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 statements (IDS) submitted on 7/30/2025 and 9/25/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements have been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 11 are objected to because of the following informalities: The claim limitation “on temporal indicator” should read “on a temporal indicator”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5, 8, 11-15 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Incorvia (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2012/0167145).
Referring to claim 1, Incorvia discloses a system for dynamic content extraction in visual media content (see authoring device 45 in Figure 1), the system comprising one or more processors and at least one non-transitory memory comprising instructions that, with the one or more processors (see Figures 5-6 and Paragraphs 0069 and 0072), cause the system to:
receive a segment selection indication associated with visual media content (see Paragraph 0067 and step 210 in Figure 7 for receiving video media including a plurality of objects within various frames of the video media and further note Paragraph 0034 for the authoring device 45 selecting video sequences and adding interactive objects to the video sequences);
identify a segment of the visual media content based on temporal indicator
associated with the segment selection indication (see Paragraph 0067 and step 210 in Figure 7 and the bottom of Paragraph 0068 for processing/identifying a segment’s identified time to map the object);
extract a content data object from at least one portion of the segment of the visual media content (see Paragraph 0033 for extracting stored unique identifiers (from a database) for content data objects such as a can of soda);
generate a relevance data object based on the content data object (see Paragraph 0034 for and modifying the unique identifiers by identifying a diet can of soda from the received database information indicating a regular can of soda); and
cause display of the relevance data object to a user (see Figures 3-4 and Paragraphs 0044-0045).
Referring to claim 2, Incorvia discloses that the segment of the visual media content includes a visual representation of a content object (see the bottom of Paragraph 0068).
Referring to claim 3, Incorvia discloses that the temporal indicator comprises a timestamp associated with the content object visually rendered in the visual media content (see Paragraphs 0034-0035 and the bottom of Paragraph 0068).
Referring to claim 4, Incorvia discloses that the segment comprises one or more frames of the visual media content and the temporal indicator comprises a frame identifier associated with the content object visually rendered in the visual media content (see Paragraphs 0034-0035 and the bottom of Paragraph 0068).
Referring to claim 5, Incorvia discloses that the content data object comprises a content object identifier for the content object visually rendered in the visual media content (see Paragraph 0033 for the database including object identifiers, wherein the object identifiers correspond to the various images of items displayed in the video data sequences).
Referring to claim 8, Incorvia discloses that the segment selection indication further comprises a spatial segment indicator, and the segment is identified based on the temporal indicator and the spatial segment indicator (see the bottom of Paragraph 0068 for the selection of the segment includes identification of a coordinate location of the object within an identified time).
Referring to claims 11-15 and 18, see the rejection of claims 1-5 and 8, respectively.
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 6-7, 9-10, 16-17 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Incorvia (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2012/0167145) in view of Zhang et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2021/0127178).
Referring to claim 6, Incorvia discloses all of the limitations of claim 2, but fails to teach that the content data object comprises an image of the content object visually rendered in the visual media content.
Zhang discloses the content data object comprises an image of the content object visually rendered in the visual media content (see Figure 4 and Paragraphs 0052-0054).
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 object identification process, as taught by Incorvia, using the image extraction process, as taught by Zhang, for the purpose of providing advertisements related to the content the viewer is watching (see Paragraphs 0137-0142 of Zhang).
Referring to claim 7, Incorvia discloses all of the limitations of claim 2, but fails to teach that extracting the content data object comprises capturing an image of the content object visually rendered in the visual media content and performing image analysis on the captured image to identify the content object visually rendered in the visual media content.
Zhang discloses that extracting the content data object comprises capturing an image of the content object visually rendered in the visual media content (see Paragraphs 0050-0051) and performing image analysis on the captured image to identify the content object visually rendered in the visual media content (see Paragraph 0061).
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 object identification process, as taught by Incorvia, using the image extraction process, as taught by Zhang, for the purpose of providing advertisements related to the content the viewer is watching (see Paragraphs 0137-0142 of Zhang).
Referring to claim 9, Incorvia discloses all of the limitations of claim 1, but fails to teach that the relevance data object is generated using a machine learning relevance model analyzing the content data object and contextual data associated with the user.
Zhang discloses that the relevance data object is generated using a machine learning relevance model analyzing the content data object (see Paragraph 0054) and contextual data associated with the user (see Paragraph 0075).
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 object identification process, as taught by Incorvia, using the image extraction process, as taught by Zhang, for the purpose of providing advertisements related to the content the viewer is watching (see Paragraphs 0137-0142 of Zhang).
Referring to claim 10, Incorvia discloses all of the limitations of claim 1, but fails to teach that the relevance data object is generated using a machine learning relevance model analyzing the content data object and user data.
Zhang discloses that the relevance data object is generated using a machine learning relevance model analyzing the content data object (see Paragraph 0054) and user data (see Paragraph 0075).
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 object identification process, as taught by Incorvia, using the image extraction process, as taught by Zhang, for the purpose of providing advertisements related to the content the viewer is watching (see Paragraphs 0137-0142 of Zhang).
Referring to claims 16-17 and 19-20, see the rejection of claims 6-7 and 9-10, respectively.
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).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Jason Salce/Senior Examiner, Art Unit 2421
Jason P Salce
Senior Examiner
Art Unit 2421
June 4, 2026
Prosecution Insights