DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Amendment
This office action is in response to communications filed 4/30/2026. Claims 1, 7-8 and 14-15 are amended. Claims 3-6, 10-13 and 17-20 are cancelled. Claims 1-2, 7-9 and 14-16 are pending in this action.
Response to Arguments
Applicants’ arguments filed 4/30/2026 have been fully considered, and while the arguments are persuasive to overcome the art rejections of record, they are not persuasive regarding the 101 rejection of record (please see rejection below).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-2, 7-9 and 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The analysis specific to Claim 1 is being presented below. However, the Applicants should please note that the analyses for claims 8 and 15 are similar to that of claim 1, and therefore claims 8 and 15 are rejected for the same reasons.
Claim 1 recites: A method comprising:
(a) capturing, by a metering device disposed at a media presentation location, audio of media presented by a media presentation device using a microphone of the metering device;
(b) determining, by the metering device, a sequence of media identifiers by performing audio fingerprinting of the captured audio to recognize audio clips streamed by a Streaming Service Provider (SSP), wherein each media identifier is associated with a respective timestamp characterizing a time when the media identifier was detected by the metering device;
(c) storing, by the metering device, the sequence of media identifiers and the respective timestamps as a detection log in a memory of the metering device;
(d) capturing, by sensors of the metering device, presence information characterizing a presence of a person at the media presentation location;
(e) transmitting, by the metering device and via a network to an audience measurement entity, the detection log and the presence information;
(f) receiving, by the audience measurement entity from the Streaming Service Provider (SSP) and via the network, a streaming session log, the streaming session log including a plurality of streaming session identifiers and a time of presentation for each of a plurality of commercials of respective streaming sessions;
(g) determining, by the audience measurement entity, a single matching streaming session from the plurality of streaming sessions based on the sequence of media identifiers and the respective timestamps specified by the detection log and the streaming session log, thereby improving an accuracy of audience measurement for the media presented by the media presentation device;
(h) based on the single matching streaming session and the presence information, associating, by the audience member entity, a panelist identifier that characterizes the person at the media presentation location with a streaming session identifier of the single matching streaming session in the streaming session log.
Step 1: Statutory Category?
Yes. The claim recites a method.
Step 2A - Prong 1: Judicial Exception Recited?
Yes. Limitations (b), (g) and (h) are limitations that, as drafted, reasonably constitute a process that, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitations in the mind/performed by a human using pen and paper i.e., making mental/written comparisons, observations, calculations and conclusions.
Step 2A - Prong 2: Integrated into a Practical Application?
No. The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. Specifically, besides the abstract idea, the claim recites the additional elements of limitations (a) and (c)-(f). Limitations (a), (d) and (f) are additional elements of the claim that are recited at a high level of generality, i.e., as generic computer functions performed by generic computing components, and simple data gathering, which amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. The mere recitation of a generic computer does not take the claim limitation out of the mental processes grouping. If a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation in the mind but for the recitation of generic computer components, then it falls within the “Mental Processes” grouping of abstract ideas. Limitations (c) and (e) are insignificant extra-solution activities such as gathering, displaying, updating, transmitting (or not transmitting) and storing data, which the courts have identified as functions that are well-understood, routine, conventional activity and thus do not amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. See MPEP 2106.05(d).
Step 2B: Claim provides an Inventive Concept?
No. As discussed with respect to Step 2A Prong Two, the additional elements in the claims are recited at a high level of generality and amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components and simply adding extra-solution activity, which does not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application at Step 2A or provide an inventive concept in Step 2B. Therefore, the claim is ineligible.
Additionally, the rejected dependent claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception, and therefore are not patent-eligible.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHENEA DAVIS whose telephone number is (571)272-9524 and whose email address is CHENEA.SMITH@USPTO.GOV. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm.
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/CHENEA DAVIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2421
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