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 . Claimed priority is granted from foreign Application Number KR10-2022-0102710 filed on 08/17/2022.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 02/10/2025 and 08/12/2025 was filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Cancelled Claim
Claims 18 has been cancelled without prejudice or disclaimer.
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.
Claims 1-3, 8, 11, 12, 16, 17, 19, 20 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20180359353 A1 (Vlandis et al.), in view of US 9165284 B2 (Szeto).
Regarding claim 1, Vlandis teaches the invention substantially as claimed. Vlandis teaches:
A method for indexing content in an instant messaging service, the method being performed by one or more processors of a user terminal (par. 0019; 0026, fig. 2., computer 20 having display 22, processor 26 and memory 28 storing executable instructions) and comprising:
receiving, from a user, a first user input corresponding to a request for content indexing, and a content; receiving a second user input to cause an indexing of the received content (par. 0023; request for content indexing: whereupon the user types the name of the new category; 0007, create a plurality of categorized folders; par. 0022, the user clicks the message and drags it to a category, par. 0027, enabling a user to select, drag, and drop a displayed message into a displayed category; fig. 3, block S104); and
based on receiving the second user input, generating a folder corresponding to the first user input or the second user input, and storing the received content in the folder (par. 0007, 0023, a new categorized is created responsive to the user input (button 10), the message is place into the selected category and subsequent messages are automatically placed therein).
Vlandis does not expressly disclose handling the content within an instant messaging service with defined content types and server-side storage, which Szeto supplies in the disclosure of claim 1 (IM Window), detailed description (content types) and claims 2-3/fig. 4B (server storage).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) before the effective filing data of the claimed invention to combine the user-driven folder-categorization and storage of Vlandis with the instant-messaging service content handling of Szeto for the following reasons:
Same field, same problem. Both references organize and retrieve content within messaging applications. Vlandis expressly identifies the problem that traditional instant messaging provides only a default folder, requiring the user to review all archived messages to find a chat session (par. 0004); the same “hard to navigate back to content” problem recited in the present specification. A POSITA addressing IM content organization would naturally consult both.
Known elements, known method and predictable result (KSR). Vlandis already performs folder creation and message filing; Szeto already performs IN content-type handling and server-side storage of content information. Incorporating Szeto’s IM content handling and storage into Vlandis’ categorization framework is the predictable application of a known technique to a device ready for improvement, yielding to the expected result of categorized IM content that can be stored and later retrieved. See KSR Intl’l Co. V. Teleflex Inc. 550 U.S. 398 (2007).
Express improvement rationale. A POSITA would apply Vlandis’ categorized-folder storage to Szeto’s IN content (links, images, videos, files) to allow users to organized/received IM content and navigate it later, reducing the redundant manual effort of locating content – a benefit recognized in the art and in the present application.
Reasonable expectation of success. Both systems use conventional processor/memory/display architectures, standard GUI inputs (button press, selection, drag-and-drop), and standard message receipt/storage. Integrating a folder-categorization GUI with an IM content list/store involves ordinary programming and predictable data handling, providing a reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding claims 2- 3, 8, 11, 12, 16, 17, 19, 20 and 21, the combination Vlandis-Szeto teaches:
2. (original): The method according to claim 1, wherein the first user input is received through a chat room of the instant messaging service (Vlandis, categories/folders within the messaging interface in view of Szeto, chat window 604/IN window, fig. 6 and disclosure of claim 1).
3. (original): The method according to claim 1, wherein the content includes at least one of a text, a link, an image, or a video (Szeto, expressly lists content types including URL (link), a photo (image), a music file, and a video, in addition to text messages, see detailed description section as well).
8. (original): The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving a third user input to cause a second indexing of the received content; and based on receiving the third user input, generating a sub-folder corresponding to the third user input and within the folder corresponding to the first user input or the second user input, and storing the received content in the sub-folder (Vlandis, third input –subfolder within folder; discloses a sub-category creation button by which sub-categories ae created, displayed, and selected within a category, par. 0031).
11. (original): The method according to claim 1, wherein, based on the content being an image or a video, the folder corresponding to the first user input or the second user input is generated as a sub-folder of an album (Vlandis, 0031, subfolder mechanism combined with Szeto, ‘s rich media content (photo/video), together with official notice that media “albums”/galleries are notoriously well-known in messaging applications, the result is the predicate filing of media into an album sub-folder.
12. (original): The method according to claim 1, the receiving the second user input comprises receiving, on the content, a designation of a folder to be generated for storing the content (Vlandis, par. 0022-0023, second input executed on the content to designate the folder to be generated; discloses the select/drag=drop performed of the displayed message, together with new-category creation via button 10).
16. (original): The method according to claim 1, wherein the content is received from a second user, different from the user (Vlandis, fig. 4, block S110, identifying the source of each incoming message; Szeto, discloses content exchanged between User A and User B via a buddy list, fig. 5 blocks 503-507, fig. 7, buddy 613).
17. (original): The method according to claim 1, wherein the first user input, the content, and the second user input are received through a chat room of the instant messaging service, and wherein the folder corresponding to the first user input or the second user input corresponds with the chat room (Vlandis, inputs/content received through a chat room; folder corresponds with the chat room/IM service; per category folders with the messaging interface in view of Szeto m recently accessed content list associated with the user account and presented with the IM window, see Detailed Description).
19. (original) A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing instructions for causing performance of the method according to claim 1 on a computer (Vlandis, par, 0028 and disclosure of claim 17).
20. (original): A user terminal, comprising:
a communication module; a memory storing one or more computer-readable programs;
a display (Vlandis, display 22, GUI 24); and
one or more processors operatively connected to the memory and configured to execute the one or more computer-readable programs included in the memory (Vlandis, memory 28, interface 40; par. 0026, fig. 2, claim 9) to: receive, from a user, a first user input corresponding to a request for content indexing, and a content, receive a second user input to cause an indexing of the received content, and based on receiving the second input, generate a folder corresponding to the first user input or the second user input, and store the received content in the folder (Vlandis, claim 1, 0023, 0022, Fig. 4, block S108; 0027, fig. 3 blocks S100---S102—S104. See also Szeto Fig. 6; claim 1, chat window 6-4 within the IM user Interface). The same motivation and reason to combine used for the rejection of claim is also valid for this claim. By this rationale claim 20 is rejected.
21. (original): A method for indexing content in an instant messaging service, the method being performed by one or more processors of a user terminal (Vlandis, display 22, GUI 24, memory 28, interface 40; par. 0026, fig. 2, claim 9) and comprising: receiving, from a user, a first input in a chat room of the instant messaging service corresponding to a request for content indexing; after receiving the first input, receiving a content in the chat room of the instant messaging service; after receiving the content, receiving a second user input to cause an indexing of the received content; and based on receiving the second user input, generating a folder corresponding to the first user input or the second user input, and storing the received content in the folder. (Vlandis, claim 1, 0023, 0022, Fig. 4, block S108; 0027, fig. 3 blocks S100---S102—S104. See also Szeto Fig. 6; claim 1, chat window 6-4 within the IM user Interface). The same motivation and reason to combine used for the rejection of claim is also valid for this claim. By this rationale claim 20 is rejected.
Claims 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vlandis and Szeto, in further view of US 20170344224 A1 (Kay et al).
These claims narrow the “second user input” to a sticker provided messaging service (claim 4), where the sticker includes text/image content (claims 5-6), the folder is generated based on the sticker type (claim 7), and a badge corresponding to the sticker is displayed on the content and is selectable to open the corresponding folder (claims 9-10). Kay supplies the sticker/emoji input: messaging applications (including instant messaging applications present user-selectable pictorial elements (emojis/stickers). Kay par. 0021, a user-selectable button associated with an emoji that, when selected, inserts the emoji (Kay 0084, fig. 5A; pictorial elements include emojis, ideograms, images, and GIFs (Kay, par. 0056-0059). Szeto independently confirms that IM-specific content includes an emoticon (Szeto, Detailed Description).
4. (original): The method according to claim 1, wherein the second user input corresponds to a sticker included in the instant messaging service (Kay, 0084, fig. 5A, 0021 )... see Vlandis’ indexing-triggering “second user input”.
5. (original): The method according to claim 4, wherein the sticker includes a text or an image corresponding to the indexing of the content (Kay, par. 0056-0059).
6. (original): The method according to claim 5, wherein the receiving the second input comprises receiving, from the user, an input of the text or the image of the sticker (Kay, 0084).
7. (original): The method according to claim 4, wherein the folder corresponding to the first user input or the second user input is generated based on a type of the sticker (Vlandis generates the folder from the designating input in 0023...dot 12 on the message, dot 14 on the category, Kay matches specific classification to a specific emoji/sticker type via tags/metadata... par, 0055... mapping different sticker to different results.
9. (original): The method according to claim 4, further comprising displaying, on the received content, a badge corresponding to the sticker (Kay, fig. 5A, displaying he emoji icon associated with the content. The Examiner takes the Official notice that displaying on a receiving content a badge that match the sticker is well-known in the art.
10. (original): The method according to claim 9, further comprising, based on the user selecting the badge corresponding to the sticker, outputting a folder corresponding to the badge on a display of the user terminal (Vlandis, par. 0024, fig. 1B, claim 4).
13. (original): The method according to claim 1, further comprising, based on the received content, providing a recommendation of a folder for storing the content (Kay, par. 0030, 0074).
14. (original): The method according to claim 1, further comprising, based on the received content, providing a recommendation including at least one sticker corresponding to a folder for storing the content (kay, 0014 and 0061; disclosure of claim 1). The Examiner takes Official Notice that paid sticker marketplaces/stores are notoriously well-known in instant messaging services. Additional support can be found in US 8918339 B2.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 15 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
CONCLUSION
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/JUDE JEAN GILLES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2459
June 1, 2026
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