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
This non-final action is responsive to application filed on 01/17/2025. Claims 1-20 are pending, with claims 1, 8 and 15 being independent.
Priority
This application is a continuation of U.S. Patent Application No. 18/640,446, filed April 19, 2024, which is a continuation of U.S. Patent Application No. 18/069,817, filed December 21, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S. Patent Application No. 16/405,130, filed on May 07, 2019.
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.
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Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 4, 7, 8, 11, 14, 15 and 18 of U.S. Patent No. 12271452 in view of Lee (US 2017/0019695). For instance, claim 1 of the patent teaches all the limitations of the examined claim 1 except detecting the watermark in the media signal; and transmitting meter data indicative of the watermark to a server. Lee (at least in paragraphs 23 and 25) teaches these limitations. One of ordinary skilled in the art would have been motivated to combine because it offers the advantage of allowing the audience measurement entity to identify and keep track of media playing at a household.
Examined Application
US 12271452
1. A meter configured to perform a set of operations comprising:
obtaining instructions to trigger end-point media watermarking;
based on obtaining the instructions, providing signaling to a watermarking device of a media rendering device, wherein reception of the signaling by the watermarking device causes an encoder of the watermarking device to add a watermark to a media signal for playback by the media rendering device;
detecting the watermark in the media signal; and
transmitting meter data indicative of the watermark to a server.
1. A computing system comprising:
a portable people meter; and
an audience measurement entity (AME) device configured to:
determine that the portable people meter is associated with a panelist that is a member of a subset of panelists, and
based on the determination, cause the portable people meter to send a triggering signal to a watermarking device,
wherein receipt of the triggering signal by the watermarking device causes the watermarking device to watermark a media signal.
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 3-5, 17-19, 24-26, 31-33 and 37-39 of U.S. Patent No. 12287853 in view of Lee (US 2017/0019695). For instance, claim 1 of the patent teaches all the limitations of the examined claim 1 except and transmitting meter data indicative of the watermark to a server. Lee (at least in paragraphs 23 and 25) teaches these limitations. One of ordinary skilled in the art would have been motivated to combine because it offers the advantage of allowing the audience measurement entity to identify and keep track of media playing at a household.
Examined Application
US 12287853
1. A meter configured to perform a set of operations comprising:
obtaining instructions to trigger end-point media watermarking;
based on obtaining the instructions, providing signaling to a watermarking device of a media rendering device, wherein reception of the signaling by the watermarking device causes an encoder of the watermarking device to add a watermark to a media signal for playback by the media rendering device;
detecting the watermark in the media signal; and
transmitting meter data indicative of the watermark to a server.
1. A device comprising:
a media receiver configured to receive a media signal;
a watermark generator configured to:
receive, from an audience measurement meter, a signal indicating the presence of the audience measurement meter in a household, and
based on receiving the signal, generate a watermark payload;
an encoder to encode the media signal with first watermarks to synthesize an encoded media signal, the first watermarks based on the watermark payload; and
a media output to provide the encoded media signal to a media rendering device.
4. The device of claim 1, further comprising a feedback receiver configured to receive a quality indicator from the audience measurement meter.
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 3-5, 17-19, 24-26, 31-33 and 37-39 of U.S. Patent No. 11537690 in view of Lee (US 2017/0019695). For instance, claim 1 of the patent teaches all the limitations of the examined claim 1 except and transmitting meter data indicative of the watermark to a server. Lee (at least in paragraphs 23 and 25) teaches these limitations. One of ordinary skilled in the art would have been motivated to combine because it offers the advantage of allowing the audience measurement entity to identify and keep track of media playing at a household.
Examined Application
US 11537690
1. A meter configured to perform a set of operations comprising:
obtaining instructions to trigger end-point media watermarking;
based on obtaining the instructions, providing signaling to a watermarking device of a media rendering device, wherein reception of the signaling by the watermarking device causes an encoder of the watermarking device to add a watermark to a media signal for playback by the media rendering device;
detecting the watermark in the media signal; and
transmitting meter data indicative of the watermark to a server.
1. A device comprising:
at least one memory;
instructions in the device; and processor circuitry to execute the instructions to at least:
activate generation of watermarks based on detection of a presence of a meter external to the device, the watermarks to be encoded in a media signal, the media signal including a plurality of channels;
change, based on an assigned quality indicator from the meter, at least one of a channel or a combination of channels of the media signal in which the watermarks are encoded to synthesize an encoded media signal, the assigned quality indicator based on strength values of previous watermarks detected by the meter, the strength values based on amplitudes of the previous watermarks detected by the meter; and
output the encoded media signal.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20140129841 A1; Methods And Apparatus To Identify Media
Methods and apparatus for identifying media are described. An example method includes determining application identification information for a media presentation application executing on a media device, determining a first watermark for the application identification information from a lookup table, requesting media identification information for media from the media presentation application, determining a second watermark for the media identification information from the lookup table, inserting the first watermark in the media prior to output of the media by the media device, and inserting the second watermark in the media prior to the output of the media by the media device.
US 20170019695 A1; Methods And Apparatus To Detect Spillover
Methods and apparatus to improve the accuracy of crediting media exposure through detecting reverberation indicative of spillover. Example disclosed methods involve determining periods of loudness in media presented by a media presentation device, and identifying a quantity of the periods of loudness that satisfy a duration threshold. Disclosed example methods also involve calculating a ratio by dividing the quantity of the periods of loudness that satisfy the duration threshold by a total number of periods of loudness in the media. Disclosed example methods also involve marking the media as usable to credit a media exposure if the ratio satisfies a loud threshold.
US 20160019901 A1; Audio Watermarking For People Monitoring
Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture (e.g., physical storage media) to utilize audio watermarking for people monitoring are disclosed. Example people monitoring methods disclosed herein include determining, at a user device, whether a first trigger condition for emitting an audio watermark identifying at least one of the user device or a user of the user device is satisfied. Such example methods also include, in response to determining that the first trigger condition is satisfied, providing a first audio signal including the audio watermark to an audio circuit that is to output an acoustic signal from the user device.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KHANG DO whose telephone number is (571)270-7837. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00 - 5:00 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, RUPAL DHARIA can be reached at (571) 272-3880. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KHANG DO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2492
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