DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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
2. 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 claims at issue 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); and 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 a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. 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 obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-19 of U.S. Patent 10,313,756. Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because:
The current application (17/376,320) ...equates to...U.S. Pat. (10,313,756).
As to claim 1, the claimed “A method...” equates to “A method for recommending audio/video...” of Pat ‘756 (col.37, lines 9-10);
the claimed “receiving….” "determining that a user profile....”; “identifying based on the determining...”; and “in response to identifying...”; “based on determining…” “generating for display a recommendation…” equates to "receiving....”; “determining...”; “determining...” “in response to determining...” and “…viewing profile, recommending ...” of Pat ‘756 (col.37, lines 11-43); the current claim limitations are broader without “splitting...” and other claim limitations, however the claim limitations are similar in scope, i.e., controlling a profile or specific media asset with respect to filtering based on a number of times a character appears within the data associated with the video frame of the respective media segment and generating program recommendation for a device.
Claims 2-10 are met in claims 2-10 of Pat’756 (col.37, line 44-col.39, line 21).
As to claim 11, the claimed “A system...” is composed of the same structural elements that were discussed with respect to claim 1.
Claims 12-20 are met as previously discussed in claims 2-10.
Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other; i.e., the current claims are broader in scope than the parent allowed claims. Allowance of claims 1-20 of the instant application would result in an unjustified timewise extension of the monopoly defined by patent claim Y.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
3. 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 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
4. Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by YATES et al (2010/0153885).
As to claims 1-5, YATES discloses a method for recommending media assets relating to characters to a user, comprising:
Receiving (figs.13, [0116-0117] and [0134]), via a user interface of a user device associated with a user profile, a selection of an identifier of a first media asset, wherein the first media asset depicts a character; Determining that the user profile indicates insufficient consumption of media assets depicting the character (figs.10-12, [0007-0015], [0043-0054], [0066-0080], [0098] and [0137]), user profile(s) information is generated by the user or automatically by the media App associated with the server or user device, the App associate a data structure with each program: VOD, PPV, etc., and the data structure contains searchable attributes: actor, title, description, video clips, images, etc., to enable a user to search and receive related or similar media assets associated with the actor or similar actor (unknown to the user); note further that search results may be further searched based on various determination(s), comparing one or more attributes of the user to other sets of search criterions derived from attributes of the user as to selected program(s) and/or first set of search criteria; monitors timing as to programs user accessed: watched, interacted or listened including previews and length of content to generate profiles; based at least in part on the determining that the user profile indicates insufficient consumption of media assets depicting the character: identifying a second media asset, wherein the second media asset depicts the character; and generating for display on the user device: (a) an identification of the character, and (b) a recommendation to consume the second media asset; determining that the user profile indicates that none of the media assets depicting the character have been consumed; determining that a period of time between a time associated with consumption of media assets depicting the character and a current time exceeds a threshold time period and determining that a threshold number of segments of media assets depicting the character has not been consumed ([0043-0050] [0066-0080], [0084-0085], [0098] and [0137]), the profile(s) is update accordingly to reflect to a user preferences; search results may be further searched based on various determination(s), comparing one or more attributes of the user to other sets of search criterions derived from attributes of the user as to selected program(s) and/or first set of search criteria; the data structure contains searchable attributes: actor, title, description, etc., to enable a user to search and receive related or similar media assets associated with the actor or similar actor; the searchable attributes enables searching using various search criteria and the attributes are compared with the selected program; note further that search results may be further searched based on various determination(s), comparing one or more attributes of the user to other sets of search; monitors timing as to programs user accessed: watched, interacted or listened including previews and length of content to generate profiles.
As to claims 6-10, YATES further discloses wherein the recommendation to consume the second 5 media asset is generated for display instead of generating for display the first media asset; generating for display a plurality of media assets, wherein a quantity of the plurality of media assets is based at least in part on a preference of the user profile; wherein a first type of the first media asset is different from a second type of the second media asset; wherein the second type is based at least in part on a preference of the user profile and wherein the preference of the user profile is based at least in part on at least one of the character, a type of the character, or a type of the first media asset ([0051-0054], [0066-0080], [0084-0085], [0098] and [0137]), note remarks in claims 1-5
As to claims 11-16, the claimed “A system…” is composed of the same structural elements that were discussed with respective to claims 1-5.
Claims 17-20 are met as previously discussed in claims 6-10.
Conclusion
5. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANNAN Q SHANG whose telephone number is (571)272-7355. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7-4.
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/ANNAN Q SHANG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2424
ANNAN Q. SHANG