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 .
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, 8, and 15 rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 8, and 12 of U.S. Patent No. (US 12238149 B2) in view of Alon et al. (US 20130139081 A1).
Regarding claim P1 teaches a method comprising: receiving a request to view a history of the virtual collaborative workspace; (Claim 1: A method comprising: receiving, from a client device of a plurality of client devices, a request to view a history of a virtual collaborative workspace)
P1 does not explicitly teach displaying a timeline representing at least a portion of the history of the virtual collaborative workspace;
receiving a selection of a portion of the timeline corresponding to a first time;
and displaying a representation of the virtual collaborative workspace corresponding to the first time.
In an analogous art Alon teaches displaying a timeline representing at least a portion of the history of the virtual collaborative workspace; (0094; Fig 5; FIG. 5 illustrates an example display 500 in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the display 500 includes a current virtual workplace 502 and a timeline 504. The timeline 504 includes a plurality of graphical elements representing different versions of the workplace 502 at different time periods. In these instances, a selection of a graphical element may automatically update the display 500 to present the workspace 502 for the associated period of time. For example, the graphical element 506 b associated with the current time period is selected and, thus, the displayed virtual workspace 502 is the current workspace. In some implementations, previous versions of workspaces may be highlighted as illustrated by the graphical element 506 a. 0066; For instance the data annotations module 322 may, in some aspects, allow the user to dynamically create and/or view insights (e.g., notes or other annotations) on contexts of data within the contextual workspace. The insights could be for the user or other users (e.g., a collaboration))
receiving a selection of a portion (selecting a version of the workspace from the timeline) of the timeline corresponding to a first time (selected point in time); (Fig 5; 0016; switching between viewing different versions of a page state in a workspace; 0005; teaches receiving a selection for a version of the virtual workspace; 0068; teaches selecting different portions of the time line; 0094-0096 teaches selecting and displaying versions)
and displaying a representation (displaying a version) of the virtual collaborative workspace (virtual workspace) corresponding to the first time (at a point in time). (Examiner respectfully notes that a user client can request and receive a representation of multiple versions of a workspace, the user then selects a version which is displayed and populated with data blocks, content such as document and workspace modules that correspond to a given point in time) 0016; data associated with a certain point in time) (Fig 5; 0016; switching between viewing different versions of a page state in a workspace; 0005; teaches receiving a selection for a version of the virtual workspace; 0067-0096; teaches selecting different portions of the time line in a workspace version, and accessing the document within; 0094-0096 teaches selecting and displaying the selected version)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to modify the teachings of P1 to include the type of workspace versioning and access as is provided by Alon
The suggestion is to improve data access for enterprises [0001-0004]
Claims 8, inherit the same rejections as claims 1 above for reciting similar limitations in the form of a system claim, P1 teaches the system comprising: a non-transitory computer-readable medium a communications interface; (Claim 1: A system for managing outputs of a virtual collaborative workspace, the system comprising: a non-transitory computer-readable medium; a communications interface; and a processor communicatively coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable medium and the communications interface, the processor configured to execute processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium to)
Claim 15 inherit the same rejections as claim 1 above for reciting similar limitations in the form of a non-transitory claim, P1 teaches non-transitory medium (Claim 12: A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising processor-executable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to:)
Claim Objections
Claims 10 and 17 are objected to because of the following informalities: claim 10 recites: “configured to… computer-readable medium to: receiving…; and displaying…;” should recite “receive…; and display…” for grammatical clarity.
Claim 11 and 18 are objected to because of the following informalities: On line 3 of claims 11 and 18, they recite “medium to displaying a second timeline” should be --medium to display a second timeline--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 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(s) 1, 3-5, 7-8, 10-12, 14-15, and 17-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bobbitt et al. (US 20090307189 A1) in view of Alon et al. (US 20130139081 A1)
Regarding claim 1, Bobbitt teaches a method comprising: (0022; method)
receiving a request to view a history of the virtual collaborative workspace; (0016; 0036; searching time based historical records for a virtual workspace) (0034; The time-based record 104 can be structured in an `onion` or blog-type manner such that later events are stacked upon the earlier events (or vice-versa). In other words, in order to review the record of a virtual workflow, a user can drill down from the most recent time (e.g., TIME.sub.T=N+M) to the earliest time within the record (e.g., TIME.sub.T=M))
Bobbitt does not explicitly teach displaying a timeline representing at least a portion of the history of the virtual collaborative workspace;
receiving a selection of a portion of the timeline corresponding to a first time;
and displaying a representation of the virtual collaborative workspace corresponding to the first time.
In an analogous art Alon teaches displaying a timeline representing at least a portion of the history of the virtual collaborative workspace; (0094; Fig 5; FIG. 5 illustrates an example display 500 in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the display 500 includes a current virtual workplace 502 and a timeline 504. The timeline 504 includes a plurality of graphical elements representing different versions of the workplace 502 at different time periods. In these instances, a selection of a graphical element may automatically update the display 500 to present the workspace 502 for the associated period of time. For example, the graphical element 506 b associated with the current time period is selected and, thus, the displayed virtual workspace 502 is the current workspace. In some implementations, previous versions of workspaces may be highlighted as illustrated by the graphical element 506 a. 0066; For instance the data annotations module 322 may, in some aspects, allow the user to dynamically create and/or view insights (e.g., notes or other annotations) on contexts of data within the contextual workspace. The insights could be for the user or other users (e.g., a collaboration))
receiving a selection of a portion (selecting a version of the workspace from the timeline) of the timeline corresponding to a first time (selected point in time); (Fig 5; 0016; switching between viewing different versions of a page state in a workspace; 0005; teaches receiving a selection for a version of the virtual workspace; 0068; teaches selecting different portions of the time line; 0094-0096 teaches selecting and displaying versions)
and displaying a representation (displaying a version) of the virtual collaborative workspace (virtual workspace) corresponding to the first time (at a point in time). (Examiner respectfully notes that a user client can request and receive a representation of multiple versions of a workspace, the user then selects a version which is displayed and populated with data blocks, content such as document and workspace modules that correspond to a given point in time) 0016; data associated with a certain point in time) (Fig 5; 0016; switching between viewing different versions of a page state in a workspace; 0005; teaches receiving a selection for a version of the virtual workspace; 0067-0096; teaches selecting different portions of the time line in a workspace version, and accessing the document within; 0094-0096 teaches selecting and displaying the selected version)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to modify the teachings of Bobbitt to include the type of workspace versioning and access as is provided by Alon
The suggestion is to improve data access for enterprises [0001-0004]
Regarding claim 3, Bobbitt in view of Alon teach the method of claim 1, and is disclosed above, Bobbitt does not explicitly teach but Alon teaches in view further comprising:
receiving a selection of a resource (document) within the representation of the virtual collaborative (version of the workspace) workspace; (Examiner respectfully notes that a user client can request and receive a representation of multiple versions of a workspace, the user then selects a version which is displayed and populated with data blocks, content such as document and workspace modules that correspond to a given point in time; 0016; data associated with a certain point in time) (Fig 5; 0016; switching between viewing different versions of a page state in a workspace; 0005; teaches receiving a selection for a version of the virtual workspace; 0067-0096; teaches selecting different portions of the time line in a workspace version, and accessing the document within; 0094-0096 teaches selecting and displaying the selected version)
and displaying a representation of the selected resource, (mapping above; displaying the selected document with the workspace version)
the representation of the selected resources providing a view of a state of the selected resource at the first time. (Mapping above, displaying the document within the workspace version as a given point in time (equivalent to state at a first time))
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to modify the teachings of Bobbitt to include drilling down to a second timeline from the first timeline as is taught by Alon.
The suggestion is to improve data access for enterprises [0001-0004]
Regarding claim 4, Bobbitt in view of Alon teach the method of claim 3, and is disclosed above, Bobbitt does not disclose but Alon teaches further comprising displaying a second timeline (drill-down to a plurality of different granularity in the time dimension) representing at least a portion of the history of the selected resource. (0016; This storing methodology may enable viewing different versions of the page state from different times. In some implementations, the timeline may support a drill-down to a plurality of different granularity of the time dimension in order to support time-freezing capability for operational dashboards with high data changing rate; [0068] For instance, in some implementations, each distinct contextual workspace (i.e., each view with a distinct set, combination, and/or number of workspace modules included within the contextual workspace) may be time stamped with a particular time (e.g., hour/minute/day, date, week, month, or other granularity). The time stamp may be part of the metadata of the contextual workspace generated by and presented to the user. In some aspects, the user may "time travel" back in time to view previous versions of the contextual workspace according to the time stamp. )
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to modify the teachings of Bobbitt to include the selecting within a representation of a workspace at a first time, a resource, and displaying the resource as is taught by Alon.
The suggestion is to improve data access for enterprises [0001-0004]
Regarding claim 5, Bobbitt in view of Alon teach the method of claim 1, and is disclosed above, Bobbitt further teaches wherein displaying the representation of the virtual collaborative workspace comprises displaying a plurality of segments (time based records) corresponding to past occurrences within the virtual collaborative workspace. (0016; 0036; searching time based historical records for a virtual workspace; 0034; The time-based record 104 can be structured in an `onion` or blog-type manner such that later events are stacked upon the earlier events (or vice-versa). In other words, in order to review the record of a virtual workflow, a user can drill down from the most recent time (e.g., TIME.sub.T=N+M) to the earliest time within the record (e.g., TIME.sub.T=M); 0048; record store; 0068-0071; the search component returns records based on the search query from historical information; (equivalent to selected) 0072; and display the information to the user; Fig 2A; Events in the virtual workspace are captured tagged and stored, therefore user content that is worked on is captured see 0045; 0046; For example, content, actions, data accesses, individual's presence, conversations, consensus discussed/reached, context, etc. can be monitored. Information from the workspace or environment is captured. For example, the factors that are monitored can be captured and prepared for storage in most any format, including but not limited to, video, audio, text, etc; Therefore content that’s captured includes [0039-0040] working on specific documents 0033-0034; content and data can include text and files; 0048; record store))
Regarding claim 7, Bobbitt in view of Alon teach the method of claim 1, and is disclosed above, Bobbitt further teaches further comprising receiving a query indicating a past occurrence of an event (searching through a UI query an event record; [0050] Turning now to FIG. 2B, illustrated is an example methodology that facilitates location, review and/or modification of a record as appropriate. Essentially, at 220, search criteria can be generated. For example, a user can employ a UI to establish a query to locate a particular workflow or event record. By way of particular example, a user can establish a query to locate a virtual meeting that took place on a particular date. While a specific example is given, it will be understood that the search criteria can be based upon most any tagged factor or parameter.)
and displaying a representation (record) of the timeline (time based representation of the queried time-based record, interpreted different from a timeline) having a segment (time based record) with the event. (0016; 0036; searching time based historical records for a virtual workspace) (0034; The time-based record 104 can be structured in an `onion` or blog-type manner such that later events are stacked upon the earlier events (or vice-versa). In other words, in order to review the record of a virtual workflow, a user can drill down from the most recent time (e.g., TIME.sub.T=N+M) to the earliest time within the record (e.g., TIME.sub.T=M))
Claims 8, 10-12, and 14 inherit the same rejections as claims 1, 3-5, and 7 above for reciting similar limitations in the form of a system claim, Bobbitt teaches the system comprising: (0030; system) a non-transitory computer-readable medium; (0085; computer readable media) a communications interface; (0095-0096; communication interface)
Regarding claims 15, and 17-19 inherit the same rejections as claims 1, 3-5 above for reciting similar limitations in the form of a non-transitory claim, Bobbitt teaches non-transitory medium (0087; processor 0085; computer readable media)
Claim(s) 2, 9, and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bobbitt et al. (US 20090307189 A1) in view of Alon et al. (US 20130139081 A1) and further in view of Baloga (US 11327626 B1)
Regarding claim 2, Bobbitt in view of Alon teach the method of claim 1, and is disclosed above, Bobbitt in view of Alon do not explicitly teach wherein the selection of the portion comprises a selection of a duration in the timeline from a start time to an end time, the first time within an interval defined by the start time and the end time.
In an analogous art Baloga teaches wherein the selection of the portion comprises a selection of a duration in the timeline from a start time (9AM) to an end time (3PM), the first time within an interval defined by the start time and the end time. (Col 38 Lines 23-35; Where content history is stored, the content may be re-accessed on the walls 12, 14, 16 and 18. For instance, see in FIG. 22 that a selectable “History” icon 700 is provided via device 80 a. When icon 700 is selected, a timeline interface like the one in FIG. 45 may be provided for selecting a point in time at which the content is to be viewed. The FIG. 45 interface includes a timeline 702 corresponding to the period of time associated with a conferencing session. In FIG. 45 the timeline 702 indicates a period between 9 AM and 3 PM. Other shorter and longer (e.g., multiple days) session period are contemplated where the time breakdown in FIG. 45 would automatically reflect the duration of a session.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to modify the teachings of Bobbitt in view of Alon to include displaying a portion of a timeline from a start and end time as is taught by Baloga
The suggestion is to improve collaboration and information sharing [Background]
Claim 9 inherit the same rejections as claim 2 above for reciting similar limitations in the form of a system claim, Bobbitt teaches the system comprising: (0030; system) a non-transitory computer-readable medium; (0085; computer readable media) a communications interface; (0095-0096; communication interface)
Regarding claim 16 inherit the same rejections as claim 2 above for reciting similar limitations in the form of a non-transitory claim, Bobbitt teaches non-transitory medium (0087; processor 0085; computer readable media)
Claim(s) 6, 13, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bobbitt et al. (US 20090307189 A1) in view of Alon et al. (US 20130139081 A1) and further in view of Sawyer et al. (US 20140379586 A1)
Regarding claim 6, Bobbitt in view of Alon teach the method of claim 1, and is disclosed above, Bobbitt in view of Alon do not explicitly teach further comprising displaying an indication of one or more resources that have changed since a time prior to the first time, the indication displayed within the representation of the virtual collaborative workspace.
In an analogous art Sawyer teaches further comprising displaying an indication of one or more resources that have changed (0052; Status may be displayed as an icon or modification to an icon such as an icon overlay. For example, a status of synchronized may be indicated by an icon overlay 390, a status of in progress may be indicated by an icon overlay 392, a status of problem any be indicated by icon overlay 394, and a status of locked may be indicated by an icon overlay 396. + [0066] At step 610 in FIG. 6, and with reference to FIG. 4B as an example, an iconizer 484a, may detect a change in a repository file 482a, the change including a creation or a modification of an entry that is associated with a shared item (e.g. one of the item rows 481a as illustrated in icon repository 482a in FIG. 4B). According to some embodiments, the creation and/or modification may be performed by a sync client 480a.)
since a time prior to the first time, (mapping above + since last time synchronized) the indication displayed within the representation (mapping above 0045; Icon overlay on file or work item being modified; 0042 file version indicating modifications) of the virtual collaborative workspace. (0027; teaches collaborative workspace)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to modify the teachings of Bobbitt in view of Alon to include an indication if a change has occurred since the last time it was synchronized as is taught by Sawyer
The suggestion is to improve enterprise collaboration and information sharing [Background]
Claim 13 inherit the same rejections as claim 6 above for reciting similar limitations in the form of a system claim, Bobbitt teaches the system comprising: (0030; system) a non-transitory computer-readable medium; (0085; computer readable media) a communications interface; (0095-0096; communication interface)
Regarding claim 20 inherit the same rejections as claim 6 above for reciting similar limitations in the form of a non-transitory claim, Bobbitt teaches non-transitory medium (0087; processor 0085; computer readable media)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ABDERRAHMEN H CHOUAT whose telephone number is (571)431-0695. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri from 9AM to 5PM PST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christopher Parry, can be reached at telephone number 571-272-8328. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Abderrahmen Chouat
Examiner
Art Unit 2451
/Chris Parry/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2451
Prosecution Insights