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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 5, 11, 12, and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Amento to US 20090276821 A1 as cited above in view of Issa, US 7,805,373.
As to claim 1, Amento teaches a method comprising: initiating, between a first computing device and a second computing device, a media content item group session (Fig. 8; col. 10, 26-39, groups of viewers are formed, Fig. 1, 4, 6, 7, paras. 12-14, 16, 38, 43, 45, 47, 49); receiving, at the first computing device and the second computing device, a first portion of a media content item; identifying, for outputting two or more supplemental content items, a time period (Figs. 1, 4, 6 and ¶0012, 0037, ¶0054-0056, requested content is played for first and second viewer), identifying, for the first computing device and the second computing device, a first selection of one or more supplemental content items, wherein the first selection of one or more supplemental content items has a first run-time less than the time period (Fig. 4-6, ¶0015, ¶0017, ¶0054, first and second ads are identified having a duration appropriate to reduce temporal delta),
identifying, for the first computing device, a second selection of one or more supplemental content items, wherein the second selection of one or more supplemental content items has a second run-time based on the time period and the first run-time; identifying, for the second computing device, a third selection of one or more supplemental content items, wherein the third selection of one or more supplemental content items is different to the second selection of one or more supplemental content items and has a third run-time based on the time period and the first run-time (Figs. 4-6, ¶0015, ¶0017, ¶0020-21, ¶0054-56, respective ads are received and output by first and second MPRs);
receiving, at the first computing device, the first selection of one or more supplemental content items and the second selection of one or more supplemental content items; receiving, at the second computing device, the first selection of one or more supplemental content items and the third selection of one or more supplemental content items, outputting, at the first computing device, the first selection of one or more supplemental content items and the second selection of one or more supplemental content items; and outputting, at the second computing device, the first selection of one or more supplemental content items and the third selection of one or more supplemental content items.
(Fig, 4-6, ¶0015, ¶0017, ¶0020-0021, ¶0054-¶0056, respective ads are received and output by first and second MPRs, Figs. 4-6, paras. 15, 17, 20-21, 54-56).
Amento does not teach determining the recited "period of time," i.e. an ad break duration. Issa however teaches a system for inserting ads including identifying, for outputting one or more advertisements, a period of time [ad slots are identified (Figs. 3-5; col. 3, 45-50; col. 4, 7-15; col. 39-60; cols. 5-6, II. 62-18;col. 7, 46-62]. In view of the teachings of Amento, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the teachings of Issa. The suggestion/motivation would be for determining ad slots in order to insert advertisements without interrupting programming.
As to claim 2, Amento and Issa teaches the method of claim 1, wherein a sum of the first run-time and the second run-time is equal to the time period (col. 3, 50-55; col. 7, 27-45; col. 9, 16-36, ads are inserted into ad slots, i.e. ad duration matches ad slot duration).
As to claim 5, Amento and Issa teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying a first user profile associated with the first computing device; identifying a second user profile associated with the second computing device; and wherein: identifying the first selection of one or more supplemental content items further comprises identifying the first selection of one or more supplemental content items based on the first user profile and the second user profile (Col. 7, 13-20).
As to claim 11, see the rejection of claim 1.
As to claim 12, see the rejection of claim 2.
As to claim 15, see the rejection of claim 5.
Claims 3 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Amento and Issa as
cited above in view of Sansom et al., US 2013/0014190.
As to claim 3, Amento and Issa teaches the method of claim 1, Amento and Issa does not fully teach wherein a sum of the first run-time and the second run-time is less than the time period, the method further comprising: identifying a difference in the time period and the sum of the first run-time and the second run-time; identifying a short-form supplemental content item with a run-time equal to the difference the time period and the sum of the first run-time and the second run-time; and incorporating the short-form supplemental content item into the second selection of one or more supplemental content items. Sansom teaches wherein a sum of the first run-time and the second run-time is less than the time period, the method further comprising: identifying a difference in the time period and the sum of the first run-time and the second run-time; identifying a short-form supplemental content item with a run-time equal to the difference the time period and the sum of the first run-time and the second run-time; and incorporating the short-form supplemental content item into the second selection of one or more supplemental content items (¶0212). In view of the teachings of Sanson, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the teachings of Amento and Issa. The suggestion/motivation would be to efficiently utilize the time available for advertising and maximize revenue for advertisers and the content/service provider.
As to claim 13, see the rejection of claim 3.
Claims 4 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Amento and Issa as cited above in view of Haberman, US 8,849,100
As to claim 4, Amento and Issa teaches the method of claim 1, Amento and Issa do not teach wherein a sum of the first run-time and the second run-time is different from the time period, the method further comprising: identifying a difference in the time period and the sum of the first run-time and the second run-time; identifying, based on the difference between the time period and the sum of the first run-time and the second run-time, a playback speed for a supplemental content item of the second selection of one or more supplemental content items that causes the sum of the first run-time and the second run-time to be equal to the time period; and wherein: outputting the second selection of one or more supplemental content items further comprises outputting the supplemental content item of the second selection of one or more supplemental content items at the identified playback speed. Haberman teaches wherein a sum of the first run-time and the second run-time is different from the time period, the method further comprising: identifying a difference in the time period and the sum of the first run-time and the second run-time; identifying, based on the difference between the time period and the sum of the first run-time and the second run-time, a playback speed for a supplemental content item of the second selection of one or more supplemental content items that causes the sum of the first run-time and the second run-time to be equal to the time period; and wherein: outputting the second selection of one or more supplemental content items further comprises outputting the supplemental content item of the second selection of one or more supplemental content items at the identified playback speed (¶0022, Fig. 2B, when ad will not temporally fit in 15-second ad slot, the ad is output at a higher speed so that total runtime is 15 seconds). In view of the teachings of Haberman, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the teachings of Amento and Issa. The suggestion/motivation would be to allows advertising to be implemented during trick play.
As to claim 14, see the rejection of claim 4.
Claims 6-8 and 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Amento and
Issa as cited above in view of Zaslavsky et al., US 2012/0307152
As to claim 6, Amento and Issa teaches the method of claim 1, wherein: identifying the first selection of one or more supplemental content items further comprises: identifying, for inclusion in the first selection of one or more supplemental content items, an interactive supplemental content item; identifying, based on the time period, an interaction time period associated with the interactive supplemental content item; outputting the first selection of one or more supplemental content items at the first computing device further comprises outputting the interactive supplemental content item for the interaction time period; and outputting the first selection of one or more supplemental content items at the second computing device further comprises outputting the interactive supplemental content item for the interaction time period. Zaslavsky teaches wherein: identifying the first selection of one or more supplemental content items further comprises: identifying, for inclusion in the first selection of one or more supplemental content items, an interactive supplemental content item; identifying, based on the time period, an interaction time period associated with the interactive supplemental content item; outputting the first selection of one or more supplemental content items at the first computing device further comprises outputting the interactive supplemental content item for the interaction time period; and outputting the first selection of one or more supplemental content items at the second computing device further comprises outputting the interactive supplemental content item for the interaction time period ( Fig. 2, ¶0009, ¶0012, ¶0015, ¶0025, ¶0028, interactive ad). In view of the teachings of Zaslavasky, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the teachings of Amento and Issa. The suggestion/motivation would be to encourage the viewer to interact with the ad, increasing engagement and avoiding unexpected (to the viewer) termination of the interactive ad.
As to claim 7, Amento ,Issa and Zaslavasky teaches the method of claim 6, wherein outputting the first selection of one or more supplemental content items at the first computing device further comprises outputting a timer, wherein the timer is based on the interaction time period (Fig. 2, ¶0009, ¶0012, ¶0015, ¶0025, ¶0028].
As to claim 8, Amento ,Issa and Zaslavasky teaches the method of claim 6, wherein: receiving the first selection of one or more supplemental content items at the first computing device further comprises receiving, from a first server, the interactive supplemental content item; receiving the first selection of one or more supplemental content items at the second computing device further comprises receiving, from a second server, the interactive supplemental content item; and the method further comprises: generating, at the first computing device, the interactive supplemental content item; and generating, at the second computing device, the interactive supplemental content item (Issa, col. 3, line 50-60).
As to claim 16, see the rejection of claim 6.
As to claim 17, see the rejection of claim 7.
As to claim 18, see the rejection of claim 8.
Claim 9 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Amento and Issa as
cited above in view of Ficco, US 2005/0166224
As to claim 9, Amento and Issa teaches the method of claim 1, Amento and Issa does not teach wherein: the first selection of one or more supplemental content items comprises a personalizable supplemental content item having a first portion, a second portion and a third portion, the method further comprising: identifying a first user profile associated with the first computing device; identifying a second user profile associated with the second computing device; identifying, based on the first user profile, the second portion of the personalizable supplemental content item; identifying, based on the second user profile, the third portion of the personalizable supplemental content item; outputting the first selection of one or more supplemental content items at the first computing device further comprises outputting the first and second portions of the personalizable supplemental content item; and outputting the first selection of one or more supplemental content items at the second computing device further comprises outputting the first and third portions of the personalizable supplemental content item. Ficco teaches wherein: the first selection of one or more supplemental content items comprises a personalizable supplemental content item having a first portion, a second portion and a third portion (¶0025, ¶0026, ¶0039, ¶0040, ¶0054-¶0061, for each respective user, there is a common (unchanged) part of ad and a custom part), the method further comprising: identifying a first user profile associated with the first computing device; identifying a second user profile associated with the second computing device (¶0025, ¶0026, ¶0039, ¶0040, user have respective "information from a variety of sources concerning a particular recipient" of the Ad); identifying, based on the first user profile, the second portion of the personalizable supplemental content item; identifying, based on the second user profile, the third portion of the personalizable supplemental content item; outputting the first selection of one or more supplemental content items at the first computing device further comprises outputting the first and second portions of the personalizable supplemental content item (¶0025, ¶0026, ¶0039, ¶0040, ¶0054-¶0061, ad selection factors are used to determine custom parts for first and second viewers/ads); and outputting the first selection of one or more supplemental content items at the second computing device further comprises outputting the first and third portions of the personalizable supplemental content item (¶0051, ¶0054-¶0059 custom color, text, object, etc. is output concurrently as the rest of the ad which is common to all viewers, et seq.; this process is applied to all (i.e. first and second) viewers). In view of the teachings of Ficco, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the teachings of Amento and Issa. The suggestion/motivation would be allowing ads to be targeted more effectively while not requiring an entirely new ad for each viewer. The common portion can be cached by the receivers first, then modified later based on recent data about the viewer's interests/history.
As to claim 19, see the rejection of claim 9.
Claims 10 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Amento and Issa
as cited above in view of Koceski et al., US 11,871,050
As to claim 10, Amento and Issa teaches the method of claim 1, Amento and Issa does not teach wherein: receiving the first selection of one or more supplemental content items and the second selection of one or more supplemental content items at the first computing device further comprises: receiving a first manifest file, wherein the first manifest file comprises a first link to a second portion of the media content item, a second link to a first supplemental content item of the first selection of one or more supplemental content items, a third link to a second supplemental content item of the second selection of one or more supplemental content items and a fourth link to a third portion of the media content item; receiving the first selection of one or more supplemental content items and the third selection of one or more supplemental content items at the second computing device further comprises: receiving a second manifest file, wherein the second manifest file comprises a fifth link to the second portion of the media content item, a sixth link to the first supplemental content item of the first selection of one or more supplemental content items, a seventh link to a third supplemental content item of the third selection of one or more supplemental content items and an eighth link to the third portion of the media content item. Koceski wherein: receiving the first selection of one or more supplemental content items and the second selection of one or more supplemental content items at the first computing device further comprises: receiving a first manifest file, wherein the first manifest file comprises a first link to a second portion of the media content item, a second link to a first supplemental content item of the first selection of one or more supplemental content items, a third link to a second supplemental content item of the second selection of one or more supplemental content items and a fourth link to a third portion of the media content item; receiving the first selection of one or more supplemental content items and the third selection of one or more supplemental content items at the second computing device further comprises: receiving a second manifest file, wherein the second manifest file comprises a fifth link to the second portion of the media content item, a sixth link to the first supplemental content item of the first selection of one or more supplemental content items, a seventh link to a third supplemental content item of the third selection of one or more supplemental content items and an eighth link to the third portion of the media content item (manifests point to a content fragment (second portion of the media file), then a personalized ad (i.e. the ad is different for respective users), then a later content fragment (a third portion of the media file, Figs. 1, 2A, 2B, 2C; cols. 2-3, II. 42-60). In view of the teachings of Koceski, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the teachings of Amento and Issa. The suggestion/motivation would be to allows the content itself to be stored and updated on a remote server, freeing up computing resources at the receiver.
As to claim 20, see the rejection of claim 10.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTINE A KURIEN whose telephone number is (571)270-5694. The examiner can normally be reached M-F; 7:30-4:30.
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/CHRISTINE A KURIEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2421 /NATHAN J FLYNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2421
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