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 02/14/2025 is being considered by the examiner.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Claims 1-9 in the reply filed on 04/03/2026 is acknowledged.
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 1-9 rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-7 of U.S. Patent No. 11,570,513. 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. 19/053,653
U.S. Patent No. 11,570,513
1.A method of identifying media content presented on a display device, the method comprising:
obtaining a training set comprising a plurality of video frames including a first plurality of video frames that include a frame trigger event and a second plurality of video frames that do include the frame trigger event;
training a machine-learned algorithm to detect the frame trigger event within the plurality of video frames of the training set;
defining a set of content identification rules that include the machine- learned algorithm;
receiving a selection of one input port of a plurality of input ports and an associated video signal for delivery to a display device, the associated video signal including a series of video frames;
based on the received selection of the one input port, selecting the content identification rules for analysis of the series of video frames;
and applying the content identification rules to the series of video frames in order to detect the frame trigger event within the associated video signal.
1.A method of identifying media content presented on a display device, the method comprising:
obtaining a training set comprising a plurality of video frames including a first plurality of video frames that include a frame trigger event and a second plurality of video frames that do include the frame trigger event, wherein the frame trigger event includes an absence of a network logo within a video frame;
training a machine-learned algorithm to detect the frame trigger event within the plurality of video frames of the training set;
defining a set of content identification rules that include the machine-learned algorithm, wherein the content identification rules include an advertisement identification algorithm configured to identify an occurrence of an advertisement;
receiving a selection of one input port of a plurality of input ports and an associated video signal for delivery to a display device, the associated video signal including a series of video frames;
based on the received selection of the one input port, selecting the content identification rules for analysis of the series of video frames; applying the content identification rules to the series of video frames in order to detect the frame trigger event within the associated video signal;
and applying the advertisement identification algorithm to the series of video frames after detecting the frame trigger event.
Similarly, Claims 2-9 correspond to Claims 2-7 of the Patent.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claim 1-3 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Katz et al. 2018/0084310 in view of Gu et al. US Patent Publication No. 2010/0118000.
Regarding Claim 1, Katz discloses a method of identifying media content presented on a display device [0017], the method comprising:
obtaining a training set comprising a plurality of video frames including a first plurality of video frames that include a frame trigger event and a second plurality of video frames that do include the frame trigger event [Figure 7 & [0090-0097; training one or more classifiers or classification models to identify specific objects of interest in video data. The illustrated method may be performed by computing system 302 in order to generate and store trained classifiers or other classification models or machine learning models that may then be used by the computing system to identify specific objects or classes of objects in subsequently provided image or video data. The illustrated method begins with input images and/or video being received, retrieved or selected from image and/or video data store 702. This image and/or video data may be a number of video files and/or image files that are known to contain or are likely to contain objects of interest with respect to other aspects of the present disclosure... As an example, if the classifiers being trained in FIG. 7 are intended for later use in identifying sponsor logos or sponsorship opportunities for professional basketball games, the training data may include a plurality of video files recorded from television broadcasts of professional basketball games and/or fan-recorded images or video];
training a machine-learned algorithm to detect the frame trigger event within the plurality of video frames of the training set [0026 & 0091; Classifiers configured to identify a target image object may be created or trained using exemplar images that are known to include that target image object… Specifically, in creating or training a model, each exemplar image is processed to identify features of the image];
defining a set of content identification rules that include the machine- learned algorithm [0121; rules described herein may programmatically identify moments in a sporting event that are likely to be shared or depicted in large volume];
receiving a selection of one input The method 600 begins at block 602, where input media is received by the computing system. The input media may be, depending on the embodiment, image data, video data, or other content that includes image or video data referenced in or embedded within the content. For example, the input data may include a social media post retrieved via a social media network or social media service (where a post may include an embedded or linked photo or video, as well as text or other content). The input data could alternatively be video data from a broadcast source, such as a streaming video source or digitally recorded broadcast video from a satellite or cable television source];
based on the received selection of the one input port, selecting the content identification rules for analysis of the series of video frames [[0017-0020, 0023-0024, 0078-0079, 0122, 0130-0146]; Video fingerprinting is generally used to compactly represent a video or portion of a video in a manner that allows for efficient searching of other videos to identify either duplicates or slight variations of the same video… computer software may identify, extract and compress characteristics of video data to create a digital file that serves as a “fingerprint” of the specific video data… fingerprinting can be used to identify perceptually similar videos where a copy of the video may be at a different resolution, cropped, blurred, had text or other content overlaid over a portion of the video, and/or been otherwise modified… once a fingerprint match is identified in a subsequent broadcast, the system may record information such as the channel (or URL), program name, number of viewers, commercial cost (e.g., the cost for an advertiser to run a 30-second commercial during the program), and the time frame from the original live broadcast that is featured… An image object that is the subject of a classifier that has been created or trained to identify that particular image object may be referred to as a “target image object.” For example, a target image object may be a visual representation of a company's logo, and a classifier may be generated specifically to identify at least that logo. when analyzing video data as input, the computing system at block 610 may look for consistent presence of the given OCR keywords over time in the video…];
and applying the content identification rules to the series of video frames in order to detect the frame trigger event within the associated video signal [0079; Block 610 may additionally include applying a rule set associated with broadcasts of the given sport to identify which team is the home team based in part on the OCR results and their location on screen.]
However, Katz fails to clearly disclose receiving a selection of one input port of a plurality of input ports and an associated video signal for delivery to a display device.
In an analogous art, Gu discloses receiving a selection of one input port of a plurality of input ports and an associated video signal for delivery to a display device [0010, 0014 & 0075].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Katz and Gu, before the effective filing date of the invention, in order to allow user selection unit to select the selected input port among the plurality of input ports through the controller, wherein the controller controls the external port device to output the video signal corresponding to the selected input port [Gu 0010].
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Katz and Gu discloses a method wherein the frame trigger event is a content grid within the video frame [Katz 0092; logo].
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Katz and Gu discloses a method wherein the content identification rules further include a content extraction algorithm configured to extract and categorize text in the content grid, the method further comprising applying the content extraction algorithm to the content grid after detecting the frame trigger event [Katz 0025; a target image object may be a visual representation of a company's logo, and a classifier may be generated specifically to identify at least that logo. In some embodiments, the target image object may generally refer to a class or group of related image objects that may be identified using a particular classifier. In the above example, the target image object may be related to any of one or more different styles or versions of the same logo of the company (e.g., logos of the company from different decades), and the classifier may be trained or created to identify one or more (or all) of those different logos].
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Katz and Gu discloses a method wherein the frame trigger event is a scene change within a series of video frames [Katz 0072].
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Katz et al. 2018/0084310 in view of Gu et al. US Patent Publication No. 2010/0118000 in further view of Reisner US Patent Publication No. 2015/0229980.
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Katz and Gu discloses the method of claim 1 but fails to disclose a method wherein the frame trigger event is an absence of a network logo within the video frame. In an analogous art, Reisner discloses a method wherein the frame trigger event is an absence of a network logo within the video frame [0002; DVR having this ability may monitor a video broadcast to detect when a commercial has been inserted by a broadcaster e.g., by detecting a number of consecutive black frames or an absence of a network logo].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Katz, Gu, and Reisner, before the effective filing date of the invention, in order to detect the onset of a commercial break automatically [Reisner 0001].
Claims 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Katz et al. 2018/0084310 in view of Gu et al. US Patent Publication No. 2010/0118000 in further view of Asam US Patent Publication No. 2012/0116883.
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Katz and Gu discloses the method of claim 1 but fails to disclose a method wherein the content identification rules further include an advertisement identification algorithm configured to identify an occurrence of an advertisement, the method further comprising applying the advertisement identification algorithm to the series of video frames after detecting the frame trigger event.
In an analogous art, Asam discloses a method wherein the content identification rules further include an advertisement identification algorithm configured to identify an occurrence of an advertisement, the method further comprising applying the advertisement identification algorithm to the series of video frames after detecting the frame trigger event [Figure 1 & [0069]].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Katz, Gu, and Asam, before the effective filing date of the invention, in order to access and play back content [Asam 0014].
Regarding Claim 6, the combination of Katz, Gu, and Asam discloses a method wherein the advertisement identification algorithm includes a determination of a length of the advertisement [Asam Figure 3 & [0019]].
Regarding Claim 7, the combination of Katz, Gu, and Asam discloses a method wherein the advertisement identification algorithm includes a machine-learned brand detection algorithm [Katz [0024]].
Relevant Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Beals et al. US Patent No. 9,536,569 - Systems and methods for selectively recording and bookmarking a portion of broadcast media content include receiving a video stream containing the broadcast media content, determining a video segment of the video stream to be output to a display device, and performing OCR on characters present within the video segment. The systems and methods may further include detecting a trigger event in the OCR of the video segment and creating a digital bookmark corresponding to the detected trigger event. The systems and methods may include generating a recording of a portion of the broadcast media content, whereby the recording begins prior to the trigger event and concludes after the trigger event, and storing the digital bookmark associated with the generated recording.
Schrempp et al. US Patent Publication No. 2015/0341410 - A media stream cue point creator receives a media stream comprising at least one of an audio portion or a video portion, wherein the media stream lacks at least one indicator of a content segment within the media stream. The media stream cue point creator identifies a first segment of the plurality of segments of the media stream, wherein the segment corresponds to a segment in a segment reference data store, and creates a cue point associated with the first segment, wherein the cue point identifies at least one of a beginning or an end of the first content segment in the media stream.
Conclusion
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/SAHAR AQIL RIAZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2424
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