Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/998,326

LIVESTREAM PICTURE PROCESSING METHOD AND APPARATUS, DEVICE AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Jan 24, 2025
Examiner
DUBASKY, GIGI L
Art Unit
2421
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
BEIJING ZITIAO NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
74%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 10m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 74% — above average
74%
Career Allow Rate
451 granted / 610 resolved
+15.9% vs TC avg
Strong +36% interview lift
Without
With
+35.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
21 currently pending
Career history
631
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
6.3%
-33.7% vs TC avg
§103
50.2%
+10.2% vs TC avg
§102
18.7%
-21.3% vs TC avg
§112
10.3%
-29.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 610 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . 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. Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03/19/2025 was filed on or after the effective filing date of the instant application on 01/24/2025. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Preliminary Amendment The preliminary amendments to the Specification and to the Claims filed on 01/24/2025 have been accepted and entered. Claims 9-12 and 15 have been cancelled. Claims 16-25 have been newly added. Claims 1-8, 13-14 and 16-25 are pending. Specification The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. Claim Objections Claims 5 and 19 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claims 5 and 19 recite “SEI” which is an acronym without describing its definition earlier in the claims. Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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 1-2, 6, 8, 13-14, 16, 20 and 22-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sun et al (CN 112616089 A – an English translation provided herein in which the cited paragraphs are corresponding to the original document). Regarding claim 1, Sun discloses a live-stream display processing method (¶ [0005] and ¶ [0051]), comprising: pulling a live-stream merged display and image position information corresponding to the live-stream merged display from a live streaming media server (¶ [0041], ¶ [0052] and ¶ [0056]); wherein, the live-stream merged display is obtained on the basis of merging of at least two live-stream displays, and the image position information is configured for identifying respective positions of the at least two live-stream displays in the live-stream merged display (¶ [0044]-[0050]); separating the at least two live-stream displays from the live-stream merged display respectively, based on the image position information (¶ [0041]-[0042], ¶ [0053]-[0056] and ¶ [0064]); and displaying the at least two live-stream displays based on a preset live-stream display layout (¶ [0041]-[0042], ¶ [0056] and ¶ [0064]). Regarding claim 2, Sun discloses the method as discussed in the rejection of claim 1. Sun further discloses wherein, the at least two live-stream displays comprise a first live-stream display and a second live-stream display; the displaying the at least two live-stream displays based on the preset live-stream display layout (¶ [0042] and ¶ [0055]-[0056]), comprises: displaying the first live-stream display in a first area indicated by the preset live-stream display layout, and displaying the second live-stream display in a second area indicated by the preset live-stream display layout; wherein there is no overlap between the first area and the second area (¶ [0056] and ¶ [0063]-[0064]). Regarding claim 6, Sun discloses a live-stream display processing method, comprising: merging at least two live-stream displays to obtain a live-stream merged display; obtaining respective position information of the at least two live-stream displays on the live-stream merged display, as image position information corresponding to the live-stream merged display (¶ [0011]-[0015] and ¶ [0042]-[0046]); pushing the live-stream merged display and the image position information corresponding to the live-stream merged display to a live streaming media server (¶ [0013], ¶ [0016], ¶ [0040]-[0042] and ¶ [0047]-[0050]); wherein, the image position information is configured for separating the at least two live-stream displays from the live-stream merged display (¶ [0019]-[0021 and ¶ [0053]-[0056]). Regarding claim 8, Sun discloses the method as discussed in the rejection of claim 6. Sun further discloses the merging the at least two live-stream displays to obtain the live-stream merged display, comprises: merging the at least two live-stream displays by using a target merging template to obtain the live-stream merged display; wherein, the target merging template is defined with the respective position information of the at least two live-stream displays on the live-stream merged display (¶ [0011]-[0015] and ¶ [0042]-[0046]); correspondingly, the obtaining the respective position information of the at least two live- stream displays on the live-stream merged display, as the image position information corresponding to the live-stream merged display, comprises: obtaining the respective position information of the at least two live-stream displays on the live-stream merged display from the target merging template, as the image position information corresponding to the live-stream merged display (¶ [0038]-[0050]). Regarding claims 13-14, all limitations of claims 13-14 are analyzed and rejected corresponding to claim 1. Regarding claim 16, all limitations of claim 16 are analyzed and rejected corresponding to claim 2. Regarding claims 20 and 22, all limitations of claims 20 and 22 are analyzed and rejected corresponding to claims 6 and 8 respectively. Regarding claim 23, all limitations of claim 23 are analyzed and rejected corresponding to claim 6. Regarding claim 24, all limitations of claim 24 are analyzed and rejected corresponding to claim 2. 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 3, 5, 7, 17, 19, 21 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sun et al (CN 112616089 A) in view of Chen (CN 111541930 A - an English translation provided herein in which the cited paragraphs are corresponding to the original document). Regarding claim 3, Sun discloses the method as discussed in the rejection of claim 2. Sun further discloses the first live-stream display is a live-stream display acquired by a streamer side in real time by using a local camera, and the second live-stream display is a live-stream display pulled by the streamer side in real time (¶ [0028], ¶ [0042] and ¶ [0056]), but is silent about using a local camera. Chen discloses the first live-stream display is a live-stream display acquired by a streamer side in real time by using a local camera, and the second live-stream display is a live-stream display pulled by the streamer side in real time (Figure 3; ¶ [0071]-[0073]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Sun system with the teaching of Chen, so to provide an alternative way to obtaining live streams from different sources as a matter of designed choices. Regarding claim 5, Sun discloses the method as discussed in the rejection of claim 1. Sun is silent about image coordinate information corresponding to the live-stream merged display is carried in SEI information. Chen discloses image coordinate information corresponding to the live-stream merged display is carried in SEI information (¶ [0017] and ¶ [0088]-[0090]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Sun system with the teaching of Chen, so to provide an alternative way of providing additional information of live streams as a matter of designed choices. Regarding claim 7, all limitations of claim 7 are analyzed and rejected corresponding to claim 3. Regarding claim 17, all limitations of claim 17 are analyzed and rejected corresponding to claim 3. Regarding claim 19, all limitations of claim 19 are analyzed and rejected corresponding to claim 5. Regarding claim 21, all limitations of claim 21 are analyzed and rejected corresponding to claim 7. Regarding claim 25, all limitations of claim 25 are analyzed and rejected corresponding to claim 3. Claims 4 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sun et al (CN 112616089 A) in view of Liang (CN 112261434 A - an English translation provided herein in which the cited paragraphs are corresponding to the original document). Regarding claim 4, Sun discloses the method as discussed in the rejection of claim 1. Sun further discloses the displaying the at least two live-stream displays based on the preset live-stream display layout (¶ [0041]-[0042], ¶ [0056] and ¶ [0064]), but is silent about drawing live-stream displays on different canvases and displaying the canvases drawn with the live-stream displays. Liang discloses drawing at least two live-stream displays on different canvases respectively; and displaying the canvases drawn with the at least two live-stream displays based on the preset live-stream display layout (¶ [0025]-[0036]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Sun system with the teaching of Liang, so to provide an alternative way of processing live streams for simultaneously display as a matter of designed choices. Regarding claim 18, all limitations of claim 18 are analyzed and rejected corresponding to claim 4. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GIGI L DUBASKY whose telephone number is (571)270-5686. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-5:00. 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, Nathan Flynn can be reached at 571-272-1915. 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. /GIGI L DUBASKY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2421
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Prosecution Timeline

Jan 24, 2025
Application Filed
Feb 04, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
74%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+35.6%)
2y 10m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 610 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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