to Ellis (“Ellis”) in view of US PG Pub 2021/0118264 to Nelson (“Nelson”) and US PG Pub 2019/0238909 to Graham (“Graham”).
Regarding claim 1, “A system for authorizing content viewing” reads on the system/environment for sports watching and sports wagering where it relates to media system with sports-specific viewing and tuning enhancements (abstract, ¶0002) disclosed by Ellis and represented in Fig. 1.
As to “the system comprising: a content provider system, configured to: receive, from an electronic sportsbook provider system, data corresponding to a sports wager placed by a user” Ellis discloses (¶0041, claim 1) that the spread and wagering data and other sports-related information is provided by the supplemental content source database as represented in Fig. 1 (element 120); (¶0044, ¶0098) database stores user’s active and recent wagers.
As to “in response to the received data from the electronic sportsbook provider system, authorize a user account using a rights scheme for access to content via a streaming media application” Ellis discloses (¶0122, ¶0125) that upon receiving a wager, the user’s wagering account is authorized by entering PIN by the user as represented in Fig. 24.
As to “after authorizing the user account, stream the content via the streaming media application linked with the authorized user account” Ellis discloses (¶0053) that the user equipment is a computer equipment with an interactive sports watcher application integrated in the computer, where (¶0040) the user equipment receives media content over the Internet.
Ellis meets all the limitations of the claim except “determine authorized content based on the data received from the electronic sportsbook provider system.” However, Nelson discloses (¶0045) that the system determines that at least one wager was placed on at least one sporting event wagering opportunity, then the system displays the sporting event associated with that wagered on sporting event wagering opportunity as represented in Fig. 1 (element 112). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Ellis’ system by determining a content event associated with the sports wager data as taught by Nelson in order to enable a user to utilize an account to place a sporting event wager on a sporting event displayed to a user remote from the gaming establishment sports book (Nelson - ¶0011).
Combination of Ellis and Nelson meets all the limitations of the claim except “10after authorizing the user account and streaming the content, deauthorize the user account for access to the content via the streaming media application by removing the rights scheme such that access to the content is blocked.” However, Graham discloses (¶0068-¶0070) that the user is prevented from using betting account to place the bet upon conclusion of the virtual sporting event as represented in Fig. 4A. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Ellis and Nelson’s systems by deauthorizing the user account to block the access to the channel in response to the received sports wager data as taught by Graham in order to prevent users from placing any more bets.
Regarding claim 2, “The system for authorizing the content viewing of claim 1, wherein a minimum bet amount is required to be met in order for access to the content to be authorized” Ellis discloses (¶0123) that the user is provided with an option to select any dollar amount for the new wager as represented in Fig. 25 (element 2506). However, the Examiner takes official notice that it was well known in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to set a minimum bet amount. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to set a minimum bet amount to Ellis’ system would have yielded predictable result of having a larger profit for the sportsbook provider by setting a larger amount for a minimum bet.
Regarding claim 3, “The system for authorizing the content viewing of claim 1, wherein the content provider system is further configured to deauthorize the user account for access to the content via the streaming media application based at least in part on the received data from the electronic sportsbook provider system” Graham discloses (¶0068-¶0070) that upon conclusion of the virtual sporting event, the user is prevented from using betting account to place the bet as represented in Fig. 4A.
Regarding claim 4, “The system for authorizing the content viewing of claim 3, further comprising the electronic sportsbook provider system” Ellis discloses (abstract) that an integrated environment for sports watching, sports wagering, and fantasy league play is provided; (¶0118) through the interactive wagering interface, the user may build wagers and place these wagers with a network transaction processing system; Wagers on sporting events, such as football and baseball games, all be created and placed from the user equipment device.
Regarding claim 5, “The system for authorizing the content viewing of claim 4, wherein the electronic sportsbook provider system is configured to receive an indication from the user indicating that viewing access to the content is desired” Ellis discloses (¶0037, ¶0044) that the interactive sports watcher application monitors a request for a sporting event or sports-related content.
Regarding claim 6, “The system for authorizing the content viewing of claim 1, further comprising: a computerized streaming device, wherein the content provider system is further configured to: stream the content to the streaming media application being executed by the computerized streaming device via the Internet, wherein the user account is active within the streaming media application” Ellis discloses (¶0053) that the user equipment is a computer equipment with an interactive sports watcher application integrated in the computer, where (¶0040) the user equipment receives media content over the Internet.
Regarding claim 7, The system for authorizing the content viewing of claim 6, further comprising: a smartphone, wherein the smartphone functions as the computerized streaming device and is used to access the electronic sportsbook provider system to place the sports wager” Ellis discloses (¶0048) that the user equipment includes a computer equipment; (¶0053) where the computer equipment with an interactive sports watcher application is integrated in the computer, and Nelson discloses (¶0032) that the system uses a television, a SmartTV, a computer, a mobile device, or other such media delivery device to display the one or more sporting event wagering opportunities to the player.
Regarding claim 8, “The system for authorizing the content viewing of claim 1, wherein the content is a sporting event” Ellis discloses (¶0037) that the sports watcher application automatically launches after a request for a sporting event or sports-related content is received; (¶0038) although the terms "sporting event" and "sports-related content" are sometimes used interchangeably herein, both of these terms include content.
Regarding claim 9, see rejection similar to claim 1.
Regarding claim 10, see rejection similar to claim 2.
Regarding claim 11, see rejection similar to claim 3.
Regarding claim 12, see rejection similar to claim 5.
Regarding claim 13, see rejection similar to claim 6.
Regarding claim 14, see rejection similar to claim 7.
Regarding claim 15, see rejection similar to claim 8.
Regarding claim 16, see rejection similar to claim 1.
Regarding claim 17, see rejection similar to claim 2.
Regarding claim 18, see rejection similar to claim 3.
Regarding claim 19, see rejection similar to claim 5.
Regarding claim 20, see rejection similar to claim 8.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 2023/0164396 to Montgomery
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/PINKAL R CHOKSHI/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2425