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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 are presented for examination.
This is a first action on the merits based on Applicant’s claims submitted 1/16/2025.
Specification
The US patent number 11,665,288 B2, should be included in the missing “RELATED APPLICATION” information for U.S. Patent Application No. 17/461,810.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 3/04/2025, 3/06/2026, 4/08/2026, 6/02/2026 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
Double Patenting
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 obviousness-type double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims 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 conflicting 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.
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Effective January 1, 1994, a registered attorney or agent of record may sign a terminal disclaimer. A terminal disclaimer signed by the assignee must fully comply with 37 CFR 3.73(b).
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Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-18 of US Patent 10,200,546 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they are each drawn towards identifying media using hash keys.
Instant Application
US Patent 10,200,546 B2
Notes
8. A computing system comprising: a processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the computing system to perform operations comprising:
accessing a reference hash key in a reference database, wherein the reference hash key was generated based on a first portion of media;
applying a blurring function to the reference hash key to generate a first blurred reference hash key, wherein the blurring function is configured to set at least one least-significant bit of the reference hash key to zero;
comparing a metered hash key with blurred reference hash keys stored in a reference database, wherein the blurred reference hash keys include the first blurred reference hash key, and wherein the metered hash key is obtained from a meter device; and
crediting the first portion of media with an exposure when the metered hash key matches the first blurred reference hash key stored in the reference database.
7. An apparatus comprising: a hybrid hash key generator to: generate a reference hash key based on first samples of media, the first samples of the media corresponding to a portion of the media sampled in a buffer of a computing device; and generate first confirmation data based on second samples of the media; a hash key modifier to apply a blurring function to the reference hash key to generate a first blurred reference hash key, the blurring function setting at least one least significant bit of a value of the reference hash key, in at least one byte of the reference hash key, to zero, the first blurred reference hash key to match metered hash keys generated from degraded versions of the media; memory to store the first blurred reference hash key in association with the first confirmation data and first reference data, the first reference data representative of the portion of the media; a hybrid hash key analyzer to: access a first metered hash key and metered confirmation data associated with the first metered hash key; and compare the first metered hash key with the first blurred reference hash key to determine whether to credit a portion of the media with an exposure; and a hash key identifier to credit the portion of the media with an exposure when the first metered hash key matches the first blurred reference hash key and the metered confirmation data matches the first confirmation data.
Based on the broadest reasonable interpretation, all claim limitations in current application are included in the claims of the patent, as the current application discloses a broader invention as that of the patent.
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Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-18 of US Patent 11,108,915 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they are each drawn towards identifying media using hash keys.
Instant Application
US Patent 11,108,915 B2
Notes
8. A computing system comprising: a processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the computing system to perform operations comprising:
accessing a reference hash key in a reference database, wherein the reference hash key was generated based on a first portion of media;
applying a blurring function to the reference hash key to generate a first blurred reference hash key, wherein the blurring function is configured to set at least one least-significant bit of the reference hash key to zero;
comparing a metered hash key with blurred reference hash keys stored in a reference database, wherein the blurred reference hash keys include the first blurred reference hash key, and wherein the metered hash key is obtained from a meter device; and
crediting the first portion of media with an exposure when the metered hash key matches the first blurred reference hash key stored in the reference database.
1. A system comprising: a hybrid hash key analyzer to: access, from a first memory region of a computing device,
a metered hash key of an exposure record obtained from a meter; apply a blurring function to the metered hash key to determine a blurred metered hash key, the blurring function to set at least one least significant bit of the metered hash key to zero; access, from a second memory region of the computing device, reference records representative of respective portions of a plurality of media; and determine reference confirmation data candidates from ones of the reference records with respective hash keys that match the blurred metered hash key; and
an impression logger to, when first confirmation data accessed from the exposure record matches one of the reference confirmation data candidates: store a first impression record, the first impression record to associate first media identification data associated with the matching one of the reference confirmation data candidates with a meter identifier of the exposure record; and credit at least a portion of first media corresponding to the first media identification data with an exposure credit.
Based on the broadest reasonable interpretation, all claim limitations in current application are included in the claims of the patent, as the current application discloses a broader invention as that of the patent.
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Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of US Patent 11,665,288 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they are each drawn towards identifying media using hash keys.
Instant Application
US Patent 11,665,288 B2
Notes
8. A computing system comprising: a processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the computing system to perform operations comprising:
accessing a reference hash key in a reference database, wherein the reference hash key was generated based on a first portion of media;
applying a blurring function to the reference hash key to generate a first blurred reference hash key, wherein the blurring function is configured to set at least one least-significant bit of the reference hash key to zero;
comparing a metered hash key with blurred reference hash keys stored in a reference database, wherein the blurred reference hash keys include the first blurred reference hash key, and wherein the metered hash key is obtained from a meter device; and
crediting the first portion of media with an exposure when the metered hash key matches the first blurred reference hash key stored in the reference database.
1. An apparatus comprising: at least one memory; instructions in the apparatus; and processor circuitry to execute the instructions to at least: access, from a memory region of a computing device, a metered hash key of an exposure record obtained from a meter, the metered hash key corresponding to a first portion of first media; determine the metered hash key of the exposure record corresponds to a reference record representative of a portion of second media; compare metered confirmation data of the exposure record to reference confirmation data of the reference record to determine an error level between the metered confirmation data and the reference confirmation data, wherein the metered confirmation data is generated based on a second portion of the first media that is offset from an end of the first portion of the first media by a number of bits; and generate an impression record in response to determining that the error level satisfies a threshold, the impression record to associate media identification data associated with the reference confirmation data with a meter identifier of the exposure record.
Based on the broadest reasonable interpretation, all claim limitations in current application are included in the claims of the patent, as the current application discloses a broader invention as that of the patent.
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Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of US Patent 12,316,811 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they are each drawn towards identifying media using hash keys.
Instant Application
US Patent No: 12,316,811
Comments
8. A computing system comprising: a processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the computing system to perform operations comprising:
accessing a reference hash key in a reference database, wherein the reference hash key was generated based on a first portion of media;
applying a blurring function to the reference hash key to generate a first blurred reference hash key, wherein the blurring function is configured to set at least one least-significant bit of the reference hash key to zero;
comparing a metered hash key with blurred reference hash keys stored in a reference database, wherein the blurred reference hash keys include the first blurred reference hash key, and wherein the metered hash key is obtained from a meter device; and
crediting the first portion of media with an exposure when the metered hash key matches the first blurred reference hash key stored in the reference database.
1. A system comprising: a processor; and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system to perform operations comprising:
applying a hash function to first samples of reference media to generate a reference hash key;
generating reference confirmation data based on second samples of the reference media, the second samples selected based on an offset from the first samples used to generate the reference hash key; and
generating a reference record based on the reference hash key and the reference confirmation data.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: comparing the reference record to an exposure record including a metered hash key corresponding to unidentified media; determining that the reference record matches the exposure record; and
creating an impression record based on the exposure record.
The claims on the US patent application are obvious variations to the current application because both claims are evaluating media using reference data and hash functions in order to compare and tag data based upon the comparison.
Claim 15
Claim 9
Similar as above
Claim 1
Claim 17
Similar as above
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 8, 15 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the non-statutory double patenting rejection set forth in this Office action.
Prior art of record teaches the following:
Haitsma US 2002/0178410 A1 teaches the disclosed method generates robust hashes for multimedia content, for example, audio clips. The audio clip is divided (12) into successive (preferably overlapping) frames. For each frame, the frequency spectrum is divided (15) into bands. A robust property of each band (e.g. energy) is computed (16) and represented (17) by a respective hash bit. An audio clip is thus represented by a concatenation of binary hash words, one for each frame. To identify a possibly compressed audio signal, a block of hash words derived therefrom is matched by a computer (20) with a large database (21). Such matching strategies are also disclosed. In an advantageous embodiment, the extraction process also provides information (19) as to which of the hash bits are the least reliable. Flipping these bits considerably improves the speed and performance of the matching process..
Marvel US 2005/0154899 A1 teaches methods for encoding and validating a computer program are disclosed. A program is encoded by transforming the program using a canonical transform based at least in part on a partitioning algorithm, creating an encrypted hash value based at least on the transformed program and an encryption key, and embedding the encrypted hash value in the transformed program. A program embedded with the encrypted hash value is validated by receiving the program embedded with the encrypted hash value, transforming the program embedded with the encrypted hash value using a canonical transform based at least in part on a partitioning algorithm; comparing the received program and the transformed program to extract a first encrypted hash value, creating a second encrypted hash value-based at least on the transformed program and an encryption key, and validating the program responsive to the first and second encrypted hash values.
Burrows (US 6,005,503) teaches in a computer implemented method, a list of variable size integers is encoded in a memory. Each variable size integer is expressed as a set of a minimum number of bytes. A fixed number the bytes of the sets are grouped with an associated bit map into a logical memory word unit. Each bit map has one continuation bit for each of the fixed number of bytes. Each continuation bit indicating whether or not a particular variable size integer continues into a following byte. An entry is stored in an array for each possible pattern of continuation bits of the bit maps. Each entry including a plurality of fields. There is one field for each of the fixed number of bytes in each group. Each field stories a length of a corresponding set of bytes expressing a particular variable size integer in the group. The entries provide a decoding table that is indexable by the bit maps to recover the list of variable size integers.
Swift et al. (US 2009/0305680 A1) teaches methods and apparatus to monitor mobile devices are disclosed. A disclosed example method involves operating first and second wireless telephone device terminals. In the example method, the first wireless telephone device terminal includes a first media decoder configured to decode a first media encoding format and the second wireless telephone device terminal includes a second media decoder configured to decode a second media encoding format. The example method also involves receiving a first media presentation via the first wireless telephone device terminal and a second media presentation via the second wireless telephone device terminal. The first media presentation is encoded using the first media encoding format and the second media presentation is encoded using the second media encoding format. The first and second media presentations include substantially similar media content. The example method also involves generating a first reference signature of the first media presentation and a second reference signature of the second media presentation. The first reference signature is stored in association with first device identifier information indicative of the first wireless telephone device terminal. The second reference signature is stored in association with second device identifier information indicative of the second wireless telephone device terminal.
Wright et al. (US 2008/0126420 A1) teaches example methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture meter media content presented on a wireless communication device are disclosed. A disclosed example method receives media content via a wireless communication device. The media content is to be presented via the wireless communication device. First information is generated indicative of a media presentation mode of a media presentation application executed by the wireless communication device to present the media content. Second information is generated indicative of the media content presented via the wireless communication device. The first information is stored in association with the second information in the wireless communication device.
Stark (US 2014/0136814 A1) teaches a transactional memory (TM) receives a lookup command across a bus from a processor. The command includes a memory address, a starting bit position, and a mask size. In response to the command, the TM pulls an input value (IV). The memory address is used to read a word containing multiple result values (RVs) and multiple threshold values (TVs) from memory. A selecting circuit within the TM uses the starting bit position and mask size to select a portion of the IV. The portion of the IV is a lookup key value (LKV). The multiple TVs define multiple lookup key ranges. The TM determines which lookup key range includes the LKV. A RV is selected based upon the lookup key range determined to include the LKV. The lookup key range is determined by a lookup key range identifier circuit. The selected RV is selected by a result value selection circuit.
However, none of the prior art of record teach by themselves or in any combination nor would have anticipated nor render obvious by combination the claimed invention of the present invention at or before the time it was filed. The prior art of record is silent on "accessing a reference hash key in a reference database, wherein the reference hash key was generated based on a first portion of media; applying a blurring function to the reference hash key to generate a first blurred reference hash key, wherein the blurring function is configured to set at least one least-significant bit of the reference hash key to zero; comparing a metered hash key with blurred reference hash keys stored in a reference database, wherein the blurred reference hash keys include the first blurred reference hash key, and wherein the metered hash key is obtained from a meter device; and crediting the first portion of media with an exposure when the metered hash key matches the first blurred reference hash key stored in the reference database.", in combination with all other claim limitations.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
(1) *Chen (US 9,906,831 B2) teaches fingerprinting media content using hashing.
(2) *McMillan (US 2015/0181269 A) teaches methods and apparatus to verify and/or correct media lineup information.
(3) *Ramaswamy (US 2007/0271300 A1) teaches methods and apparatus for media source identification and time shifted media consumption measurements.
(*) Denotes prior art submitted in IDS
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LIZBETH TORRES-DIAZ whose telephone number is (571)272-1787. The examiner can normally be reached on 9:00a-4:30p.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Linglan Edwards, can be reached on (571)270-5440. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LIZBETH TORRES-DIAZ/Examiner, Art Unit 2495
/July 2, 2026/
/ltd/
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