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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to an application filed March 31, 2025. Claims 1-20 are pending in this application.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory obviousness 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 claims at issue 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); and 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 a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
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Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-24 of patent no. US 12,284,575 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims are directed to the same subject matter of transmitting a link for a chatroom through a messaging application. A side-by-side analysis of the first independent claim(s) of the instant application and the copending application(s) has been included below. The bolded portions are portions which are almost identical to one another. The non-bolded portions are related to subject matter which are obvious, and do not further define over the subject matter of one another. One distinctive feature of the patent document details the chatroom includes a profile of a guest terminal. Claims 3, 12, and 16 discloses the chatroom includes a profile of a guest terminal. Therefore, the subject matter of both claim sets are not distinct from one another and yields an obviousness-type double patenting rejection. This is NOT a provisional double patenting rejection since patent document (US 12,284,575 B2) has been issued while the instant application is pending.
Here is the following side-by-side analysis of the first independent claim in each application:
Instant Application ‘413
1. A messaging service providing method to be performed by a host terminal, the method comprising:
transmitting, to a messaging server, a link information issuance request for issuing link information for a chat room through a messaging application;
receiving, from the messaging server, the link information generated in response to the link information issuance request;
sharing the link information in response to a link information sharing request input by a user of the host terminal; and
performing a chat between the user of the host terminal and a user of a guest terminal participating in the chat room through the shared link information,
wherein the user of the guest terminal and the user of the host terminal subscribe to a messaging service provided through the messaging server, and
wherein the chat room is accessible through the link information by the guest terminal regardless of whether the user of the guest terminal is a friend of the user of the host terminal in the messaging service, while the chat room is inaccessible when a restriction is set on the link information.
Patent No. ‘575
1. A messaging service providing method to be performed by a host terminal, the method comprising:
transmitting, to a messaging server, a link information issuance request for issuing link information for an open chat room through a messaging application;
receiving, from the messaging server, the link information generated in response to the link information issuance request;
sharing the link information in response to a link information sharing request input by a user of the host terminal;
displaying the open chat room distinguishable from a general chatroom;
performing a chat between the user of the host terminal and a user of a guest terminal participating in the open chat room through the shared link information; and
setting information of the open chat room in response to input by the user of the host terminal, the information of the open chat room including at least one of a description of the link information, a name of the open chat room, or image information to be applied to the open chat room, wherein the user of the guest terminal and the user of the host terminal subscribe to a messaging service provided through the messaging server, wherein the open chat room is accessible by the guest terminal regardless of whether the user of the guest terminal is a friend of the user of the host terminal in the messaging service, wherein, the open chat room includes at least one of profile information associated with the user of the guest terminal, and wherein profile information associated with the user of the guest terminal is set by selecting either a default profile or an open profile of the user of the guest terminal.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 5-6, 8-11, 15, and 19-24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato (JP 2004240932 A), in view of Busey et al. (US 2015/0256353 A1).
With respect to claim 1, Sato discloses a messaging service providing method to be performed by a host terminal (Abstract), the method comprising:
transmitting, to a messaging server, a link information issuance request for issuing link information for a chat room through a messaging application (Abstract: Solution, receiving an establishment request from a requesting client);
receiving, from the messaging server, the link information generated in response to the link information issuance request (link information) to provide to the requesting client);
sharing the link information in response to a link information sharing request input by a user of the host terminal (Abstract: Solution, the client distributes the access key URL (link information) to another person); and
performing a chat between the user of the host terminal and a user of a guest terminal participating in the chat room through the shared link information (Abstract: Solution, persons with access key enters chat room), wherein the user of the guest terminal and the user of the host terminal subscribe to a messaging service provided through the messaging server (Abstract: Solution, persons who enter chatroom serves as subscribing to the messaging service since persons in chatroom communicate with one another in the chatroom),
Sato does not explicitly teach the chat room is inaccessible when a restriction is set on the link information;
However, Busey discloses the chat room is inaccessible when a restriction is set on the link information ([0051], public chatrooms are open to any user unless restrictions are met), and
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to combine the teachings of Sato with the teachings of Busey place restrictions on link information, in order to prevent any unauthorized use of the chat room.
With respect to claim 2, the combination of Sato and Busey discloses the method of claim 1, wherein Busey further discloses the restriction is set in at least one of following cases:
a first case in which the link information is set to be inactivated by the user of the host terminal ([0053]),
a second case in which the link information is deleted by the user of the host terminal ([0053], room removed from list),
a third case in which the number of a plurality of chat rooms generated through the link information exceeds an allowable number of chat rooms ([0078]-[0079]), or
a fourth case in which the number of users of guest terminals participating in a chat room generated through the link information exceeds an allowable number of users of guest terminals ([0078]-[0079]).
With respect to claim 3, the combination of Sato and Busey discloses the method of claim 1, wherein Busey further discloses the method of claim 1, wherein, the chat room includes at least one of a profile information associated with at least one of the user of the guest terminal or the user of the host terminal, or a requirement information associated with the user of the guest terminal ([0076] and [0078]),
wherein the profile information is set by selecting a profile among a plurality of profiles, and wherein the requirement information includes entry requirement set by information of the user of the guest terminal ([0076] and [0078]).
With respect to claim 4, the combination of Sato and Busey discloses the method of claim 1, wherein Busey further discloses the method of claim 3, wherein the plurality of profiles comprises a first profile and a second profile (Abstract),
wherein the first profile is a profile that is displayed to a friend user of the user of the guest terminal or the user of the host terminal in a messaging application (Figure 5), and
wherein the second profile is a profile that is set when the user of the guest terminal participates in the chat room or when the link information issuance is transmitted to the messaging server from the host terminal (Figure 6a and [0017]).
With respect to claim 5, the combination of Sato and Busey discloses the method of claim 1, wherein Busey further discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising:
transmitting, using the messaging server, a notice message from the user of the host terminal to notify the user of the guest terminal of the chat room through a notice message-related interface in the messaging application ([0038]).
With respect to claim 6, the combination of Sato and Busey discloses the method of claim 1, wherein Busey further discloses the method of claim 5, wherein the notice message is displayed in an area of a chat room corresponding to the link information or is displayed between messages exchanged in the chat room or each of the plurality of chat rooms ([0092]).
With respect to claim 7, the combination of Sato and Busey discloses the method of claim 1, wherein Busey further discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the chatroom of group type allows a user of a terminal participated in the chat room of group type to perform a one-to-one chat with one of users of terminals participating in the chat room or allows users of predetermined terminals in a previously generated chat room of group type to exchange one-to-one messages without generating an additional one-to-one type chat room ([0064]).
With respect to claim(s) 9 and 12-20, the method of claim(s) 9 and 12-20 does/do not limit or further define over the method of claim(s) 1, 3-4, and 7. The limitations of claim(s) 9 and 12-20 is/are essentially similar to the limitations of claim(s) 1, 3-4, and 7. Therefore, claim(s) 9 and 12-20 is/are rejected for the same reasons as claim(s) 1, 3-4, and 7. Please see rejection above.
With respect to claim 10, the combination of Sato and Busey discloses the method of claim 1, wherein Busey further discloses the method of claim 9, further comprising:
in response to receiving the input, determining at least one of whether the messaging application is installed in the guest terminal or whether the messaging application supports a participation in the chat room ([0050]); and
based on the determination, executing the messaging application to allow the user of the guest terminal to participate in the chat room corresponding the link information ([0050]).
With respect to claim 11, the combination of Sato and Busey discloses the method of claim 1, wherein Busey further discloses the method of claim 9, wherein performing a chat between the user of the guest terminal and the user of the host terminal is not possible ([0068]) in at least one of following cases:
a first case in which the user of the guest terminal is blocked by the user of the host terminal ([0068]);
a second case in which the user of the host terminal is blocked by the user of the guest terminal ([0068]); or
a third case in which a report of usage limit for the user of the guest terminal is received in the messaging application ([0068]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 8 is/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.
Reasons for Allowance
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The Examiner has not found any reasonable prior art(s) nor combination of prior art(s) which teach the feature of claim 8 as ‘the chat room provides at least one of function for performing payments for products, performing remittance of money, or transmitting or receiving a message for a gift supported in the messaging application among users of terminals participating in the chat room’.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ESTHER B. HENDERSON whose telephone number is (571)270-3807. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 6a-2p ET.
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/ESTHER B. HENDERSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2458 August 6, 2026
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