DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 1/30/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 17 is generally narrative and indefinite, failing to conform with current U.S. practice. They appear to be a literal translation into English from a foreign document and are replete with grammatical and idiomatic errors.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 17 recites “the server of claim 1”. This recitation is unclear if only the physical server is only being claimed, or all of the functions the server also performs.
Claim 17 recites “the next preferential delivery period once time when the next preferential delivery period can be started comes”. This recitation is generally narrative and the recitation of “once time” is unclear.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-7, 9-15 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jiang et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 20022/0046291) in view of Ruiz et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/0314493).
Referring to claim 1, Jiang discloses a start request from a terminal of a live streamer performing the livestream during the livestream (see Paragraphs 0041-0042).
Jiang fails to disclose the remaining limitations of claim 1, wherein the live streamer can use a user interface that allows the live streamer to schedule or re-schedule a live stream.
Ruiz discloses starting, in a starting unit, a preferential delivery period of a livestream in response to reception of a preferential delivery period start request from a terminal of a live streamer performing the livestream during the livestream (see Figure 3 and Paragraph 0037 for requesting the start of a live stream at a preferred delivery period).
Ruiz also discloses managing, in a managing unit, when a next preferential delivery period can be started for the livestream (see Figure 8B, Paragraphs 0064-0065 and Paragraphs 0024-0026).
Ruiz also discloses processing, in a processing unit, to provide information on livestreams that are in the preferential delivery period to a user in priority over information on livestreams outside of the preferential delivery period (see Figure 3, Figure 9 and Paragraph 0068 for transmitting the selected video and the update list/schedule and Paragraph 0033 for transmitting the video to a user).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the live streamer stream start process, as taught by Jiang, using the livestream scheduling system and user interface, as taught by Ruiz, for the purpose of eliminating the need for the operator to execute transitions on-site between live streams (see Paragraph 0026 of Ruiz).
Referring to claim 2, Ruiz discloses that in the managing unit, start of the next preferential delivery period is enabled when a waiting period that is longer than the preferential delivery period has elapsed since the preferential delivery period started (see Paragraphs 0025-0026 for adjusting the schedule when a waiting period is too longer for the buffer being used to cache the video until the interruption has passed).
Referring to claim 3, Ruiz discloses all of the limitations of claim 1, but fails to teach that in the managing unit, the waiting period is shortened when there is a payment by the live streamer performing the livestream or by a viewer watching the livestream.
The Examiner takes Official Notice that in a managing unit, the waiting period is shortened when there is a payment by the live streamer performing the livestream or by a viewer watching the livestream by the use of a pre-registration system that allows a user to pre-register user information including a payment option.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the live streamer stream start process, as taught by Jiang and Ruiz, using pre-registration system, as taught by the Examiner statement of Official Notice, for the purpose of allowing a user to join a selected live stream faster because payment has already been registered by the user.
Referring to claim 4, Ruiz discloses that in the managing unit, a length of the preferential delivery period or a length of the waiting period or both is adjusted depending on a change in a parameter during the livestream (see Paragraph 0026 for adjusting the start time (increase in the length of time until a viewer can view the content) of a livestream).
Referring to claim 5, Ruiz also discloses that in the processing unit, processing is performed to provide the user with the information only on the livestreams that are in the preferential delivery period (see Figure 6 and Paragraphs 0056-0057).
Referring to claim 6, Ruiz also discloses that in the processing unit, a livestream to be provided to the user is selected from a list of the livestreams that are in the preferential delivery period (see Figure 5 and Paragraphs 0054-0055).
Referring to claim 7, Ruiz also discloses that the circuitry is further configured to, in an updating unit, register a livestream whose preferential delivery period has newly started in the list (see Figure 5 and Paragraphs 0054-0055) and remove a livestream whose previously started preferential delivery period has expired from the list (see Figure 7 and Paragraph 0060).
Referring to claims 9-15, see the rejection of claims 1-7, respectively.
Referring to claim 17, see the rejection of claim 1 and Figures 1, 3 and 8B.
Claims 8 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jiang et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 20022/0046291) in view of Ruiz et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/0314493) in further view of Zhang (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2025/0106183).
Referring to claim 8, Jiang and Ruiz disclose all of the limitations of claim 6, but fails to teach the selection of a first and second livestream, as recited.
Zhang discloses that the circuitry is further configured to, in a relay unit, relay video data of a first livestream registered in the list from a terminal of a live streamer of the first livestream to a terminal of the user (see Figure 1 and Paragraph 0033).
Zhang also discloses that in the processing unit, when a livestream change request is received from the terminal of the user over a network, a second livestream different from the first livestream is selected from the list, and wherein, in the relay unit, relay of video data of the second livestream from a terminal of a live streamer of the selected second live streamer to the terminal of the user is started (see Figure 3 and Paragraphs 0045-0049).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the live streamer stream start process, as taught by Jiang and Ruiz, using client-side user interface live stream selection functionality, as taught by Zhang, for the purpose of shortening the first-frame spent time of a plurality of live streaming videos and improve the user’s experience (see the bottom of Paragraph 0031 of Zhang).
Referring to claim 16, see the rejection of claim 8.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON P SALCE whose telephone number is (571)272-7301. The examiner can normally be reached 5:30am-10:00pm M-F (Flex Schedule).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nathan Flynn can be reached at 571-272-1915. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Jason Salce/Senior Examiner, Art Unit 2421
Jason P Salce
Senior Examiner
Art Unit 2421
May 19, 2026
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