DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 6, 9, 16, and 19 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding Claim 6 and 16 the Examiner could not find support for “the at least one targeting parameter identifies the end user device as being associated with at least one member of the target audience.”
Regarding Claim 9 and 19 the Examiner could not find support for “wherein the targeting information comprises one or more identifiers for each of a plurality of alternative versions of the content item.”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of pre-AIA 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 –
(e) the invention was described in (1) an application for patent, published under section 122(b), by another filed in the United States before the invention by the applicant for patent or (2) a patent granted on an application for patent by another filed in the United States before the invention by the applicant for patent, except that an international application filed under the treaty defined in section 351(a) shall have the effects for purposes of this subsection of an application filed in the United States only if the international application designated the United States and was published under Article 21(2) of such treaty in the English language.
Claims 1-2 and 11-12 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(e) as being anticipated by Huchital et al. US Patent Publication No. 2008/0276266.
Regarding Claim 1, Huchital discloses a method comprising:
transmitting targeting information to a server [0042, 0052-0053; targeting information], wherein:
the targeting information identifies a version of a content item formed from two or more media segments, and the targeting information defines a target audience [0005; the content boundaries segmenting the first content item into a plurality of segments; determining, for at least one segment, one or more respective targeting criteria; identifying one or more second content items for a respective content boundary based on the targeting criteria for one or more of the segments preceding or succeeding the respective content boundary];
identifying, using the server, a targeted media segment to transmit with the version of the content item based at least in part on the targeting information [0006; identifying one or more second content items for a respective content boundary based on the targeting criteria for one or more of the segments preceding or succeeding the respective content boundary];
and transmitting a data package to a display module of an end user device [0024 & 0026 metadata], wherein the data package comprises the targeted media segment, the version of the content item, and instructions for rendering the targeted media segment relative to the two or more media segments during playback of the version of the content item [0006; identifying, for a respective content boundary, one or more second content items based on the respective advertisement targeting criteria associated with one or more of the segments preceding or succeeding the respective content boundary; and providing access to the identified second content items for presentation or storage on a device].
Regarding Claim 11, Huchital discloses a system comprising:
a processor;
a communication network communicatively coupling the processor to a server and an end user device;
and a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer readable instructions that, when processed by the processor, cause the processor to [0124]:
transmit targeting information to the server [0042, 0052-0053; targeting information], wherein:
the targeting information identifies a version of a content item formed from two or more media segments, and the targeting information defines a target audience [0005; the content boundaries segmenting the first content item into a plurality of segments; determining, for at least one segment, one or more respective targeting criteria; identifying one or more second content items for a respective content boundary based on the targeting criteria for one or more of the segments preceding or succeeding the respective content boundary];
identify, using the server, a targeted media segment to transmit with the version of the content item based at least in part on the targeting information [0006; identifying one or more second content items for a respective content boundary based on the targeting criteria for one or more of the segments preceding or succeeding the respective content boundary];
and transmit a data package to a display module of the end user device [0024 & 0026 metadata], wherein the data package comprises the targeted media segment, the version of the content item, and instructions for rendering the targeted media segment relative to the two or more media segments during playback of the version of the content item [0006; identifying, for a respective content boundary, one or more second content items based on the respective advertisement targeting criteria associated with one or more of the segments preceding or succeeding the respective content boundary; and providing access to the identified second content items for presentation or storage on a device].
Regarding Claims 2 and 12, Huchital discloses a method and a system wherein the targeted media segment comprises at least one advertisement [0119 advertisements].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 3-4, 8, 13-14 and 18 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Huchital et al. US Patent Publication No. 2008/0276266 in view of Hendricks et al. US Patent No. 5,600,364.
Regarding Claims 3 and 13, Huchital fails to clearly disclose a method and a system wherein a transmission size of the data package is optimized using an optimizing procedure to improve quality of transmission of the data package to the display module.
In an analogous art, Hendricks discloses a method and a system wherein a transmission size of the data package is optimized using an optimizing procedure to improve quality of transmission of the data package to the display module [Col. 9 lines 38-50 & Col. 36 lines 24-30].
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Huchital and Hendricks, at the time of the invention, to achieve the resultant increase in capacity and improved signal quality desired for the system [Hendricks Col. 9 lines 43-45].
Regarding Claims 4 and 14, the combination of Huchital and Hendricks discloses a method and a system wherein the data package is unpacked at the end user device based on on-demand rendering criteria [Hendricks Col. 11 lines 10-25; perform "on the fly programming" changes].
Regarding Claims 8 and 18, the combination of Huchital and Hendricks discloses a method and a system further comprising generating instructions for concatenating audio and video assets of the version of the content item and the targeted media segment such that the display module of the end user device renders the targeted media segment among the two or more media segments of the version of the content item [Hendricks Col. 21 line 66 – Col. 22 line 12].
Claims 5, 10, 15 and 20 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Huchital et al. US Patent Publication No. 2008/0276266 in view of Haberman et al. US Patent Publication No. 2002/0013943.
Regarding Claims 5 and 15, Huchital fails to disclose a method and a system further comprising encoding at least one of the targeted media segment, a plurality of targeted media segments including the targeted media segment, or the version of the content item prior to generating the data package such that the at least one of the targeted media segment, the plurality of the targeted media segments, or the version of the content item is in a format compatible with the end user device.
In an analogous art, Haberman discloses a method and system further comprising encoding at least one of the targeted media segment, a plurality of targeted media segments including the targeted media segment, or the version of the content item prior to generating the data package such that the at least one of the targeted media segment, the plurality of the targeted media segments, or the version of the content item is in a format compatible with the end user device [0055].
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Huchital and Haberman, at the time of the invention, to create a system for creating, delivering, and assembling personalized messages based on user information [Haberman 0003].
Regarding Claims 10 and 20, the combination of Huchital and Haberman discloses a method and a system, wherein the data package further comprises a package file with at least one of an index table, a plurality of media assets, or an assembly table [Haberman 0010 & 0018].
Claims 9 and 19 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Huchital et al. US Patent Publication No. 2008/0276266 in view of Cain et al. US Patent No. 9,906,821.
Regarding Claims 9 and 19, Huchital fails to disclose a method and a system wherein the targeting information comprises one or more identifiers for each of a plurality of alternative versions of the content item
In an analogous art, Cain discloses a method and system wherein the targeting information comprises one or more identifiers for each of a plurality of alternative versions of the content item [Col. 2 lines 30-57; encoding the video content item, where packets of the encoded video content item are associated with a primary program identifier (PID), generating at least two alternate versions of portions of the encoded video content item, where packets of each of the at least two alternate versions are associated with a secondary PID, adding a next-PID indication to each of the packets associated with a primary or secondary PID].
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Huchital and Cain, at the time of the invention, such that a final forensic watermark is formed by a concatenation of the interleaved watermarked versions in the rendered content [Cain Col. 1 lines 25-28].
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 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); 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 nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-5, 7-8, 10-15, 17-18, and 20 rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-34 of U.S. Patent No. 12,238,351. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they are broader in scope.
Instant Application No. 19/026,256
U.S. Patent No. 12,238,351
1.A method comprising:
transmitting targeting information to a server, wherein:
the targeting information identifies a version of a content item formed from two or more media segments, and the targeting information defines a target audience;
identifying, using the server, a targeted media segment to transmit with the version of the content item based at least in part on the targeting information;
and transmitting a data package to a display module of an end user device, wherein the data package comprises the targeted media segment, the version of the content item, and instructions for rendering the targeted media segment relative to the two or more media segments during playback of the version of the content item.
1.A method comprising:
identifying a plurality of media segments of a content item for transmission to a display device; generating targeting information for transmission to the display device, wherein the targeting information defines a version of the content item formed from two or more of the plurality of media segments and a target audience;
packaging information identifying the plurality of media segments and the targeting information in a package, wherein the package includes different versions of the content item;
and transmitting the package and instructions to unpack the package, the instructions being configured to: (a) instruct the display device to determine which version of the content item to assemble based on the target audience, (b) assemble two or more of the plurality of media segments to generate the version of the content item based on the target audience, and (c) present for display the assembled content item at the display device.
Similarly Claims 2-5, 7-8, 10-15, 17-18, and 20 correspond to claims 2-34 of the Patent.
Claims 1-5, 7-8, 10-15, 17-18, and 20 rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 11,758,207. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they are broader in scope.
Instant Application No. 19/026,256
U.S. Patent No. 11,758,207
A method comprising:
transmitting targeting information to a server, wherein:
the targeting information identifies a version of a content item formed from two or more media segments, and the targeting information defines a target audience;
identifying, using the server, a targeted media segment to transmit with the version of the content item based at least in part on the targeting information;
and transmitting a data package to a display module of an end user device, wherein the data package comprises the targeted media segment, the version of the content item, and instructions for rendering the targeted media segment relative to the two or more media segments during playback of the version of the content item.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause:
obtaining a plurality of media segments of a content item for transmission to a device; creating targeting information for transmission to the device, wherein the targeting information defines a version of the content item formed from two or more of the plurality of media segments and a target segment audience;
packaging the plurality of media segments and the targeting information in a single package, wherein two of the packaged media segments include different versions of a media segment of the content item;
and transmitting the single package and instructions to unpack the single package, the instructions being configured to instruct the device to determine which packaged media segments to assemble based on the target segment audience, assemble two or more of the packaged media segments to generate the content item, and present for display the assembled content item at the device.
Similarly claims 2-5, 7-8, 10-15, 17-18, and 20 correspond to claims 2-20 of the Patent.
Claims 1-5, 7-8, 10-15, 17-18, and 20 rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-19 of U.S. Patent No 11,218,745. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they are broader in scope.
Instant Application No. 19/026,256
U.S. Patent No. 11,218,745
1.A method comprising:
transmitting targeting information to a server, wherein:
the targeting information identifies a version of a content item formed from two or more media segments, and the targeting information defines a target audience;
identifying, using the server, a targeted media segment to transmit with the version of the content item based at least in part on the targeting information;
and transmitting a data package to a display module of an end user device, wherein the data package comprises the targeted media segment, the version of the content item, and instructions for rendering the targeted media segment relative to the two or more media segments during playback of the version of the content item.
1.A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause:
collecting a plurality of media segments for transmission to a device, each of said media segments comprising a fragment of a content message; creating targeting information for transmission to said device, said targeting information defining a plurality of versions of said content message formed from two or more of the plurality of media segments and a target segment audience;
packaging said plurality of media segments and said targeting information defining the plurality of versions of said content message in a single file;
and transmitting the single file and instructions to unpack said single file, the instructions being configured to instruct said device to determine which one of the plurality of versions of said content message to assemble based on the target segment audience, assemble one or more of the collected plurality of media segments to generate said content message, and present for display said assembled content message at said device in accordance with said targeting information.
Similarly Claims 2-5, 7-8, 10-15, 17-18, and 20 correspond to claims 2-19 of the Patent.
Claims 1-5, 7-8, 10-15, 17-18, and 20 rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-19 of U.S. Patent No. 10,735,788. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they are broader in scope.
Instant Application No. 19/026,256
U.S. Patent No. 10,735,788
1.A method comprising:
transmitting targeting information to a server, wherein:
the targeting information identifies a version of a content item formed from two or more media segments, and the targeting information defines a target audience;
identifying, using the server, a targeted media segment to transmit with the version of the content item based at least in part on the targeting information;
and transmitting a data package to a display module of an end user device, wherein the data package comprises the targeted media segment, the version of the content item, and instructions for rendering the targeted media segment relative to the two or more media segments during playback of the version of the content item.
1.An apparatus comprising a processor and a memory, the memory storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
collecting a plurality of media segments for transmission to a device, each of said media segments comprising a fragment of a content message; creating targeting information for transmission to said device, said targeting information defining a plurality of versions of said content message formed from two or more of the plurality of media segments and a target segment audience;
packaging said plurality of media segments and said targeting information defining the plurality of versions of said content message in a single file;
and transmitting the single file and instructions to unpack said single file, the instructions being configured to instruct said device to determine which one of the plurality of versions of said content message to assemble based on the target segment audience, assemble one or more of the collected plurality of media segments to generate said content message, and present for display said assembled content message at said device in accordance with said targeting information.
Similarly Claims 2-5, 7-8, 10-15, 17-18, and 20 correspond to claims 2-19 of the Patent.
Claims 1-5, 7-8, 10-15, 17-18, and 20 rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-17 of U.S. Patent No. 9,854,281. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they are broader in scope.
Instant Application No. 19/026,256
U.S. Patent No. 9,854,281
1.A method comprising:
transmitting targeting information to a server, wherein:
the targeting information identifies a version of a content item formed from two or more media segments, and the targeting information defines a target audience;
identifying, using the server, a targeted media segment to transmit with the version of the content item based at least in part on the targeting information;
and transmitting a data package to a display module of an end user device, wherein the data package comprises the targeted media segment, the version of the content item, and instructions for rendering the targeted media segment relative to the two or more media segments during playback of the version of the content item.
1. A computer-implemented method for packaging media and data for transmission over a network to a terminal destination, comprising, by a processor:
collecting from a database of media assets a plurality of media segments configured to be assembled to form a plurality of message versions;
generating targeting information comprising: an index table listing the collected media segments, and assembly information indicating each of the plurality of collected media segments to assemble to form a targeted message, the targeted message comprising at least one of the plurality of message versions; retrieving from a network database network data comprising delivery addresses of the network for each of the plurality of message versions; assembling said plurality of collected media segments, said targeting information, and said network data in a single electronic package file;
and transmitting said single electronic package file over said network to said terminal destination, wherein said single electronic package file is configured to be de-packaged at said terminal destination by selecting and assembling at least two media segments from said plurality of collected media segments based on said targeting information to form said targeted message for the terminal destination determined from the network data for presentation at a display device operatively coupled to said applicable terminal destination.
Similarly Claims 2-5, 7-8, 10-15, 17-18, and 20 correspond to claims 2-17 of the Patent.
Claims 1-5, 7-8, 10-15, 17-18, and 20 rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-19 of U.S. Patent No. 8,677,397. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they are broader in scope.
Instant Application No. 19/026,256
U.S. Patent No. 8,677,397
1.A method comprising:
transmitting targeting information to a server, wherein:
the targeting information identifies a version of a content item formed from two or more media segments, and the targeting information defines a target audience;
identifying, using the server, a targeted media segment to transmit with the version of the content item based at least in part on the targeting information;
and transmitting a data package to a display module of an end user device, wherein the data package comprises the targeted media segment, the version of the content item, and instructions for rendering the targeted media segment relative to the two or more media segments during playback of the version of the content item.
1.A computer-implemented method for packaging media and data for transmission over a broadband communications network link for display at a terminal destination comprising:
collecting a plurality of media segments from a database for transmission to said terminal destination, each of said media segments comprising a fragment of a content message;
creating targeting information for transmission to said terminal destination, said targeting information defining a plurality of versions of said content message formed from two or more of the plurality of media segments and a target segment audience; packaging said plurality of media segments and said targeting information in a single electronic package file;
and transmitting the single electronic package file and instructions to unpack said single electronic package file, the instructions being configured to instruct said terminal destination to analyze said targeting information to determine which one of the plurality of versions of said content message to assemble based on the target segment audience, assemble one or more of the collected plurality of media segments to generate said content message, and display said assembled content message at said terminal destination in accordance with the targeting information.
Similarly Claims 2-5, 7-8, 10-15, 17-18, and 20 correspond to claims 2-19 of the Patent.
Relevant Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Swix US-6718551 - A method and system for providing targeted advertisements over a networked media delivery system, especially interactive television networks, the system comprising tracking and storing viewer selections, analyzing the selections, and delivering targeted advertisements that appeal to the particular subscriber making the selections, the system including a merge processor, a file server, a profile processor, and a broadcast server contained in a head end in communication with a plurality of set-top boxes through a distribution network.
Conclusion
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/SAHAR AQIL RIAZ/Examiner, Art Unit 2424