DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the application filed on February 20, 2025. Claims 1-32 are pending and are examined.
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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 27 is objected to because of the following informalities: “ending” should read “sending”. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-6, 8-19, and 21-32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 2015/0304253 (“Lee”) in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2024/0096087 (“Cao”), which corresponds to a priority application dated January 2022.
With respect to claim 1, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed, including
A computer-implemented method (see ¶¶8, 9, 11, 50, describing that the methods described may be computer-implemented by computer program instructions executed by a processor) comprising:
receiving an indication that a first device and a second device are preparing to co-watch a video while displaying a text interpretation of a speech component of the video (see ¶¶35, 71-74, 77, 89-94, 99, 126, describing that the server may receive a “share” from a “sharer” of a video intended to be shared with multiple viewers for watching at the same time and a request to view and/or an acceptance of an invitation to view from a viewer, i.e., these serve as an indication that a first device and a second device are preparing to co watch a video, and that this video may include the display of a transcription and/or translation, i.e., a text interpretation of a speech component of the video); and
…operate as a text-processing device to generate the text interpretation and transmit the text interpretation to a second selection of the first device and the second device while co-watching the video (see citations with respect to element above, describing that the server may generate a text interpretation and transmit that interpretation to the viewing devices while co-watching the video, i.e., transmit the text interpretation to a second selection of the first and second device while co-watching the video).
Lee does not explicitly disclose sending an indication to a first selection of the first device and the second device to operate as a text-processing device
However, in the same field of endeavor, Cao discloses that it was known to request certain video processing functions be performed by an external terminal device, i.e.,
sending an indication to a first selection of the first device and the second device to operate as a []-processing device (see Figs. 4A-4B, ¶¶26-32, 52, 69, 72, 135-136, 151, 165-171, 196, describing that it was known for a server to allocate an image analysis and processing task to a terminal device, which may be one of several different terminal devices, and that this may include sending an indication to the terminal device of the analysis and/or processing task assigned).
As detailed above, Lee discloses a system in which devices desire to co-watch a video and a video is processed in order to facilitate such a co-watching, including text processing (see citations above). In Lee the server executes the image processing tasks for the video, e.g., including pre-processing such as transcription (closed captions) and/or translations (see citations above). However, as evidenced by Cao, at the time of filing, one of ordinary skill would have been familiar with other ways to allocate video processing tasks in such a system, including allocating certain processing tasks to a terminal device (based on device capability) and sending an indication of such a task to a selected device. Accordingly, such a person would have considered allocating processing tasks, e.g., the pre-processing of Lee, to the terminal devices of Lee based on their respective capabilities to be nothing more than the combination of prior art elements according to predictable results and/or the simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to include a mechanism for allocating certain processing tasks, e.g., text processing tasks, to Lee’s client/terminal devices based on the capabilities of such devices and sending an indication of such a task to a selected device in the video processing of Lee as taught by Cao.
With respect to claim 2, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 1. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
wherein co-watching the video comprises the first and the second device being coordinated to concurrently display a portion of the video (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 1 above, describing that two devices may coordinated to display the video in real time, i.e., concurrently, from a sharer and watch it together).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 2.
With respect to claim 3, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 1. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
further comprising:
sending an indication to the second selection to prepare to receive the text interpretation from the first selection (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 1 above, and Lee ¶¶105-107, 113, describing that a sharing device may send an invitation to participate/view content – as detailed above with respect to claim 1, this content may include text interpretation from the first selection, i.e., such an invitation may be an indicator to prepare to receive the content/text interpretation from the first selection).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 3.
With respect to claim 4, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 1. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
wherein the text interpretation is at least one of a translation, a transcription, and a summarization of the speech component (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 1 above, including Lee ¶77, describing that the text interpretation may be transcription or translation).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 4.
With respect to claim 5, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 1. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
wherein at least one of the first device and the second device is in communication with a head mounted device operable to display the text interpretation on a head mounted device display (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 1 above, describing the first and second device and the display of text interpretations on such devices, and Lee ¶¶5, 31-32, 45-46, 48, 125, 151, 154, 167 describing that such devices may receive input/video feed from, i.e., be in communication with, a head mounted display, and that such displays are configured to display text and video, including the shared video and associated text, i.e., are operable to display the text interpretation on a head mounted display).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 5.
With respect to claim 6, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 1. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
further comprising:
determining that the first selection is a co-watch host device operable to initiate co-watching the video with the second selection (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 1 above and Lee ¶¶10-11, 29-30, 33, 36-37, 81, 83, 88-93, describing that the first selection may be a sharer, i.e., co-watch host device, that may initiate co-watching with the second selection/device).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 6.
With respect to claim 8, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 1. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
further comprising:
upon receiving an indication that a re-evaluation event has occurred, the re-evaluation event comprising at least one of: determining that a timeout period has elapsed, determining that the first device or the second device are no longer displaying the video, determining that a battery powering the first device or the second device has a charge level below a threshold, and determining that the text-processing device has generated a text interpretation for a portion of the video comprising at least a predetermined word count:
sending an indication to the second selection to operate as the text-processing device; and
sending an indication to the first selection to prepare to receive the text interpretation from the second selection (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 1 above, describing that the sharing device may also process the content, i.e., operate as a text-processing device, and Lee ¶¶36-37, 91-93, 97-99, 107, 113, describing that the role of sharer may change/be passed between devices, e.g., based on a predetermined time period elapsing after ceasing transmission, i.e., based on determining that a timeout period has lapsed or based on viewers leaving/no longer displaying the shared content, and that this changing of roles/content may include the sending of indications to devices to operate as the sharer and invitations/preparation signals indicating a device should prepare to receive content).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 8.
With respect to claim 9, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of dependent claim 8. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
wherein the timeout period or the predetermined word count is determined based on at least a first device battery charge and a second device battery charge (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 8 above, describing that the role of sharer may be changed based on viewers no longer playing the displayed content – one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing would have understood that devices whose battery charge has diminished to 0 are no longer capable of presenting and/or displaying content, i.e., it would have been understood that in a system that stops sharing based on sharers no longer displaying content/viewers no longer viewing content, the timeout/stopping of display may be based on the battery charge level of the devices no longer allowing them to display/view content).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 9.
With respect to claim 10, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 1. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
A computer-implemented method comprising:
receiving an indication that a first device and a second device are preparing to co-watch an event while displaying a text interpretation of a speech component of the event, the first device generating a video of the event with a camera and transmitting the video to the second device for concurrent display during the event (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 1 above and Lee ¶¶28, 32, 39, 45-46, 57-59, describing that the video may be of an event generated with the device’s camera); and
sending an indication to a first selection of the first device and the second device to operate as a text-processing device to generate the text interpretation and transmit the text interpretation to a second selection of the first co watch device and the second device while co-watching the event (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 1 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 10.
With respect to claim 11, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 10. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
further comprising:
sending an indication to the second selection to prepare to receive the text interpretation from the first selection (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 3 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 11.
With respect to claim 12, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 10. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
wherein the text interpretation is at least one of a translation, transcription, and a summarization of the speech component (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 4 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 12.
With respect to claim 13, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 10. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
wherein at least one of the first device and the second device is connected to an augmented reality or virtual reality viewing device (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 1 above and Lee ¶¶6, 55, 59, describing that these devices may interact, i.e., be connected to, augmented or VR devices).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 13.
With respect to claim 14, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 1. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
A system, comprising:
a first device (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 1 above, describing that multiple client/terminal devices may be included, i.e., including first and second devices);
a second device (see element above); and
a configuration server configured to receive an indication that the first device and the second device are preparing to co-watch a video while displaying a text interpretation of a speech component of the video, and send an indication to a first selection of the first device and the second device to operate as a text-processing device to generate the text interpretation and transmit the text interpretation to a second selection of the first device and the second device while co-watching the video (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 1 above, which also describe a server, i.e., configuration server, for receiving the indication for shared watching).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 14.
With respect to claim 15, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 14. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
wherein co-watching the video comprises the first device and the second device being coordinated to concurrently display a portion of the video (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 2 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 15.
With respect to claim 16, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 14. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
wherein the configuration server is further configured to send an indication to the second selection to prepare to receive the text interpretation from the first selection (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 3 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 16.
With respect to claim 17, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 14. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
wherein the text interpretation is at least one of a translation and a summarization of the speech component (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 4 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 17.
With respect to claim 18, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 14. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
wherein at least one of the first device and the second device is in communication with a head mounted device operable to display the text interpretation on a head mounted device display (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 5 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 18.
With respect to claim 19, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 14. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
wherein the configuration server is further configured to determine that the first selection is a co-watch host device operable to initiate co-watching the video with the second selection (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 5 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 19.
With respect to claim 21, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 14. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
wherein the configuration server is further configured to receive an indication that a re-evaluation event has occurred, the re-evaluation event comprising at least one of: determining that a timeout period has elapsed, determining that the first device or the second device are no longer displaying the video, determining that a battery powering the first device or the second device has a charge level below a threshold, and determining that the text-processing device has generated a text interpretation for a portion of the video comprising at least a predetermined word count: send an indication to the second selection to operate as the text-processing device, and sending an indication to the first selection to prepare to receive the text interpretation from the second selection (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 8 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 21.
With respect to claim 22, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of dependent claim 21. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
wherein the timeout period or the predetermined word count is determined based on at least a first device battery charge and a second device battery charge (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 9 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claims 1 also apply to claim 22.
With respect to claim 23, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 1. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
A computer-implemented method performed on a first device (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 1 above), the computer-implemented method comprising:
receiving a portion of a video (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 1 above);
processing a speech component of the portion of the video to generate a text interpretation (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 1 above, including Lee 77, describing that speech/audio portions of a video may be processed to generate text interpretation); and
sending the text interpretation to a second device for display with the portion of the video (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 1 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 23.
With respect to claim 24, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 23. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
wherein the first device and the second device are coordinated to concurrently display the portion of the video (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 2 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 24.
With respect to claim 25, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 23. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
wherein the text interpretation is at least one of a translation and a summarization of the speech component (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 4 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 25.
With respect to claim 26, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 23. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
further comprising:
displaying the text interpretation with the portion of the video (see citations and arguments with respect to claims 1 and 4 above, describing that these may be captions/subtitles, i.e., displayed with the portion of the video).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 26.
With respect to claim 27, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 23. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
further comprising:
ending the text interpretation to a head mounted device operable to display the text interpretation on a head mounted device display (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 5 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 27.
With respect to claim 28, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 1. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
A first device, comprising:
a processor configured with instructions to: receive a portion of a video, process a speech component of the portion of the video to generate a text interpretation, and transmit the text interpretation to a second device for display with the portion of the video (see citations and arguments with respect to claims 1 and 23 above and Lee ¶8, describing that the invention may be embodied by a processor executing instructions).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 28.
With respect to claim 29, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 28. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
wherein the first device and the second device are coordinated to concurrently display the portion of the video (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 2 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 29.
With respect to claim 30, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 28. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
wherein the text interpretation is at least one of a translation and a summarization of the speech component (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 4 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 30.
With respect to claim 31, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 28. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
wherein the processor is further configured with instructions to send the text interpretation to a head mounted device operable to display the text interpretation on a head mounted device display (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 5 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 31.
With respect to claim 32, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 28. Lee/Cao additionally discloses:
wherein the processor is further configured by instructions to:
display the text interpretation with the portion of the video (see citations and arguments with respect to claims 1 and 26 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 32.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 7 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee in view of Cao and further in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2022/0086393 (“Peters”).
With respect to claim 7, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 1.
Lee/Cao does not explicitly disclose determining that the first selection has a first battery charge level that is greater than a second battery charge level of the second selection.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Peters discloses that it was known to assess battery charge levels of client devices:
further comprising:
determining that the first selection has a first battery charge level that is greater than a second battery charge level of the second selection (see Fig. 23A, item 2325 “endpoint battery level”, ¶¶540, 582, describing that it was known to analyze endpoint/client devices, including their remaining battery life, i.e., battery charge level, to determine the resources available for such devices).
At the time of filing, one of ordinary skill would have been familiar with systems for sharing and shared viewing of video and of determining which devices are capable/available for sharing. Such a person would have understood that, as evidenced by Peters, one such way to determine which devices are capable/available to share video includes an analysis of the devices resources, including battery charge level. Accordingly, to such a person, using such a determination in the video sharing system of Lee/Cao so would have represented nothing more than the combination of prior art elements according to predictable results and/or the simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to include a mechanism for determining which devices are capable/available to act as a sharer for sharing video by analyzing device resources, including battery charge level of the devices, in the video sharing system of Lee/Cao as taught by Peters.
With respect to claim 20, Lee discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Lee in view of Cao discloses all the elements of independent claim 14 and Lee in view of Cao and Peters discloses each and every element of dependent claim 7, the combination of which is incorporated herein. Lee/Cao/Peters additionally discloses:
wherein the configuration server is further configured to determine that the first selection has a first battery charge level that is greater than a second battery charge level of the second selection (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 7 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claims 1 and 7 also apply to claim 20.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LINDSAY JANE KILE UHL whose telephone number is (571)270-0337. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 AM-5:00 PM.
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LINDSAY J UHL
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2481
/LINDSAY J UHL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2481