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 .
35 USC § 101
Claims 15-20 are considered to be patent eligible under 101.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-7, 11-14, 18-20 are 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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 8-10 and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ardizzone et al. (Automatic Generation of Subject-Based
Image Transitions) as cited in an IDS.
Regarding claim 1, Ardizzone teaches a method for creating continuity in digital content, the method comprising (See abstract: "This paper presents a novel approach for the automatic generation of
image slideshows. Counter to standard cross-fading, the idea is to operate the
image transitions keeping the subject focused in the intermediate frames by
automatically identifying him/her and preserving face and facial features
alignment."):
determining a plurality of parameters associated with at least one first image (p.238, Fig.1, "Photo collection", "Feature Detection");
determining a plurality of parameters associated with at least one second image (p.238, Fig.1, "Photo collection", "Feature Detection");
generating a graphical representation to connect the at least one first image with the at least one second image based on the plurality of parameters associated with the at least one first image and the plurality of parameters associated with the at least one second image (p.237, last paragraph:" Finally, image sequences that contain the same person are
animated by applying a morphing approach."
p.242, last paragraph: "The visual transition between the two images is realized through
a blending of the two images registered to the intermediate images."); but the main embodiment doesn’t explicitly disclose
displaying the digital content comprising the at least one first image, the at least one second image, and the generated graphical representation between the at least one first image and the at least one second image.
An alternate embodiment of Ardizzone teaches displaying the digital content comprising the at least one first image, the at least one second image, and the generated graphical representation between the at least one first image and the at least one second image (p.244, Fig.5; the morphing overlay (panels 2-9) between the first original picture (panel 1) and the second original picture (panel 10) is the graphical representation.).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine a main embodiment of Ardizzone with an alternate embodiment of Ardizzone as doing so provides a break visually and provides a viewers attention to provide visual pacing. Furthermore it would have been obvious to combine prior art elements of the main embodiment with the alternative embodiment to yield predicable results.
Regarding claim 2, Ardizzone teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of parameters associated with the at least one first image comprises one or more scene elements in the at least one first image, one or more actions of the one or more scene elements in the at least one first image, and a theme formed by the one or more scene elements in the at least one first image, and
wherein the plurality of parameters associated with the at least one second image comprises one or more scene elements in the at least one second image, one or more actions of the one or more scene elements in the at least one second image, and a theme formed by the one or more scene elements in the at least one second image (See page 237 1 Introduction, “In this work we address the scenario where the user wants to manage its own
photo collection according to who is depicted in each photo. Starting from a
collection of personal images, we propose a tool for the automatic slideshow of a
sequence of pictures depicting the same individual. Firstly the whole collection is
searched for faces, while face identities are assigned with an automatic approach
[1].” The theme is the same person throughout the photos. See page 242. Intermediate frame. Also see Fig. 3 ).
Regarding claim 3, Ardizzone teaches the method of claim 2, wherein the generating the graphical representation to connect the at least one first image with the at least one second image comprises:
predicting at least one bridge event that connects the at least one first image with the at least one second image based on the plurality of parameters associated with the at least one first image and the plurality of parameters associated with the at least one second image; and
generating a graphical representation of the bridge event to connect the at least one first image with the at least one second image (See page 242. Intermediate frame. Also see Fig. 3. The intermediate frame is the graphic representation of the bridge event. The transition is the connection between the first and second image. The parameters are shown in figure 3, such as A1-A-3, m1 -m3., B1-B3).
Claims 8-10 and 15-17 recite similar limitations to that of claims 1-3 and thus are rejected under similar rationale as detailed above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
MATSUMOTO (US 20180096208 A1), abstract, “Provided are an image extraction system, an image extraction method, and an image extraction program that extract an image matched with a theme. A first theme and a second theme are determined from a plurality of images. In a case in which the determined second theme is changed, the changed second theme is input. A first image extraction process that extracts an image from the plurality of images on the basis of the first theme is performed and a second image extraction process that extracts an image from the plurality of images on the basis of the second theme is performed. The extracted images are displayed.”
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/ROBERT J CRADDOCK/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2618
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