DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions. This Office action is based on the communications filed March 13, 2025. Claims 1 – 20 are currently pending and considered below.
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 pre-AIA 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 –
(b) the invention was patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country or in public use or on sale in this country, more than one year prior to the date of application for patent in the United States.
Claim(s) 1 – 6, 8, 10 – 16, 18, and 20 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(b) as being anticipated by Pestoni et al. (US 2003/0037157 A1), hereinafter Pestoni.
Claim 1: Pestoni discloses a network device comprising: a network interface; at least one processor; and at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network device is configured to (see at least, “Turning now to FIG. 5, virtual Jukebox device 500 includes hardware and software components for implementing the virtual Jukebox functions according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The hardware and software components include a processor/controller CPU 502, a memory 504, a network interface 554, an audio playback platform and interface 544 that according to a
preferred embodiment of the present invention comprise a sound chip and/or a sound card. This audio platform controls speakers, which may be as simple as one local speaker, a set of speakers for surround sound or a distributed set of speakers in a large environment such as a warehouse,” Pestoni [0046], “Limited non-volatile storage is also utilized, and can take several forms including hard disks, Flash memory or battery backed up Dram 550. In order to maintain the OS 506 (operating system) and at least the Jukebox SW (software) application 508 and the vote history lists (explained below) non-volatile memory is preferably utilized. This will allow for Jukebox operation using OS and the Jukebox SW application after power outages and for the contents of the vote history lists to be available,” Pestoni [0046], “Continuing with FIG. 5, the memory 504, according to the present example, contains components of the Operating System platform 506 that controls applications running on the OS platform 506; the Jukebox application 508, the HTTP server application 538, and other applications 540. These Jukebox applications will be discussed in more detail below,” Pestoni [0050]):
receive, via the network interface, data indicating audio tracks for playback, wherein the network device is connected to a local area network (see at least, “Turning now to FIG. 4, block diagram 400 illustrates an exemplary network topology for use according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. A computer system with an audio platform 404 is communicatively coupled via a network 402 to a plurality of networked computing client devices 412, all of which are audio listeners in acoustical proximity. The network 402 may be a LAN (Local Area Network) that is typically installed in a business,” Pestoni [0039], “The user decides to request a particular song and enters the flow at step 602, by entering the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the song at step 604. This URL is typically on the local network, but it may in fact be anyplace specific. That is the URL may be a tag to a location on a particular PC's hard drive on the LAN or it may be a particular location out on the Internet. The networked device 412 receives user input and then sends the request to the virtual Jukebox device at step 606. This flow is then exited at 608. Alternatively, the user may enter the request by selecting one that is listed as available on the network,” Pestoni [0064]);
add the audio tracks to a queue corresponding to a playback device, and comprises an ordered list of audio tracks to be played by a playback device, wherein the playback device is connected to the local area network (see at least, “The virtual Jukebox device 500 receives the request for a particular song from the networked device and enters it into the queue database 518. This queue database 518 contains information about the song and also the location of the song file. Note that a given song may exist on several networked devices 412, and alternative preferred embodiments of the present invention allow a choice of the location of a source of an audio file while providing a pointer to the alternative location(s) as a backup. A location is typically defined by a URL, which enables the Jukebox device 500, to know where the audio file is for loading into the cache database 522 of FIG. 5 for playing. If the source for the scheduled audio file is unavailable because the networked device has disconnected from the network, a backup copy on the network will be searched for. If no alternative URL is found then the scheduled song is cast off the queue database 518,” Pestoni [0065], “Of course, an alternative embodiment of the present invention comprises sending a copy of a digital file from a first location to a second location and then playing that file to provide the audio locally for the benefit of all local listeners, such as at the second location. Data streaming allows for a sever to send parts of the file together with timing information to a client (usually a "player") that can process (play) the data according to the timing requirements. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a virtual Jukebox acts as a streaming client, playing selected songs to all listeners within local audio listening range,” Pestoni [0062], “If a single user is accessing the virtual Jukebox, he or she can select the music to be played by indicating a list of files available on the network. For private use such as in the home, this would allow a person to select music independently of the location where the files are stored. Because the players are designed to be inexpensive, a user may own several virtual Jukeboxes and place them in different rooms of the house. Then, he or she could program from a single location the music to be played on each Jukebox, while having all files stored on a personal computer or network attached storage (NAS.),” Pestoni [0079], “When more than one person wants to listen to the music being played on a given Jukebox, like in a shared office or home environment or other such environment (generally referred to as a shared acoustical environment), they may do so by simply adding songs to the queue database 518. The files in which the content is encoded, which could consist of the personal musical collections of each user, may reside on multiple devices on the network, such as on each person's PC or on a server. The advanced features described above, such as voting, quotas or automatic playback of preferred tracks, allow for complex collaborative decisions that have at the same time a simple user interface,” Pestoni [0080]);
cause the playback device to play back at least one audio track according to the queue (see at least, “Turning now to FIG. 7, illustrated is a flow diagram 700, which contains the vote handling and summation at the Jukebox device 500 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The flow is entered at step 702, according to the example, when the Jukebox device starts to play a song,” Pestoni [0067], “the next song in the queue database 518 is played,” Pestoni [0067]);
determine additional audio tracks that are similar to the audio tracks in the queue (see at least, “An advanced capability includes the automatic generation of play lists. The Jukebox tracks the most popular selections for the user group that accesses the Jukebox by observing the patterns of choices made by users. Other preferences detected automatically may include time of day when certain audio files are played. In this way, the Jukebox learns the preferences of its users and, unless instructed to behave differently, may decide on its own what files to play or render,” Pestoni [0060], “The vote database 532 is used by the autoplay manager 514 to play the songs in the absence of requests. In effect the Jukebox "learns" the preferences of the users. (This will be explained below.) The given voting algorithm only represents one possible scheme to determine the popularity of a song and the fact that enough clients want the playback of song to be stopped. Other voting algorithms may be used as may be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the present discussion,” Pestoni [0068], “The advanced features described above, such as voting, quotas or automatic playback of preferred tracks, allow for complex collaborative decisions that have at the same time a simple user interface,” Pestoni [0080], “A preferred embodiment of the present invention keeps track of the usage by analyzing the history of requests with which users could "train" the virtual Jukebox to learn their preferences. For example, users around an office space who share an interest in a particular genre or artist could connect to this Jukebox regularly. The more they use it, the better it knows what the users' preferences are, and the better it can program itself without the need for specific actions on the part of the users,” Pestoni [0081]); and
when the playback device finishes playback of the queue, extend playback of the queue with the determined additional audio tracks (see at least, “As a result of a lack of song requests from the networked devices 412 over a period of time, the queue database 518 can become empty. Therefore no audio will be scheduled or rendered. When the queue manager 516 detects this scenario the autoplay manager 514 starts,” [0053], “Turning now to FIG. 8, an exemplary operational sequence 800 illustrates an autoplay manager 514 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. An autoplay manager 514 operational sequence is entered, at step 802, when the last requested song on the queue database 518 is completed at step 804. The autoplay manager 514 determines the next song to play using the vote database 532 employing a randomly selected list 806. (explained below) This selection is placed in the queue database 518 and then is loaded into the cache database 522 and rendered at step 808. After the song is rendered a check is performed to see if the queue database 518 has a song request in it at step 810. If there is a requested song at step 810, the auto play operational sequence exits at step 816. While no song has been requested at step 810 the queue database 518 is loaded with another randomly selected song from a randomly selected list at step 806,” Pestoni [0071], “Turning now to FIG. 9b, illustrated is a flow diagram 806 of the selection of an audio file for the autoplay manager 514. The flow is entered at step 908 when all requested audio files have been rendered or played. A random number is generated at step 910 and is used with a weighted function to select at step 912 one of the lists 902-906 from the group of lists FIG. 9a. The weighting is towards the most voted for list 904. However any weighting may be used. An additional random number in this example is generated at step 914, and this number is used with a weighted function to select a song from the selected list at step 916. The weighting may be set to select songs that have not been played or rendered recently or songs that have more votes on this particular given list. In fact these weighting factors are programmable and may be changed over time. Finally the URL for the selected song from the selected list is sent at step 918 to the queue database 518, and the operational flow is exited at step 920,” Pestoni [0075]).
Claim 2: Pestoni discloses the network device of claim 1, wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network device is configured to determine the additional audio tracks that are similar to the audio tracks in the queue comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network device is configured to: add the additional audio tracks to a playlist (see at least, “Turning now to FIG. 9, illustrated is a description 900 of the voting database lists and how these lists are used to select audio files automatically. FIG. 9a shows three exemplary lists, which represent audio files that have been voted for. Although three lists are being shown, more lists
may be used in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention. The central list 902, represents a list of audio files that have been requested. The height of this bar illustrates the audio files receiving a normal or average number of votes. The higher bar 904 is intended to illustrate
audio files receiving higher number of votes. Audio files have been moved to this list from the requested audio files list 902 because these audio files have received favorable votes for them beyond a certain threshold such as during the time that they were played. The threshold may be programmable and set to different values, while it is taken to be 50% in the present example. The lower bar 906 is intended to
illustrate audio files in this example receiving unfavorable votes. Audio files have been moved to this list 906 from the requested audio files list 902 because these audio files have received unfavorable votes for them beyond a certain threshold during the time that they were played,” Pestoni [0074]).
Claim 3: Pestoni discloses the network device of claim 2, wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network device is configured to extend playback of the queue with the determined additional audio tracks comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network device is configured to: add the playlist to the queue (see at least, “An advanced capability includes the automatic generation of play lists. The Jukebox tracks the most popular selections for the user group that accesses the Jukebox by observing the patterns of choices made by users. Other preferences detected automatically may include time of day when certain audio files are played. In this way, the Jukebox learns the preferences of its users and, unless instructed to behave differently, may decide on its own what files to play or render,” Pestoni [0060], “Turning now to FIG. 8, an exemplary operational sequence 800 illustrates an autoplay manager 514 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. An autoplay manager 514 operational sequence is entered, at step 802, when the last requested song on the queue database 518 is completed at step 804. The autoplay manager 514 determines the next song to play using the vote database 532 employing a randomly selected list 806. (explained below) This selection is placed in the queue database 518 and then is loaded into the cache database 522 and rendered at step 808,” Pestoni [0071]).
Claim 4: Pestoni discloses the network device of claim 2, wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network device is configured to determine the additional audio tracks that are similar to the audio tracks in the queue comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network device is configured to: determine one or more first audio tracks from a streaming audio service; determine one or more second audio tracks from an additional source other than the streaming audio service; and add the one or more first audio tracks and the one or more second audio tracks to the playlist (see at least, “The user decides to request a particular song and enters the flow at step 602, by entering the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the song at step 604. This URL is typically on the local network, but it may in fact be anyplace specific. That is the URL may be a tag to a location on a particular PC's hard drive on the LAN or it may be a particular location out on the Internet. The networked device 412 receives user input and then sends the request to the virtual Jukebox device at step 606. This flow is then exited at 608. Alternatively, the user may enter the request by selecting one that is listed as available on the network,” Pestoni [0064], “Frequent users may store lists of URLs on the Jukebox, such that multiple songs may be selected as a play list to be played at future times. This simple addition significantly increases the usability, since it is no longer necessary to add songs one by one. Saving the named lists on the Jukebox does not require significant storage space, since only the URLs and not the audio files themselves are stored,” Pestoni [0059], “An advanced capability includes the automatic generation of play lists. The Jukebox tracks the most popular selections for the user group that accesses the Jukebox by observing the patterns of choices made by users. Other preferences detected automatically may include time of day when certain audio files are played. In this way, the Jukebox learns the preferences of its users and, unless instructed to behave differently, may decide on its own what files to play or render,” Pestoni [0060]).
Claim 5: Pestoni discloses the network device of claim 4, wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network device is configured to determine the one or more second audio tracks from the additional source other than the streaming audio service comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network device is configured to: determine the one or more second audio tracks from an additional streaming source (see at least, “The user decides to request a particular song and enters the flow at step 602, by entering the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the song at step 604. This URL is typically on the local network, but it may in fact be anyplace specific. That is the URL may be a tag to a location on a particular PC's hard drive on the LAN or it may be a particular location out on the Internet. The networked device 412 receives user input and then sends the request to the virtual Jukebox device at step 606. This flow is then exited at 608. Alternatively, the user may enter the request by selecting one that is listed as available on the network,” Pestoni [0064], “Turning now to FIG. 9, illustrated is a description 900 of the voting database lists and how these lists are used to select audio files automatically. FIG. 9a shows three exemplary lists, which represent audio files that have been voted for. Although three lists are being shown, more lists may be used in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention,” Pestoni [0074]).
Claim 6: Pestoni discloses the network device of claim 4, wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network device is configured to determine the one or more second audio tracks from the additional source other than the streaming audio service comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network device is configured to: determine the one or more second audio tracks from a local library that is accessible from a shared network location on the local area network source (see at least, “The user decides to request a particular song and enters the flow at step 602, by entering the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the song at step 604. This URL is typically on the local network, but it may in fact be anyplace specific. That is the URL may be a tag to a location on a particular PC's hard drive on the LAN or it may be a particular location out on the Internet. The networked device 412 receives user input and then sends the request to the virtual Jukebox device at step 606. This flow is then exited at 608. Alternatively, the user may enter the request by selecting one that is listed as available on the network,” Pestoni [0064], “Turning now to FIG. 9, illustrated is a description 900 of the voting database lists and how these lists are used to select audio files automatically. FIG. 9a shows three exemplary lists, which represent audio files that have been voted for. Although three lists are being shown, more lists may be used in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention,” Pestoni [0074]).
Claim 8: Pestoni discloses the network device of claim 1, wherein the playback device is configured in a group with at least one additional playback device, and wherein the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network device is configured to: cause, via the network interface, the at least one additional playback device to play back the at least one audio track according to the queue in synchrony with the playback device, wherein the playback device and the at least one additional playback device are connected to the network device via the local area network (see at least, “Of course, an alternative embodiment of the present invention comprises sending a copy of a digital file from a first location to a second location and then playing that file to provide the audio locally for the benefit of all local listeners, such as at the second location. Data streaming allows for a sever to send parts of the file together with timing information to a client (usually a "player") that can process (play) the data according to the timing requirements. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a virtual Jukebox acts as a streaming client, playing selected songs to all listeners within local audio listening range,” Pestoni [0062], “If a single user is accessing the virtual Jukebox, he or she can select the music to be played by indicating a list of files available on the network. For private use such as in the home, this would allow a person to select music independently of the location where the files are stored. Because the players are designed to be inexpensive, a user may own several virtual Jukeboxes and place them in different rooms of the house. Then, he or she could program from a single location the music to be played on each Jukebox, while having all files stored on a personal computer or network attached storage (NAS.),” Pestoni [0079]).
Claim 10: Pestoni discloses the network device of claim 1, wherein the queue is stored in data storage of the network device (see at least, “The queue database 518 contains queue items arranged in a FIFO order of the requested audio files and is provided to the queue manager 516, which can adjust the order of the audio files listed. This queue manager 516 provides the list of audio files that will be stored in the local cache,” Pestoni [0051]).
Claims 11 – 16 and 18 are directed to a method to be performed by a network device, the method substantially similar to that of claims 1 – 6, and 8, respectively, and therefore claims 11 – 16 and are rejected for the same reasons (see also at least, “Briefly, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method, a system, and computer readable medium, are implemented for requesting audio files to be rendered in a shared acoustical environment,” Pestoni [0020]).
Claim 20 is directed to at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions that are executable by at least one processor such that a network device is configured substantially similar in scope to claim 1 and therefore claim 20 is rejected for the same reasons (see also at least, “Briefly, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method, a system, and computer readable medium, are implemented for requesting audio files to be rendered in a shared acoustical environment,” Pestoni [0020], “The present invention can also be embedded in a computer program product, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation of the methods described herein, and which-when loaded in a computer system-is able to carry out these methods. Computer program means or computer program in the present context mean any expression, in any language, code or notation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having an information
processing capability to perform a particular function either directly or after either or both of the following: a) conversion to another language, code or, notation; and b) reproduction in a different material form,” Pestoni [0086]).
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 7 and 17 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Pestoni in view of Plastina et al. (US 2006/0212478 A1), hereinafter Plastina.
Claim 7: Pestoni discloses the network device of claim 1, wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network device is configured to determine the additional audio tracks that correspond in substantial likeness to the audio tracks in the queue but does not disclose to comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network device is configured to: determine a radio station customized according to the audio tracks in the queue. However, Pestoni explains, “Audio files that have just played may not be played
again for H hours where H is programmable. In addition the alarm manager 542 is able to assure the rendering of an audio file at a specific time of day, and the resultant queue database 518 is adjusted accordingly,” Pestoni [0052] and “An advanced capability includes the automatic generation of play lists. The Jukebox tracks the most popular selections for the user group that accesses the Jukebox by observing the patterns of choices made by users. Other preferences detected automatically may include time of day when certain audio files are played. In this way, the Jukebox learns the preferences of its users and, unless instructed to behave differently, may decide on its own what files to play or render,” Pestoni [0060]. Plastina discloses in regards to similar methods and systems for generating a subgroup of one or more media items from a library of media items to comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network device is configured to: determine a radio station customized according to the audio tracks in the queue (see at least, “Bias by Current Time,” “Picks the next media item (e.g., song or photo) based on the time of day and your listening habits of that time of day. Note this is fundamentally different from a selection filter because it reevaluates the current time as it runs. Sort of an auto-radio station,” Plastina [0084]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to utilize the the time of day preference of queue items taught by Pestoni to create the aforementioned auto-radio station also utilizing time of day preferences thereby allowing for the advantage of playback that “reevaluates the current time as it runs,” Plastina [0084].
Claim 17 is substantially similar in scope to claim 7 and therefore is rejected for the same reasons.
Claims 9 and 19 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Pestoni in view of Yellin et al. (US RE46,114 E), hereinafter Yellin.
Claim 9: Pestoni discloses the network device of claim 1, wherein the network device comprises the playback device, and wherein the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium but does not disclose further comprises program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network device is configured to: display, via a user interface, a selectable control that corresponds to an option to automatically extend playback of audio content in the queue corresponding to the playback device; receive, via the user interface, a selection of the selectable control; and according to the selection of the selectable control, disable the option to automatically extend playback of audio content in the queue. However, Yellin discloses in regards to autoplay to: display, via a user interface, a selectable control that corresponds to an option to automatically extend playback of audio content in the queue corresponding to the playback device; receive, via the user interface, a selection of the selectable control; and according to the selection of the selectable control, disable the option to automatically extend playback of audio content in the queue (see at least, “At step 610, the streaming media server may receive an indication whether the user has selected to preview titles using an autoplay interface. For example, the user may enable the autoplay feature using the interface provided by the client device. If not enabled, then at step 615, the user is presented with a regular interface provided for selecting streaming media titles. However, if the autoplay interface is enabled, then at step 620, the media server identifies selections for an autoplay list,” Yellin Column 7 Lines 13 – 21, “Further, display 140 may itself be an integrated device capable of connecting to the network 120 playing back media streams supplied by the media server 105. For example, some flat-panel television displays include integrated firmware components used to connect to a variety of media server system 105 (e.g., various streaming media services, video on demand services, or popular video sharing websites). In each of these cases, a user interface presented by the client device may allow users to initiate an autoplay preview mode, where titles are streamed automatically, beginning from a designated insertion point,” Yellin Column 4 Lines 28 – 38, “display window of the interface,” Yellin Column 8 Line 10). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to incorporate the displayed interface of Yellin to enable or disable the autoplay feature of Pestoni thereby allowing for autoplay or regular playback as desired by the user.
Claim 19 is substantially similar in scope to claim 9 and therefore is rejected for the same reasons.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH SAUNDERS whose telephone number is (571)270-1063. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday, 9:00 a.m. - 4 p.m., EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Carolyn R Edwards can be reached at (571)270-7136. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JOSEPH SAUNDERS JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2692
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